It’s Friday, August 7th, A.D. 2020. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Jonathan Clark
8,000 Iraqi Christians fled to Jordan where they need help
Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of the tragic moment when ISIS stormed the Ninevah Plain in Qaraqosh, Iraq, targeting Christians for murder and displacement. Six years ago, there were 100,000 Christians living there. Today, only 12,000 Christians remain.
The Worldview spoke with Mike Simpson, the CEO of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.
SIMPSON: “The ancient city of Nineveh, well known from the Bible and the book of Jonah, for example, is located to the east of Mosul, which was the second largest city in Iraq. And that is the area which ISIS took over. And the Nineveh plain area, where most of the Christians lived, is to the north and east of Nineveh.”
Simpson explained where the Iraqi Christians fled.
SIMPSON: “So, the people who fled from Qaraqosh, first of all, they fled towards Kurdistan, which is a region of Iraq. And they ended up sleeping in tents and graveyards and by the side of the road, and as refugees in their own country. After some time, many of them decided that there was no hope in Iraq, so they left the country altogether. Some ended up in Turkey, some in Jordan, and other countries.”
According to Simpson, the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East was already working with the Christians in Baghdad, Iraq.
SIMPSON: “Our foundation was started before this happened to support the Christians in Baghdad and the ministry of the Church of St. George's in Baghdad, an Episcopalian church. When ISIS swept across the north of Iraq, we took up the challenge to support our Christian brothers and sisters in such need.”
Many of the Christians from the Ninevah Plain in Iraq fled to the country of Jordan.
SIMPSON: “There are roughly 60,000 Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan. We support nearly 8,000 of that 60,000. What we do there is to support them with emergency food, relief, medicines, help with accommodation, trauma counseling and support.
“The Christian refugees who arrived in Jordan found their way to the indigenous churches of Jordan. The various Christian denominations in Jordan took them in and supported them.
Simpson described the need to help these 8,000 Iraqi Christian refugees who are living in Jordan.
SIMPSON: “The priority is to ensure people are properly fed. The need is acute. Our Christian brothers and sisters are desperate for your support. These people have gone through probably the most traumatic events that you could imagine -- being driven from their homes, highly traumatized, losing family, losing relatives, and they're now refugees in dire need. So, they need your support.”
For just $25, you can provide an entire month’s worth of foodstuffs like rice and canned vegetables for an Iraqi Christian family that fled the Ninevah Plain and is now living in the country of Jordan. If you would like to help, you can find a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. (Meat, like lamb, is considered a delicacy and is only provided on Christmas or Easter.)
Simpson said Galatians 6:10 is the verse that animates him in his work through the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.
SIMPSON: “Do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Canada’s Prince Edward Island abortion-free until 2017
Canada’s Prince Edward Island was abortion-free for 35 years until 2017 when the government caved to pressure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and legalized abortion.
Prince Edward Island ministry of health data shows abortions have doubled since legalization with 67 abortions in 2017, 86 in 2018, and 143 in 2019. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information suggest even more abortions occurred there.
Proverbs 1:16 says, “For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.”
Ted Cruz to Dept of Defense: Stop religious discrimination
On Monday, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, accusing the U.S. Defense Department of religious discrimination, reports CBN.com.
Cruz called out the department over the case of Christian Air Force veteran Jay Lorenzen who was schedule to speak at an annual training event for Marine Corps JAG reservists last month. Lorenzen’s talk was cancelled because of concerns raised over whether his beliefs would influence his comments.
45% of Americans pray daily; 15% never pray
A study by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University on behalf of the Presidential Prayer Team looked at the prayer lives of American adults.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they pray daily. Sixty-six percent said they pray at least once a week, and 76 percent pray at least once a month. Only 15 percent said they never pray.
Of those who pray regularly, a majority said prayer was central to their relationship with God. A majority also pray for the people in their lives and for the country with a sizable minority praying for government leaders and the president.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 urges that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
America’s GDP fell 32%
The U.S. gross domestic product fell 32.9 percent during the second quarter of 2020, the biggest plunge on record, exceeding the Great Depression and the Great Recession.
Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at the Bleakley Advisory Group, said the numbers were alarming but “all self-inflicted with about half the quarter reflecting almost full shutdown and the other half, the slow reopening.”
U.S. homicides up 24%
Reported homicides are up 24 percent this year compared with last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Big U.S. cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago have seen a spike in the number of homicides during the coronavirus pandemic.
Overall though, crime is down 7.2 percent, and the homicide rate is much lower than historic highs.
1,000 Swiss gathered to pray for country
And finally, last Saturday, about 1,000 Christians gathered from all over Switzerland to pray for their country, reports Evangelical Focus.
Hans-Peter Lang, head of Prayer for Switzerland, said, “We stand up for our country and ask God for forgiveness. That will be the focus of this year's prayer day. It is about us being built on the rock, the Word of God.”
Close
And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, August 7th, in the year of our Lord 2020. 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.
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State Dept. lifts international travel ban
Yesterday, the U.S. State Department lifted the Global Level 4 Health Advisory in place since March 19 which advised Americans to avoid all international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department is returning to its previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice.
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