It’s Thursday, December 16th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Former North Korean Christian prisoner: “My bones were showing.”
Korea Future released a report on persecution in North Korea based on 237 interviews with survivors who escaped the country.
The report found that “Christianity claims fewer adherents, yet it is the most severely persecuted religious tradition within North Korea. Underground churches, consisting of small congregations, exist in North Korea, but are rare and subject to extreme levels of persecution.”
North Korean officials have tortured, starved, and killed many Christians. One survivor said, “I was extremely malnourished. My bones were showing. I kept praying in the cell because that was my only refuge. If I were to say anything about my religion, I would either have been executed . . . or transferred to a political prison camp for the remainder of my life.”
Hate crimes against European Christians skyrocketed
The Observatory on Intolerance Against Christians in Europe found hate crimes against Christians rose a whopping 70% last year.
Christians in Europe suffered 981 hate crimes in 2020, up from 578 in 2019.
Christians face discrimination from secular intolerance that seeks to eliminate Christianity from the public square, as well as from Islamic oppression that engages in more direct and even violent attacks.
The European countries where Christians faced the most discrimination are France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Britain’s travel ban list
Britain removed 11 African countries yesterday from its travel red list.
The U.K. instituted the travel ban list in response to the Omicron variant which started in South Africa.
However, the U.K.’s Health Secretary said the red list was no longer necessary since Omicron had spread so widely.
Early research indicates the variant spreads more easily than others but has milder symptoms.
Supremes allows NY COVID-shot mandate to stand
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by 20 Christian healthcare workers in New York against the state’s COVID-shot mandate.
The mandate applies to healthcare workers and does not accommodate religious exemptions. The mandate also blocks unemployment benefits to workers who are fired for seeking a religious exemption.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in dissent, “The State’s executive decree clearly interferes with the free exercise of religion—and does so seemingly based on nothing more than fear and anger at those who harbor unpopular religious beliefs.”
Psalm 91:5-6 says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”
Arkansas town’s pro-life resolution
On Monday, the City Council of Aubrey, Arkansas passed a resolution to declare itself a pro-life city. Aubrey joins 18 other cities and counties in Arkansas that have passed pro-life declarations.
Meanwhile, another Texas city passed a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance. The Slaton City Council voted unanimously on Monday to become the 43rd city in the U.S. to ban abortions.
Congress increased debt limit to $2.5 trillion
Yesterday, the U.S. Congress increased the national debt limit by $2.5 trillion to avoid a default.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill which will bring the U.S. borrowing limit to $31.4 trillion, reports Reuters.
Ezekiel 22:27 says, “Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.”
Federal Reserve and inflation
With inflation at a 40-year high, the Federal Reserve announced it will slow down its pandemic stimulus of the U.S. economy.
The Fed said it will phase out its bond-purchasing program by next March and start raising interest rates next year.
Interest rates remain at zero where they’ve been since March of 2020.
29% of Americans are non-religious
Pew Research reports 29% of Americans now identify with no religion, up from 16% in 2007.
Meanwhile, 63% of Americans identify with Christianity, down from 78% in 2007. Most of the decline has come from Protestantism. It’s share of self-identifying Christians fell from 52% to 40% over the last 14 years.
The report also found that a majority of Americans no longer pray daily or consider religion very important in their lives. However, born-again/Evangelical Protestants were the most likely to pray daily and say religion is very important at 80%.
Spacecraft touched the sun
And finally, for the first time, a spacecraft has touched the sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe entered the sun’s upper atmosphere, called the corona, back in April. Scientists said it took months to get the data back to Earth and confirm it.
The probe sampled particles and magnetic fields in the sun’s atmosphere, bringing scientists closer to understanding some of the mysteries of our star.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, December 16th, in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.