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China

China Arrests More Than A Hundred People For Spreading Apocalypse Rumors

GLOBAL TIMES, XINHUA ( China), THE GUARDIAN (UK), CNN (US)

Worldcrunch

Chinese authorities have arrested at least 101 people for spreading rumors about an impending apocalypse, the state-run news agency Xinhua reports.

The 101 people arrested (including 37 in Qinghai and 34 in Fujian province in the east of the country, according to CNN) all belong to the Christian "Almighty God" cult, and were spreading doomsday rumors door-to-door or at public venues. The "evil cult," as it was referred to by Chinese authorities, claimed that only they could save people's lives.

The group, which was founded in 1992, believes that a female Jesus has been, or will be, reincarnated in mainland China, The Guardian reports – while Xinhua adds that its members recently latched on to the Mayan apocalypse scenario predicting the sun will not shine for three days beginning on Friday.

"A big eye was found in the sun on December 9 in Beijing, and female Jesus manifested herself with her name. Great tsunamis and earthquakes are about to happen around the world," reads part of a text message that the "Almighty God" group sent to its members, according to China's Global Times newspaper.

If only all countries did same as China - arrest idiots who say world is ending Friday - we'd have fewer stupid people watoday.com.au/world/scores-a…

— Corey Stephenson (@MrCorey) December 18, 2012

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Society

Should Christians Be Scared Of Horror Movies?

Horror films have a complicated and rich history with christian themes and influences, but how healthy is it for audiences watching?

Should Christians Be Scared Of Horror Movies?

"The Nun II" was released on Sept. 2023.

Joseph Holmes

“The Nun II” has little to show for itself except for its repetitive jump scares — but could it also be a danger to your soul?

Christians have a complicated relationship with the horror genre. On the one hand, horror movies are one of the few types of Hollywood films that unapologetically treat Christianity (particularly Catholicism) as good.

“The Exorcist” remains one of the most successful and acclaimed movies of all time. More recently, “The Conjuring” franchise — about a wholesome husband and wife duo who fight demons for the Catholic Church in the 1970s and related spinoffs about the monsters they’ve fought — has more reverent references to Jesus than almost any movie I can think of in recent memory (even more than many faith-based films).

The Catholic film critic Deacon Steven Greydanus once mentioned that one of the few places where you can find substantial positive Catholic representation was inhorror films.

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