It’s Friday, April 19th, 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
North Korea’s hatred of Christians
North Korea’s hatred of Christianity has condemned hundreds of thousands of Christians to death and left remaining believers fearful and hiding in the shadows, reports International Christian Concern.
As the world’s worst police state, North Korea crushes dissent and free expression. The majority of Christians are probably killed outright when captured, with the percentage possibly as high as 70%. Those not killed outright are thrown into the gulag, also known as the fiery furnace, never to return.
Torture and starvation define the North Korean gulags. Located in remote mountains with extremely tight security, escape is almost impossible. Prisoners live on the edge of starvation, yet the system demands that prisoners farm, manufacture, raise animals, and do heavy mining and lumber harvesting.
Romans 14:12 reminds us of the long-term view. Each of us, including these North Korean militants, “will give an account of himself to God.”
Learn more about one defector named Shin Dong-hyuk, in an article at Reason.com, based on the book Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.
Not surprisingly, Open Doors lists North Korea as the #1 most dangerous country worldwide in which to be a Christian.
Israel retaliates against Iran
Early Friday morning local time, Israel launched missiles in a retaliatory strike against Iran, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The Iranian Mehr News Agency reported that flights to Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz had been suspended as of Friday morning, reports The Jerusalem Post.
The missile launches follow Iran’s attack last Saturday, where the country sent a volley of more than 300 uncrewed drones and missiles toward targets throughout the country. All but a few were intercepted.
Google fires 28 workers for protesting $1.2 billion Israel contract
Google has fired more than two dozen employees for protesting its $1.2 billion contract to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud and artificial intelligence services, reports NBC News.
Twenty-eight people were fired after nine employees were arrested Tuesday night following a sit-in at the company’s offices in Seattle, New York and Sunnyvale, California — including one nine-hour sit-in at Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office, according to the group that organized the demonstration called No Tech for Apartheid.
High school student suspended for “illegal alien” phrase
Using the term “illegal alien” is reportedly an infraction worthy of suspension in a North Carolina high school.
Appearing on The Pete Kaliner radio Show in Charlotte, Leah McGhee described an incident in Central Davidson High School in Lexington where her 16-year-old son, Christian, was suspended for three days last week over that term, reports Fox News.
LEAH: “The teacher was passing out the vocabulary words. One of the words was ‘alien’ to which Christian raised his hand and was called on by the teacher. Christian said, ‘Like space or illegal aliens who need green cards?’ As soon as Christian said that one of the students in the class took offense and responded by saying that he was going to beat Christian up.
“The teacher called administration because there was a disturbance in class. Administration came down, spoke with those boys in the hallway. Christian said. ‘I did not mean this in an offensive way’ and the other student said he was just joking when he says that he was going to beat Christian up. It was resolved in the hallway.”
Nonetheless, the principal insisted that the phrase “illegal alien” was racist.
LEAH: “He was very taken aback why it was deemed racist. ‘Illegal alien’ is a term that Christian can look up on the dictionary. It is a term used in our federal code. And it is a term that is heard frequently on many news broadcasts.”
The teenager told the Carolina Journal, “I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question. I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics.”
Planned Parenthood killed 390,000 babies, got $700 million of tax money
Planned Parenthood performed over 390,000 abortions while receiving nearly $700 million in tax funds, according to its latest annual report for 2022-2023.
Naked man, claiming to be female, arrested at Planet Fitness
And finally, a man, pretending to be a woman, was arrested for indecent exposure to a minor on April 4th around 6:30pm after he walked around naked in the women’s locker room at a North Carolina Planet Fitness, reports The Christian Post.
Christopher Allan Miller, age 38, was reported to police as harassing women at the Gastonia Planet Fitness in North Carolina prior to entering the locker room.
The woman who called 911 told the dispatcher that the man who entered the women’s locker room was “completely naked.”
DISPATCHER: “And is that man still there?”
911 FEMALE CALLER: “Yeah, he’s still in the bathroom. It’s a man, but he says he ‘identifies’ as a woman and he won’t leave the restroom. But he’s just walking around and he won’t leave.”
On its website, Planet Fitness explains that all gym members “will have access to restroom and locker room facilities that correspond to their self-reported gender identity to the extent permitted by applicable law.”
WSOC-TV talked with Betty Brice, a Planet Fitness member there, who took issue with the biological man being allowed in the women’s locker room.
BRICE: “I think a woman should be able to into the woman’s bathroom without a man coming in and saying that he’s transgender.”
Thankfully, Miller was subsequently arrested and charged with indecent exposure to a minor.
This North Carolina incident comes after an Alaskan Planet Fitness revoked Patricia Silva’s membership after she posted several videos online about her encounter with a trans-identifying man shaving his face in the women’s locker room.
The woman claimed that a 12-year-old girl, covered only by a towel, was inside the locker room while the man was present.
Late last month, Planet Fitness Co-Founder Michael Grondahl criticized the gym franchise’s policy of allowing men in women’s locker rooms during an interview with the Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik.
GRONDAHL: “How we got here today is unfathomable to me. I had realized that there was a[n] opportunity in the fitness industry to create a gym chain that would be primarily aimed at the beginner and the people who were intimidated by fitness centers and people who couldn’t afford the cost.
“Back in ’97, we came up with Planet Fitness, the ‘judgment-free zone.’ And now you fast forward to what’s happening today. Judgment-free zone means that if you’re a man, you can use the women’s locker room. Just insane!”
Isaiah 5:20 declares, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, April 19th 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.