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32 FEATURES
24 Dog-whistle Electioneering 44 The Christmas Spirit A Canterbury University study suggests the news media were heavily biased against the National Party and John Key during the election campaign. IAN WISHART analyses the study, and its implications for the daily news media
32 Christmas - The Evidence
For years major newspapers and magazines have devoted issues each December to attacking the basis of the Christmas story. But now, new evidence is backing up the traditional version. In this extract from his book The Divinity Code, IAN WISHART lays out where critics like Richard Dawkins and John Spong have got it wrong
In a continuation of our Christmas special, former Christian turned atheist turned agnostic SIMON GEMMILL questions some basic assumptions about faith
50 Oprah’s New Religion
America’s talk-show queen has not only sold The Secret in 124 countries, and pushed other bizarre New Age beliefs on her audience - now she’s helped launch Barack Obama into the White House as part of a brave new order. ROLLAN MCCLEARY backgrounds the New Age search for their own ‘Messiah’ Cover: NZPA