The Faithful Watchman

Christians Were Persecuted in a Record 145 Countries in 2018, New Pew Report Says

Michael Foust – November 12, 2020

Christians are persecuted in more countries than any other religious group in the world, followed closely by Muslims, according to a new Pew Research Center study that also found government restrictions of religions are at an all-time high.

The lengthy Pew report was released this week and found that in 2018 – the most recent year studied by Pew – government limits on religion continued to climb, contributing to a “substantial rise in government restrictions on religion” compared to 2007, the first year Pew conducted the study. Pew defines restrictions as “laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices.”

The worldwide Government Restrictions Index score in 2018 was 2.9, compared to 1.8 in 2007 (The score involves a 10-point scale based on 20 indicators).

China is the world’s most restrictive country toward religion with the highest score (9.3) of all 198 countries and territories studied. Iran (8.5) is second, followed by Malaysia and the Maldives (8.2 each) and Tajikistan and Turkmenistan (7.9 each).

Most of the world’s religious persecution takes place in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa, Pew said.

Christians and Muslims in 2018 received the highest level of persecution, which Pew calls “harassment.” Harassment, Pew said, “can include a wide range of actions – from verbal abuse to physical violence and killings – motivated at least in part by the target’s religious identity.”

Christians were persecuted in 145 countries in 2018 – a record – while Muslims were persecuted in 139 countries. Jews experienced persecution in a total of 88 countries.

“As in previous years, Christians and Muslims experienced harassment in more countries than any other religious groups in 2018. This pattern has remained consistent since the study began in 2007,” Pew said in its analysis.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Abortion Leading Global Cause of Death in 2020 with 42.7 Million Killed

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. – January 1, 2021

Abortion was once again the number-one cause of death globally in 2020, with a record 42.7 million unborn babies killed in the womb, according to data provided by Worldometer.

As of December 31, 2020, there were 42.7 million abortions performed in the course of the year, Worldometer revealed, while 8.2 million people died from cancer, 5 million from smoking, and 1.7 million of HIV/AIDS.

By comparison, worldwide deaths from the coronavirus in 2020 totaled 1.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Worldometer — voted one of the best free reference websites by the American Library Association (ALA) — keeps a running tally through the year of major world statistics, including population, births, deaths, automobiles produced, books published, and CO2 emissions.

It also registers the total number of abortions performed worldwide, based on the latest statistics on abortions published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Globally, there were more deaths from abortion in 2020 than all deaths from cancer, malaria, HIV/AIDS, smoking, alcohol, and traffic accidents combined, according to Worldometer statistics.

The shocking number of deaths from abortion, in fact, has led certain observers to call abortion “the social justice cause of our time,” since the sheer magnitude of the problem completely overshadows other human rights issues.

The year 2020 also saw abortion legalized in Argentina, one of the last bastions in the world to recognize and protect the right to life of unborn children.

https://www.breitbart.com

Rocky start: 2021 will begin with unwelcome, 220-meter wide asteroid visitor, NASA warns

RT – January 1, 2021

As nations across the globe say ‘good riddance’ to 2020, NASA has warned that a monstrous 220-meter asteroid is headed Earth’s way early in the new year.

Before that, this year’s final asteroid, 2020 YB4, measuring just 36 meters in diameter or roughly half the wingspan of a 747, passed by the Earth shortly after 6am UTC at a distance of 6.1 million kilometers. That means, in terms of the threat posed by space rocks at least, the planet made it out of 2020 somewhat intact.

However, in the first days of January, three additional, small Near Earth Objects (NEOs) will grace the Earth with their presence, for a brief time.

Just two days into 2021, the 15-meter asteroid 2019 YB4 will fly by at a safe distance of 6.4 million kilometers. The very next day, it will be followed up by two more chunks of cosmic debris in the form of the 15-meter 2020 YA1 and the 21-meter 2020 YP4, which will pass by at 1.5 and 2.1 million kilometers respectively.

But the biggie will come on January 3, as the relatively mountainous 2003 AF23, measuring an impressive 220m in diameter or about as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge is tall, will shoot past at 6.9 million kilometers.

https://www.rt.com

China is developing Genetically Modified ‘Super-Soldiers’: Was this prophesied in War of Gog-Magog?

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz _ December 24, 2020

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this month, John Lee Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration, wrote that “the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II. The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily, and technologically.”

“There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing’s pursuit of power,” Ratcliffe wrote, adding that China is working to develop “soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities” as part of a scheme to take over “the planet economically, militarily and technologically.”

Last year, Elsa Kania and Wilson VornDick a brief in the Jamestown Foundation claiming that Chinese scientists have been exploring “the potential of biotechnology on the future battlefield”. Some applications could include “brain-machine interfaces”. Since the potential for these technologies is still being explored, many of the possible applications go beyond what people can currently imagine.

One of the avenues of exploration includes the use of CRISPR (an acronym for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”), a new technique for gene editing that has demonstrated unique potential. Chinese scientists are at the forefront of CRISPR technology, unencumbered by the moral and ethical limitations imposed on western scientists. For example, developing the use of gene-edited animals to grow human-like organs. A doctoral dissertation titled “Evaluation and Research on Human Performance Enhancement Technology,” published in 2016 and supported by the Central Military Commission (CMC) Science and Technology Commission envisioned CRISPR as one of three primary “human performance enhancement technologies” that can be utilized to boost personnel combat effectiveness.

Another ethical obstacle is the use of gene modification to enhance healthy subjects. Western scientists currently refrain from this type of research however Ratcliffe’s article implied that China is actively researching the possibility.

https://www.israel365news.com

Brexit deal is finally DONE as Boris Johnson hails ‘immense moment where we have taken back control of our destiny’

Harry Cole, Nick Gutteridge, Natasha Clark – December 25, 2020

BORIS Johnson hailed “glad tidings of great joy” in a Christmas message last night after sealing his £660billion Brexit trade deal.

The PM gave the nation an early Christmas present yesterday as he secured a historic agreement which finally sees the UK take back control from the EU and ends four years of bitter wrangling.

Mr Johnson last night punched the air as he proudly showed off the 500-page trade deal.

Speaking in a video on Twitter, the PM said: “Tonight, on Christmas Eve, I have a small present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment.

“And here it is, tidings, glad tidings of great joy because this is a deal.

“A deal to give certainty to business, travelers, and all investors in our country from January 1.

“A deal with our friends and partners in the EU.

“You remember the oven ready deal by which we came out on January 31, that oven ready deal was just the start – this is the feast, full of fish, by the way.

“And I believe it will be the basis of a happy and successful and stable partnership with our friends in the EU for years to come.

https://www.thesun.co.uk

54 Million Americans – Including 18 Million Kids – To Lack Access to Sufficient Food by Year’s End

Elias Marat – December 23, 2020

A new analysis has found that 54 million people in the United States, including 18 million children, will lack access to sufficient food by the end of the year.

The report from U.S.-based anti-hunger group Feeding America underscores the extent to which chronic food scarcity and malnourishment has surged in poor communities amid a devastating increase of coronavirus infections which federal and state governments have failed to get under control.

The group has distributed 4.2 billion meals across the country between March and October 2020. It is estimated that there has been a 60 percent average increase in food bank users as the pandemic has swept across the country, with roughly four out of 10 users being first-time seekers of food aid.

The analysis comes one month after the U.S. Census Bureau reported that less than half of U.S. households with children feel “very confident” about having sufficient money to afford food through December, with a stunning 5.6 million households struggling to put food on the table during Thanksgiving week, according to a pandemic survey.

The crisis of food insecurity has slammed Black and Latino communities the hardest, as well as poor people living in remote “food deserts” where affordable and healthy food is less accessible. The same individuals who have suffered from the economic impact of the pandemic, including seniors and people with chronic disease, are also at the highest risk of major coronavirus-associated illness.

The report noted that even prior to the pandemic, over 37 million people – including over 11 million children – lived in homes that were food insecure.

https://www.activistpost.com

‘Sinister’ plan circulating in left-wing circles: Strip accreditation from religious schools that don’t comply with progressive policies

Phil Shiver – December 23, 2020

On Tuesday, in an op-ed published by the Daily Signal, Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin raised awareness about a dangerous plan being hatched by progressives to shape future generations of Americans.

The plan — outlined in a recent Human Rights Campaign manifesto titled, “Blueprint for Positive Change” — urges the incoming Biden administration to mandate compliance with their political agenda by stripping accreditation from religious colleges and universities that don’t meet “nondiscrimination policies and science-based curricula standards” regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

The objective, which is one of 85 policy recommendations submitted by the LGBTQ advocacy group, demands that the Department of Education amend language found in the Higher Education Opportunity Act that presently requires accrediting agencies to respect a school’s “stated mission.”

The department, HRC argues, “should issue a regulation clarifying that this provision … does not require the accreditation of religious institutions that do not meet neutral accreditation standards including nondiscrimination policies and scientific curriculum requirements.”

Should the plan be carried out, it would effectively dissolve religious higher education institutions in America as many employers do not hire applicants without a degree from an accredited school.

Babin responded to the plan, saying, “Here, couched in language designed to suggest moral superiority and scientific legitimacy, is a blatant, full-frontal assault on our religious liberties.

https://www.theblaze.com

Strong M6.3 earthquake hits Mindoro, Philippines

Teo Blašković – December 25, 2020

A strong earthquake registered by PHIVOLCS as M6.3 hit Mindoro, Philippines at 23:43 UTC on December 24, 2020 (07:43 LT, December 25). The agency is reporting a depth of 109 km (67 miles). The USGS is reporting the same magnitude and depth; EMSC M6.3 at a depth of 33 km (20 miles).

The epicenter was located 1.8 km (1.1 miles) SSW of Calatagan (population 16 110), 17.7 km (11 miles) SW of Balayan (population 50 115), 24.1 km (15 miles) WSW of Calaca (population 37 443), 27.7 km (17.2 miles) S of Nasugbu (population 62 857), and 73 km (45 miles) SW of Calamba (population 316 612), Philippines.

There are about 20 200 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).

12 000 people are estimated to have felt strong shaking, 3 775 000 moderate, and 40 465 000 light.

Phivolcs said aftershocks are expected.

The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are unknown/miscellaneous types and heavy wood frame construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction that might have contributed to losses.

https://watchers.news

Spain legalises euthanasia

Evangelical Focus – December 18, 2020

The Spanish Parliament has approved the first euthanasia law in the country on 17 December.

The rule, promoted by the Social Democrat government party, PSOE, received 198 votes in favour, 138 against and 2 abstentions. Spain becomes the fourth country in Europe and the sixth worldwide to legalise euthanasia, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada and New Zealand.

The law was approvedafter several attempts in which the Parliament voted against it. The government coalition of PSOE and leftist party Unidas Podemos, along with the deputies of liberal party Ciudadanos, leftist party Más País, Catalonian parties ERC, CUP and Junts per Catalunya, Basque parties PNV and EH Bildu, and Galician party BNG, all voted in favour.

The conservative parties PP and UPN and far-right Vox voted against it. Vox has announced that they will file an appeal of unconstitutionality against the text.

The law, which has yet to be approved by the Senate, although it is expected to do so, could come into force in the first months of 2021.

During the vote, dozens of people gathered outside the Parliament building to protest against the measure with posters that read: “Government of death”.

Defending the law presented by the government, the PSOE parlamentarian María Luisa Carcedo, pointed out that the text “absolutely guarantees the patient rights” and that it is “the patient who decides in a situation of extreme suffering”.

PP deputy José Ignacio Echániz responded that “without universal access to palliative care there is no choice, no freedom because the only option offered to patients is euthanasia”. “The level of civilisation and maturity of a country is measured by how it treats the most vulnerable”, he added.

https://evangelicalfocus.com

Phoenix clears parking lots to make way for sprawling tent city packed with homeless people – as experts warn of ‘catastrophic’ crisis caused by pandemic

Andrew Court and Reuters – December 23, 2020

Tent cities are expanding across the United States as experts warn that the ongoing pandemic could lead to a ‘catastrophic’ homeless crisis where hundreds of thousands more Americans are living on the streets.

Officials in Phoenix, Arizona have cleared two large parking lots in the Bender neighborhood to accommodate for the city’s exploding number of homeless people.

More than 7,500 people are without permanent shelter in Phoenix, according to Reuters, who visited the tent city, which is dubbed ‘The Zone’ by some of its inhabitants.

There, hundreds of homeless people are packed together. Many people do not wear masks, and some count a sleeping bag or a tarp as their only worldly possession.

Although the city has posted portable toilets and washing stations along the perimeter of the encampment, health protocols like handwashing are difficult and the risks of contracting COVID-19 is exponentially increased.

Feces and garbage are also littered among the tent city, which is located just a short distance from Phoenix’s ritzy restaurants and luxury apartment buildings.

Phoenix is just one example of a slow-motion disaster unfolding in many large US cities as homeless numbers, already growing in recent years, spike during the global coronavirus pandemic.

In 2019, before the pandemic hit, there were close to 600,000 Americans who were homeless. That number has surely surged in the past twelve months, although experts have been unable to pinpoint the exact number.

Since COVID-19 reached the US in January, however, more than 162,000 evictions have been filed in 27 cities tracked by the Princeton University Eviction Lab.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk