#11746 Ask Me Anything - Jimmy Akin

Questions Covered: 03:21 – 1 Sam 18:10 says “an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul.” How are we supposed to interpret that when nothing evil can come from God? 10:06 – Can you help me understand in what sense Jesus is God? How can a thing have two natures? Is it the same way the Burning Bush, or the Eucharist, is God? 19:39 – What are the reasons a person might hear voices? 28:55 – My spiritual director has been cautioning me against treating novenas and relics like magic. But in last Sunday’s gospel we hear of the woman who was healed because she believed if she touched Jesus’ clothes she would be healed. How can one have that kind of faith without treating it like magic? 38:05 – Does Matthew quote the Septuagint? 45:50 – What’s the difference between black magic and white magic? 48:42 – I had an experience in early youth that led to my conversion later in life. Have you heard anything like that before? What kind of experience is this? …

Questions Covered: 10:52 – Does the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 relate back to a council 1 Chronicles 28? I’m thinking that if it does, it could be more proof for the papacy. 17:14 – Does Matthew quote the Septuagint? 21:53 – I heard an interpretation of the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac that Abraham failed because he should have offered himself in place of Isaac. Is there any truth to that interpretation? 31:46 – I find it’s hard to use 2 Macc 12:46 to defend Purgatory to Protestants because they don’t believe in that book. How do you deal with that? 40:20 – How do we answer someone who says that God is Jehovah? 45:22 – How do we answer free-gracers that bring up Rom 3:20 as proof that works of the law are all works? 49:50 – What is the biblical evidence for inclusivism, meaning that God has mercy for those who through no fault of their own have not heard the gospel? And if there’s time… Why does Acts 1:5 talk about a water baptism and a holy spirit baptism, but Eph 4:5 says “one baptism.” …

Questions Covered: 05:35 – My youngest daughter decided to leave the Church and became Lutheran. She will be getting married with a Lutheran pastor officiating. Can I attend? 17:58 – Why don’t we point to images of angels of death and say that it’s St. Michael the Archangel? Doesn’t he do God’s work of bringing death to the earth? 20:25 – How does NFP fit into a Catholic life and being open to life? 34:35 – Is pirating games online immoral? 40:54 – I’m not Catholic. What is the Catholic view of the rapture? 46:37 – I pray the Divine Mercy novena for family who has left the Church. Will this help them when they pass away to avoid hell? 50:36 – Why didn’t the Church make exorcism into a sacrament? 53:03 – Does the Church uphold the validity of a marriage outside of the Catholic Church in the situation of the previous caller’s daughter?   …

Questions Covered: 07:03 – I’m close to coming to faith but hell doesn’t seem to fit with an all-loving God. Can you explain? 40:34 – Can you give a summary on the Catholic Moral life? 50:07 – If you start worshiping Buddha, Is that a big sin? …

Questions Covered: 01:02 – Can someone tell me what verses talk about saints in heaven interceding for us? 09:55 – How can we be sure that the Catholic Church is the one true Church when the early church seems more conciliar like the Orthodox? 28:26 – My Eastern Orthodox friend argues that there’s 3 Petrine sees, and Rome does not have a right to override the others. How do I respond to that? 43:47 – I was raised Catholic and can’t get past the bible verse saying call no man father. What’s the answer? …

Questions Covered: 06:29 – Can I attend a wedding of protestant family members? 16:33 – Does a priest have to touch the host during the consecration for the mass to be valid? 30:14 – Why does Jesus say that divorce is allowed only during infidelity in Matthew 19? 44:15 – Mt. 27:9. Is it true that there are ancient rabbinical documents that quote one prophet but attribute it to another prophet? 50:56 – When I talk to my protestant friends about a sacrifice at the mass they say that they have a sacrifice of praise. How do I respond to that? …

Questions Covered: 06:42 – Is it possible to reconcile Young-Earth Creationism with findings of science that appear to say the earth is much older?  13:55 – During the apostolic age, was a mustard seed considered a weed or a harvestable crop?  19:11 – Did Jesus have an elemental soul like humans do?  22:43 – I’m having a lot of problems with two dioceses. They’re restricting my ministry and not telling me what’s wrong. What’s the next level I can go to to try and sort this out?  33:36 – How do the Catholic observances of holidays and seasons and feasts reconcile with Mathetes’ Epistle to Diogenetus, which seems to say that holidays and seasons are not Christian?  41:07 – With all the suffering in the world today, has anyone proposed that purgatory might be this world?  47:31 – Is it okay for Catholics to use supplements for your mood like adaptogens?  49:49 – What are some good sources I can read concerning typology of St. Peter in the Old Testament?  …

Questions covered: 13:53 – How do we respond to scientific theories like the special theory of relativity that are based on thought experiments that seem to contradict Christianity? 18:16 – Alexis Carrel was a Catholic biologist who studied eugenics for the country of France. Can his profession be reconciled with his Catholicity? 29:54 – In our modern era, science is viewed as objective truth that matters more than faith; but also there’s a modern philosophy that everyone has their own truth. As a scientist, how do you use your profession to bolster your faith within that odd philosophical framework? 35:06 – What evidence is there that we have a soul that is rational and has intellect? 41:40 – How do you compare the difference between an atom being self-aware and a cell being self-aware? 45:15 – Can you recommend any reading or viewing material on how faith and science are complimentary? 47:28 – How should I teach chemistry from a Catholic worldview? …

Questions Covered: 01:27 – What is the history of the use of the tetragrammaton/divine name in worship, particularly as it relates to Jehovah’s Witnesses?  07:44 – I heard your show where you mentioned a study in India on near death experiences where the people in India would see some spirits that were either good or evil spirits. Christians see angels, good or bad. So non-believers could argue that the fact that people don’t see the same thing is proof that these visions are due only to chemical reactions of a dying brain. How would you respond?   13:52 – What would be the best way for us as Catholics to answer some Protestants who claim what’s happening in Israel right now has to do with the 2nd coming of Jesus that in there minds is gonna happen soon or at any moment?  17:49 – Which allegedly evidential NDE do you think is the strongest?  23:57 – If the Pope has the keys to heaven and hell, could the Pope/Church canonize someone that God would not have allowed into heaven by ordinary means, but since the church/pope utilized the authority of those keys they now get in? what about the reverse a just person going to hell because the church invoked the keys of authority to condemn them?  28:25 – From what I understand, the Jesuits are not allowed to hold positions of Authority or power. Is this true? And if so, did it change to permit Pope Francis to be Pope?  29:55 – Maybe better for a weird questions episode but I recently had several blessed, holy objects go missing around the house and it occurred to me, if it WAS demons, is there    34:53 – From my 15 year old : Is God alive both scientifically as well as theologically?  39:30 – From my 13 year old: In the Skinwalker Ranch episode of Mysterious World there were three wolf- like activities and one of them was a wolf-like creature running around in the horse pen. One thing that I realized was that the description for the wolf was almost the same as the beast of Gevaudan. Do you think the beast could have been a skin walker? They were both red, had poofy tails, head like a wolf, heyena like bodies and boar like legs. I’d like to hear your thoughts.  43:51 – I remember a very helpful episode where you discussed the career of Dr. Steven Greer. I have been very curious about what you know about the legitimacy of the UAP claims by Bob Lazar and David Grusch?   48:56 – How can we better understand the word “Belief” with regards to God and our faith, and do Catholics and Protestants (specifically Lutherans, understand this idea of belief in God differently). Is it just about saying you know of God’s existence and profess to others that you know and understand of his existence; or, is there a deeper understanding of “belief in God” which also calls us to act or respond to this understanding of “belief” in Him. If there is a deeper understanding (or action) of belief, where do we find this ( in history, in scripture, or in the actual definition in or meaning of the word)?  …

Questions Covered: 03:09 – What are your thoughts on the prophecy of the angelic pope and great Catholic monarch? 06:40 – Until the Second Coming, we won’t have our bodies if we are in heaven (provided we get there, of course). How will we interact, then, with our loved ones who we hope are in heaven and we long to see again? What does that even look like? I believe the Church does not have definitive teaching on this, but what has been the speculation? 17:46 – Do you think there were sasquatches on the Ark? 19:56 – We say the Trinity is three Persons. I have been told, on inquiry, that these are not three “selves” as we would normally understand “persons”, but I’m also told that the Holy Spirit is the “love” between the Father and the Son, and that the Holy Trinity is a “community”. But only distinct selves can love each other or be in community; both of these, it seems to me, cannot be true. Can you elaborate? 23:54 – Is there any equivalent to Eucharistic Adoration for the Precious Blood? If so, why? If not, why not? 28:43 – What is the difference between feasting and gluttony? 31:49 – Someone w/ surname of Murray said the name meant they are descended from Mary, after she moved to France. (Pardon my French but WTH??!?!?!?!!) 33:49 – Make or dismiss the case that after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mother Mary first and in private. 34:40 – What’s a good book that talks about how the apostles died rather than denying the Resurrection? 40:10 – What’s all this about the red heifers being prepared for slaughter in Israel as fulfillment of a prophecy? 46:24 – Please give your feedback on this statement: “Receiving on the tongue is the default option.” 46:56 – What really is sleep? 50:35 – What does the Church state about forcing men to take psychological exams before being accepted to seminary? …