Kresta in the Afternoon

According to a new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, a quarter of Americans – including 50% of those aged 18-24 – believe Hamas’ actions against Israel are morally justified. How could anyone come to this conclusion? Al discusses.

The Vatican II document Nostra aetate declares that “God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers. He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues.” What are these “gifts?” The most repeated Divine promise in the Hebrew Scriptures is God’s gift of the Land of Canaan to the People of Israel. Andre Villeneuve joins us to discuss it more fully.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Pharisees asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. But He does not name any of the 10 Commandments; rather, he names the great commandments of love. Peggy Stanton joins us.

In the weeks since the Hamas attack on Israel, many mainstream newsrooms have struggled with how to refer to the attackers. Are they terrorists or militants? An underlying problem is that many in the legacy media see the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as simply a political story. But at heart it is a religion story, concerning sacred sites in the Holy Land. Terry Mattingly has more.

It seems obvious that any Christian should be against anti-Semitism, but that isn’t always the case. A conference this week at Franciscan University which attacks anti-Semitism was planned long before the Hamas attack, but now seems more timely than ever. Al discusses.

Few authors are more distinctly American than Mark Twain. And Twain was a complicated man whose views on politics, religion and other issues are often misunderstood, even to this day. We examine how religion is portrayed in his works with Joseph Csicsila.

It’s been a violent month in the Middle East and it looks like things are only going to get worse. But there is some good news. Dore Gold, a former UN representative for Israel, says that Saudi Arabia – once a major sponsor of terrorism – is not giving a dime to any terrorist organization. Al discusses.

Israeli military commanders have warned Palestinians living in Gaza to evacuate to the South, as Israel prepares to destroy rockets, communications gear and other military targets in the north. But Hamas leaders have demanded the people stay there - because their very strategy depends on higher civilian death counts. Douglas Feith joins us with more.

Discussions about the environment tend to follow a pattern: we agree that we should protect the environment, but we aren't sure how to do it; competing narratives about the severity of the situation make it hard to decide what action is prudent; and anyone who questions the mainstream positions is accused of being an irresponsible science-denier. None of this is conducive to forming actual policy. Tom Doran is back to help us approach the problem.

Vatican II is one of the most significant events in modern Church history and has been studied endlessly over the last 60+ years. Is there anything left to say about it? George Weigel thinks so – by reexamining the event through the prism of Pope John XXIII’s original intentions for the council. He joins us.