It’s Friday, February 14th, A.D. 2020. This is The World View in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Iranian Christian freed from prison
Praise God! Iranian Christian Asghar Salehi was freed from prison on February 2 after serving only two months of a six month sentence, reports Middle East Concern.
Authorities imprisoned Salehi, and two other Christian converts, on charges of promoting “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” The judge didn’t let Salehi speak during his trial and ordered him to stop all Christian activities.
Iran is ranked ninth on the Open Doors Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Yet, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have been turning to Christ in recent years.
Psalm 146:7 says it is the Lord who “executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.”
15,000 new coronavirus infections in China
China announced a spike in coronavirus cases yesterday, reporting over 15,000 new infections and over 250 deaths as they implemented new diagnosis criteria.
The new numbers raised questions about China’s testing methods and led to the firing of two Chinese party officials in Hubei at the epicenter of the epidemic.
Virginia pastor’s prayer on abortion, homosexuality interrupted
Several members of the Virginia House of Delegates walked out on a Virginia pastor who was invited to give the opening prayer for the assembly on Tuesday.
Pastor Robert Grant of The Father’s Way Church preached and prayed God’s truth about abortion and homosexuality.
GRANT: “I pray that you may understand that all life is precious and worthy of a chance to be born. God is the giver of life and people have no right or authority to take life. The unborn have rights and those rights need to be protected. They should never be denied the right to exist, the right to develop or the right to have a family. The word of God has given us a warning: woe to anyone who harms an innocent child. Every one of you sitting here today can guarantee these rights to these little innocent children of Virginia.”
“I pray that this chamber will uphold the Virginia family, that the bills and laws being passed will always protect the Biblical traditional marriage as God instructed the first man and the first woman in the Bible that the two shall be one flesh. That a man and a woman shall be fruitful and multiply.”
Listen now to Democratic Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn interrupt Pastor Grant’s prayer with her gavel when he says the word “homelessness”, and then she completely cuts him off by leading the Virginia House of Representatives in the Pledge of Allegiance right in the middle of his prayer.
GRANT: “We should never rewrite what God has declared. Marriage is to join a biological male and a biological female and holy matrimony not to provoke the Almighty God. Without laws to protect traditional marriage, Virginia will be reduced to increasing fatherless children and welfare victims and homelessness (gavel bang) which is a tax burden to us all.”
FILLER-CORN: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
But it gets worse. Unbelievably, Virginia Democratic State Rep Luke Torian denounced Pastor Robert Grant’s prayer not just as a state rep, but as a fellow clergyman.
TORIAN: “I was hurt as a clergyperson to have to listen to what we heard today. It was totally wrong and disrespectful to every member in this House. For when you invite clergy — and there are clergy who are here today — we are to respect this House. We are to invoke God’s presence. We are to ask for His blessings. We are the ask for His protection. We are to ask for His guidance. We are not to give political speeches and to make people feel bad. That is not what a prayer is supposed to do.”
To register your polite objection with Rep. Luke Torian, you can call his office at 703.785.2224. That’s 703.785.2224. And with Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn by calling 804-698-1041. That’s 804-698-1041. You can email them both through their links in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
90% of Americans satisfied with personal lives – highest in 40 years
Gallup’s latest “Mood of the Nation” survey, conducted last month, found a record 90 percent of Americans are satisfied with their personal lives, the highest in a four-decade trend.
The number coincides with a record level of confidence in the U.S. economy for the past two decades.
Of the Americans who said they were satisfied with their perusal lives, 95 percent were among high-income households, who identify as Republicans, and who are married.
James 1:17 reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
The Christian behind Valentine’s Day
And finally, have you ever wondered why we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th?
Well, Pastor Valentine or Valentinus was a clergyman in the Roman Empire who lived during the reign of Claudius Gothicus or Claudius II. Because the Emperor was having difficulty getting young men to volunteer to serve in the army to fight his wars, he prohibited marriage which would further hurt the conscription rate.
Pastor Valentine, who celebrated God’s love and Biblical love between husband and wife, secretly married Christian couples in the forest which ultimately led to his arrest and imprisonment. While Claudius took a liking to Pastor Valentinus, the bold preacher tried to convert the Emperor which resulted in a sentence of death. He was beaten with clubs and stones. And when that failed to kill him, Valentine was beheaded on February 14, A.D. 269. And now you know the rest of the story.
You can order the Voice of the Martyrs children’s book, complete with color pictures, entitled “The Story of St. Valentine: More Than Cards and Candied Hearts” through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14th 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.
Print stories
In NH, Christians support Trump, non-churchgoers support Sanders
Republican President Donald Trump and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary for the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively on Tuesday.
Exit poll data shows 51 percent of the Democratic voters said they never attend church while only 13 percent say they attend church regularly. Sanders won the most among those who never attend church at 34 percent.
President Trump won 94 percent of the vote among born-again/evangelical Christians who formed 32 percent of the New Hampshire GOP voters.
Bank reverses its decision to stop funding Christian schools
Last month, the Fifth Third Bank and Wells Fargo decided to stop donating to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program after a report by The Orlando Sentinel found some of the schools in the program embraced Biblical views on marriage and sexuality.
The report found the scholarships helped over 20,800 students at 156 private Christian schools last year.
However last week, the Fifth Third Bank announced they have reversed their decision and will keep giving to the program, continuing years of donating millions of dollars in scholarships directly to thousands of children.