It’s Tuesday, March 31st, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
Trump announced COVID-19 guidelines stay in place until May
President Trump retreated Sunday from his desire to relax coronavirus guidelines by Easter, announcing instead that all Americans must continue to avoid nonessential travel, going to work, eating at bars and restaurants, or gathering in groups of more than 10 for at least another month and perhaps until June, reports the New York Times.
The development promised to extend the economic recession for the country.
COVID restrictions hurting jobs, restaurants, retail stores, loans
After a record-breaking 3.28 million unemployment filings last week, economists are expecting between 3.5 and 6.5 million more filings this week.
The St. Louis Fed is forecasting an unemployment rate of 32% — at least a temporary loss of 47 million jobs. And already, Pew Research reports that 33% of Americans have had a pay cut or have been laid off in just the last few weeks.
The Restaurant Association reports that 14% of restaurants will plan to permanently close after this month.
Also, Coresight Research reports that at least 15,000 retail stores are expected to close in 2020. That follows 9,200 stores closing in 2019, and 5,500 closures in 2018.
Reuters reports that corporate loan default rates are expected to reach 9.38%, with energy companies upwards of 15.75%.
Florida pastor arrested for continuing services
The mega-church pastor in Tampa, Florida who continued services at The River Church, despite the stay-at-home orders, was arrested yesterday on charges of “unlawful assembly” and a “violation of public health emergency order”, reports CNN.
Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne made this comment at the in-person service on Sunday, March 29th with 500 in attendance.
HOWARD-BROWNE: “You’re probably going to get infected at some other place, not here.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister was livid.
CHRONISTER: “His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger. We’re hoping that this serves as a deterrent. Shame on this pastor, their legal staff, and the leaders of this church for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency.”
Pastor Howard-Browne defended his position as a matter of religious liberty, saying, “When those in government can assign a label of non-essential to the practice of religion, then government is taking a very serious and dangerous role of defining religion.”
Cabinet Bible study addresses COVID-19 & God’s judgment
Ralph Drollinger, the Founder of Capitol Ministries who is known for his Bible Studies conducted with Cabinet members at the White House, has issued a Bible Study on Romans 1, which generated some controversy.
In his Bible study entitled “Is God Judging America Today?”, Drollinger warned that America was now experiencing the “consequential wrath of God” in the present crisis — noting the national sin of homosexuality.
To be clear, Drollinger does not blame the coronavirus on homosexuals. He concludes that the virus “is God’s form of judgment known as reaping and sowing: What a man sows, what a nation sows, they will reap. In this case, what China has sown, we are all reaping. That is my point.”
The White House Deputy Press Secretary, Judd Deere, a self-professed homosexual according to the Washington Examiner, called the comments “disgusting” and “something the President does not believe.”
Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
57% of virus cases in New York, New Jersey, Mass, Conn
There is no homogeneity to the spread of COVID-19 in the states.
A full 57% of the coronavirus cases are in New York State, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The incidence of the coronavirus in New York is 0.34%, eight times the rate of Coloradans, and 55 times the rate of Nebraskans, reports Vox.com.
The highest rate per capita for the virus spread is found in New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Washington State, Washington DC, Connecticut, Colorado, Vermont, and Illinois.
The lowest incidence per capita for the virus are found in Nebraska, West Virginia, Minnesota, Kentucky, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Virginia.
South Korea’s virus update and birth implosion
For the last two weeks, South Korea has averaged 100 new COVID-19 cases a day, down from a record high of 850 new cases on March 3rd.
Now South Korea records 8 deaths a day from the coronavirus. That’s about 1% of the 800 deaths South Koreans experience every day.
This is the least of South Korea’s worries however. World Magazine points out that South Korea may face its first population decrease by its birth implosion or collapse with the lowest birth rate in the world — now at .88.
180,000 neglected lepers in Laos, Nepal and India
And finally, according to the World Health Organization, there are over 180,000 lepers still in the world today. While covering events in the Far East, The Worldview spoke to a source who works with lepers in Laos, Nepal, and India. The source shared with The Worldview that these lepers are not well cared for.
SOURCE: “They are very oppressed, basically totally neglected by the government. They get no help, only the basics which are distributed by the World Health Organization, but after that, nothing more.”
The humanitarian worker further explained the needs of the lepers.
SOURCE: “I’m retired, and I use my own funds. My sister helps me with the little they have. Friends help as well with as little as they can, and we are collecting funds. With those funds, we build houses and toilets. Mainly, it’s rice and medicine though that they need most, of course, to survive. Many of the lepers; they have no relatives. A great number of them; they are also blind. So, the blind lepers; they are on my priority list.”
Matthew 8:2-3 says, “A man with leprosy came and knelt before [Jesus] and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately, he was cleansed of his leprosy.”
If you’re interested in helping this leper ministry, you can contact The Worldview for further information. (We are not revealing the source’s name since publicity would endanger the mission).
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And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, March 31st in the year of our Lord 2020. 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.
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65 lessons from Great Depression for today
The SurvivalMom.com lists 65 things Americans did to survive the Great Depression.
”Families traveled to wherever the work happened to be. They stuck together as much as possible. Life insurance policies were cashed in to try and survive for just a few months longer in their “normal” worlds. Clothing had to last as long as possible and women (mostly) became expert seamstresses, especially at alterations. Most did not rely on the government.
“People were grateful. Grateful for any kindness, any blessing. That attitude carried many of them through the Great Depression years and they now look back on them with fondness.
“A jack-of-all-trades could often find work when others couldn’t. It paid to know a bit about plumbing, carpentry, painting, and home repairs.
“Stories from the Great Depression years are filled with incidents that illustrate one act of kindness after another.
“In spite of incredible hardships, people could still find ways to encourage others with words of blessing or unexpected help. And for good measure: Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or do without!”