It’s Tuesday, February 20th, AD 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
166 Iranian Christians arrested
A joint report issued by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors, and Middle East Concern on persecution in Iran documented 166 arrests in 2023. That’s up from 134 in 2022.
At least one-third of the arrests have to do with the possession of multiple Bibles. Seventeen Christians have received prison sentences up to five years or have been subjected to fines or flogging.
One Christian convert testified to his torture. He was violently punched and kicked, and subjected to “a lot of mental and emotional torture.” They threatened harm and indecent treatment of his wife and children.
Churches which were once allowed to operate in public have been permanently closed by the state. Overall, the study indicates that Rights Violations in Iran have doubled since 2015.
In Romans 8:35-37, the Apostle Paul encourages those who suffer for the faith. He asked, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
America’s fluctuating inflation
A respite in inflation has only been temporary in the United States.
The Producer Price Index popped up to 7.1% annualized January, reports Wolf Street. And the consumer services sector was up 12.7% on the annualized basis. The indexes have been moving around 3-4% for the last six to nine months.
How 7 American companies have saved the stock market
Only seven companies out of 60,000 publicly owned companies have contributed to the vast improvement in the stock market indices over the last year.
The “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks — Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Nvidia (NVDA) improved their stock value by 71%, compared to only 6% for the remaining 493 companies in the Fortune 500 list, reports Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.
The Magnificent Seven added a total of $5.117 trillion in market capitalization by people investing more money into their stock in 2023 while the entire S&P 500 companies altogether added $6.502 trillion.
New “Jesus Saves Us” ads contrast with “Jesus Gets Us” ads
You’ve gotta see this.
There’s another ad campaign to compete with the Jesus Gets Us campaign featured on the Super Bowl broadcasts, reports The Washington Stand.
Former gang leader Jamie Bambrick has released his own “Jesus Saves Us” campaign which is already netting millions of downloads through X and YouTube.
Featuring pictures of a former lesbian, a former abortionist, a former drug addict, a former witch, a former right hand man to atheist Richard Dawkins, the video points out that “Jesus doesn’t just get us. He saves us, redeems us, forgives us, heals us, delivers us, and loves us.”
Described as the Christian Super Bowl ad they should have made, you can watch it through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
These days Jamie Bambrick is an assistant pastor of an Evangelical church in Northern Ireland.
Drug overdose deaths in Oregon doubled
Drug overdose deaths in Oregon have doubled since 2019 following the passage of a ballot measure to legalize virtually all drugs for personal use, reports Reuters.
Measure 110 had passed by a 58%-42% majority. But now, an Emerson College survey finds that 56% of Oregonians support a total repeal of Measure 110!
The slipping economies and fertility rates of Japan and America
What used to be the second largest economy in the world has slipped to fourth place. Japan is officially in recession after a double quarter slippage of 3.3% and 0.4% negative Gross Domestic Product growth.
Japan’s Debt to GDP ratio increased from 50% to 260% since 1980. Japan has also led the birth dearth in the world — with the fertility rate lowering from 4.0 to 1.37 since World War II.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Debt to GDP ratio increased from 32% to 120% over the same timeframe. The U.S. fertility rate has dropped from 3.6 to 1.66 over the same period of time.
Argentina’s new monthly surplus
On the other side of the world, the Argentine government saw its first monthly budget surplus in almost 12 years ascribed to the spending cuts of the nation’s new President Javier Milei.
Meanwhile, the Argentine Catholic University reports that 57% of the nations’ population has hit poverty levels. That’s the worst economic condition in 20 years.
Worldwide longevity rising
And finally, here’s some good news!
The worldwide average lifespan has vastly improved since 1971, from 58 years to 71 years. For example, Bangladesh claimed a life expectancy of only 26 years in 1971. Today that’s improved to 72 years of age!
There have also been huge improvements in life expectancy in Bhutan, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Portugal.
Proverbs 9:10-12 speaks of wisdom this way — “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, February 20th 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.