Today on Kresta - July 31, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on July 31

Best of Kresta in the Afternoon

3:00 – Al’s Analysis of the Christopher Hitchens Interview
On Monday, Al sat down for an interview with famed atheist bomb-thrower Christopher Hitchens – author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. In typical Hitchens fashion, he made outrageous and odd claims. We aired the interview on Monday afternoon, and today we analyze certain elements of it to expand on Al’s responses to Hitchens and further expose this man as a fraud and outright liar.

4:00 – Stories from the Edge: A Theology of Grief
Greg Garrett compassionately and insightfully aids us in grappling with the age-old question of where can God be found in times of tragedy? Exploring the theological themes of both Biblical stories and American myths, he helpfully reveals how these foundational narratives have shaped our beliefs about God, continue to inform how we live our lives, and influence how we experience God's presence in the midst of suffering.

4:40 – Divorced from Reality
The decline of the family has now reached critical and truly dangerous proportions. Family breakdown touches virtually every family and every American. It is not only the major source of social instability in the Western world today but also seriously threatens civic freedom and constitutional government. G. K. Chesterton once observed that the family serves as the principal check on government power, and he suggested that someday the family and the state would confront one another. According to our guest, that day has arrived. Al talks about the government and its role in marriage.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Humanae Vitae and Me: A Testimony
It was the summer of 1968, and the Humanae Vitae debate had hit the Church the world over. The small town outside London where Joanna Bogle lived was no different. Dissent from Humanae Vitae wasn't something remote and far away; it was written into the fabric of ordinary Catholic parish life. It involved popular priests and lay people who were active in many fields -- teachers, leaders of organizations -- and, from my recollection at least, it was mainstream. She says she doesn’t remember hearing anyone actively defending Humanae Vitae. Yet it dramatically impacted her life. She is here to tell us the story.