Monday, August 26, 2013

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - August 26, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on August 26
 
4:00 – “The Things We Share A Catholic's Case for Same-Sex Marriage”
Former First Things Editor Jody Bottum has set off a bit of a firestorm after publishing an article in Commonweal Magazine entitled “The Things We Share A Catholic's Case for Same-Sex Marriage.” In the lengthy essay he writes, “Campaigns against same-sex marriage are hurting the church, offering the opportunity to make Catholicism a byword for repression in a generation that, even among young Catholics, just doesn’t think that same-sex activity is worth fighting about. There’s a reasonable case to be made that the struggle against abortion is slowly winning, but the fight against public acceptance of same-sex behavior has been utterly lost.” He is here to argue his case.
 
4:40 – Gay Panic Over New Russian Laws
The Russian parliament recently passed a national law forbidding homosexual proselytizing to schoolchildren. The law also forbids public manifestations like parades. An additional law forbids homosexual adoption of children or foreign adoption into countries that allow for homosexual “marriage.” Opponents of the law are not content simply to shock their friends with what is really going on in Russia. After all, these new laws are enough to shock the sensibilities of westerners where homosexuality has largely triumphed over the culture. Austin Ruse has just returned from Russia and is here to discuss the situation.
 
5:00 – Kresta Comments: Jody Bottom and the Future for the Church and the Culture in the Battle for Marriage
 
5:20 – In NM, Same-Sex Marriage Trumps Religious Liberty
The Supreme Court of New Mexico ruled last week that the First Amendment does not protect a Christian photographer's ability to decline to take pictures of a same-sex commitment ceremony -- even when doing so would violate the photographer's deeply held religious beliefs. As Elaine Huguenin, owner of Elane Photography, explained: "The message a same-sex commitment ceremony communicates is not one I believe." Is this a harbinger of things to come as we continue down the path of gay “marriage” as a civil right? We talk to Alliance Defending Freedom, who argued this case.
 
5:40 – The Personal Muslim
Steve Ray has led untold numbers of pilgrimages to the Middle East. One thing that necessarily entails is a lot of personal contact with Muslims. Steve is here to talk about the practical aspects of Islam in the Holy Land. How do Christians relate to Islam and to the Jews? How does Steve relate to Muslims as a Catholic tour guide in their countries? Steve tells us.

2 comments:

  1. re: the business people who turn away business from same sex couples wishing to marry i.e. florists, caterers, bakers, photographers, etc. I am against same sex "marriage". I am also against pre-marital sex of any kind. It is against the teachings of the church and is , in my opinion, equally as morally wrong as gay sexual activity. My question is this: are these same business owners also turning down jobs from heterosexual couples who are living together while planning their marriage? Many are doing so with out of wedlock children in tow - proof of their sexual activity outside of marriage. This is just as wrong and Catholics should be taking a stand against this as well. We cannot use selective morality and focus only on the immorality of gay sex; we need to include all morally wrong acts including heterosexual sexual activity outside of marriage. I feel there is a double standard going on. We should be able to act according to our religious beliefs, but we cannot say we are exercising our religious beliefs in one instance and not in another instance and be able to get away with it. I think it needs to be all or nothing. This makes it seem like we are discriminating against gays. And what about gay couples who take a vow of celibacy with each other but want to be celebrated as a couple. I have two friends who have done just that. They acknowledge their homosexuality but desire to behave within the teachings of their Catholic faith so they have committed to remain celibate together. I commend them and think the church should bestow some sort of graces upon them to give them the strength to live out this vow. Just my thoughts on the issue....Terrie Kiley

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  2. Al, did I hear you correctly at the end of the Bottum segment that the fight against the certification of gay "marriage" threatens to "jeopardize the gain that we're making in the pro-life movement"?

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