Kresta in the Afternoon

In an interview with an Italian television program a few weeks ago, Pope Francis was asked how he “imagines hell” and said he “likes to think of hell as empty” and hopes that it is. He made it clear that this was a personal view and not a dogmatic

It’s been 50 years since the English translation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag Archipelago,” in which he recounted his years of imprisonment in Soviet labor camps for criticizing Stalin. Dr. Elizabeth Spalding of the Victims of Communism museum joins us with more on his life and how you can join an event commemorating the work.

In a recent interview, Pope Francis said it is his personal hope that Hell is empty. How reasonable is it to hope that all men will be saved? Al discusses.

After twenty years of digging up “religion ghosts: in news stories, GetReligion is closing. Reporters in the mainstream press often disregard, underestimate and misunderstand the religion angle in major news events, or the simple faith that inspires and influences the people in their stories. Has anything changed in the last two decades? Terry Mattingly joins us.

In its annual Faith and Freedom Index, the Napa legal institute found Michigan to be one of the worst states in the nation for religious and regulatory freedom. Mary Margaret Beecher joins us with more, and also discusses her vocation as a lawyer and person of faith.

Saturday marked the anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's death. He's best known as the man who "kept us out of the war," then later as the president who led the country through the First World War. Who was he, really? What was his vision for the country? More than any other president, he believed in the Moral Force of Ideas. What does this mean? We talk with Patricia O'Toole.

The story commonly told about the relation between Christianity and freedom of religion treats Christianity as an inherently intolerant and oppressive religion. The historian Perez Zagorin writes, of "all the great world religions past and present, Christianity has been by far the most intolerant." But while it is a tragic truth that many Christians have oppressed others, the fact remains that Christian theology is a source for religious freedom. Tim Shah joins us.

Prayer, in marriage, is more than checking off a box. It is time spent in the presence of the Author of love himself. Every time we pray for and with our spouse, God gives us greater insight into what it takes to love each other better more deeply, more honestly, more authentically, and more passionately. Every time we pray for and with our spouse, we open our hearts to a love that can satisfy our deepest longings and allow our marriage to be a light to the world. We'll talk with Dr. Greg Popcak.

Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The temple was the center of the Jewish world and played an integral part in the faith. We explore it with Andre Villeneuve.

In suburban America, we like our bumper stickers, yard signs, and graphic t-shirts. In the online world, we love our memes. But what happens when slogans become the basis for our conversations and influencers become the authority on which the conclusions of our moral debate rest? Jody Benson joins us.