Today on Kresta - April 7, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on April 7

Best of Kresta in the Afternoon

4:00 – Christians Caught in the Middle of Middle East Strife?
Christians and Muslims are involved together in the democracy and reform movements bubbling up around the Middle East and members of both communities will gain from their success and suffer if they are violently suppressed, said a leading Lebanese Muslim scholar. With demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, simmering unrest in Yemen and government changes in Lebanon, "I am both worried and hopeful," said Muhammad al-Sammak, whom Pope Benedict XVI invited to speak to the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East in October. Paul Marshall, Senior fellow in the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, is here to look at Christians in the Middle East protests.

4:20 – Creating Life in the Lab: How New Discoveries in Synthetic Biology Make a Case for the Creator
Each year brings to light new scientific discoveries that have the power to either test our faith or strengthen it--most recently the news that scientists have created artificial life forms in the laboratory. If humans can create life, what does that mean for the creation story found in Scripture? Biochemist and Christian apologist Dr. Fazale Rana, for one, isn't worried. In Creating Life in the Lab, he details the fascinating quest for synthetic life and argues convincingly that when scientists succeed in creating life in the lab, they will unwittingly undermine the evolutionary explanation for the origin of life, demonstrating instead that undirected chemical processes cannot produce a living entity. He joins us.

4:40 – Kresta Comments – The Chair of Peter

5:00 – A Tour of Unrest in the Middle East
Two months ago, a Tunisian fruit vendor lit a match, starting a fire that has spread throughout the Arab world. Muhammad Bouazizi's self-immolation prompted anti-government protests that toppled the regime in Tunisia and then Egypt. The demonstrations have spread across a swath of the Middle East and North Africa. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch is here to give us the latest developments, country by country.

5:20 – Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper
In recent years, Christians everywhere are rediscovering the Jewish roots of their faith. Every year at Easter time, many believers now celebrate Passover meals (known as Seders) seeking to understand exactly what happened at Jesus’ final Passover, the night before he was crucified. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist shines fresh light on the Last Supper by looking at it through Jewish eyes. Using his in-depth knowledge of the Bible and ancient Judaism, Dr. Brant Pitre answers questions such as: What was the Passover like at the time of Jesus? What were the Jewish hopes for the Messiah? What was Jesus’ purpose in instituting the Eucharist during the feast of Passover? And, most important of all, what did Jesus mean when he said, “This is my body… This is my blood”? He is with us to answer those questions.