It’s Tuesday, August 29th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
U.S. Treasury’s sanctions against Myanmar
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions against the Myanmar military government, to include sanctions against companies and individuals providing jet fuel.
The military junta continues its bombings of villages and its citizenry, particularly in the Christian-dominated Chin State and Karen State. The Myanmar Conflict map indicates non-stop bombings from January 2021 to the present—with 801 attacks in July and 879 in August.
The United Nations Security Council has issued a statement of condemnation for the “unrelenting violence.” China, Russia, and India are supporting the attacks.
At least 18 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, obstructed by the military, which continues to burn food stores, crops and seed stores, as well as destroying medical facilities and targeting medical workers.
Pope: Morals evolve
The Roman Pope Francis reprimanded conservatives in the Catholic Church for their sticking to traditional values, reports CBS News.
He encouraged what he called “evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals.” Examples of evolving morals included slavery and the death penalty. What was moral yesterday is immoral today. The pope said that any consideration of homosexuality must change “according to historical circumstances.”
But, in Luke 16:17, Jesus said, “It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.”
16% of American adults stopped attending church
Forty million Americans, or 16% of the adult population, have stopped attending church in the last 25 years, reports Gallup. That’s according to a large poll of 7,000. Fifteen million of those who have stopped attending church are Evangelicals, or about 5% of the population.
A recent book called The Great Dechurching notes that church attendance increased in the U.S. from 1776 to 1850, and then again from 1870 to 1895 to 47% of the population.
By contrast, only 26% of Americans have attended a church or a mosque over the last seven days. That’s a reduction from 47% in 2001.
Go woke, go broke
U.S. “woke” companies are not holding stock value.
Disney stock has plunged to nine-year lows, scraping down around $84/share from a high of $194/share. Target has sunk to $123/share, down from $260/share two years ago.
Other Woke companies include Black Rock which lost 30% of its value and Nike which lost 37%.
Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta are still holding fairly strong.
Skyrocketing mortgage rates
Mortgage rates have hit the highest levels in 22 years.
Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed rate hit 7.23% last week. But there’s something else to consider. The 30-year mortgage rate remains 3% higher than the 10-year treasury rate. That’s the biggest spread in almost 40 years. Treasury rates are still sunk well below the inflation rate.
World’s worst economies
This year, the worst economies in the world are Argentina, South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Sweden, Czech Republic, Yemen, Chile, Estonia, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka, reports Yahoo Finance.
Two-thirds of these worst economies are Woke Western countries.
COVID hospitalizations and mandates in Georgia
COVID hospitalizations are up 30% across Georgia.
And mask mandates are back in some colleges and hospitals, reports MSN.com.
Biden doubles down on abortion
The Joe Biden re-election campaign is showing its true colors and ultimate commitments.
The organization has launched a 16-week, $25 million political ad campaign highlighting the president’s commitment to allowing the murder of babies, reports The Hill.
The ad is entitled “These Guys,“ attacking the positions of the Republican presidential candidates, and targeting swing states like Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Listen to this excerpt.
DEMOCRAT NARRATOR: “Reproductive health care decisions are among the most personal a woman will ever make. The choices that should be made by you and your doctor. President Biden and Vice President Harris are determined to restore Roe v. Wade, and they will never allow a national abortion ban to become law. As long as they are in office, decisions about your body will be made by you.”
77% of Americans: Biden is too old
An AP poll finds that 77% of American voters, and 69% of registered Democrats, think that President Joe Biden is too old for another term.
Only 51% say the same thing of Donald Trump.
Psalm 37:35-36 says, “I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.”
5-year-old boy raises $17,000 for Hawaiian fire victims
And finally, what can one little boy do to raise money for people in need?
Well, 5-year-old Edison Juel leveraged his lemonade stand in Seattle, Washington to collect $17,000 to aid families hit by the fires in Lahaina, Hawaii, reports Good News Network.
He called his stand, “Lemonade for Lahaina.” Even though he sold a glass of lemonade for only a buck, customers paid with $5, $10, or $20 bills and donated the change.
Plus, the employers of his parents were willing to match the money he raised.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, August 29th in the year of our Lord 2023. 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.