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GateHouse briefs for Faith & Values for Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012
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Chinese cult members arrested for Doomsday rumors According to CNN and Xinhua news agency, members of a group known as the "Almighty God" cult were arrested in China in the provinces of Qinghai and Fujian. Almost 100 members of the group, which requires members to surrender all property when joining, were taken into custody for disseminating information about what they believed was the impending Dec. 21 apocalypse. Members of the cult went door-to-door and made announcements in public areas that the Mayan prophecy was true, the sun would not shine and electricity would not work on Dec. 21 and that only they could save people's lives. Chinese police also seized banners, books, discs and printing presses from the group. Dec. 21 was the last day on the Mayan calendar, spanning over 5,000 years and called the "Great Cycle." There were many theories about the reason it was the last day listed, from it being the end of the world to the beginning of a new cycle to no significance at all. Survey: Confidence in church at all-time low According to Gallup, the number of Americans who have "a great deal or quite a lot" of confidence in "the church or organized religion" is at an all time low at 44 percent, with Protestant Christians expressing more confidence than Catholics. This has been consistent for 2002 through 2012, and is believed to have started in reaction to the priest abuse scandals and cover-ups in the Catholic church in 2002. Good Book? New York Times-bestselling author Anne Lamott writes about the three simple prayers essential to coming through tough times, difficult days and the hardships of daily life. Readers of all ages have followed and cherished Anne Lamott's funny and perceptive writing about her own faith through decades of trial and error. And in her new book, "Help, Thanks, Wow," she has coalesced everything she knows about prayer to these fundamentals. It is these three prayers - asking for assistance from a higher power, appreciating what we have that is good, and feeling awe at the world around us - that can get us through the day and can show us the way forward. In "Help, Thanks, Wow," Lamott recounts how she came to these insights, explains what they mean to her and how they have helped, and explores how others have embraced these same ideas. Insightful and honest as only Anne Lamott can be, "Help, Thanks, Wow" is the everyday faith book that new Lamott readers will love and longtime Lamott fans will treasure." -- Amazon.com Quote of the Week "I prayed for 20 years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." - Frederick Douglass The Word Meta-atheist: Someone who, deep down, doesn't believe in God, though that person might not even consciously realize it. - religionstylebook.com Religion Around the World The religious makeup of Christmas Island, according to CIA World Factbook: 36 percent: Buddhist 25 percent: Muslim 18 percent: Christian 21 percent: Other GateHouse News Service 
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Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: On Monday the 11th inst. on Center Ridge in Mercer County,some citizens got out their cannon to celebrate the taking of Richmond. The gun wasoverloaded and burst. No one was injured, but one 30-pound piece went though thesecond story of a house.
1888 -- 125 years ago: The old folks concert at the Harper Theater last night to benefit St.Luke's Cottage Hospital, attracted a large audience.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Unless depredation by vandals in Rock Island parks is halted,special policemen will be assigned to night duty to protect the flowers and other property.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Station WHBF has received a special citation from Washington forits participation in Air Mail Week, which was observed this week throughout the nation.
1963 -- 50 years ago: A 10-year high in employment in the Quad-City area was reachedat the end of the last quarter, according to an industrial employment barometer releasedtoday.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Pee Wee teams will be able to play baseball and softball as usualon Diamond Three at Dorrance Park this summer, but after that, the ball field is doomed.County crews have put the diamond back in shape after heavy trucks marred the playingfield earlier this spring. Illinois Department of Transportation crews drove onto it to makeborings for the relocation of the junction of Illinois 84 and the Port Byron-Hillsdale road.
(More History)