It’s Friday, January 1st, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

China sentenced Christian journalist to jail for 4 years

On Monday, a Chinese Communist court sentenced Christian journalist Zhang Zhan to four years in jail for reporting on the coronavirus outbreak from Wuhan earlier this year.

Zhan’s lawyer, Ren Quanniu, said before the trial, “Ms. Zhang believes she is being persecuted for exercising her freedom of speech.”

The U.N. Human Rights group and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately called for Zhan’s release.

Zhan commented on her situation, quoting from 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

Trump honors martyr Thomas Becket

Monday marked the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket.

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, honoring Becket as “a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a priest, an archbishop, and a lion of religious liberty.”

Trump then called for the end of religious persecution, saying, “The crimes against people of faith must stop, prisoners of conscience must be released, laws restricting freedom of religion and belief must be repealed.”

55% of British are not religious

A recent poll by YouGov found 55 percent of Britons say they do not belong to any particular religion. Only 27 percent said they believe in a god or a higher power. However, 56 percent of Britons also say they think the U.K. is a Christian country.

Although belief in a god or a higher power remains low especially among younger generations, the percentage of Generation Z members who believe in a god is 23 percent, up from 21 percent last January.

Senator Hawley will object to certification of Electoral College results

U.S. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri  announced Wednesday he will object to the certification of the 2020 presidential Electoral College results on January 6.

Hawley is the first U.S. senator to do so.

Multiple House Republicans also plan on challenging the certification based on election integrity concerns.

Trump likely to be the most admired man in 2020

A Gallup poll found that Americans were most likely to name President Donald Trump as the most admired man in 2020. This ends former President Barack Obama’s 12-year run as most admired man.

Other top admired men last year included Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, Bernie Sanders, Bill Gates, LeBron James, and the Dalai Lama.

Since Gallup started conducting the poll in 1946, incumbent presidents have generally topped the list.

Psalm 62:9 says, “Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.”

McConnell blocked $2,000 COVID stimulus checks

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked quick action to pass a bill with $2,000 coronavirus stimulus checks, calling it “socialism for rich people.”

McConnell instead called for targeted relief in the stimulus bill. He also pushed for two of Trump’s priorities: investigating election integrity and repealing liability protections for internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Massachusetts’ murderous mayhem of babies

The Massachusetts state legislature passed the pro-abortion Roe Act this week, overriding Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of the bill.

Now, the murder of unborn babies is codified as a so-called “right” in the state. The bill also lowers the age that girls can get abortions without parental consent from 18 to 16. In addition, the legislation allows abortions after 24 weeks in a broad number of cases.

In 2020, twice the people searched for hymns

And finally, Hymnary.org, a hymn database, reports use of their resources doubled this year during the coronavirus pandemic. Page views neared 40 million during 2020, the highest ever.

The top-viewed hymn was “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!”

A message at the website says, “In this time of uncertainty and fear, Christians around the globe turn to scripture and turn to song for comfort. We remember that our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

Ephesians 5:18-19 says, “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, January 1st, in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.

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Christian businessman needs pardon from President Trump

Phillip Zodhiates, a Christian father and businessman, who helped a mother and her daughter escape the U.S. back in 2009, has been imprisoned on misguided kidnapping charges.

Zodhiates was helping the mother, who became a Christian out of a lesbian lifestyle, escape from her previous lesbian partner.

The Zodhiates Family has asked believers to pray for a pardon from President Trump.

You can watch a 12-minute-long video and send an email to the White House through special links in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.

(And for additional written information, click here.)