By Christy Barritt

Most Trusted People in America

A new survey by Reader’s Digest magazine listed “The 100 Most Trusted People in America.” Among those listed are Billy Graham and Tim Tebow.

One thousand people from across America were surveyed. Components that those participating took into consideration included integrity, character, honesty, and leadership.

At the top of the list is actor Tom Hanks. Tim Tebow came in at number 40 and Billy Graham at 67.

“The poll results were fascinating, fun, and shocking,” Reader’s Digest editor-in-chief, Liz Vaccariello said in a press release. “While the list showed what Americans think about those they see regularly in the news, on television, and in movies, our poll also revealed that we put our trust in do-gooders, that tweets do not always equal trust, and that we trust people we know more than anyone famous.”

Grade School Graduation Cancelled Because of Prayer

An Arkansas grade school has canceled its sixth grade graduation ceremony after a parent complained about the inclusion of a Christian prayer at the event.

School officials in Lake City received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the disgruntled parent, and then decided to cancel the graduation
altogether.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation also sent a letter, according to reports. One of the attorneys from the organization, Patrick Elliott, wrote to the school, saying, “It makes no difference how many families want prayer or wouldn’t be offended by prayer at their graduation ceremony. The Supreme Court has settled this matter—school graduations must be secular to protect the freedom of conscience of all students.”

Parents who supported the prayer came up with a plan of their own. They found a church to host the graduation and planned their own ceremony. They then opened up the event to anyone who was interested in coming.

Prayer Improves Relationships

Florida State University released results of five compiled studies that showed praying for close friends or romantic partners can lead to more forgiveness and overall cooperative behavior.

The studies showed that those who prayed for those around them were “less vengeful” and “more cooperative.”

“The value of the current studies is that we have objective measures to show that colloquial, intercessory prayer focused on the partner changes observable behavior,” Dr. Frank D. Fincham of FSU told The Christian Post.

He went on to say that in prior research, there was no difference in the results between participants who were asked to pray for relationships, and those who were asked to think positive thoughts about relationships.

People who prayed for their relationships, rather than solely thinking positive thoughts about them, reported higher levels of cooperative tendencies and forgiveness.

Who’s Looking Out for You?

Only 17 percent of adults living in the United Kingdom believe that the church has “their best interests at heart.” 

That’s the result of a new survey commissioned by a British media agency. Its goal was to come up with what it called the “trust ranking.” Google and churches ranked together at 17 percent, coming in right behind supermarkets at 19 percent.

Churches did beat out banks, the legal profession, the media, and political parties, however.

When the demographics were broken down, young people ages 16-24 years old ranked Google much higher than churches, however, giving Google a 28 percent vote of confidence.

Facebook came in at only 9 percent, while the British National Health Service ranked the highest at 37 percent.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
www.christybarritt.com