It’s Thursday, March 24th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Ukrainian forces pushing Russian troops back from Kyiv
Ukrainian forces are pushing back Russian troops near the capital of Kyiv and in other parts of the country.
Defense officials from the U.S. and U.K. report the Russian advance has stalled. Russian troops in Ukraine are running out of fuel and food and are now below 90% of their available combat power.
Russian forces are expected to reorganize before resuming a large-scale offensive.
Samaritan’s Purse Field Hospital treated 1,000 Ukrainians
Samaritan’s Purse has established an Emergency Field Hospital on the outskirts of Lviv, in western Ukraine, to care for those suffering as war rages on. The initial patients arrived on March 14.
Peter Holz, a volunteer nurse with Samaritan’s Purse, talked about what he has seen.
HOLZ: “It’s snowing. It is cold. There is a low of 13 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. So, that’s going to put people at risk for hypothermia. It’s a very difficult time for people to be out of their homes, without a solid plan of where to live.
“Thousands of people come through this train station every day, many of them with no plan for the future. Many of them have their bags with them, their dogs with them, with small children with them. We are seeing people with conflict-related injuries, some obvious blast-related injuries and other physical ailments.”
Their very first patient was a woman named Marina from Malyn, a city west of Kyiv. She fell and injured her arm while escaping into a basement/bomb shelter. She suffered for nine days before arriving at the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital after her travels. She cried tears of relief as one of the doctors told her: “We can fix this for you.”
The Emergency Field Hospital and three medical clinics have received more than 1,000 patients.
And a fifth Samaritan’s Purse airlift will deliver additional medical supplies and other relief aboard their DC-8 this week for distribution in Ukraine.
HOLZ: “We believe that Jesus wants us to act as the Good Samaritan. When you see somebody in the world, who is struggling ,who is hurt, stop, help them, don’t leave them. We feel that we are called to be here to help the people in Ukraine.”
You can make a donation to fund Samaritan’s Purse airlifts and field hospital in Ukraine at SamaritansPurse.org.
1 John 3:17 asks, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
Russian military banned Gospel of John in occupied Ukraine
As Russia takes control of parts of Ukraine, Christians are facing persecution.
The Russian military arrested evangelical pastor Alexander Glushko in the besieged city of Mariupol recently. A partner with Release International said, “The hunt for the pastors of these churches has now begun in Mariupol and its environs.”
Andrew Boyd with Release International gave some background on what Christians face in parts of Ukraine that have come under Russian separatist control.
BOYD: “Parts of Ukraine were annexed by Russian or Russian forces. So, what happened there is that most of the Protestant churches have been banned, have been made illegal.
“They’ve even banned books like the original version, in Ukrainian, of John’s Gospel, a book by Charles Spurgeon, and another one by Billy Graham. They’ve been put on the list of extreme books.”
A report by Forum 18 found that Protestants in the separatist-controlled Luhansk region face severe restrictions on their freedom of religion.
COVID mandates pushed 97 million people into poverty
World Relief reports global poverty rates have fallen from nearly 36% to just 10% between 1990 and 2015.
However, the group published a report showing the response to the COVID-19 mandates has pushed 97 million more people into poverty and erased three to four years of progress toward ending extreme poverty.
The report noted: “The reason for the increase in poverty is varied and complex: closure of international borders that affected tourism and other travel business; massive global demand declines including for exports; supply disruptions; dramatic scaling down of human and industrial activities during lockdowns; and now, inflation.”
Senator: “When does life begin.” Jackson: “I don’t know.”
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee continues its hearing for President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
On Tuesday, Jackson said she did not have answers for questions about the definition of a woman or when human life begins.
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana stumped Jackson with this simple question.
KENNEDY: “When does life begin in your opinion?”
JACKSON: “Senator, um, I don’t know.” (laughs)
KENNEDY: “Ma’am?”
JACKSON: “I don’t know. I have a belief. I have, um, personal, religious and otherwise beliefs that have nothing to do with the law in terms of when life begins.”
KENNEDY: “Do you have a personal belief, though, about when life begins?”
JACKSON: “I have a religious belief that I set aside when I am ruling on cases.”
KENNEDY: “Okay. When does equal protection of the laws attach to a human being?”
JACKSON: “Well, Senator, um, I believe that the Supreme Court, um. Actually, I, actually don’t know the answer to that question. I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
KENNEDY: “Okay.”
Gov DeSantis declares Emma Weyant, a woman, the true winner
And finally, last week, a man named Will Thomas, pretending to be a woman, finished first in the NCAA Championship’s 500-yard freestyle for women.
Coming in second was Florida native Emma Weyant, an actual woman. Previously, she earned a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In response, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation, naming Weyant as the rightful winner of the event.
DeSantis wrote, “By allowing men to compete in women’s sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women. … In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota’s Emma Weyant as the best women’s swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle.”
Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, March 24th, in the year of our Lord 2022. 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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Church attendance has plateaued after re-opening
A new report by Pew Research found more churches are reopening but attendance has plateaued since last fall.
Forty-three percent of churches and houses of worship are open like they were before the pandemic, up from 12% a year ago. Forty-seven percent of houses of worship are open with some COVID-related changes, down from 64% a year ago.
Meanwhile, 27% of U.S. adults attended church in person this month, up slightly from 26% last September. And 67% of churchgoers attended church in person this month, up from 64% last fall.