It’s Wednesday, February 21st, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
Pakistan released an imprisoned Christian man
In a rare move, officials in Pakistan released a Christian man accused of desecrating the Quran. Such acts are punishable by death in the Muslim-majority nation.
Police arrested 72-year-old Younis Bhatti earlier this month. The complainant in the case later admitted to falsely accusing him. However, just the announcement of the accusation led to 500 Muslims protesting. Many Christians in the area had to flee their homes.
After being released, Bhatti said, “I can’t thank God enough for rescuing me from this dangerous accusation. Those who sought to implicate me in the fake case were instead booked under the same charges. This is how God works when you put your faith in Him fully.”
In Psalm 142:7, King David prayed, “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me.”
Greece legalized faux homosexual marriage
Last Thursday, lawmakers in Greece voted to legalize faux homosexual marriage. The country had legalized civil unions for homosexual couples in 2015. The new legislation allows homosexual couples to both have legal guardianship over children.
The country is predominantly Greek Orthodox in terms of religion. As such, it is the first Orthodox-majority nation to legalize people living in vile passions with the same sex. Greece is now the 16th country in Europe and the 35th in the world to legalize such relationships.
The Greek Orthodox Church opposed the legislation. Archbishop Ieronymos II with the Orthodox Church said the measure would “corrupt the homeland’s social cohesion.”
U.S. churches faced 915 acts of hostility since 2018
The Family Research Council released a report on hostility against churches in the U.S. this month.
Between 2018 and 2023, American churches faced at least 915 acts of hostility. Attacks include vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, and bomb threats.
Churches faced 436 incidents last year. That’s more than double the number in 2022 and more than eight times the number in 2018.
Tony Perkins, the President of the Family Research Council, said, “There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government’s policies. The indifference abroad to the fundamental freedom of religion is rivaled only by the increasing antagonism toward the moral absolutes taught by Bible-believing churches here in the U.S., which is fomenting this environment of hostility toward churches.”
1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings.”
Alabama Supreme Court: Frozen human embryos are children
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that frozen human embryos are children and worthy of protection.
The case began as a wrongful death lawsuit brought by three couples involving in-vitro fertilization. The IVF clinic had destroyed the couples’ embryos in 2020. The case argued that the act violated Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. The measure applies to unborn children.
The ruling noted, “Here, the text of the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act is sweeping and unqualified. It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation. It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy.”
Women most likely to identify as liberal
Gallup reports that Americans’ political identification has drifted toward the Left over the long term. Still, most identify as conservative (36%) or moderate (36%), and 25% identify as liberal.
However, women in particular have grown more liberal, while men have remained more steady. Young women aged 18-29 are the most likely to identify as liberal at 40%, up from 30% in 1999. Meanwhile, only 25% of young men in the same age group identify as liberal. That’s up just one percentage point over the same time period.
Moviegoers want faith accurately portrayed
And finally, a new study found people around the world want movies to portray faith more accurately.
The HarrisX poll surveyed 10,000 entertainment viewers across 11 countries.
The survey found that 69% of Americans and 63% of people worldwide believe that entertainment perpetuates religious stereotypes. Also, 82% of Americans and 80% of people worldwide believe it is “important that the entertainment industry improves their portrayals of faith to make them more accurate.”
Consumers ranked “Faith and religion” sixth out of 18 themes that they want to see in movies and TV.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Wednesday, February 21st 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. Here to close the broadcast is my son Valor who turns 9 years old today. (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.