It’s Wednesday, March 20th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Religious liberty in the Cuban crosshairs

Religious groups in Cuba faced 622 cases of religious freedom violations last year. The number is only slightly down from 657 cases in 2022.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide documented the cases in a recent report, entitled, “Repression and resistance — a return to hardline tactics.”

Since 2021, Cuba’s communist government has increasingly targeted religious groups, including Protestants, with surveillance, interrogations, and threats.

The Caribbean country is ranked 22nd on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin won fifth term

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin won his fifth term as the country’s president in a landslide victory.

However, thousand of people protested against Putin. They were inspired by Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader who died in a Russian prison last month.

Putin rose to power in 1999. If he finishes his new six-year term, he will become the country’s longest-serving leader in over 200 years.

Ron DeSantis mobilizes rescue flights to Haiti

American missionaries in Haiti are trying to evacuate as gang violence continues to destabilize the country.

Last week, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he has authorized rescue flights for missionary groups in the Caribbean country. 

Listen to his comments in an interview on Fox News with host Sean Hannity.

DESANTIS: “So, I’ve authorized rescue flights like we did in Israel after the October 7. Because we’ve got a lot of folks who are part of Christian missionary groups and they do things to try to actually help a very troubled country. So, they really are doing good work. They need to get out.”

Psalm 82:3-4 says, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Mike Pence: “I’ve forgiven the President [Trump] in my heart”

As The Worldview reported on March 18th, former Vice President Mike Pence, who served under President Donald Trump, announced on Friday on Fox News that he would not be endorsing Trump in the upcoming race for the presidency. 

He reiterated that assertion on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.

PENCE: “The President and I have profound differences. Many people think it’s just over January 6th. And frankly, the fact that the President continues to insist that, that I had the right to overturn the election that day, is a fundamental difference. 

“But I want to be clear that I’ve forgiven the president in my heart for what happened that day. As a Christian, I’m required to do that. I have prayed for him in that regard. But the issue of fealty to the Constitution is not a small matter. But it’s not just that. 

“The reason that I cannot, in good conscience, endorse Donald Trump this year also has to do with the fact that he is walking away, not just from keeping faith with the Constitution on that day, but also, Margaret, with a commitment to fiscal responsibility, a commitment to the sanctity of life, a commitment to American leadership in the world. 

“I mean, the President’s reversal, just in the last week, on Tik Tok, following an administration where we literally changed the national consensus on China, is the reason why, after a lot of reflection, I just concluded I cannot endorse the agenda that Donald Trump is carrying into this national debate.”

Psalm 146:3, 5 reminds us, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. … Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God.”

One million U.S. abortions last year

The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reports there were over one million abortions last year, up 10% from 2020.

The increase was driven in part by the rise of chemical abortions.

Such abortions accounted for 63% percent of all abortions in 2023, up from 53% in 2020. Chemical abortions accounted for the murder of over 600,000 unborn babies last year.

12.9 million barrels of U.S. crude oil per day

The U.S. energy Information Administration reports the U.S. produced more crude oil last year than any country ever.

The U.S. set a world record in 2023, averaging 12.9 million barrels of oil per day. This was well ahead of other top producers like Russia and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. oil production has surged since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, many European countries started sourcing their crude from the U.S. instead of Russia.

American marriages rebounding

And finally, marriages are rebounding since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of marriages in the U.S. surpassed two million in 2022 for the first time since 2019. The marriage rate also reached 6.2 per 1,000 people, the highest since 2018.

Also, the divorce rate and the number of divorces dropped slightly in 2022 compared with 2021.

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, March 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.