Today on Kresta - April 9, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Apr. 9

4:00 – The Archaeology of the Bible
How have the societies and events of the past affected the shape of the world as we know it today? How can we use archaeological data to help us understand the peoples and culture of the Ancient Near East? Can archaeological studies help us to understand the Bible, and if so, how? These are just some of the questions discussed in this fascinating journey around the archaeological remains of the Ancient Near East. James K. Hoffmeier provides us with a review of Bible history and examines the role of archaeology in understanding the Biblical text. Beginning with Genesis, this intriguing survey follows the Bible narrative right through to the early churches of Revelation. The book is divided into three sections—two of which cover the Old Testament and one to the New Testament—and is interspersed with stories from the author's own experience as an archaeologist, which bring the thrill of archaeological discovery vividly to life. Beautifully illustrated with photographs, charts, maps, diagrams, and illustrations of sites, this striking overview is for anyone interested in learning more about the societies and events of the Ancient Near East and how they affect our understanding of the Bible.

4:40 – Divine Mercy Misconceptions
More than 15,000 people are expected travel this weekend to attend the annual Divine Mercy Sunday Weekend at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, the home of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in Stockbridge, Mass. We talk to the rector, Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC, about this all-important feast. As the Catholic Church prepares to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday Marian Press are helping to dispel various misconceptions about the Divine Mercy devotion. We discuss many of those.

5:00 – Dialogue of Love: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic Ecumenist
The Dialogue of Love is written from the perspective of an evangelical Catholic Ecumenist. Raised Catholic, but having responded to the Gospel at L'Abri Fellowship in 1970, Eduardo J. Echeverria's journey took the paths of Reformed and then Anglo-Catholic Christianity on his way back to full communion with the Catholic Church in 1992. Engaging in ecumenical conversation as a committed Roman Catholic whose views have been shaped by, among others, Romano Guardini, John Paul II, and Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI), the author discusses in an articulate, bracing, and constructive manner, the positions of representative thinkers in the Dutch neo-Calvinist tradition of Reformed Christianity: Herman Bavinck, G. C. Berkouwer, and Herman Dooyeweerd. Fundamental issues of ecclesiology, meaning and truth, sacramental theology, the relation between the Church and the world, nature and grace, and issues on the relation of faith and reason are examined with the aim of achieving clarification and understanding. Readers will experience ecumenical "Dialogue . . . not simply [as] an exchange of ideas," but also as "an 'exchange of gifts'," indeed, "a dialogue of love" (John Paul II).