It’s Tuesday, February 15th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
India has falsely arrested 12 Christians
Be in prayer for Christians in India, with the persecution on the rise across eight states over the last three weeks.
International Christian Concern reports 12 cases of Christian arrests for false conversion charges in India, and 14 violent incidents in the 10th worst country in the world for the persecution of Christians.
Afghan Muslims conducting door-to-door searches for Christians
Open Doors encourages prayer for Afghanistan this month, posting an important video update from a Christian woman in hiding.
She says the Muslim Taliban is conducting door-to-door searches, and her Christian neighbors have disappeared.
Hunger is a big problem. The woman’s family has survived on one bowl of lentil soup for the last three days.
In the most dangerous country in the world for Christians, she testifies to her desire to worship with brothers and sisters in Christ, but that is entirely impossible at this point. She says, “Our faith is in Christ, and will remain so until our last breath.”
May Psalm 91 encourage believers in Afghanistan. “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler.’ … You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”
Viewership of Beijing Olympic down 50% from four years ago
(audio of Olympic theme song)
Americans are not watching the Winter Olympics Games, held this time around in Communist China.
The Hollywood Reporter says only 12.03 million viewers are watching the primetime telecasts. By contrast, nearly 24 million people watched the Korean Winter games in 2018.
Combining Gallup poll history on Americans watching the Olympic Games with more recent polls, interest in the Games has dropped off from 58% to 29% since 2002.
54% of Americans: Companies should pull ads from Beijing Olympics
Grid Analytics found that 66% of Americans have a very unfavorable view of Communist China.
And 54% of U.S. adults agreed with this statement: “Companies should withdraw their advertisements for the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in response to human rights violations by the Chinese government.”
GiveSendGo fundraising site is temporarily down
While the Christian GiveSendGo fundraising site was temporarily down as of Monday night, its leaders announced on Facebook that “Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo.
“All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is The Freedom Convoy campaign. Thanks for your concern, but this recipient is receiving funds.”
Canadian Prime Minister invokes Emergencies Act against Freedom Convoy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the nation’s history, in order to freeze funding and remove insurance on vehicles involved in the 25-day-old national protest.
Listen to his power grab.
TRUDEAU: “The federal government has invoked the emergencies act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupations. The Emergencies Act will be used to strengthen and support law enforcement agencies at all levels across the country.
“Here’s how the measures we’re taking today will help get the situation under control. The police will be given more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies can constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, as seen in Ottawa, the Ambassador Bridge – [which links Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario], and elsewhere.
“These tools include strengthening their ability to impose fines or imprisonment.
“The Emergencies Act will also allow the government to make sure essential services are rendered. For example, in order to tow vehicles blocking roads.
“In addition, financial institutions will be authorized or directed to render essential services to help address the situation, including by regulating and prohibiting the use of property to fund or support the legal blockades.”
While Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, expressed his support for Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec expressed concerns, reports the CBC.
Fortune reported on the economic cost that has resulted from the blockade.
500,000 Australians protest vaccine mandates
It is being called the “largest gathering in Australian history.”
Widely varying estimates of 20,000 to one million Australians gathered over the weekend at the nation’s capital to protest vaccine mandates and other restrictions, reports the Australian Free Independent Press Network.
One headline read, “February 12, 2022: A day that changed history.”
Texas gave $100 million of taxpayer money to pro-life ministries
The Associated Press reports that the State of Texas has assigned $100 million of taxpayer money to pro-life, abortion-alternative ministries to be spent over the next two years.
The same report indicated that a dozen U.S. states appropriated $89 million to Christian crisis pregnancy centers in 2021. That’s up from $17 million 10 years ago.
America dropped to 25th country in Freedom Index
The U.S. has dropped to a dismal 25th place on the Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Freedom Index.
Once in the top ten, when the Foundation began its survey in the early 1990s, the U.S. is now in the neighborhood of Barbados, Bulgaria, and Czech Republic for its failure to produce a free economy and a free country.
The factor that contributes most to America’s loss of freedoms over the last two decades is the growth of government spending.
According to the Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Freedom Index, the most free nations in the world are Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Taiwan, Estonia, Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.
American fertility rate plummets to a depressing 1.6
CDC provisional data has revealed birth rates for 2021 and 2020.
There was a 2.3% drop in 2020 and a 2.7% drop in 2021. That puts the fertility rate for the average American woman at 1.61 children, down from 2.11 in 2006.
Statista puts the world’s lowest birth rates in Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. And 23 nations are projected to lose half their populations by 2100, including Japan and Spain.
Los Angeles Rams MVP wants to “honor God”
The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals at the NFL Super Bowl 56 over the weekend, by a score of 23 to 20.
Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp received the MVP award after running 92 yards for two touchdowns.
The 28-year-old is outspoken for his faith in Christ.
KUPP: “You will find that you are most fulfilled, you’ll find the most joy when you are specifically rooted in His purpose for you. My motivation coming in to every single day is to run the race in such a way as to honor God and the talents that He has given me.”
And, after he ran the 142 yards for two touchdowns in the playoff game, Cooper’s wife, Anna Marie, instagrammed this: “We have prayed for a season to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ.”
And we close with Psalm 115:12-15. “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us. … He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you increase, more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made Heaven and Earth.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, February 15th 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.