It’s Thursday, January 30th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus
Pastor in India and wife face five years in prison for evangelizing
Last Wednesday, officials in India convicted a Christian couple for evangelizing the Dalit community. Members of the community are known as the “untouchables,” representing the lowest stratum of the country’s caste system.
Officials charged Pastor Jose Pappachan and his wife, Sheeja, with violating the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. They now face five years in prison and the equivalent of hundreds of dollars in fines.
International Christian Concern notes, “Dalits are socially, economically, and historically marginalized communities predominantly in India. Traditionally, the Dalits have easily embraced Christianity to escape the repressive caste system.”
Chilean lawmakers commit to oppose abortion
Last Tuesday, lawmakers in Chile signed a Commitment for Life document, reports Evangelical Focus.
Members of several different parties signed the document in response to the government considering a law to legalize abortion.
Parliamentarian Mauro González said, “We are a large majority that defends life, and we will continue to advocate for the ethical, moral and Christian principles that are part of our essence and culture.”
Blackhawk helicopter collides with American Airlines jet over Potomac River
In the United States, on Wednesday evening around 9:00pm ET, an American Airlines Eagle passenger jet, and an Army Blackhawk helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, reports NBC News.
Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas had 64 people aboard and the helicopter carried three soldiers.
One eyewitness made reference to the American Airlines flight, calling it a CRJ, which means Canadian Regional Jet.
Listen.
EYEWITNESS: “The accident happened in the river. Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river east of the end of runway 33. It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. So, I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ [Canadian Regional Jet] and a helicopter that hit, I would say, maybe a half mile off the approach end of [runway] 33.”
At least four people have been recovered and were rushed to hospitals. A frantic search to find crash victims in the river was underway within minutes.
Last night, the temperature of the Potomac River was 35 degrees Fahrenheit. At 35 degrees, the human body core temperature quickly drops and exhaustion, hypothermia, and unconsciousness can occur in as little as 15 to 30 minutes.
At 9:15pm, Reagan Airport announced, “All takeoffs and landings have been halted.”
Trump ensures gov’t won’t fund transgender surgeries for kids
In the United States, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday entitled, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.”
The order keeps the federal government from funding transgender drugs and surgeries for people under the age of 19.
The order states, “Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
In Mark 10:6, Jesus said, “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’”
Trump confronts Bank of America CEO over debanking conservatives
President Trump addressed the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland last week. And he didn’t pull any punches.
Trump made comments via remote video from Washington, D.C. In one comment, he rebuked major financial institutions for “debanking” conservatives and faith groups. Trump specifically called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
TRUMP: “I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank, and that included a place called Bank of America. They don’t take conservative business. I don’t know if the regulators mandated that because of Biden or what. But you and Jamie and everybody, I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives, because what you’re doing is wrong.”
After several awkward seconds, Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, offered the king of all non sequiturs, failing to address Trump’s direct concern at all.
MOYNIHAN: “Mr. President, I’ll say that your friend Gianni [Infantino] said hello, told me to tell you hello, and we look forward to sponsoring the World Cup when it comes both this summer for the club and next year. So, thank you for getting that for the United States.”
A prominent example of such “debanking” was Chase Bank’s decision to close the account of The National Committee for Religious Freedom in 2022.
Trump looks to cut $100 billion through federal workforce
The Trump administration is offering buyouts to federal workers to shrink the size of the government.
Ahead of planned downsizing, the administration is offering federal employees to voluntarily resign by February 6. They would still receive pay through September.
The administration expects 5-10% of the federal workforce to quit. This would save around $100 billion.
American kids less competent in reading
The National Center for Education Statistics released their latest report card for the U.S.
American kids are still growing less competent in their reading skills and have made little progress in math. This continues the decline of academic results since school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also highlights a growing divide between higher- and lower-performing students with the gap being wider than ever.
Nondenominational churches increasing and growing
And finally, most U.S. denominations are experiencing decline, but nondenominational Protestant churches are on the rise.
Nearly 35% of American Protestants identified as nondenominational in 2022, up from less than 3% in the early 1970s. Also, the number of nondenominational churches increased by nearly 9,000 over the last decade. This growth comes despite the number of practicing Christians being on the decline in the U.S.
Professor Ed Stetzer, the former head of Lifeway Research group told The Washington Times, “The percentage of practicing Christians is declining, but those who remain tend to create a more serious expression of their faith. . . . Millennials and Gen Z Christians, in particular, are showing signs of greater commitment, even as they navigate a cultural landscape where being religious sometimes comes with a price.”
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Thursday, January 30th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or 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.