It’s Friday, April 26th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Adam McManus
Muslims set fire to Christians’ homes in Egypt
On Tuesday, April 23rd at 11:00 p.m., Islamic extremists set fire to several homes and shops owned by Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt’s Minya Governorate, reports International Christian Concern.
Shockingly, as the flames grew, the Muslims attempted to prevent the Christians from leaving their burning homes. Extremists later shared a video on social media showing Coptic homes on fire as a song, praising the attack, played in the background.
The attack occurred after word spread that residents of the village, which is home to 3,000 Christian families, had obtained a permit to construct a church building. Some associated with the church received threats after the building permit was issued.
Despite promises of safety from security forces, the cries of help from the archbishop and the local Coptic community went unanswered as the attack unfolded. Security forces arrived only after the attack, leaving a yet unknown number of Christians to perish in their burning homes.
According to Open Doors, Egypt is the 38th most dangerous country worldwide in which to be a Christian.
America to militarily withdraw from Niger, Africa
Niger, Africa has demanded that the United States militarily withdraw from the country, reports CNN.
In response, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met with Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine on Friday to put those plans in motion.
The major drawdown will significantly impact the U.S. troop presence on the continent of Africa. The move comes amid serious U.S. concerns about the country’s deepening relationships with Russia and Iran.
Haitian Prime Minister resigns
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on Thursday as a new council was sworn in to lead the country gripped by deadly gang violence, reports the BBC.
He agreed to step down last month after armed groups blocked his return to Haiti.
Gangs now control most of Port-au-Prince, the capital.
Teen suspended for “Only Two Genders” t-shirt
A Catholic teenager has been suspended from his Ontario public high school for wearing a sweatshirt that said, “There are only two genders,” reports LifeSiteNews.com.
Malachy O’Kane, age 16, was suspended on April 18, the second day he decided to wear his gender critical shirt to the Granite Ridge Education Centre in Sharbot Lake, a village near Kingston, Ontario. He was excluded from school for six days, beginning Friday, April 19.
O’Kane was first told to remove his shirt by the school’s vice-principal, Wojtek Czermak, after the teenager was called out of his classroom about 30 minutes after the school day began.
When the student asked what the problem was, a school counselor said, “It’s considered hate speech.”
In Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction is overturned
Yesterday, New York’s highest court threw out Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction because the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that were not part of the case, reports The Associated Press.
The ruling shocked and disappointed women who celebrated historic gains during the #MeToo era and left those who testified in the case bracing for a retrial against the ex-movie mogul.
Weinstein, age 72, will remain in prison because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape. But the New York ruling reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.
Youth need (1) the truth and (2) connection to intergenerational relationships
John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, warned an audience that young people today are “untethered” from the truth and disconnected from meaning and purpose, reports The Christian Post.
Last month at City Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he said, “Students today, just quite simply, need two things. They need, first of all, to hear the truth. … We live in a world that’s detached itself from the source [of truth].”
Stonestreet quoted a British survey conducted over a decade, which found that initially, 13 years ago, 90% of young people, aged 18-28, believed that life had meaning. However, when the same question was asked 10 years later, only 10% of respondents reportedly felt that life had meaning.
He said, “There’s never been a generation so untethered from God. Even in generations past, when we fooled around with ideas about whether God exists or not, we still lived in a culture where family was the norm and largely stable.”
According to Stonestreet, the solution is the reintroduction of truth through intergenerational relationships and mentoring.
God’s meteor shower
And finally, every year from April 15 to April 29, dozens of shooting stars streak through the sky in this spectacular show from God, reports Business Insider.
The Lyrid meteor shower is in full swing this week. Unfortunately, the bright supermoon could make it harder to see it.
The meteor shower was most active from Sunday night to Monday morning, but it will remain visible for the next week.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see the Lyrids is during the early morning hours after the moon sets and before the sun rises.
Psalm 19:1 declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, April 26th in the year of our Lord 2024. 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.