In North Korea, possession of Bible warrants death penalty; Planned Parenthood to lay off 10-20% of workforce; Kirk Cameron reminds kids about the importance of humility

It’s Wednesday, May 31st, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

In North Korea, possession of Bible warrants death penalty

The U.S. State Department released their latest Report on International Religious Freedom recently. 

The report’s section on North Korea confirms the terrible reality for Christians in the country.

Those found in possession of a Bible can face the death penalty. In one case, officials sentenced a Christian family, including a 2-year-old, to life sentences in prison camps. An estimated 70,000 Christians are in such camps, facing terrible conditions. 

Open Doors USA noted, “Being discovered as a Christian is a death sentence in North Korea. If you aren’t killed instantly, you will be taken to a labor camp as a political criminal.”

Prayer gathering in Jerusalem for Jews to come to Christ

Over the weekend, hundreds of Christians gathered in Jerusalem for the “Pentecost 2023: A Global Day of Prayer for Jerusalem and the Nations.”

The event focused on prayer for the Jewish people and for the Gospel to reach the ends of the earth. 

However, certain Jewish groups opposed the prayer event. One Christian leader in Jerusalem told CBN News it was the most aggressive and hateful opposition he had seen in 30 years.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch blasted COVID lockdowns

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court sent a Title 42 case back to a lower court for it to be dismissed. 

Title 42 was a Trump-era immigration policy that tightened border security during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. COVID emergency, and Title 42 with it, officially expired this month, making the case moot.

However, Justice Neil Gorsuch took the opportunity to criticize COVID-era lockdowns in the ruling. 

He wrote, “Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country. Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale. … They closed churches even as they allowed casinos and other favored businesses to carry on.”

Supreme Court limited Environmental Protection Agency powers

Speaking of the Supreme Court, the high court limited the power of the federal government once again in a ruling last Thursday.

The ruling reigns in the power of the Environmental Protection Agency over wetlands in the U.S.

The case originated from an Idaho couple who was forced to stop building their dream home on their own private property after the EPA said they were disturbing a wetland. 

Last year, the court similarly limited the Environmental Protection Agency when it curtailed the agency’s power to regulate emissions from power plants.

New Texas law ends transgender drugs and surgeries on kids

The largest children’s hospital in the U.S. will no longer offer so-called “transgender treatments.”

Last Wednesday,  Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston said it will comply with a bill that Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he will sign into law.

The bill protects minors from “procedures and prescription treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, and gender dysphoria.”

The hospital’s CEO Mark Wallace said the end of transgender procedures was “heart-wrenching.”

But Proverbs 12:10 says “the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

Planned Parenthood to lay off 10-20% of workforce

Nearly a year after the Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood announced it is restructuring its national office.

The abortion giant plans to layoff 10-20% of its national workforce. Planned Parenthood unions said, “This comes at a time where reproductive freedom is in jeopardy and when our members are struggling under difficult economic conditions.”

The layoffs and restructuring follow, not only the overturning of Roe, but also the passing of anti-abortion legislation in many states within the last year.

Kirk Cameron reminds kids about the importance of humility

And finally, the world may be celebrating homosexual/transgender “Pride Month” in June, but Kirk Cameron is pushing a different message.

The Christian actor is releasing a new children’s book on June 1st, entitled Pride Comes Before the Fall.

Cameron told The Christian Post that he wants children to learn humility through his new story book. 

He said, “It’s grieving to me and to millions of Americans that we have an entire month that is being devoted to celebrating a very dangerous vice. And I think that it’s great that children are being attracted to the virtue of humility, not just this month in June but in every month of the year. . . . What we ought to be doing is humbling ourselves, considering others’ needs before ourselves, and helping each other. That’s what God says in the Bible.”

James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, May 31st in the year of our Lord 2023. 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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