It’s Thursday, August 8th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes and heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Rwanda closes over 4,000 churches
Rwanda, Africa has shut down over 4,000 churches in the last month in a so-called safety crackdown.
Many churches have allegedly broken health and safety regulations such as not having enough soundproofing. Pastors must also hold a degree in religious studies to open a church.
The central African country introduced legislation to regulate churches back in 2018 which led to thousands of closures. The crackdowns primarily affect small Protestant churches.
When that law passed, one senior pastor told Religious News Service, “Thousands of faithful are now secretly praying in their houses for fear of government crackdown.”
French authorities arrest Christian activists
Officials in France arrested six Christian activists with CitizenGO on Monday.
The activists were riding around Paris in a bus with the message: “STOP ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS.”
The bus also featured a link to a CitizenGO petition, calling on the International Olympic Committee to apologize for its blasphemous opening ceremony where drag queens were re-enacting the Last Supper.
Commenting on its bus campaign, CitizenGO said, “There is nothing illegal or wrong about this. This is clearly anti-Christian persecution from French authorities.”
U.S. and Russia prisoner swap
The United States and Russia exchanged prisoners last Thursday in the largest swap in Post-Soviet history.
The 24-person exchange included several American citizens who are now back in the U.S. Among them are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan. Russia also received back several of its citizens being held in U.S. prisons. As part of the deal, Russia released a dozen political dissidents to Germany.
U.S. President Joe Biden said, “I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey.”
Abortions increased after Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
The pro-abortion group Society of Family Planning released a new study on abortions yesterday.
The report found the murder of unborn babies increased during the first three months of this year compared to 2022 before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Reported abortions fell significantly in states with abortion bans while abortions increased in states without such bans.
Abortions are also rising as abortionists use telemedicine to prescribe abortion kill pills for women in states with abortion bans.
Isaiah 59:6-7 says, “Their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood.”
Biden admin lets in illegal immigrants on terrorist watchlist
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report on Monday entitled “Terror at the Border.”
The report found Border Patrol encountered 250 illegal aliens at the southwest border on the terrorist watchlist between 2021 and 2023. The Biden administration allowed 99 of those individuals into our country.
The report noted, “Releasing terrorists into the United States has become almost routine for the Biden-Harris Administration.”
Household debt doubled in 10 years
The New York Federal Reserve Bank reports U.S. household debt rose by $109 billion to reach $17.8 trillion during the second quarter of this year.
The bank noted, “Mortgage balances were up $77 billion to reach $12.52 trillion, while auto loans increased by $10 billion to reach $1.63 trillion and credit card balances increased by $27 billion to reach $1.14 trillion.”
Overall, household debt is now double what it was 10 years ago.
Tennessee Senator: “Jesus Christ is Lord”
And finally, Christians gathered in Nashville, Tennessee last Wednesday for a time of prayer. This capped off a month in which state lawmakers called for prayer, fasting, and repentance.
A Tennessee House resolution stated, “We as public servants in the Tennessee General Assembly, seek God’s mercy upon our land and beseech Him to not withdraw His hand of blessing from us.”
Republican State Senator Mark Pody spoke to CBN News about the effort.
PODY: “We want to invite God back to Tennessee. We want to be as public as we can to say Jesus Christ is Lord. We even wrote it in the resolution.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, August 8th, 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.