It’s Thursday, August 3rd, 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
Israel’s spike in anti-Christian attacks
The Jerusalem Post reports a spike in anti-Christian attacks in Israel’s capital during the past few months.
Many incidents involve residents spitting on Christian tourists and clergymen. Local church leaders also report vandalism of Christian sites.
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, noted, “I don’t know if there is a connection there. But the fact is that since the new government took office, we have seen a significant increase [of attacks]. … The source of such attacks is education. There are children who spit and yell at Christians. Someone must have taught them that.”
Speaking of Christ, Isaiah 50:6 says, “I gave My back to those who strike, and My cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not My face from disgrace and spitting.”
Two Mexican men in trouble for opposing transgender ideology
On Tuesday, Alliance Defending Freedom hosted the “Standing Up for Biological Reality” panel. The event addressed suppression of free speech in Mexico.
The panel included Gabriel Quadri, a Mexican Congressman, and Rodrigo Iván Cortés, a Civil Society Leader. Mexican officials convicted both men on charges of “gender-based political violence.” The men had simply opposed transgender ideology on social media!
After the panel, Tomás Henríquez with ADF told The Christian Post, “It’s useful and necessary for everybody to be aware that this is where the cultural trends around the world are going towards, and there’s no reason to think this is not going … to become a reality in the U.S., even if the Supreme Court eventually, actually, does stop everything.”
Oklahoma affirms biological women and biological men
Speaking of transgenderism and the United States, Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed the Women’s Bill of Rights Executive Order on Monday. The order defines the words “male” and “female” for state agencies as referring to biological sex.
The order also requires schools and correctional facilities to provide dedicated spaces for males and females.
Listen to what Governor Stitt said at the signing, reported by CBN News.
STITT: “There are some that don’t want to recognize the important distinction of biological womanhood. Today, we’re taking a stand against this out-of-control gender ideology that is eroding the very foundation of our society. We are going to be safeguarding the very essence of what it means to be a woman.
“Today, we take another step to preserve the integrity of women’s spaces and opportunities. We are making sure that women’s spaces are safe for women. No men are going to go into women’s prisons in the state of Oklahoma. No men in women’s domestic shelters.”
Stitt went on to say, “As long as I’m governor, we will continue to protect women and ensure women-only spaces are reserved solely for biological women.”
FBI recovered 200 human trafficking victims
On Tuesday, the FBI reported it recovered 200 victims of human trafficking during a nationwide enforcement campaign, called “Operation Cross Country.”
The rescue operation located 59 children who were actively missing.
However, in relation to the Biden administration’s border policies, there are now an estimated 85,000 migrant children missing in the U.S. The New York Times reports some of those children have been trafficked or put into forced labor.
The awareness inspired by the Sound of Freedom movie is more important now than ever before. (Read the Focus on the Family review)
More teen boys are conservative; more teen girls are liberal
The University of Michigan released its annual Monitoring the Future survey this week.
The latest data from last year found that 23% of 12th-grade boys identify as conservative, while only 13% identify as liberal. The rise of conservative high school boys has been ongoing since the mid-2000s.
Meanwhile, 12th-grade girls are trending more and more liberal. Thirty percent identify as liberal, and 12% as conservative. The disparity has never been higher, but high schools have always trended liberal.
Psalm 144:12-15 gives a clear vision for young men and women. “May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace. … Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”
Teen girl inspired by the hope of Indian Christian refugees
Yesterday, I featured soundbites from three of the eight Trammell children in Paducah, Kentucky.
Unlike those worldly teen girls in our previous story, who are twice as likely to identify as liberal, I talked to a fourth Trammell child last night. Listen to Malia, who is turning 15 on August 17th.
MALIA: “I heard on the newscast, a story about Manipur, India, where 80 people were killed, 250 churches were destroyed, and 66,000 Christians were displaced. And one of the two Global Christian relief centers, they were saying ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.’
(audio clip of Manipur refugees singing)
MALIA: “It sounded like they were really hopeful. Even though they might be persecuted, and they might even die, it’s okay because they’re going to go to Heaven. That’s just really hopeful for me. Because people that don’t know God, don’t have any hope of going to Heaven or meeting God or Jesus. But these people had so much hope!”
Malia was horrified and heartbroken as she imagined the mindset of the persecutors of Christians.
MALIA: “The Hindus in India that have been persecuting these Christians do not love God. They hate God because they are trying to kill His people. That’s just a super discouraging place to be in. I was just thinking about how much hate you would have to have to want to kill God’s people, even though God loves you so much.”
McMANUS: “Now that you’ve thought about that, has it prompted you to pray for their salvation, pray for their repentance?”
MALIA: “Yes, I’m hoping that these Hindus that are persecuting the Indians in Manipur will see their faith and realize that Jesus Christ is way better than anything that a pagan religion, a pagan god, can afford.”
Hear the heart of a $10,000 Worldview donor
I also spoke last night with Phillip in Belton, Texas who generously gave $10,000 to The Worldview.
He, too, appreciates our regular inclusion of stories about the persecuted church.
PHILLIP: “Christine and I have been around the world. We’ve been in Third World nations. We know that when the government says, ‘Don’t take your Bible out there,’ you take a risk. In some places, you disappear. And people need to know that.”
McMANUS: “I don’t know if you heard the story on the August 2 newscast, but a majority of Americans believe in karma, which we reported and a minority believe in Hell and the Devil. Do you think it’s important that the newscast report that kind of story?”
PHILLIP: “It’s absolutely important. If that stuff is not brought forth, than the enemy from within continues to thrive, and the end result is chaos.”
PHILLIP: “You take a stand Adam. And that’s what I love about you.”
McMANUS: “You like the challenges to write a congressman or to call a senator or to let a president of a woke company know that we disagree? Those kinds of action steps?”
PHILLIP: “Yes, because if we don’t, who will? Oaks don’t bend! That’s how all Christians, especially Christian men, should be. They should be oaks. The roots are planted and they’re solid. If a truck hits them, the truck wraps around it. It doesn’t fall. It falls in due time.”
Phillip has been especially encouraged to hear homeschool kids talk about the Christian worldview which they’ve embraced, thanks to the discipleship of their intentional parents.
PHILLIP: “You know, listening to those kids, so encouraging. Those parents, they need a gold star. Hearing them encourages me.”
He had a last word of encouragement.
PHILLIP: “You keep doing what you do and God will always bless you.”
McMANUS: “Well, we want to say, on behalf of the entire Worldview team, how appreciative we are for your extravagant gift that the Lord prompted you to send, you and Christine, our way so we could carry on for another year.”
PHILLIP: “It’s our pleasure, Adam!”
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, August 3rd 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.