Monday, September 24th, in the year of our Lord 2018
By Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldView.com)
Senior ISIS Leader Sentenced to Death in Iraq
Ismail Alwan Salman al-Ithawi, who is described as a senior leader in ISIS and having directly served Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been sentenced to death in Iraq, reports International Christian Concern.
His case was reportedly the first time that Iraq was able to extradite a senior ISIS figure from inside Turkey.
Kavanaugh Accuser Will Testify This Week
Christine Blasey Ford, a 51 year old California professor at the center of a sexual assault accusation against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has agreed to testify to representatives of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, reports the Associated Press.
Ford’s accusation has ricocheted through Washington, costing Kavanaugh public support and stalling his march to confirmation ahead of the hotly contested midterm elections. Democrats are seen holding an advantage, with Ford’s defenders and critics trading accusations of political motivations, according to CNBC.
Kavanaugh’s Accuser Has Ties to Big Pharma Abortion Pill Maker
In a related story, Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, who claims that Kavanaugh inappropriately touched her at a drunken party while in high school, turns out to have ties to an abortion pill pharmaceutical company called Corcept Therapeutics, reports NaturalNews.com.
This discovery brings to light an obvious conflict of interest in Blasey’s story, revealing that she works for a pharmaceutical company that manufacturers an abortion pill drug, whose profits could be negatively affected if Kavanaugh gets confirmed and then joins the majority and overturns Roe v. Wade in a 5-4 decision.
Corcept Therapeutics (Corcept.com) manufacturers and markets the abortion pill drug called mifepristone, and Christine Blasey Ford has co-authored at least eight published scientific papers produced by the pharmaceutical giant to promote its deadly pills.
Illinois Teenager Delivers Censored Valedictory Speech
Four months after being told that he couldn’t give his valedictory address because it referenced Christ, an Illinois teenager who graduated at the top of his class at West Prairie High School was finally able to deliver his speech, reports Fox News host Todd Starnes.
But instead of delivering his graduation speech in his hometown, Sam Blackledge shared his remarks at the Todd Starnes Fall Getaway at the Billy Graham Training Center in North Carolina.
Here’s the key portion which prompted the government school to censor Blackledge.
“Evil, Justice, Love, and Forgiveness. As Ravi Zacharias would say, ‘I want you to think for a moment.’ Is there any event in history where these four converged into one place? Where did evil, justice, love, and forgiveness converge at a moment in history?
“Can I take you to a hill called Calvary and show you the person of Jesus Christ? The cross of Christ shows us our own evil hearts that we would put an innocent man up to die. Christ came to show us God’s justice in dealing with the unfairness of the world. The cross demonstrates to us the very love of God who died in our place and how we find, at the end of the day, that without His forgiveness, we would never make it.
“Graduates, I hope your life is devoid of evil, full of justice, full of love, and full of forgiveness. I think our parents, however, can attest that trying to manage this on our own is more than difficult.
“The most important thing in your life is to find that intimacy with God. He will guide you, He will hold you, and He will take you through safely on your journey. As you search for goodness, justice, love, and forgiveness, know that only God is big enough to provide that for you. Thank you class of 2018.”
Several hundred guests gave Blackledge a standing ovation.
But to prevent this from happening again, the Blackledges enlisted the help of First Liberty Institute, one of the nation’s top law firms handling religious liberty cases.
God-Haters Pressure School to Stop Praying for Coach’s Daughter
Lake City High School in Michigan has removed a video of community members praying for a coach’s ill daughter after complaints from the knee-jerk atheist group, The Freedom From Religion Foundation, reports Christian Headlines.
In August, Christians gathered around the head football coach to pray for his daughter, Harper, who is in the hospital suffering from a severe intestinal infection.
But since they prayed a prayer over the school’s loudspeaker, the God-hating group claimed the plea to God was somehow unconstitutional.
Listen to what atheist attorney Colin McNamara told WPBN/WGTU television.
McNAMARA: “The First Amendment Establishment Clause forbids government actors from endorsing religion. They are required to be neutral with respect to religion. They cannot endorse or promote it in any way.”
But members of the community are now upset.
Listen to Bruce DeBoer, owner of the Tasty Treat.
“We pray for the young girl. We hope that she gets better soon because for anybody to be ill like that is one thing, but for a little child, it goes a lot deeper.”
Sadly, Michigan’s Lake City High School took down the video.
Psalm 14:1 declares, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
Neighbor Saves Life of Elderly Man
And finally, a Virginia man who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria while fishing in North Carolina’s Outer Banks last month was saved by an unlikely source: a neighbor who happened to be a U.S. Navy veteran, reports WKTR-TV.
Norfolk resident John Waldbaum didn’t know what was happening when his hand suddenly started turning black.
WALDBAUM: “At first, I thought it was sun poisoning or something.”
In just one day, his entire arm became black, Waldbaum collapsed on the couch, prompting his wife, Maria, to rush to their next-door neighbor’s house for help.
Deborah Richard, a retired hospital corpsman for the U.S. Navy, said she knew something was gravely wrong as soon as she saw him.
Waldbaum recalled his neighbor’s reaction.
WALDBAUM: “Deborah came running over, took one look and said she was taking me to the emergency room now!”
The hospital corpsman described what she saw.
RICHARD: “He had a real bad infection in his arm, his coloring was gone, his arm was just so swollen and infected, he was barely breathing. They told me that we had to check him in. We didn’t have time to check him in. So, I looked at the lady, and I said, ‘We do not have time.’”
Doctors rushed him to emergency surgery and had to amputate his arm to save his life. They determined that Waldbaum became exposed to a flesh-eating bacteria.
WALDBAUM: “They said if I hadn’t gotten to the hospital when I did, I would have had about a half an hour to live,”
His wife burst into tears during the television interview.
MARIA: “She’s an angel. I don’t know what I would do without my husband.”
While the Waldbaums are still looking for ways to thank Deborah Richard, WKTR-TV gifted her a $300 reward for her live-saving actions.
Deborah Richard lived by the Biblical admonition found in Luke 6:31: “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Monday, September 24th in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Print stories
271 Christians Charged in India with Trying to Convert Hindus
Two hundred and seventy-one Christians in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have been charged with a range of crimes including attempting to convert Hindus, reports International Christian Concern.
The 271 were initially cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in August, but now stand “accused of various criminal offenses, like fraud, defiling places of worship, prejudice against national integration”, according to AsiaNews.
Chinese Christians Will Not Bow to Secular State at Risk of Lives
In the face of an ongoing Communist crackdown, pastors in China have vowed to continue preaching the Gospel, even if it costs them their lives, reports The Christian Post.
In addition to burning Bibles and crosses in Henan, Communist officials have been forcing some Christians to sign papers rejecting their faith.
Aaron Ma, a representative of Open Doors’ Ministry in China, said that local Chinese pastors revealed that secondary school students are the ones being pressured to sign such papers, saying, “They are tempted [and] threatened not to admit their Christian faith in order to avoid trouble. Their Christian faith is being challenged and tested.”
Pakistan Appoints First Christian Advocate General
In a historic move, the Pakistani government has appointed the country’s first Christian Advocate General named Salman Talibuddin, reports International Christian Concern.
Pope Francis: “I Am the Devil”
Pope Francis has acknowledged that his reputation pales a bit compared to St. John Paul II — at least as far as Poles are concerned, reports The Associated Press.
Greeting journalists Saturday en route to Lithuania, Pope Francis was given a book about the former pope by Polish photographer Grzegorz Galazka. Receiving the large book with a beaming John Paul on the cover, Francis quipped: “(Pope John Paul II) was a saint, I am the devil.”
The criticism of Francis by conservatives has grown more vocal recently amid the church’s sex abuse scandals and the distress over his opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.
Democratic, Trump-Hating Ties of Kavanaugh Accuser’s Attorney
The attorney of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s is a Democratic operative named Debra Katz who has numerous ties to the resistance against Trump, reports The Daily Caller.
was caught on camera at a protest in February 2017 after Jeff Sessions was confirmed as the administration’s attorney general, saying, “We are going to fight back. We are going to resist. We will not be silenced.”
Katz was identified only as a “protester” by ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The Gargoyle, the alumni magazine for the University of Wisconsin Law School, profiled Katz on August 9, 2018, in which she articulated her support for giving American citizenship to illegal aliens, saying, “The resistance is not going away. When I go to a march on behalf of Dreamers, I hear young people making connections between DACA and Islamophobia.”
Democrats Vow to Investigate Kavanaugh Accusations if They Win Majority
As the political fight over the sexual assault allegation made against Brett Kavanaugh intensifies, Democrats are indicating that — even if confirmed — they intend to drag the fight over his Supreme Court nomination past November, raising the possibility of an impeachment push, reports Fox News.
Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said that “as soon as Democrats get gavels”, the party will investigate the Kavanaugh allegations even if he is confirmed and sitting on the Supreme Court.
20,000 Trump Supporters in 2-Mile Line for 11,000-Person Venue
On Friday, the line of Trump supporters attending the President’s evening rally in Springfield, Missouri, was two miles long according to a report from police and a local reporter, reports The Gateway Pundit. Some even got in line the night before.
Other reports indicate that 20,000 people were in line for the 11,000 capacity venue.
Deputy Attorney General Was Ready to Secretly Record Chats with Trump!
After President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein proposed secretly recording conversations in the Oval Office with Trump last year and discussed the possibility of Cabinet officials invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president, according to a New York Times report.
The bombshell story sparked a political firestorm Friday afternoon, prompting an immediate denial from the Justice Department and sparking calls from conservative circles for Trump to fire his No. 2 law enforcement official, reports TheHill.com.
Ted Cruz/Beto O’Rourke Friday Debate
Cosby Could Spend Twilight Years Behind Bars
Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 60 women. He’s endured two criminal trials in the nearly three years since he was charged with drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand. And he’s been found guilty by a jury from Montgomery County, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Now, his fate lies in the hands of one man, Judge Steven O’Neill, who could order the 81-year-old entertainer once known as “America’s Dad” to be led away in handcuffs to a prison cell — possibly for the rest of his life.
Marijuana Users Endure Painful Side Effects, ER Visits
With more people using medical marijuana and recreational marijuana, there’s a condition that’s popping up in emergency rooms across the country, reports KDKA.
It’s called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, or CHS, and the symptoms are not pretty.
Painful cramping and vomiting can occur every few weeks or every few months and last a few days. The vomiting can be so severe that many go to the hospital, needing fluids to rehydrate.
While taking hot showers can temporarily relieve symptoms, there’s only one permanent treatment solution: stop using the marijuana.
Michael Moore’s Anti-Trump Film Fizzles
Michael Moore’s new doc Fahrenheit 11/9 is headed for an eighth-place finish with $3 million-debut from 1,719 theaters, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
This summer, conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza also decided to open his latest film nationwide. Death of a Nation debuted to $2.4 million from 1,005 locations before topping out at $5.9 million domestically, the worst showing of D’Souza’s directorial career despite an overall documentary boom at the box office.
There were three summer hits including the one about Mr. Rogers entitled Won’t You Be My Neighbor? ($22.6 million), the one about leftist Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg entitled RBG ($14 million) and Three Identical Strangers ($12.1 million). The latter three all rolled out slowly.
Is Michelle Obama’s Extravagant Book Tour Precursor to Presidential Run?
A fifth-row seat at the Barclays Center goes for $1,256.00. A seat in the front row, with a “meet & greet package” thrown in, will cost you up to $3,000. Wheelchair seating in the back of the house is listed at $400, while a spot in the upper tiers could be had for $29.50.
The latest megaproduction from U2 or Beyoncé? Nope. It’s the price of admission to see Michelle Obama on tour for Becoming, the former first lady’s memoir, which is scheduled to be published Nov. 13, reports WRAL-TV.
It smells like the foundation for a future presidential run not unlike Hillary Clinton.
Actor Chris Pratt Doesn’t Shrink from Praising Jesus
Chris Pratt is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but he is also a committed Christian who has used his platform to share his faith more than once, and it seems from his latest comments he has no intention of stopping.
The Jurassic World star told the Associated Press that sharing his faith was the least he could do after the gift God had given him.
Pratt, who is often snapped by the paparazzi attending church in Los Angeles, said, “Nothing fills my soul more than to think that maybe some kid watching that would say, ‘Hey, I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve been thinking about praying. Let me try that out.’”
Foundation of Millennials’ Abandoned Faith is Family Breakdown
The 2017 book Abandoned Faith: Why Millennials Are Walking Away and How You Can Lead Them Home, co-authored by Alex McFarland and Jason Jimenez, and published by Focus on the Family, argues that the abandonment of Christianity by many millennials is often fueled by family breakdown, reports The Christian Post.
In 2016, some 23 percent of Americans described themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular,” according to the Pew Research Center. A year later in 2017, the American Family Survey noted that 34 percent of Americans reported being atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.”