It’s Tuesday September 5th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
Corrupted election in Zimbabwe, Africa
On August 23rd, Zimbabwean government officials banned foreign journalists and arrested independent observers during the election, reports MSN. The Zimbabwean International Religious Freedom Report of 2022 explains the overall problems in detail.
The ruling Marxist party, Zimbabwe African National Union, won 136 seats and the Citizens Coalition for Change only won 73 seats. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa remains in power.
In preparation for the election, the Zimbabwe African National Union party visited various churches during which the president was quoted as saying, “If you vote against ZANU-PF, you are going against God. This is the party sent by God to liberate the people of Zimbabwe.”
Since he was first elected in 2018, Mnangagwa has managed to reduce the per capita Gross Domestic Product of Zimbabwe by about half—from $2,270 to $1,270—impoverishing the nation. Over the same time period, neighboring Botswana increased their per capita GDP from $6,950 to $7,740—about six times the prosperity of its Marxist neighbor.
76 people died in South African apartment fire
Last Thursday, at least 76 people died in an apartment fire in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The BBC reports that the building is part of a complex of at least 57 buildings hijacked by gangs and leased out to poor people. Up to 2,000 people might live in a single complex. This is all part of the anarchical force that has taken hold of the country.
A bill that passed in 1998 makes it practically impossible to remove someone from a building, if they can prove they have nowhere else to go. South Africa’s GDP per capita has dropped by 22% since 2011.
The summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa
In other Johannesburg news, the most populated South African city was the meeting place for the 15th annual summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa two weeks ago, involving the presidents of those respective countries, reported Reuters.
Also, set to join this powerful alliance of countries are Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
According to the BBC, China pushed the hardest for this expansion to occur in order to counter Western dominance.
North Korea tested underwater nuclear warhead drone
Back in April, North Korea successfully tested an underwater drone with the capability of delivering a nuclear warhead, reported Reuters. The official North Korea news agency, KCNA, called it an underwater nuclear strategic attack weapon system.
The weapon is intended to deliver “a super-scale radioactive tsunami through underwater explosion to destroy naval striker groups and major operational ports of the enemy.”
China building 21 nuclear power plants vs. U.S. building 1
China is leading the way on building nuclear power plants, reports the International Atomic Energy Agency Power Reactor Information System. Twenty-one of them are under construction right now in China.
By contrast, the United States has only one nuclear power plant under construction at this point. And India has eight power plants under construction.
China’s nuclear weapons vs. America’s nuclear weapons
In other Chinese news, the Stockholm International Peace Institute reports that China is increasing its nuclear weapons at a rate of 17% per year. That would put the arsenal at about 1,000 by 2028, just five years from now.
By contrast, the U.S. has 1,770 deployed warheads, and Russia has 1,674.
Majority of Church of England priests endorse sexual immorality
The London Times conducted an extensive survey of 5,000 Church of England priests, discovering that most do not believe the Bible when it comes to sexual ethics, reports Christian Concern.
A full 53% say the church should go ahead and conduct same-sex faux “weddings,” 62% are okay with premarital sex, and 64.5% approve of homosexual practice, as something that is compatible with Scripture.
The largely irrelevant Church of England maintains an attendance of 800,000 or just 1% of the population, about the same size as the Baptist General Association of Virginia or the Anglican Church of Burundi, Africa, a country with a population of 13 million.
Ezekiel 13:3 issued a warning to religious leaders. “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you.’”
Texas judge allows explicit drag queen show for kids
A Texas judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing a Texas law from going into effect which would have prohibited drag queens from conducting sexually explicit demonstrations for children under 18 years of age, reports ABC News.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner considered the law an infringement on the “constitutional rights” of the plaintiffs—in this case drag queens represented by the ACLU.
The late Jimmy Buffet’s depressing worldview
And finally, popular folk singer Jimmy Buffett has gone to meet his Maker at 76 years of age, reports CBS News.
He died one of the world’s richest musicians, worth upwards of $1 billion. His philosophy was summed up in his song entitled “Landfall.”
BUFFET: “If I had it all to do over again I’d just get myself drunk and I’d jump right back in.”
And his most popular song spoke of himself “wastin’ away in Margaritaville.”
BUFFET: “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville. Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt.”
In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus clarified the better way, when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, September 5th in the year of our Lord 2023. 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.