It’s Tuesday, February 20th, AD 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Kevin Swanson

166 Iranian Christians arrested

A joint report issued by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors, and Middle East Concern on persecution in Iran documented 166 arrests in 2023. That’s up from 134 in 2022.

At least one-third of the arrests have to do with the possession of multiple Bibles. Seventeen Christians have received prison sentences up to five years or have been subjected to fines or flogging.  

One Christian convert testified to his torture. He was violently punched and kicked, and subjected to “a lot of mental and emotional torture.”   They threatened harm and indecent treatment of his wife and children.

Churches which were once allowed to operate in public have been permanently closed by the state. Overall, the study indicates that Rights Violations in Iran have doubled since 2015.

In Romans 8:35-37, the Apostle Paul encourages those who suffer for the faith. He asked, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

America’s fluctuating inflation

A respite in inflation has only been temporary in the United States.  

The Producer Price Index popped up to 7.1% annualized January, reports Wolf Street.  And the consumer services sector was up 12.7% on the annualized basis. The indexes have been moving around 3-4% for the last six to nine months.

How 7 American companies have saved the stock market

Only seven companies out of 60,000 publicly owned companies have contributed to the vast improvement in the stock market indices over the last year.  

The "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks — Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Nvidia (NVDA) improved their stock value by 71%, compared to only 6% for the remaining 493 companies in the Fortune 500 list, reports Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.

The Magnificent Seven added a total of $5.117 trillion in market capitalization by people investing more money into their stock in 2023 while the entire S&P 500 companies altogether added $6.502 trillion.

New “Jesus Saves Us” ads contrast with “Jesus Gets Us” ads

You’ve gotta see this.

There’s another ad campaign to compete with the Jesus Gets Us campaign featured on the Super Bowl broadcasts, reports The Washington Stand.

Former gang leader Jamie Bambrick has released his own “Jesus Saves Us” campaign which is already netting millions of downloads through X and YouTube.

Featuring pictures of a former lesbian, a former abortionist, a former drug addict, a former witch, a former right hand man to atheist Richard Dawkins, the video points out that “Jesus doesn’t just get us. He saves us, redeems us, forgives us, heals us, delivers us, and loves us.”

Described as the Christian Super Bowl ad they should have made, you can watch it through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.

These days Jamie Bambrick is an assistant pastor of an Evangelical church in Northern Ireland.

Drug overdose deaths in Oregon doubled

Drug overdose deaths in Oregon have doubled since 2019 following the passage of a ballot measure to legalize virtually all drugs for personal use, reports Reuters.

Measure 110 had passed by a 58%-42% majority.   But now, an Emerson College survey finds that 56% of Oregonians support a total repeal of Measure 110!

The slipping economies and fertility rates of Japan and America

What used to be the second largest economy in the world has slipped to fourth place.  Japan is officially in recession after a double quarter slippage of 3.3% and 0.4% negative Gross Domestic

It’s Monday, February 19th, A.D. 2024.  This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus.  ([email protected])

By Adam McManus

Nigerian Muslims killed 8,222 Christians last year

Over 8,000 Christians were reportedly killed in Nigeria, Africa in 2023 amid a rise in attacks, abductions and killings in recent years, reports The Christian Post. 

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law reports that at least 8,222 Christians were killed across Nigeria from January 2023 to January 2024.

It attributes the deaths to various Muslim extremist groups, including radicalized Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and Nigerian security forces.

Nigerian States like Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, and Niger bore the brunt of these attacks, with thousands of Christians abducted and hundreds of churches destroyed or attacked.

Revelation 6:9-10 says, “When Jesus opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the Earth and avenge our blood?”

Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in Arctic Circle Russian jail

Russia's most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, reports the BBC.

Navalny was moved to one of Russia's toughest penal colonies late last year.  According to the Daily Mail, the prison is located in a region where the temperatures are a bone-chilling 25-degrees below 0. Plus, the 1,085 of Russia's worst criminals are tortured with electric shocks, beatings, and confined to tiny cells with just a hole for a toilet.

Navalny was President Vladimir Putin's most vociferous critic and had been serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated. His wife Yulia has appealed to the international community "to help punish this regime.”

One of Navalny’s closest allies, Ivan Zhdanov, the Anti-Corruption Foundation chief, said it was "highly likely" that Navalny had been killed and that a "murder had actually happened.”

Trump fined $354 million for fraud and deceptive business practices

Last Friday, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial issued him a $354.8 million penalty and barred him from running a business in New York for three years, reports Politico.com.  The judge found that for roughly a decade Trump orchestrated massive business fraud by falsely inflating his net worth to obtain favorable rates from banks and insurers.

The verdict, laid out in a 92-page ruling, strikes at the heart of an aspect of Trump’s identity that he harnessed in his 2016 presidential run: his personal wealth and his success as a businessman.

Justice Arthur Engoron wrote that Trump, and the other defendants in the case, showed a “complete lack of contrition and remorse” that “borders on pathological.”

The penalty caps a three-month trial in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James who campaigned on a “get Trump” platform.

Listen to the comment of James after the verdict.

JAMES: “Donald Trump engaged in deceptive business practices and tremendous fraud. Donald Trump falsely, knowingly inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, his family, and to cheat the system. Donald Trump may have authored the Art of the Deal, but he perfected ‘the art of the steal.’

“This long running fraud was intentional, egregious, illegal, he did all of this with the help of the other defendants his two adult sons and senior executives at the Trump Organization.

“After 11 weeks of trial, we showed the staggering extent of his fraud and exactly how Donald Trump and the other defendants deceived banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions for their own personal gain. We proved just how much Donald Trump, his family, and his company unjustly benefited from

It’s Friday, February 16th, A.D. 2024.  This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus.  ([email protected])

By Adam McManus

Pakistani Muslims shoot up, throw fuel bombs on Christian village

On Monday, February 12th, more than twenty Pakistani Muslims fired gunshots and threw fuel bombs at the homes of Christians in a village at 2:00 a.m., reports Morning Star News.

They were angry with the Christians for two reasons. First, the believers supported an opposing political party in the February 8th election. And second, Christians are constructing a church building.

Providentially, no one was killed or injured in the attacks in Punjab Province led by Imran Yousaf.  Bishop Abraham Daniel of Sahiwal Baptist Church said more than 100 Christian families live in this village.

Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.”

The timely arrival of police forced the Muslim assailants to flee, keeping them from harming the Christians. However, no arrests have been made.

Pakistan is ranked seventh on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of the most difficult countries to be a Christian.

Nikki Haley: “Donald Trump cannot win a general election.”

Appearing on Fox News with John Roberts, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley dismissed polls showing her trailing former President Donald Trump by 35 points in next week's South Carolina Republican presidential primary, reports RealClearPolitics.com.

Listen.

ROBERTS: “We're just a little more than a week away from South Carolina. At the moment, it looks like you're going to go into that contest and lose badly in your home state, which would forever be a cloud over your political career. Why go through with it?”

HALEY: So, first of all, that's what they said before New Hampshire, and I got 43 percent of the vote. Our polls do not show that. That is not what we're seeing, and we're going to close that gap. But, more than that, you're asking me about my political career. That's the problem with politics. Donald Trump's worried about his image. Joe Biden's worried about his image. I'm not worried about mine. I'm worried about the future of America. I'm worried about my kids and what country they grow up in.

“Don't complain about what happens in a general election if you don't play in this primary because Donald Trump cannot win a general election. He's already said he's going to spend more time in court than on the campaign trail. He spent $50 million of campaign contributions towards his personal court cases. The RNC is broke.

“Republicans will not win if you continue down this path. The reason Donald Trump wants me to get out so badly is because he wants help paying his court fees. That is not the job of the RNC. That's not the job of taxpayers.”

Three updates on Kansas City Chiefs’ parade shooting

Three updates now on the shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade on Wednesday which left one dead and 20-plus wounded.

First, the shooting was the result of a "personal dispute" between several people in the crowd.  Two of the three suspects arrested were juveniles. No one has been charged in relation to the incident as of yet, reports The Mirror.

Second, eight of the victims hospitalized are in critical condition, and seven of them are in serious condition.

Third, the person who was shot and killed was a 43-year-old radio DJ named Elizabeth Galvan. who was known locally as Lisa Lopez-Galvan.  She hosted the show “Taste of Tejano.”

Inflation up

On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that inflation rose more than expected last month.

In January, the consumer price index rose 0.3%. On an annual basis, that’s a 3.1% increase, only slightly down 3.4% in December.

Much of the inflation increase came from housing prices.

Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial noted, “The much-anticipated [consumer price index] report is a disappointment for

It’s Thursday, February 15th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark

Hindu group to Christian schools: Remove religious items in 15 days

A Hindu group in northeastern India recently gave Christian schools 15 days to remove religious items from their buildings. 

Satya Ranjan Borah is the president of the group called Kutumba Surakshya Parishad. She said, “Christian Missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes. We will not allow it.” The group is also calling for the removal of churches on school grounds.

Christians have been involved in education in India’s state of Assam for decades. They have faced increasing threats in recent years. 

India is ranked 11th on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

More young Finnish men believe in God and attend church

Evangelical Focus reports membership in religious organizations is declining in Europe and North America. 

Hanna Salomäki is the director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s Church Institute for Research and Advanced Training. She said that national churches in Nordic countries are following the trend of declining membership. However, she noted Finland is seeing an exception among young men aged 15 to 29.

In 2019, 12% of young men in Finland attended church monthly, up from 5% in 2011. The attendance rate for young women remains low, near 3%. Over the same time period, weekly prayer among young men grew from 16% to 26%, and belief in God grew from 19% to 43%. 

Psalm 119:9 asks, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word.”

Democrats flipped Santos seat in special election

Here in the United States, Democrats flipped the battleground Long Island, New York seat last held by ousted Rep. George Santos, narrowing the already razor-thin Republican majority in the House, reports Politico.com.

Democrat Tom Suozzi won back his former seat in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, defeating lesser-known Republican rival Mazi Melesa Pilip.  The vote was 53.9% to 46.1%.

SUOZZI: “Despite all the attacks, despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and the Squad (laughter), about Tom Suozzi being the Godfather of the migrant crisis, about Sanctuary Suozzi (boos), despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine (boos), we won!” (cheers)

Santos was expelled from Congress amid being criminally indicted on fraud charges.

1 dead, 22 injured at Kansas City Chiefs victory parade

Police said one person died and 22 people suffered gunshot wounds in a shooting Wednesday afternoon just after the Kansas City Chiefs parade and rally ended at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, reports KCTV.

Children’s Mercy Hospital confirmed it was treating 12 patients, 11 of whom were children. The hospital stated that nine of those patients have gunshot wounds.

Police Chief Stacy Graves spoke to the press.

GRAVES: “At the conclusion of the chiefs rally today, there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station. Immediately, officers responded to the area, took two people into custody and also immediately rendered life sustaining aid to those victims.

“I'm angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment. We had over 800 law enforcement officers, Kansas City and other agencies, at the location to keep everyone safe. Because of bad actors, which were very few, this tragedy, occurred even in the presence of uniformed law enforcement officers.”

Brave Kansas City Chiefs fans tackled a suspected gunman as he attempted to flee cops after a shooting at the Super Bowl parade.

Amid the terror, a heroic group of men were seen taking down one of the suspected perpetrators. They hauled the alleged gunman to the ground and then shouted, “We got the gun.” The men held down the suspect until

It’s Valentine’s Day, Wednesday, February 14th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus

The persecution of Christians in Yemen

Open Doors reports that Christians in Yemen are facing increased persecution after the latest Israel-Hamas conflict broke out four months ago.

Since then, the Houthis, a Muslim terrorist group in Yemen, have supported Hamas by attacking commercial ships headed to Israel.

Christians in Yemen have become scapegoats for the group’s anger over the Israel-Hamas conflict. Samuel, a Christian convert from the country, said, “With the international situation with Israel, life for Christians in Yemen will become so much harder. ... People will tell Houthis who the Christians are to make them happy. Then, they will start to punish the Christians to make the people happy.”

Yemen is ranked fifth on the Open Doors’ World Watch List of nations where it is most difficult to be a Christian. 

House impeached Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

On February 13th, House Republicans successfully impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas —the first cabinet official to be impeached in nearly 150 years, reports The Epoch Times.  He became only the second presidential cabinet member ever to be impeached in the 236-year history of the United States government.

Mayorkas, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Democratic Senate in 2021, was impeached on two counts relating to his handling of the border crisis by a vote of 214–213, with all but three Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposing the action.

Former Secretary of War George Belknap resigned in 1876 after the House passed five counts of impeachment against him. However, the Senate failed to convict Belknap, who was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who was absent from the vote last week due to being treated for blood cancer, cast the deciding vote yesterday.

The three Republicans who opposed the impeachment resolution last week opposed it the second time around. The trio includes Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and Rep. Tom McLintock of California.  You can express your frustration with those three Republicans by calling their offices through special links in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.

The 20-page Impeachment Resolution contained two articles with multiple examples of laws that Mayorkas is alleged to have ignored or refused to enforce and illustrations of his blocking congressional oversight, including not producing requested copies of documents.

Senator Kennedy vs. Secretary Mayorkas on southern border

In a March 28, 2023 House Judiciary Committee hearing, Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana expressed frustration with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Listen.

KENNEDY: “Did you just parachute in from another planet, Mr. Secretary? Because you're the only person in the Milky Way who believes that we're not having massive, massive illegal immigration into America?”

MAYORKAS: “Senator, you're putting words into my mouth.”

KENNEDY: “No sir. I am accurately describing the situation.”

MAYORKAS: “There is no question that we have a very serious challenge at our southern border.”

KENNEDY: “We can agree on that. Let me ask you another question. Why don't you just declare a new policy that, other than children, if you present at the southern border, you claim political asylum, and you haven't claimed political asylum at the first safe country, then you can't come in. It would work. If you're coming from Venezuela, and you come through Mexico, if you didn't claim asylum in Mexico, you can't come here. You have to leave. Why don't you just do that?”

MAYORKAS: “Well, Senator, let me give you an example with respect to Mexico. A Safe Third Country Agreement …”

KENNEDY: “You don't

It’s Tuesday, February 13th, AD 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes and heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Kevin Swanson                                                                                              

Finnish voters reject homosexual candidate for Prime Minister

Finland’s presidential election on Sunday ended on the right side of the center, reports The Guardian. 

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the election against the homosexual leftist, Pekka Haavisto, in a close race. The vote came out 52% to 48%.

New Dutch law allows euthanizing kids under 12

A Dutch law allowing the euthanizing of children under 12 years of age went into effect on February 1st, reports Reuters.

This allows for the killing of children who suffer “hopelessly and unbearably” as determined by doctors.  Previously, the Netherlands only allowed euthanasia for persons over 12 years of age.

Former Brazilian president investigated for questioning 2022 election results

While the leading Republican nominee for U.S. president, Donald Trump, faces 91 criminal charges — some related to his alleged opposition to the 2020 election results -- now Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is being investigated for allegedly trying to overturn the results of his 2022 election.  

Four of his aides have been arrested by the Lula de Silva government.

86% of Americans don’t believe Biden is “fit to serve”

An ABC/IPSOS poll found that 86% of Americans do not believe President Joe Biden is “fit to serve.”  That included 73% registered Democrats and 91% of the Independent voting base. This comes after a Special Counsel report described the current president as “an elderly man with a poor memory.”

A recent Rasmussen poll found that 42% of likely U.S. voters respected Donald Trump as a leader, and only 21% would say the same thing for President Joe Biden.

Donald Trump asked Supreme Court to affirm his immunity claim

On Monday, Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on his argument that he has immunity from prosecution on any alleged actions he may have taken to overturn the 2020 election results.

He asked the high court to put a hold on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that rejected his immunity claim, reports CNBC. 

Gunman, pretending to be a woman, shot dead in Osteen’s church

On Sunday afternoon, a man, pretending to be a woman, entered Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas with a long gun before the 2:00pm service and began firing.  

Born Jeffrey Escalante from El Salvador, he pulled out an AR-15 from his trench coat, pointed it at the officers, who then fired upon him, killing him in self-defense, and halting the attack, reports Fox News.  Escalante’s 7-year-old son, whose age was initially described as 5, was seriously injured during the exchange of gunfire.  And a 57-year-old man, who was shot in the leg, is expected to survive.  

Escalante, age 36, pretended to be a woman named Genesse Ivonne Moreno. He had a history of mental health problems and antisemitic inclinations. Perhaps that’s why the word “Palestine” was written on the long rifle.

Here’s what Joel Osteen said in the news conference:

OSTEEN: “These men and women did an amazing job. You said it Chief. It could have been a lot worse. Of course, we're devastated. I mean, this is, we've been here 65 years and have someone shooting in your church. But, you know, we don't understand why these things happen. But we know God is in control.  And we'll pray for that little five-year-old boy and pray for the lady that was deceased.”

Christian talk host Todd Starnes wants LGBT movement investigated

Christian talk show host Todd Starnes described the shooting as a domestic terrorist attack perpetuated by a member of the LGBT community.

Indeed, there have been a dozen such attacks. Transgender people were the shooters at Covenant Christian School in Nashville, at a D

It’s Monday, February 12th, A.D. 2024.  This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus.  ([email protected])

By Adam McManus

Indian pastor beaten unconscious

A group of Christians in India were physically assaulted by members of Hindutva organizations which champion nationalist Hindu philosophy, reports The Christian Post.

On January 21st, Pastor Mahesh Mahananda claimed that he and the group of Christians were ambushed by people brandishing sticks at approximately 5:30 p.m. while they were returning from a lunch gathering in the Chhattisgarh state.  The perpetrators were the same people who had been participating in Rama temple rallies regularly.

Sadly, Pastor Mahananda was rendered unconscious by the attack leading to his hospitalization.

In Matthew 10:22, Jesus said, “You will be hated by everyone because of Me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

China looking to cyber attack U.S. civilian infrastructure imminently

Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that the Chinese government is planning cyber attacks on America’s civilian infrastructure in the near future, that would cripple the U.S. society, reports RealClearPolitics.com.

Listen.

WRAY: “There has been far too little public focus on the fact that [People’s Republic of China] hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure, our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems, and the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now.

“China's hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real world harm to American citizens and communities. If and when China decides the time has come to strike.”

Talk show host Steve Malzberg asked Gordon Chang, a Chinese expert who lives in New Jersey and the author of The Great U.S.–China Tech War, what he thought.

MALZBERG: “On a scale from 1 to 10, how serious a threat is it for what he's describing to actually happen?”

CHANG: “Oh, about a 20 maybe. This is something which is not a theoretical threat because on November 25, Iranian hackers took control of part of a water system in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, which is close to Pittsburgh. The workers were able, through manual means, to get back control of their water. But that showed you what can happen.

“Right after that, other utilities, about four others, were hit by hackers. We know that last year there were Chinese hacks on oil pipelines in the U.S. Hospitals, in November in the United States, were hit in Texas, Mexico, Oklahoma, and my state of New Jersey. We also can't forget May 2021 when Russian ransomware attackers took down the Colonial Pipeline, disrupting airline services and U.S. car traffic on the East Coast.”

Special Counsel calls Biden “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,' brings no charges

Special Counsel Robert Hur, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, described President Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." Hur said he would not bring criminal charges against Biden after a months-long investigation into his improper retention of classified documents related to national security, reports Fox News. 

Hur's report was made public Thursday afternoon.

Even liberal CNN reporter Min Jung Lee asked President Biden tough questions about his mental competence.

LEE: “Mr. President for months when you were asked about your age, you would respond with the words, ‘Watch me!’”

BIDEN: “Watch me.”

LEE: “Many of the American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age.”

BIDEN: “Your judgment. That is your judgment public. That is not the judgments of the press.”

LEE: “They expressed concerns about your mental acuity. They say that you are too old. Mr. President, in December you told me that you believe there are many other Democrats who could defeat Donald Trump. So, why does it have to

It’s Friday, February 9th, A.D. 2024.  This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com.  I’m Adam McManus.  ([email protected])

By Adam McManus

Pakistani Muslims kill 14-year-old Christian teen

Pakistani Muslim gunmen shouting threats against Christians shot a 14-year-old Christian dead on Monday, February 5th, reports Morning Star News.

Sunil Masih and other Christians were standing in a market in the Mandiala Warraich area of Punjab Province when six Muslim men, armed with pistols, arrived on motorcycles and opened fire on them, said the slain boy’s uncle, Mehboob Gill.

He said, “We were talking to each other when suddenly Zaman Butt and his accomplices Anas Yaseen, Adil Rehman, Ashraf Ullah and two unidentified men came there on motorcycles. Adil shouted that no Christian in the area should be left alive, after which Zaman opened fire on Sunil with his pistol, hitting him in the chest.”

Yaseen shot at another Christian boy, identified only as Jamshed, with the bullet only grazing him.

The uncle said, “We rushed Sunil to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his bullet wound before doctors could begin their treatment,” adding that his nephew was an eighth-grade student whose father, George Masih, works at a local car shop.

Pakistan ranks seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.

In Acts 22:4, Paul confessed, “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison.”  If Jesus Christ can convert Saul, please pray that He converts these Pakistani Muslims who are killing Christians.

Israel says over a fifth of Hamas hostages are dead

Israeli intelligence officers have concluded that more than one-fifth of the 136 individuals still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are dead, reports The Christian Post.

The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of at least 30 of the more than 130 remaining hostages, according to a copy of the intelligence report reviewed by the New York Times.  

While Hamas, the Muslim terrorist group, released several hostages during a temporary ceasefire in November, dozens remain in captivity. 

Another Biden gaffe

In an appearance in Las Vegas, President Joe Biden confused French President Emmanuel Macron with the late French President François Mitterand who was the president of France between 1981 and 1995 and died in 1996.

Listen.

BIDEN: “Right, right, right after I was elected, I went to what they call a G7 meeting, all the NATO leaders. It was in, it was in the south of England.  And I sat down and I said, ‘America is back.’ And Mitterand from Germany, I mean from France, looked at me and said, said, ‘You know, why, how long you back for?’”

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy raised the issue of Biden’s mental competence in a White House Press briefing with Karine Jean-Pierre.

DOOCY: “How is President Biden ever going to convince the three-quarters of voters who are worried about his physical and mental health that he is okay, even though in Las Vegas he told a story about recently talking to a French president who died in 1996?”

JEAN-PIERRE: “I’m not even going to go down that rabbit hole with you sir.”

DOOCY: “What’s the rabbit hole? He said he talked to Mitterand?”

JEAN-PIERRE: (referring to another reporter) “Go ahead. Go ahead.”

Supreme Court skeptical about keeping Trump off ballot

And finally, the Supreme Court sounds broadly skeptical of efforts to kick former President Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential election ballot in any of the 50 states, reports the Associated Press.

In arguments ticking past 90 minutes Thursday, both conservative and liberal justices raised questions of whether Trump can be disqualified because of his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 election, ending with the January 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol.

At the heart of the case is a provision in the 14th Amendment preventing those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding

It’s Thursday, February 8th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark

Russian government persecuting Ukrainian believers

Dmytro Lubinets with Human Rights in Ukraine reports that Russian forces have carried out 76 acts of religious persecution since invading Ukraine in 2022.

Lubinets told the International Religious Freedom Summit last week, “The Russian military has repeatedly threatened the total physical elimination of all Evangelical believers, calling them American spies, sectarians, and enemies of the Russian Orthodox people.”

The persecution incidents include 29 cases of killed or captured religious leaders. One pastor from Ukraine told the summit, “Most priests and pastors, like me, have been threatened, intimidated, humiliated, detained, beaten and deported.”

Hungary helps persecuted Christians in 50 countries

Speaking of the International Religious Freedom Summit, a representative of Hungary promoted Biblical values at the event in Washington, D.C.

Tristan Azbej is the Hungarian Secretary of State for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Program.

Hungary established the program in 2017 as the first-ever governmental department dedicated to serving persecuted Christians. Since then, it has engaged in over 300 faith-based humanitarian projects in 50 countries. 

Azbej told The Christian Post the program is part of Hungary’s efforts to “implement the social teachings of the Bible.” 

Wisdom says in Proverbs 8:15, “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice.”

Mexico is top exporter of goods to U.S. now

Mexico became the top exporter of goods to the U.S. last year. This unseats China which held the top spot for two decades.

In 2023, Mexico exported $475.6 billion worth of goods to the U.S., up 5% from 2022. Meanwhile, China exported $427.2 billion worth of goods to U.S., down 20% from 2022. 

Also, the U.S. trade deficit fell 19% last year to $773.4 billion. It’s the largest annual drop in the deficit in 15 years as the U.S. increased exports and decreased imports in 2023. The trade deficit measures the difference between exports and imports.

RFK Jr: "NBC Nightly News declared it is no longer a two-man race, it’s a three-man race"

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a reason to be excited, reports RealClear Politics.com.

KENNEDY: “I want to take note of a poll that came out, reported by NBC News today, that shows that 34% of the country would vote for me. (cheers)

“NBC Nightly News declared that it is no longer a two-man race, it is a three-man race. (cheers) And if you do the math, all I really need, theoretically, is 34 points to win the election because if it is a three-way tie, and I get 34, it is winner-take-all.”

Texas’ fertility rate up 2%

A recent report from the University of Houston found that the fertility rate in Texas increased by 2% in 2022. This followed the state’s Heartbeat Act going into effect in 2021. It’s the first time the Texas fertility rate increased since 2014.

Life News reports the Heartbeat Act translated into about 8,000 more children being born in the Lone Star state in 2022. Life News also noted a “35.7 percent decline in the Texas teen-fertility rate since 2016. Overall, the Lone Star State has seen impressive long-term reductions in teen pregnancies, teen births, and teen abortions.”

United Church of Christ declines after pushing homosexual sin

The United Church of Christ reports it lost 286,000 members from 2012 to 2022. The mainline Protestant denomination also lost over 500 congregations over the same time period. 

It started to see significant losses after 2005 when it passed a resolution that year in favor of faux homosexual marriage.

Just between 2020 and 2022, the United Church of Christ dropped from 4,794 congregations to 4,603 congregations. And membership declined from 773,000 to 712,000. 

Americans view small busine

It’s Tuesday, February 7th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. ([email protected])

By Jonathan Clark

Western countries guilty of violating religious liberty 168 times

The Family Research Council reports that Christians in Western countries faced 168 incidents of religious freedom violations between 2020 and 2023.

Examples of persecution include arrests and fines for public preaching and praying, punishments for publicly expressing Biblical beliefs, and fines or imprisonment for pastors that did not comply with COVID-19 restrictions. 

Tony Perkins with the Family Research Council said, “It is shocking to see Western countries -- the same ones we think of as free and open societies -- take authoritarian measures against Christians simply trying to live out their faith. Hostility toward Bible-believing Christians is clearly and steadily rising in the West.”

Pro-lifer Nayib Bukele expected to win in El Salvador

Nayib Bukele is expecting a landslide victory in his re-election bid for President of El Salvador.

Preliminary results from Sunday’s election show Bukele winning with 83% of the vote. His nearest rival got 7% of the vote.

He faces criticism for his consecutive second term, which is banned in the country’s constitution. However, favorable judges, voted in under his administration, approved the second term. 

Bukele is known for cracking down on gang members in El Salvador, dropping the homicide rate, and making the cryptocurrency Bitcoin legal tender. He also opposes the murder of unborn babies and faux homosexual marriage. 

Biden selectively punishes church vandalism

The U.S. Department of Justice announced sentencing last week for a man who attempted to burn down the building of Community Church of Chesterland, Ohio.

The arsonist was angered by the church’s plans to host two drag events.

It’s a rare case of the Biden administration prosecuting vandalism of religious buildings. 

Most other cases involve attacks on the buildings of pro-life churches and organizations. There have been nearly 400 cases since the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Tom McClusky with CatholicVote said, “The response from the Biden administration has been the equivalent of a shrug and a yawn.”

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”

Murders decreased by 12% in America

Vox reports that violent crime and homicide dropped significantly last year from a recent peak in 2020.

Murders decreased by 12% in cities in 2023, according to the FBI. 

Some major cities were exceptions with none greater than Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital had its deadliest year in over two decades in 2023. Violent crime rose by 40%. D.C. also saw its greatest shortage of police in five decades. 

However, Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst, noted that 2023 overall saw “one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the United States in more than 50 years.”

Country musician Toby Keith died of cancer

Country musician Toby Keith Covel died on February 5th at the age of 62 after losing his battle with stomach cancer, reports NBC News. The entertainer revealed his diagnosis in a June 2022 Instagram post, noting he "spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery."

He became known for his 2011 hit song, “Red Solo Cup,” which advocated drunkenness and debauchery.

KEITH: “Red Solo cup, I fill you up/Let’s have a party, let’s have a party/I love you, red Solo cup/Proceed to party, proceed to party”

In the video, Focus on the Family notes that Keith wanders around a house party in which everyone’s drinking from red Solo cups. Virtually every woman in the video, it seems, is wearing a bikini or short shorts. By song’s end, Keith has not only enumerated the joys of drinking from said cups, but also how women holding them are easier to hi