Today on Kresta - January 3, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Jan. 3

4:00 – Christians Targeted for Persecution in India, Philippines, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan and Egypt
Dec. 20 - Hindu fundamentalist attacks on India's Christians mount as Christmas approaches
Dec. 25 - Bombing wounds 11 at Christmas Mass in Philippines
Dec. 25 - Christmas weekend violence kills 38 Christians in Nigeria
Dec. 30 - Baghdad: 14 bombs target Christian homes – 2 dead and 14 wounded
Jan. 1 - Church bombing in Egypt kills 21; imam condemns Pope's remarks
These attacks were just SOME of those endured by Christians this Christmas season. We talk to Jonathan Racho and Robert Spencer about this rash of violence specifically targeting Christians.

4:20 – The Catholic Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Origins of Catholic Christianity
If you're looking for a complete and simple Catholic resource to equip you to answer your Protestant friends about salvation, faith and works, baptism, the Eucharist, the sacraments, the priesthood, celibacy, and redemptive suffering, then this new book is for you. This book intends to show once and for all that Saint Paul was thoroughly Catholic, and that Protestant and liberal prejudices against the Catholic perspective on Paul are unwarranted. If we read Paul in his own words, we find none other than the great Catholic Apostle of Rome. Taylor Marshall is here.

5:00 – Direct to my Desk – Top 10 Catholic News Stories of 2010