Non-Christian New Zealanders feel that Christians could better represent Jesus by letting their actions speak louder than their words, and by living out the values that Jesus represents. This is just one of the many findings contained in the Faith and Belief in New Zealand report released last month. The 67-page report contains a massive Read more
Researchers have broken the record for growing human embryos in a laboratory, prompting a lament in the Vatican’s newspaper. Two teams of researchers in the United Kingdom and the United States grew embryos until they were 13 days old. The embryos were kept alive and active beyond the stage when they would naturally implant in a mother’s Read more
Priests and chiefs in early Pacific cultures, including New Zealand, used ritual human sacrifices to reinforce their power, a study has found. Research involving two New Zealand universities has discovered such acts were used by social elites to maintain their power, the Stuff.co.nz website reported. The study came from researchers from the University of Auckland, Victoria University Read more
Scientists have found an explanation for the rise of widespread co-operation among humans in societies – the fear of an angry god. International researchers, including the University of Auckland’s Associate Professor Quentin Atkinson, have published the results of their study in the journal Nature. They found people who believe their god is more punitive and Read more
A new DNA study has added to the mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin – which some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus. By sequencing genes from pollen and dust particles on the shroud, Italian researchers have been able to map the type of plants and people that came into contact with the Read more
What makes a male child become a “boy,” as we understand that concept socially? In her new book, When Boys Become Boys, Judy Y. Chu reports on her two-year study in which she followed a group of boys from pre-kindergarten through first grade. She concluded that most of what we think of as “boy” behaviour isn’t Read more
Newly-released documents show that Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, tried to obstruct an extensive study of sex-abuse problems in American dioceses. The cardinal strongly resisted inquiries by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who had been commissioned by the United States bishops’ conference to study how dioceses handled Read more
There are those that say the social media will break down barriers and bring people together but research reveals racism in comments made online. Analysis of more than 1,000 online responses to videos featuring infamous New Zealand race furores involving Paul Henry and Hone Harawira are “disturbing” and illustrative of a “dark underbelly” in New Zealand Read more