It’s Wednesday, April 29th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
Earthquake strikes New Zealand
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Southland, New Zealand hit at 10:52am on Monday, reports The Daily Mail.
Residents in Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill were among thousands of Kiwis to report rattling.
Half of U.S. workers make more on unemployment
Roughly half of all U.S. workers stand to earn more in unemployment benefits than they did at their jobs before the coronavirus pandemic shut down swaths of the U.S. economy, a result of government relief that employers say is complicating plans to reopen businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The package of coronavirus stimulus laws Congress passed and President Trump signed in March included a $600 boost to weekly unemployment benefits through July 31. As that support is added to state benefits over the coming weeks, the average weekly payment to a laid-off worker should rise to about $978 from the nearly $378 the Labor Department said was paid on average late last year.
Attorney General Barr warns about overbearing stay-at-home orders
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has threatened to take legal action against state officials who violate people’s civil rights by taking draconian measures to enforce stay-at-home orders, reports the Christian Post.
On Monday, Barr sent a two-page memo to federal prosecutors asking them to consider legal action against state and local governments that infringe upon citizens’ civil liberties.
In addition, he cautioned that even in “times of emergency, the First Amendment and federal law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers.”
Louisiana pastor on house arrest after holding in-person services
Last week, Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was placed on house arrest and fitted for a tracking device after refusing to suspend in-person worship services during the coronavirus pandemic, reports FaithWire.com.
In March, Pastor Spell discussed his convictions on Dr. Phil’s show.
SPELL: “We feel that we are as an essential part of our community as the retail stores. It is in persecution of the faith for us to be asked to close our doors whenever more people are being contacted in those Targets and Walmarts than are in my service. … We reach out, we minister to people, we feed people. We’re the last stable institution in this community today. I guarantee that.”
“We want to have the ability to exercise our First Amendment rights, our freedoms that we hold dear — that Congress can pass no laws prohibiting or forbidding us to gather and assemble. That is a conviction of ours. We don’t force anybody to come to our services.”
Acts 5:29 says, “We must obey God rather than man!”
Pastor Spell cited ways that his church has practically helped the hurting.
SPELL: “With the instability in my community today, I’ve ministered to two teenage girls, African-American girls, who have attempted suicide this week because their parents have lost their jobs, their schools are closed, they don’t get their meals during the day. These are troublesome times for them. We’re ministering to them. We’re not a part of the problem.”
Virginia church sues Governor over religious discrimination
A Virginia pastor, who was served a summons for holding a service for 16 people on Palm Sunday, and his church have filed a federal lawsuit against Democratic Governor Ralph Northam for issuing executive orders banning religious gatherings with more than 10 people, saying it violated the Virginia Constitution, reports the Christian Post.
Liberty Counsel, which is representing Pastor Kevin Wilson and Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island, filed the lawsuit last Friday against Northam, whose COVID Order 55 provides for a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.
Police served a summons to Wilson for holding a church service on April 5 for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that is rated for 293 people, explained Liberty Counsel.
A police officer entered the church without identifying himself and “abruptly” told the congregation “they could not have more than 10 people spaced six feet apart.”
Even though parking lots of multiple commercial establishments were filled with hundreds of cars Thursday, Liberty Counsel said, “Governor Northam criminalizes religious worship that exceeds 10 people. [He] has clearly discriminated against Lighthouse Fellowship Church which provides essential physical, emotional and spiritual services to the community. This church does not have internet and cannot flip a switch to broadcast online.”
Free webinar on loss of Christian liberty today
In light of these Christian liberty cases, don’t forget to register for the free webinar about the loss of Christian liberty during this pandemic conducted by Bill Jack of Worldview Academy.
You need to register for it through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. It starts at 5:00pm Eastern today, April 29th.
44% of American believe that Jesus sinned
Some 44 percent of Americans think that Jesus sinned according to the latest findings from The American Worldview Inventory 2020, reports ChristianHeadlines.com.
Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, said, “Tens of millions of Americans consider themselves to be Christian, but do not believe that God is really in control or cares what happens to them.”
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Josh McDowell: Porn addicts need more than Jesus to get free
And finally, Christians struggling with pornography are going to need more than Jesus to get over their addiction, and that’s no heresy, says Christian apologist and author Josh McDowell, reports the Christian Post.
He said, “Porn is by far the greatest cancer ever to the church. It is right at this moment destroying more churches, more pastors, more marriages, more people’s lives, more relationships than any one thing has ever done simultaneously in history.”
Fueled by the 24/7 accessibility of the internet, the porn scourge is worsening in light of how everyone is staying indoors and increasingly isolated because of the coronavirus outbreak.
While explaining that Christ alone is sufficient for salvation, McDowell explained that “98 percent of people who start watching and become addicted to porn will not make it out [of the addiction] without others around them.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, April 29th in the year of our Lord 2020. 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.
Print stories
Pakistani police arrest pastor on false charge of making liquor
Presbyterian assistant pastor Sarfaraz Raja was preparing to deliver a Good Friday sermon in Pakistan on April 10 when his brother informed him by phone that police had intruded into his house and were harassing his mother and other family members, reports Morning Star News.
Upset that the pastor had complained of police misbehavior and knowing that Christians had little status in the 96-percent Muslim society, the officers were planning to frame him on trumped-up charges of making and selling liquor, sources said.
“I excused myself from the sermon and immediately rushed to my home,” said Pastor Raja of Youngsen Memorial Church.
When officers took him to the police station, they took out liquor manufacturing equipment from a room and forcibly took his photograph with it, accusing them of illegally manufacturing and selling liquor, he said.
Lal, a member of the pastor’s church, said “This is sheer injustice of the state. The police not only caused us anguish and pain by violating the sanctity of Good Friday, they have also shaken our faith in the constitution and law.”
Pakistan ranked fifth on Open Doors 2020 World Watch list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
Egyptian Christian woman kidnapped, converted
An Egyptian Christian woman, Rania Abd al-Meseh, was kidnapped on April 23rd by two veiled women, reports International Christian Concern.
A video began circulating three days later of Rania announcing that she has converted to Islam. The video has been met with alarm by several Christians, who observe that her body language during the video appears that she was under great stress and saying the words under duress.
Rania is the mother of three daughters and her social media shows frequent posting of Christian material. Her brother Remon told local media that, “My sister was wearing the cross necklace and left home. So if she was wanting to convert to Islam, she would have left the necklace home.”
Christian women are often kidnapped in Egypt by extremists who force them to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
North Korean defector: Kim Jong-un is unable to stand
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public since April 11 sparking reports he has died or is in a vegetative state following heart surgery in March.
However, according to a high-profile North Korean defector and former diplomat named Thae Yong-ho, who is now a South Korean politician, Jong-un is alive, but is probably unable to walk or stand up, reports The Sun.
Kim failed to attend the annual birthday celebrations of his grandfather Kim il-sung, the revered founder of North Korea, on April 15.
1 million Americans have coronavirus, 56,500 have died
Yesterday, U.S. cases of the novel coronavirus topped 1 million, having doubled in 18 days, and making up one-third of all infections in the world, reports Reuters.
More than 56,500 Americans have died of the highly contagious respiratory illness COVID-19 caused by the virus, an average of about 2,000 a day this month.
House of Reps will not return May 4th
The House of Representatives will no longer come back in session on May 4, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday on a call with reporters, reports The Daily Mail.
A number of House Democrats rebelled against that plan, with Rep. Debbie Schultz of Florida calling the move “dangerous,” reports Politico.com.
President Trump had a different take after the cancellation was announced Tuesday, telling reporters that Democrats are “enjoying their vacation. … Look at Nancy Pelosi eating ice cream on late night television.”
Medication shortages on the rise
Widespread critical-medication shortages are the next big crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Atlantic. Some hospitals, including in New York, are running low on paralytic agents like intravenous fentanyl which doctors use to minimize pain and keep patients breathing safely when they intubate them.
Steve Corwin, the president and CEO of New York–Presbyterian, said his hospital is even running short on solutions needed for dialysis.