It’s Wednesday, November 18th, 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)
Cuban Communists demolish Assembly of God church
Cuba Communists have demolished an Assemblies of God building in the Abel Santa Maria area and are blocking other churches from re-opening after lifting pandemic restrictions, reports Christian Headlines.
Rev. Julio Sánchez, secretary general of the Assemblies of God in Cuba, said the Communists are upset “because we have made a front against its agenda of establishing gender ideology and other laws openly contrary to Christian principles.”
Matthew 5:10 says, ““Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
Lindsay Graham: Joe Biden is not President-elect
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told the Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Wise on Tuesday that people should only refer to Joe Biden as “president-elect” if “Trump concedes or the court cases have been dismissed and the states certified.”
Orthodox Jews sue NY Democratic Gov. Cuomo over COVID Tyranny
Agudath Israel of America, which describes itself as “Orthodox Jewry’s umbrella organization on our continent,” is suing Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his COVID discrimination of their community, according to the Becket Law Firm.
Governor Cuomo claimed that “because of their [Orthodox Jewish] religious practices, we’re seeing a spread [of COVID-19]” and threatened to “close the [Orthodox Jewish religious] institutions down.”
Although Governor Cuomo openly admitted the supposedly elevated rates of COVID-19 would not be considered serious in many other states, he drew restrictive “Red” lockdown zones around predominately Orthodox Jewish parts of New York City. These zones heavily restricted worship, closed schools, and prevented Jewish families from celebrating holidays while mere blocks away, schools were open and restaurants were serving customers.
Far from being scientifically justifiable, Cuomo himself has admitted that his drastic actions were taken out of a concern for public opinion, not public health, saying the lockdown zones were “a fear-driven response” and admitting “this is not a policy being written by a scalpel; this is a policy being cut by a hatchet.”
Senator Paul: Mandatory masks don’t stop COVID spread
During Sunday’s “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC Radio in New York, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said that he doubts the legitimacy of the government measures to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic.
PAUL: “Today, Biden is talking more about a lockdown. This is absolutely why he is going to be a terrible President if we get him. He’s going to ruin the country.
“Lockdowns don’t work. And in fact, all the evidence on mandatory masks show that they don’t work either.
“There’s about 10 different countries or venues, maybe 20, that instituted mandatory masks. And every one of them, to a ‘T’, the infection rate or the COVID rate went up after the mass mandate. All of these mitigation strategies — washing your hands and standing six feet apart — they really don’t work, frankly. And the virus, as the Wall Street Journal put it, is insidious. It does what it’s going to do. The only thing that is going to stop it is either enough immunity among individuals in the community or a vaccine.”
Senator Paul was especially incensed with Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York who issued an edict in the Empire State restricting Thanksgiving celebrations to only 10 people, reports NBC News. Some sheriffs have publicly declared that they refuse to enforce Cuomo’s order.
PAUL: “But this idea that we’re going to have to stay inside and [New York Governor Andrew] Cuomo and all these people saying we can’t have Thanksgiving and we can’t see other people. It’s ridiculous. It’s wrongheaded. It’s not based in science. All of the data actually contradicts that man is doing anything to stop this virus at this point.
“That’s what’s coming is more lockdowns. And I want to do everything I can to try to prevent Biden from locking us up and locking us down and forcing us to wear masks forever. We can’t go on like this forever.”
Democrats talk about moving to Georgia to vote in runoff races
Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system manager, issued a warning to people who have said they are moving to the state to vote in its upcoming Senate runoff elections, reports the Epoch Times.
Moving to the state only to vote in the early January elections, he said, would violate Georgia election law.
Sterling said, people who attempt to move to the state and vote while only visiting can face felony charges, including a $10,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and other prominent liberals suggested people move to Georgia to vote for either Democrat Senate candidates Raphael Warnock or Jon Ossoff to make it a 50–50 Senate. If Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Joe Biden are declared victorious, Harris would be the tie-breaker in the upper chamber.
Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler need your help to win in order to keep the Republican majority to either help President Trump or to block Biden’s leftist agenda if he is the certified winner.
Justice Alito rips Supreme Court for rejecting church COVID lawsuits
And finally, last Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito criticized his colleagues’ decision not to consider two lawsuits in which churches fought state coronavirus worship restrictions, reports the Washington Examiner.
While speaking at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention, Justice Alito said the restrictions, put in place by California and Nevada, “blatantly” disregarded the First Amendment.
ALITO: “It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.”
Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel for First Liberty Institute, echoed Justice Alito’s concern.
SHACKELFORD: “He said you know there is a First Amendment right to religious freedom, but there is no First Amendment right to casinos and blackjack tables.”
Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak unfairly capped church attendance at 50 people while limiting other indoor gatherings to 50%, leading many to allege that his restrictions treated businesses more favorably than churches.
ALITO: “All sorts of things can be called an emergency or disaster of major proportions. Simply slapping on that label cannot provide the ground for abrogating our most fundamental rights.”
Shackelford urged Christians to speak out and refuse to be bullied.
SHACKELFORD: “We’re in a culture right now that is trying to bully people into silence. They tried to intimidate the court. They’re trying to do it with COVID. It’s what we call the ‘woke’ culture or the ‘cancel culture.’ The only way to stop that is to stand up to the bully, to speak out.”
Proverbs 31:9 says, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
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And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, November 18th, 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.
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PA Supreme Court Overturns Trump Campaign’s Win
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled to reverse a lower state court decision that guaranteed Republican observers the right to watch ballot counts from no more than six feet away, reports the Epoch Times.
In a 5-2 decision, the court said the state’s election code does not set a minimum distance poll observers need to be in order to watch ballot counts and meet the laws’ requirements. The majority added that if the court imposes a distance requirement, as the lower court did, it would be improperly rewriting the statute.
Trump’s election lawsuit getting rebuffed in Michigan judicial system
In Michigan, the Great Lakes Justice Center filed a lawsuit alleging voter fraud in ballot-counting procedures. The suit alleges county election officials allowed various fraudulent processing of votes, including telling poll workers to backdate ballots and not verify signatures on absentee ballots, reports the Epoch Times.
On November 13th, the judge denied the requests submitted in the plaintiffs’ motion, leading to an appeal to the Michigan State Court of Appeals which was denied.
Then, yesterday, the plaintiffs appealed that decision at the Michigan Supreme Court.
25-year-old Christian elected to Congress
Madison Cawthorn, the youngest person elected to serve in Congress since 1965, is just 25. As he prepares to represent North Carolina’s 11th congressional district, the Bible-believing Christian is being attacked for his evangelical faith.
Cawthorn said via Instagram the “first thing” he did with his family and friends was “bow our heads to give glory to God.” He also noted in an interview with the Jewish Insider that “The Lord and the Bible and the value systems I’ve gotten through Judeo-Christian values, it affects every single decision I make.”
He has shared his faith with Muslims and Jews alike, urging them to seriously consider the claims of Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20 is pretty clear.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”