#11675 Ask Me Anything - Tim Staples

Questions Covered: 03:27 – How can I get across to my confirmation students the importance of going to confession?  11:53 – How did the Magi know that the star of Bethlehem was leading them to the king of the Jews?  16:21 – Does Joe still hate cheesecake or have you repented of that sin? And is Cy going to release a full version of St. Irenaeus and the Goblet of Fire?  22:26 – I heard Catholics say that Scripture has a kind of primacy over Tradition. But that seems to contradict what I’ve read in the Catechism and Dei Verbum. Can you explain?  31:19 – The shroud of turin is one cloth, but one of the Gospels clearly says there’s a separate cloth for his head. Is that a problem?  34:33 – What is the Catholic position on embryos? Are they alive or just tissue?  43:44 – Can you help me explain the role of Mary in salvation history?  48:39 – How can we know God, and in what way is a person able to know God?  52:05 – How can be there different levels of approach to God in heaven? I’m uncomfortable with that idea.  …

Questions covered: 05:28 – How do we reconcile parts of both scripture and tradition that seem pessimistic about many being saved with other parts that are more optimistic? 14:48 – Does infallibility produce an infinite regress? 20:48 – How would Joe’s argument against the Protestant view of scripture handle views of perspicuity that are more limited? 29:01 – How do we know that Matthew wrote Matthew and John wrote John and Revelation? We don’t have any other writings to prove that from. 36:01 – What does CCC 841 mean when it says we and Muslims together adore the one God? 47:38 – How do Isaiah 53 and Galatians 3:13 fit into the Catholic view of atonement as opposed to penal substitutionary atonement? …

Questions Covered:  04:13 – Can you share your interpretation of Matthew 5 as it relates to purgatory?  07:38 – If God is all good and loving, it seems unjust to send an unbaptized baby to Hell?   15:14 – How do I share with my mother that the Saints are praying for her, she just needs to ask?   21:41 – Are canonizations infallible? What confidence can I have in this process?    29:40 – Where did we get the idea that Saints can pray for us but not themselves?   33:39 – What is Purgatory? Can we know if we are going to purgatory?   41:31 – Is the suffering in Purgatory close to the level of Hell? Can the souls in purgatory talk to us?   49:10 – Can you explain the Saint prayer to release 1000 souls in purgatory?   52:05 – Is purgatory different from Paradise? How does this impact the thief on the cross?  …

Questions Covered:  05:03 – Does the church teach that Purgatory is a process or a place?  13:13 – How can I reconcile purgatory and the final judgment?   19:23 – What is the difference between OCI and RCIA?   24:27 – What is the treasure referenced in Luke 18:25?   32:57 – How do I defend purgatory with a Baptist who don’t have the book a Maccabees?   39:23 – How many Saints pray for us?    45:39 – How do you find out the name of your guardian angel?   50:08 – Can you explain Hallowtide as we prepare for All Saints solemnity?  …

Questions covered: 18:35 – I want to know what Father thinks about the long lines for communion and the short lines for confession.  22:20 – How should I engage my siblings who are lukewarm?  36:04 – My husband goes to communion but not to confession. I’m worried about what to tell him.  43:18 -What is the difference between discipleship and a relationship with Jesus?  50:10 – I go to Mass a few times a week and help at the parish. But some people go to Mass every day. Should I be doing that too?  52:30 – How important is it to have somebody else with you when evangelizing? Jesus sent the disciples out two by two but it’s hard for me to find a good partner.  …

Questions covered 15:35 – How can I introduce the faith to people who have no previous experience or reference to it?  21:08 – What’s the best way that I can continue to catechize my children? I’m taking them to church but they don’t really participate and they’re bored.  29:28 – A logical exercise for parents who feel guilty about their children leaving the faith.  33:44 – My daughter married a man with two kids and they’ve had two more. I want to tell her she should focus on the two kids she’s had and let the father discipline the older ones. Is that the right thing to say?  36:47 – In the business world “systems thinking” is when we go beyond the “what” and try to look at the “why.” It ties in beautifully with what Dr. Ray is saying.  52:12 – I was kicked out of my parents’ house because they didn’t want to talk to me about the faith. How can I reconcile with them?  …

Questions Covered:  01:28 – Was St. Thomas Aquinas excommunicated? Why?   14:37 – What is your opinion on the ethical framework of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son?  24:21 – I heard Jimmy say it is better to exist even if you end up in Hell. How can I compare this to Jesus saying, “The one who betrays me it was better for him not to be born”?    34:42 – What is your opinion on Dousing?  44:35 – Who did Jacob wrestle within the Old Testament?   51:47 – How do blessings work with lay people versus priest?   …

Questions Covered:  03:35 – What advice would you give for starting a college apologetics club?   09:22 – Is there Mass in Heaven?  15:03 – What is your defense on John Henry Newman’s idea of doctrinal development?  24:45 – How can I refute once saved always saved and perseverance of the saints with scripture?  34:16 – How did Thomas receive the gift of the Holy Spirit since he was absent in John 20?  41:08 – In the 3rd letter of John, I have read different translations with Church or church. Would the lower-case c translation indicate John talking about a local church not the universal?  46:30 – Is snowflake adoption ethical?  51:59 – Does the long history of sexual abuse in the church make the church an apostate?  …

Questions Covered: 03:02 – Why do Catholics have Jesus on the cross instead of just a cross. Also, are tattoos immoral? 16:01 – My wife and I were married in a Lutheran church. She is Catholic. She was told by her priest that she is not allowed to take the sacraments. Is this true? 28:45 – Often I hear complicated ideas when explaining Catholic doctrines. I find it hard to follow, and imagine others do as well. Do you have to understand these things to be Catholic? 44:15 – I’m considering Catholicism. I’m struggling with some Marian doctrines. Is it enough for me to become Catholic to assent to the Church’s doctrines, while not really being sure if I believe in them? 47:40 – What is the Catholic view on dispensationalism? …

Questions Covered: 03:48 – Could we employ some of your arguments against the Evil God Challenge against atheistic naturalism? 08:37 – I like the argument against sola scriptura that scripture doesn’t say everything has to be in scripture. But Protestants respond that Old Testament Jews didn’t have a magisterium, yet they still knew, more or less, what books were canon. If Old Testament Jews were fine with that, shouldn’t we be too? How do we respond to that. 17:17 – Are those who go to Hell likely to eventually go mad from all their suffering? 21:08 – In light of the recent story of the man declared brain dead from whom they were harvesting organs, but then the man showed signs of life: how should Catholics consider organ donation? 29:33 – Convince us that abortions are evil without using religion. 32:20 – Why is the purpose of the uterus disanalogy in the violinist argument successful in refuting it? 43:24 – Is 1 Cor 15:29 a good proof for purgatory? 50:18 – How do we answer the ethical dilemma: a robber comes to your house and makes you choose a family member for him to kill, or else he will kill your whole family. …