Today on Kresta - May 18, 2010

Talking about the "things that matter most" on May 18

4:00 – Kresta Comments – US State Department Apologizes to China for Human Rights Abuses in AZ Immigration Law
The US State Department recently met with China - regarding Human Rights Violations. It took little time for the state Department to apologize to China - regarding... you guessed it - the Arizona Immigration Law. According to the AP "U.S. Officials did not whitewash the American record and in fact raised on its own a new immigration law in Arizona that requires police to ask about a person's immigration status.” This apology to China - one of the preeminent countries in the world that routinely abuse its citizens and ignore basic human rights. Al puts this controversy into context.

4:20 – Where Miracles Happen: True Stories of Heavenly Encounters
A 20-year feature journalist, Joan Wester Anderson won national attention with her book Where Angels Walk. Her visibility on TV and radio talk shows and on the lecture circuit and her requests for "miracle experiences" in a number of magazines brought Anderson the narratives on which her new book is based. The author reviews various religious ideas about heavenly intervention in human affairs and summarizes Americans' attitudes on the subject according to major polls; she then reports dozens of contributors' stories under five headings: "Miracles through Prayer," "Angel Miracles," "Miracles from Beyond," "Miraculous Healings," and "God's Special Miracles." We look at Where Miracles Happen: True Stories of Heavenly Encounters.

4:40 – Religious Ideas for Secular Universities
During the last century American students and scholars have found it increasingly difficult to discuss the relation of religion to the mission of self-consciously secular colleges and universities. Respected scholar C. John Sommerville offers thought-provoking reflections on this subject in a conversational style. Sommerville explores the crisis of the secular university, argues that religion and secular universities need each other, and examines how Christianity shows up on both sides of our “culture wars.” The astute reflections in Religious Ideas for Secular Universities point the way to a dialogue that would do justice both to religious insights and to truly neutral secular education.

5:00 – Sex au Naturel: What It Is and Why It's Good for Your Marriage
Sex Au Naturel: What It Is and Why It s Good For Your Marriage by Catholic Answers host Patrick Coffin is a bracing ride across the landscape of the Catholic sexual ethic. If you re looking for intellectual ammo with which to defend and explain the teaching of Humanae Vitae, or if you reject it altogether, you’ll agree that Coffin approaches the topic from a wide array of new and persuasive angles. With humor and enthusiasm and a total absence of moralizing you'll learn:
• Why Paul VI s landmark 1968 encyclical was widely rejected a generation ago and why it s gaining new respectability now
• Where exactly the Bible teaches against birth control
• The differences between contraception and natural family planning (hint: they re more profound than you think)
• The meaning of the natural law and how it applies to birth control
• And much, much more!