It’s Friday, August 16th, A.D. 2019. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Jonathan Clark
2 Pakistani Christians imprisoned falsely since 2013
Despite the release earlier this year of Asia Bibi, the Christian woman from Pakistan, Christians there continue to be persecuted for their faith.
The former plight of Asia Bibi is also the situation now for Shagufta Kauser and her disabled husband Shafqat Masih. The couple has been in prison since 2013 over false charges of blasphemy against Islam. They now await an appeal against the death sentence.
CitizenGo has organized a petition, calling on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to intervene and secure the immediate release of Shagufta and Shafqat. You can sign the petition linked in our transcript today at theworldview.com.
Pakistan ranks as the 5th worst nation for Christian persecution according to Open Doors.
89% of British young people say life has no meaning
Eighty-nine percent of British young people ages 16-29 say that life has no meaning, compared with 55 percent of people over 60 who answered the same way, according to a recent poll by Yakult UK.
Among all age groups, 80 percent of people in Britain would say life has no meaning or purpose.
A separate survey last month found a record low of 38 percent of people in Britain say they are Christians, and only one percent of 18- to 24-year-olds identify as belonging to the Church of England.
Young Europeans praying for revival
By contrast, the International Fellowship of Christian Students has organized young people across Europe since February to pray and fast at least once a week for revival in European countries.
The season of prayer will be followed by the “Revive Europe” congress held in Germany at the end of the year for 18- to 30-year-olds.
Already dozens of students from nearly 30 European countries have posted short videos explaining the spiritual challenges their countries face and how they are praying for God to revive them.
Psalm 85:6-7 says, “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation.”
New Trump rule allows Christian employers more liberty
The Trump Department of Labor published a new rule yesterday guarding the right of government contractors to make employment decisions based on their religious beliefs.
Contractors did not enjoy this liberty before as a 2014 executive order by President Barack Obama required contractors to not “discriminate” against “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” when hiring.
New Google whistleblower says Google blacklists conservatives
Google staffer Zachary Vorhies went public on Wednesday with documents exposing how the tech giant has censored pro-life and conservative websites.
Listen to this clip from Vorhies.
VORHIES: “This is a black list, one of many black lists that are at Google. This particular black list is showing which news sites are not going to show up underneath the search bar when people are searching on their Android phones. What they’re doing is that — they’re saying – well www.Newsbusters.org, www.TheGatewayPundit.com, www.MediaMatters.org, www.InfoWars.com — they’re not going to appear on their search results. They’re telling people that they don’t have black list. They don’t have any political ideology. They don’t have any political bias, but it’s really clear that they do.”
It’s all part of an interview by Vorhies with watchdog group Project Veritas in which he discussed his research over the past year into Google’s censorship and concern over election tampering.
Trump balancing Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has been known for its liberal leaning rulings, but under the Trump administration that is changing for the court that covers 20 percent of Americans.
Trump’s seventh nominee to the 9th Circuit court assumed office at the end of last month, bringing the number of GOP appointees to 12 out of the court’s 29 active judges, with a vacancy also available for the president to fill.
Deuteronomy 1:17 instructs judges, saying, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s.”
New poll: Protestants say they need help walking with God
LifeWay Research found in a recent study that Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God just fine by themselves, but they also say they need other believers to help them do it.
65 percent say they can walk with God by themselves with 36 percent strongly agreeing, while 75 percent also agree with a conflicting idea that they need other believers to help them grow in their spiritual life with 38 percent strongly agreeing.
Kenneth Priest, interim director of the Center for Church Revitalization at Southwestern, noted that these conflicting views highlight a discipleship need in churches to awaken people out of spiritual apathy and into “a text-driven life application of God’s Word” by pastors.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another.”
Russian pilot successfully crash lands plane
In God’s providence, a Russian pilot successfully crash-landed a passenger plane in a cornfield yesterday after birds were sucked into both engines, causing them to fail, reports The Daily Mail.
Ural Airlines Flight U1678 was taking off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport and headed for Crimea when a double bird strike took out the engines.
Incredibly, Captain Damir Yusupov landed the plane with no power in either engine and with the landing gear retracted. Of the 233 people on board, only 23 had to be sent to the hospital, mostly for minor injuries.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, August 16th in the year of our Lord 2019. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.