Wednesday, April 27^th, in the year of our Lord, 2016.

By Mark Robinette

​On average, nearly 700 Christian women and girls between the ages of 12 and 25 are kidnapped and forced into Islam each year in Pakistan. According to International Christian Concern, in this past month alone, several have been ripped from their homes and forced into Muslim pseudo-marriages. After these unholy unions, the women are considered property of their husbands with no rights. 23-year-old Laveeza Bibi from the Kasur district in Punjab is one of the most recent who was taken at gunpoint. Please pray for Laveeza and her family. The World View spoke to Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a human rights lawyer in Pakistan, on why Christian women and their rights are so violated: “In Pakistan, and particularly in all Muslim countries, the rights of women are being violated—firstly, because you will see the teaching of religion and there are statutes in which basically their rights are being violated by the teaching of religion.”

The Lord Jesus revealed to us how ​husbands are to treat their wives: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25)​.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun lead a prayer meeting on ​Sunday of about 100 people ​in front of China’s Hong Kong liaison office in Beijing, re​ported​ the Christian Post. Ze-kiun spoke out against the persecution of Christians in China and said, “Those who wouldn’t also speak out were accomplices.” In one province alone, over 1,700 churches have been destroyed, and numerous church leaders have been arrested.

Adding to the growing tension between the United States and Russia, Russia has renewed its bombing of government opposition fighters now backed by the U.S. in Syria. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have communicated over the last week about pressuring Syria to end its airstrikes in violation of a U.N. negotiated ceasefire.

It was a perfect five-state sweep for Donald Trump. Winning by huge margins in Maryland, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rho​d​e Island, Trump took as much as 65 percent of the vote in one state,​ but at his worst he still won 54 percent. Just this week, Trump reached 50 percent support among Republicans for the first time nationwide. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders continued their slugfest. Clinton took ​ Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and the biggest prize of the night, Pennsylvania. But Sanders vowed to steam ahead. He won Rhode Island.

Common Core might just become less common. The Michigan legislature is considering a bill to rescind its adoption of the Common Core standards. Senate Bill​ 826 would “protect state and local control of public education.” The World View spoke to Patrick Colbeck of Michigan’s 7^th District about the bill: “The more this federal government has gotten involved in education, the worse we’ve gotten as a country. So there is power in local control, and as far as what our educational system would look like once Common Core is repealed—well, for our legislation, it essentially puts the power for education decisions back in the hands of the local school district and the parents and the teachers in those school districts.”

Scripture reminds us of what a good education looks like: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Meanwhile, an ​Alabama ​House committee approved a bill last Wednesday to abolish marriage licenses in the state.

Thousands of Americans across the nation ​protested ​at over 300 Planned Parenthood ​mills on Saturday. Planned Parenthood kills more babies through abortion than any other organization. The event was organized by a coalition of pro-life groups who plan to make it an annual tradition until Planned Parenthood “no longer preys upon our communities.”

In a recent study, Movie Guide founder Ted Baehr showed how “movies with Christian faith and values not only inspire the human heart but also make good business sense.” Revenue generated from such films has gone from next to nothing to more than $5.6 billion over the past few years.

Oklahoma authorities are finally returning nearly $53,000 in cash to Eh Wah, a Christian band manager from Dallas. In late February, the ​man, born in Myanmar, was pulled over reportedly for a defective brake light while heading home from a charity concert. When his car was searched, and the large bundle of cash discovered, police seized the money but found no drugs. They charged Wah with a felony: drug proceeds acquisition. All charges were finally dropped, and now Wah is looking forward to getting the money to Thailand and Myanmar to help needy orphans.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

And that’s the World View in Five Minutes.