It’s Wednesday, November 15th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark

Victory in two Finnish religious liberty cases

Praise God! A Christian politician and a Lutheran bishop won their free speech case in Finland yesterday.

The Helsinki Court of Appeal dismissed all charges against parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen as well as Bishop Juhana Pohjola. The ruling upholds a similar acquittal from last year.

Both individuals faced a trial for “hate speech” after publicly expressing their Christian beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics.

After the latest ruling, Räsänen said, “It isn’t a crime to tweet a Bible verse or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective. The attempts made to prosecute me for expressing my beliefs have resulted in an immensely trying four years, but my hope is that the result will stand as a key precedent to protect the human right to free speech.”

Church of England considers blessing sexual perversion

Over in the United Kingdom, the Church of England’s General Synod meets this week to consider blessings for people living sexually perverted lifestyles. Back in February, the Synod already approved plans to introduce such blessings. 

Meanwhile, the Church of England reports attendance continues to rise since the pandemic, but has not fully rebounded.

The number of people who attended worship regularly was 984,000 last year, an increase of 20,000 compared with 2021. However, it is still down from over 1.1 million people in 2019.

Jeremiah 10:21 says, “For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the LORD; therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.”

Catholic Church signals support for transgenderism

The Roman Catholic Church is also signaling its support for sexually perverted lifestyles. 

Responding to a question from a Brazilian bishop, the Vatican wrote last week, “A transsexual — undergoing hormonal treatment and sex reassignment surgery — can be baptized, under the same conditions as other faithful, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorientation in the faithful.”

Pope removed pro-life, anti-perversion Catholic bishop

On top of that, Pope Francis removed a prominent bishop in Texas over the weekend.

Bishop Joseph Strickland is known for opposing abortion and sexual perversions. He has also been a strong critic of the pope.

You can write a letter of objection to Pope Francis, Apostolic Palace, 00120 Vatican City, Italy.

Supreme Court introduces code of conduct

In the U.S., the Supreme Court released its first code of conduct on Monday.

The move comes after months of pressure from the media and lawmakers over several of the justices. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas has faced criticism for taking undisclosed luxury trips provided by a Republican megadonor. Other reports have noted how liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor used court staff to promote the sale of books she has authored. 

The new code of conduct does not introduce any major changes, but “represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”

U.S. inflation did not rise

Overall U.S. inflation did not rise last month. It’s the first time in over a year that month to month inflation did not budge.

October’s core inflation was just 0.2%. And year-over-year inflation rose 4% last month, down from 4.1% in September.

Economists expect the slowdown means the Federal Reserve will not continue to hike interest rates. The Fed may even begin to cut rates next year.

America’s population will start shrinking in 2100

The Census Bureau released its population projections for the U.S. last week.

America’s population is expected to stop growing by 2080 and to begin shrinking by 2100. It’s the first time the bureau has anticipated a decline in population.

Deaths are expected to outpace births b