Has extraterrestial life been found?

Richard Hoover, an astrobiologist working for Nasa has claimed in an article written for the Journal of Cosmology that he has found tiny fossils of alien bugs inside meteorites that crashed into Earth.

Hoover says that filaments and other structures in the meteorites appear to be microscopic fossils of extraterrestrial beings that resemble algae known as cyanobacteria.

Laboratory tests conducted by Hoover on the rocky filaments were not able to find evidence they were linked to Earth-based organisms, because they lacked nitrogen, which is essential for life on Earth.

Hoover is convinced this indicates they are "the remains of extraterrestrial life forms that grew on the parent bodies of the meteorites when liquid water was present, long before the meteorites entered the Earth's atmosphere."

Hoover made the discovery after studying the freshly cleaved surfaces of three ancient meteorites that are thought to be the oldest in our solar system.

Interestingly enough, Hoover has made similar claims before in studies he has made on other meteorites, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Rudy Schild, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and editor of the journal Hoover made his claims in, said: "The implications are that life is everywhere, and that life on Earth may have come from other planets."

Schild has also instigated a process where 100 other scientists would study and comment on Hoover’s findings, thus thoroughly vetting them.

The ‘No Religion’ campaign is pointless say U.K. theology think tank

Pro Atheism groups have continued their aggressive campaigns to eradicate religion from public life in the United Kingdom, as they have now funded advertisements that urge people to tick “no religion” on census forms.

The British Humanist Association has placed ads on more than 200 buses throughout the United Kingdom carrying the slogan “Not religious? In this year’s census say so.” The BHA have launched the campaign because they say the results of the 2001 census gave a distorted picture of the religious composition of Britain, and want to ensure that those who do not attend church actually say so.

The BHA was ordered by the Committee of Advertising Practice to change their original slogan from “If you’re not religious, for God’s sake say so,” after it was deemed this could cause “widespread” and “serious” offense.

In response to the BHA campaign, the influential U.K. theology think tank Theos has criticised it as “misconceived” and “unnecessary.”

Theos argue that BHA are not taking into account the fact that in the 2001 census, the religious question was the only optional question in the entire form, and that “No religion” was also the first option available to be ticked.

Paul Bickley, a senior researcher at Theos, said that BHA was doing a great job of keeping religion in the news, but that the entire campaign was flawed from the start.

“The campaign grossly exaggerates the extent to which the religious affiliation results of the 2001 census have shaped government policy or influenced spending decisions,” he insisted. “In any case, the British people are quite capable of judging for themselves what box they should tick. They don’t need to be told.”

“If the Archbishop of Canterbury were to launch a campaign pleading for people to tick the Christian box, it would be rightly ridiculed as a sign of desperation,” he continued.

“I suspect that this is what may happen with this campaign, too.”

Shahbaz Bhatti’s message of religious tolerance should live on

Security was tight right across Pakistan today due to the funeral of slain Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti.

A heavy police presence was provided for the funeral itself which took place this morning at the Catholic church of Our Lady of Fatima in Islamabad. Roads were also closed around the church, and those attending the funeral were searched and had to pass through metal detectors.

Bhatti was assassinated by religious extremists due to his active opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy law. The blasphemy law is highly controversial and deeply unpopular with non-Muslims in Pakistan since it makes insulting Islam a crime punishable by death. The blasphemy law has been misused to settle personal scores and seize property or businesses.

Pakastani President Zardari did not attend the mass, due to fears that an assassination attempt will be made upon him, but during the one hour ceremony, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani spoke to the audience of about 1,000 people, saying:

"People like him, they are very rare. All the minorities have lost a great leader. I assure you, we will try our utmost to bring the culprits to justice."

Bhatti was the only minister in the Pakastani government who was a Christian. Christians only make up around 5% of Pakistan’s total population, and according the Gilani the minorities have lost a great champion.

"Today is a very sad day," Gilani emphasised. "The founding father of Pakistan had one wish: He taught the people of Pakistan to give the rights and protection to the minorities... People like him are very rare. All the minorities have lost a great leader."

“[Shahbaz Bhatti] was working for inter-faith harmony," he emphasised.

Christians have taken to the streets right across the country to mourn Bhatti’s tragic passing and to protest against the discrimination they say they are facing everyday. Some Christians hung a banner on the street in honor of Bhatti that read, “We strongly condemn the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, the protagonist of truth and religious harmony.”

The government has declared three days of mourning for Bhatti, but as Pakistan reflects on his passing, it can only be hoped that the message of his life wins through and others will be inspired to similarly work towards religious harmony and tolerance.

Israeli PM thanks Pope for statements clearing Jews of Jesus' death

In reaction to the Pope’s latest book released on Wednesday that reiterates his oft-repeated statement that Jews could not be held responsible for Jesus’ death, the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a letter to the Pontiff thanking him for making this opinion so clear.

"I commend you for forcefully rejecting, in your recent book, a false charge that has been a foundation for the hatred of the Jewish People for many centuries," Netanyahu wrote.

The leader of Israel also offered to meet in person with the Pope.

"My fervent hope is that your clarity and courage will strengthen the relations between Jews and Christians throughout the world and help promote peace and reconciliation for generations to come."

"I look forward to seeing you again soon and to expressing my deep appreciation for you in person.""

The Pope’s book, which is entitled ‘Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week - From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection,’ looks at the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. The Pontiff also denies in some detail the claim that Jews working in the Temple collaborated with the Roman authorities, leading to Jesus' execution.

"Many readers will find this section of the book particularly interesting as the Pope reviews the historical positions taken about this," stated Father Joseph Fessio, founder and publisher of Ignatius Press, the primary publisher of the Pope's books in the US. "He discusses some very controversial claims that have been made, and draws on some contemporary scholarly resources to reach a conclusion that I am certain will generate a lot of discussion."

The lowdown on the great Twitter theological debate

In days long gone by, when Christian leaders held divergent opinions regarding matters of theology and Scripture, they would take their debates to public forums, such as large councils and meetings. The Nicene Creed was formed out of just such a council, which met to discuss the various opinions that had arisen regarding Christ’s nature.

Now theological debates seem to be centred not in geographical arenas, but in totally different types of public forums such as the blogosphere. An interesting example of this occurred last weekend, when pastor, speaker and author Rob Bell came under attack for his latest book entitled: “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.” The furore raised by this book, primarily over the Twitter platform, resulted in Rob Bell’s name trending alongside the likes of the weekend’s biggest headlines concerning Oscar winners like Colin Firth and Natalie Portman.

Justin Taylor, the vice president of editorial at Crossway, wrote a blog suggesting that Bell was now a universalist and moving "farther and farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity." Universalism is the belief that all people will ultimately be saved, and that God will not allow anyone to spend an eternity in hell.

Interestingly enough, Taylor admitted drawing this conclusion purely from the book’s promo blurb and introductory video and without reading the book itself. Another well-known pastor and author John Piper picked up Taylor’s comments, and was upset enough to send out a tweet linking the article with the words “Farewell Rob Bell.” There has been fierce discussion around what exactly Piper meant by his tweet, with most seeming to think he is saying Bell’s position now excludes him from orthodox Christian belief. Piper has also not actually read Bell’s book, and has come under fierce criticism from other Christian leaders for a tweet they say is disrespectful and potentially misinformed.

Both Taylor's post and Piper’s tweet went viral, with the blog post generating over a 1,000 comments and 24,000 Facebook shares. Piper’s tweet was re-tweeted enough to place Rob Bell’s name into the national trending topic for Twitter. Bell’s supporters also readily entered the debate (before reading the book themselves it should be added) and by the end of the weekend, there was a huge and fiercely contested public debate over issues like heaven, hell, universalism, atonement, God’s mercy and justice. As can be imagined, pre-orders for Bell’s book have also soared.

Despite the novelty of huge theological debates entering unique public forums such as the various social media platforms, the point is that this particular debate over heaven, hell and God’s judgement touches upon real vulnerabilities and fears for many. Rachel Held Evans clarified these concerns most succinctly in her article in The Washington Post:

“Like a lot of evangelicals, I am eager to have this conversation because my own doubts about Christianity sprang from questions related to heaven and hell. As a little girl, I struggled with the idea that my hero Anne Frank had died in a prison camp only to suffer eternal torture in hell at the hand of an angry God because she was a Jew and not a Christian. If my Sunday school teacher was right, I reasoned, then the German guards who professed Christian faith were more likely to make it into heaven than the Jews they persecuted.”

Evans goes onto to say that in her travels, she is regularly approached by young Christians expressing these exact, same worries in a variety of ways. Bell’s book, whether is does teach universalism or not, is therefore a timely contribution to an increasingly important discussion that will probably rage on in a variety of ways, although it does seem that face-to-face personal discussions will be vitally important as part of this overall process. After all, while Twitter and the various social media platforms are tremendously helpful communication tools, it is doubtful they could have hammered out an effective Nicean Creed.

Pakistani government official killed by religious extremists

The solitary Christian minister in Pakistan’s government minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, has been killed by Muslim extremists because of his resistance to the nation’s “blasphemy law,” according to international reports.

Bhatti, whose governmental portfolio was Minister for Minorities, was shot and killed by gunmen when driving to work on Wednesday morning. He was killed immediately in the attacks, and early reports indicate that the Pakastani Taliban have taken responsibility for the murder.

Pamphlets were left at the murder scene warning others that a similar fate would befall them if they opposed the blasphemy law. Pakistan’s blasphemy law allows the prosecution and sentencing of anyone deemed to have insulted another religion, although the definitions of the law are dangerously vague. The law has already built up a history of being abused by individuals who falsely report neighbours or business colleagues as a means of sorting out a personal vendetta.

Pakistan’s blasphemy law gained international infamy due to the case of Asia Biba, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy after arguing her religious beliefs after being insulted by other women in her majority-Muslim village. Biba admits defending Christianity, but denies any negative comments regarding Mohammed or Islam in general. Her conviction to death under the blasphemy law resulted in an international outcry, and led to other governments and human rights groups petitioning Pakistan to repeal or reform the law.

Bhatti’s murder follows the assassination of Salman Taseer, the governor of the state of Punjab, also by religious extremists, and also for opposing the blasphemy law. Following Taseer’s murder, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was scared off his plans to reform the law.

Bhatti was one of the few ministers courageous enough to openly condemn Taseer’s killing. In a recent interview with with The Telegraph, Bhatti said he was willing to die for protecting the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan.

“I am following the cross, and I am ready to die for a cause I am living for my community and suffering people, and I will die to defend their rights,” he asserted.

Global warming will bring 'disaster' to Southern Africa

The planet could be heading for an overall increase of temperatures of up to 6 degrees celsius if there are no reductions in carbon emissions, says a UCT climate scientist.

This will mean “disaster” for water resources and food production.

“It will be devastating,” says UCT’s Peter Johnson in a recent address to Southern African parliamentarians in Cape Town. “The difference between an average sumer and a very hot summer is on average only 1 degree. An increase of 2 degrees celsius average global temperature is more than you will ever have experienced in your lives. At 6 degrees celsius it means disaster for food, for water, for ecosystems.”

Johnson added that even very small increases of average temperature could adversely effect Southern Africa and bring about “a real possibility of socio-economic impoverishment.”