It’s Wednesday, April 1st, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
NYC Mayor threatened to close churches permanently
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned churches could be closed “permanently” if they hold services during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Christian Headlines.
DE BLASIO: “Everyone has been instructed that if they see worship surfaces going on, they will go to the officials of that congregation to inform them they need to stop the services and disperse. If that does not happen, they will take additional action up to the point of fines and potentially closing the building permanently.”
Casey Mattox, vice president of legal strategy at Americans for Prosperity, tweeted, “Look, churches should not be meeting in the normal corporate way right now. Almost all of them are innovating in exciting ways. That’s great. What de Blasio is suggesting here is like the 11th level of unconstitutional.”
Washington, D.C. mayor threatens residents with 90 days in jail
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is threatening residents with 90 days in jail and a $5,000 fine if they leave their homes during the coronavirus outbreak, reports the New York Post.
The stay-home order has exceptions for grocery shopping and work deemed essential. Outdoor recreation such as running is allowed, but cannot involve people outside of a household.
Mercedes Schlapp, President Trump’s former White House director of strategic communications, tweeted, “This is insane. Criminal penalties?”
And even the director of the liberal ACLU of the District of Columbia, Monica Hopkins, said, “we would be deeply concerned” if anyone actually was arrested for violating the order.
Texas father of 6, Sunday School teacher, dies of COVID-19
T.J. Mendez, a 44-year-old “perfectly healthy” man and a father of six who taught kindergarten Sunday School at Oakwood Church in New Braunfels, Texas, died two days after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, reports the Christian Post.
His wife, Angela Mendez, said, “It can happen to anyone, it’s not just a story that happens to people across the world. It’s here and it’s real and it can kill anyone, just like it did my husband.”
His daughter Brenda recalled that her father would give out stickers to “the kids in their Bibles and the little kindergarteners would give him stickers to put on his name badge.” She said he was “very loved by all.”
Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants.”
Foolish college students defy pleas to cancel Mexico spring break
Despite multiple warnings to college students from the University of Texas at Austin to cancel their spring break trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 70 of them kept their plans intact anyway. And today, 28 of the 70 have tested positive for COVID-19, reports KXAN.
According to the worldwide coronavirus sick map, 859,000 people have contracted the virus leading to the deaths of 42,000 people. Here in America, 189,000 have contracted the virus leading to the deaths of 4,076 people.
Naval captain, with 100 infected sailors, pleads for help
The captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier with more than 100 sailors infected with the coronavirus pleaded Monday with U.S. Navy officials for resources to allow isolation of his entire crew and avoid possible deaths in a situation he described as quickly deteriorating, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The unusual plea came from Capt. Brett Crozier aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, which has been docked in Guam following a COVID-19 outbreak among the crew of more than 4,000 less than a week ago.
Only a small contingent of infected sailors have been off-boarded. Most of the crew remain aboard the ship, where following official guidelines for 14-day quarantines and social distancing is impossible.
Crozier wrote, “Due to a warship’s inherent limitations of space, … the spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating. We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our sailors.”
He asked for “compliant quarantine rooms” on shore in Guam for his entire crew “as soon as possible.”
Only 6% of Americans hold Biblical worldview
Only 6 percent of Americans possess a Biblical worldview, according to a new survey, reports the Christian Post. That’s down from 12% twenty-five years ago.
The study was released last week out of the recently launched Cultural Research Center based at Arizona Christian University where veteran researcher George Barna is the research director.
The survey asked 51 worldview questions that examined both what people believe and how they conduct their lives.
Approximately one-fifth of those who attend evangelical Protestant churches espouse a biblical worldview, as do one-sixth of those who attend charismatic or Pentecostal churches (16%), the survey found. The numbers were much lower for those among mainline Protestant churches, 8 percent, and Catholics, 1 percent.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Hundreds circle Georgia hospital, pray for doctors & nurses
And finally, in Cartersville, Georgia, hundreds of Christians gathered in their cars around the Cartersville Medical Center last Thursday to pray for the nurses and doctors in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, reports Christian Headlines. They called it a car prayer circle.
Lisa Shryock, who held a sign that read — “Thank you. Praying for you.” — said, “They are putting their lives at risk.”
Michelle Anderson, who has worked at the hospital for 26 years, said she has “never been more proud to work here.”
While folks were listening to a local Christian music station play Leeland’s Way Maker song, nearly 20 hospital employees stood on top of the hospital building, arms outstretched in worship.
PARTICIPANT: “We’re called to be the hands and feet of Christ. And that’s exactly what we did today was we bombarded heaven with our prayers. Medical staff was up on the roof, just crying and bawling their eyes out. We’ve already had testimonies come in from that. It’s just been a blessing. This was all credited to the Lord.”
Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, April 1st in the year of our Lord 2020. 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.
Print stories
North Korean Christian released from Chinese prison
A North Korean defector, who was arrested while leading Bible studies in China, thanked God for guiding her “in the valley of death” after she was miraculously released from prison, reports the Christian Post.
Lady Eunji, the leader of a Bible study for North Korean women refugees, was held in a Chinese detention center for nearly ten months, after she was arrested in August 2019 around the North Korean/China border, according to persecution watchdog Open Doors USA.
She was waiting for repatriation back to North Korea as a Christian. Because of her faith, Eunji would likely be transferred to a Kwan-li-so, a maximum-security political labor camp in North Korea, where Christians are often tortured and killed.
While the details of Eunji’s release and escape are few, Eunji said that because her deportation to North Korea was delayed, she was able to remain in China and be released before she was repatriated. The delay gave her Chinese husband an opportunity to rescue her.
Eunji thanked God for His protection over her and for guiding her “in the valley of death” and expressed gratitude for the prayers of Christians around the world: “Thanks for your prayer support and love in Christ.”
For the last 19 years, North Korea has been ranked as the worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List.
Police detain Christians offering aid to the poor in Tamil Nadu state
Police in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state rushed to a slum where Christians were providing food and other aid earlier this month and detained them on false charges of forcible conversion, reports Christian Headlines.
The Marakkanam police humiliated the Christians accusing them in coarse language of trying to fraudulently convert the poor under the guise of providing basic necessities, said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Perumal Kanagaraj.
When the Christians began to call the police, the Hindu nationalist told them he had already filed a police complaint against them, and that he would put them behind bars at any cost.
The Christians were shocked when police arrived and took them into custody, he said.