It’s Wednesday, March 17th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
400,000 Syrians killed, 10 million displaced in last decade
This week marks 10 years since the beginning of the Syrian civil war between the Syrian government and various rebel groups.
Christians in the country have suffered a decade of violence including occupation by the Islamic State and bombing raids by Turkey. Fighting continues to this day in northern Syria.
During the last decade, over 400,000 people were killed in the conflicts which displaced over 10 million people. In the face of terrible suffering, churches are reaching out and trying to rebuild after years of disaster.
Pastor Abdalla of Alliance Church in Aleppo said, “I believe that we should be the same as our Lord Jesus Christ — offering a better way of life for people spiritually, and also practically.”
Syrian is the 12th worst country on the Open Doors World Watch List for persecution of Christians.
Ministry builds 11,000 wells for Liberia, Africa
The Last Well project announced they reached the West African country of Liberia with border-to-border water access for the first time in history!
The $31 million project began twelve years ago when a group of Christians wanted to reach an entire nation with water and the Christian message. At the time, children in Liberia were dying at a rate of a child every 15 minutes because they had no clean water.
Listen to The Last Well Founder, Todd Phillips, at the opening of the final well in Liberia.
PHILLIPS: “This is an amazing moment for all of Liberia. I wish you could see all of the other villages that have been reached with water and the Gospel. Villages just like this one. 11,000 of them all over the country who have dedicated wells, and water filters, all over the country. Three million people have received clean water and have heard the Christian message in this country.”
Now, the group plans to reach three more countries in three years: Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and the Marshall Islands. You can donate to the cause of new wells and clean water in a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Psalm 107:31, 35 says, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! . . . He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings.”
Pastor to CA Governor: Open churches by Easter!
A California pastor is calling on Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom to allow churches to reopen for in-person services by Easter.
North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara faces over $100,000 in fines for holding worship services in violation of coronavirus restrictions.
Pastor Jack Trieber said the church has been meeting outside over the last year through winter, summer, hail, and rain, while their 3,000-seat auditorium remains empty.
TRIEBER: “It’s hard to believe that, as a pastor, I’m asking government, ‘Can we open up?’ This is not a Communist country. America has never shut the church down one Sunday. Spanish flu, never shut it down. All these various viruses and illness and sicknesses, we’ve never closed the church. We’ve been closed 52 Sundays. Sir, with all due respect, enough is enough.”
Watch the 3-minute video of Pastor Trieber’s appeal in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Year anniversary since COVID pandemic began
We are a year into the coronavirus pandemic. Data shows that states with strict lockdowns, like California, did not do any better than states that did not have strict lockdowns, like Florida.
Both states have nearly identical COVID-19 case rates. Both states also rank similarly when it comes to COVID-19 death rates. However, Florida appears to be doing better economically than California.
Biden unveils major tax hike
Bloomberg reports President Joe Biden is planning the first big tax hike since 1993 under the Clinton administration.
The proposals include raising the corporate tax from 21% to 28% and raising the tax rate for high earners.
The plan would raise $2.1 trillion over the next decade for infrastructure, climate, and welfare initiatives.
3 abortion mills shut down
Three Planned Parenthood abortion mills shut down permanently this year in Washington state. Six more mills in the state may close soon as the chain faces financial struggles and fewer visits.
The murder giant is now lobbying state legislators for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates to stay open.
1,900-year-old Biblical scrolls discovered
And finally, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced yesterday the discovery of 1,900-year-old Biblical scrolls in the Judean Desert.
It’s the first discovery of its kind since the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s.
The scrolls contain fragments from Zechariah and Nahum, including this version of Zechariah 8:16-17: “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate – declares the Lord.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, March 17th, in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.