Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Today on Kresta - June 1, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 1

4:00 – Stephen Hawking: Heaven is "a fairy story"
Physicist Stephen Hawking believes there is no afterlife, and that the concept of heaven is a "fairy story" for people who fear death. He says that when the brain ceases to function, that's it. "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail,” he said. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." We talk to Fr. Robert Spitzer, author of New Proofs for the Existence of God.

4:40 – Prayer in the Digital Age
The digital age is an age of information overload. In this noisy, technology-driven world, full of important news and urgent messages, spending silent time in prayer can seem impossible. Matt Swaim brings to light the obstacles to prayer inherent in our digitally-connected culture and explores both the challenges and benefits of living a Christian life in the 21st century. Matt is here to discuss it.

5:00 – Wholly Mary: Mother of God
There's a little bit about Mary in Scripture. We can glean a bit more from the tradition of the Church. Some of the approved apparitions add a little insight, too. But where can we go to get the complete picture, to find out about the whole Mary? Chris Padgett walks us through what the Bible has to say about the Mother of God. What has she meant to the Church throughout the centuries, what do the apparitions add, what have the saints told us about her and, most importantly, what can we learn from her ourselves? Chris joins us.

5:20 – This Sacred Moment: Becoming Holy Right Where You Are
What does it mean to be a holy person? Any and every situation holds the grace for the transformation called holiness. By imitating Christ and emptying yourself for the benefit of another you can become holy right where you are. Spiritual director and retreat master Fr. Albert Haase is here to offer practices that help us discern what God is calling us to in each moment, as well as clear direction for living in the Spirit, the source of our holiness.

5:40 – TBA

3 comments:

  1. Al and Father Spitzer,

    Why do you guys let Hawking get under your skin? You seem quite angry, as though he has personally insulted you.

    Fr. Spitzer, you sure got back at Hawking when you said: "It's the most unscientific statement I have really ever seen. And honestly, at some point, the guy has to be ashamed of himself. I mean, it just -- it's just not -- it's not science. It's just pure, 'I'm bitter, and I want to let everybody know about it.'"

    You got him good, Spitzer. You win. And mighty Catholic of you, too.

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  2. Al,

    "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail,” Hawking said. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

    You were most upset, Al, with the part about being afraid of the dark. Afraid of the dark? He's got to be kidding.

    Something (probably not the Holy Spirit) caused me to recall your Sept. 17, 2010 interview with the ex-contented atheist Jennifer Fulwiler. Even though she had been a contented atheist, she had begun to have certain thoughts that made her not so contented. She began to despair in college when she realized "that we're all just random chemical reactions destined to extinction. And all these things that I think of as love and heroism -- and Bertrand Russell described it as 'all the labors of the ages,' he said -- are just destined to nothing. And it was a despair that's indescribable."

    She talked more about her despair: "After my initial dark period in college, it was pretty momentary. The only thing was, in general I was happy, I was content, but I couldn't sleep at night. I had insomnia, and I had to be very careful to always read until the last moment before I would fall asleep, or have the TV on. And that was kind of the echoes of that darkness that had once been so clear to me: is that if I were ever alone in a dark room with no distractions, those thoughts would come back; that it's all for nothing, that we're all just -- everything that I think of as myself, as my accomplishments, it's just -- it's all going to evaporate. So I had pretty bad insomnia for that reason."

    Not afraid of dark, huh?

    And it's not just Jennifer who fears the darkness. You do too, Al. Here's something you said to Jennifer: "You were contented as an atheist, though. You didn't see how tragic or despairing it is. You know, a world in which all your loves and purposes are destined for extinction."

    I think Dr. Hawking nailed it.

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  3. And Mr. H should be punished because he's a nonbeliever? What a dumb idea. It's just dumb.

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