Author: Domenico Bettinelli

Happy New Year! Jimmy Akin is answering more weird questions, including whether indulgences can be retroactively applied; if UFO aliens could be demons; what happens to cremated saints who should be incorruptible; and whether aliens could have souls.

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Questions covered:

• 02:42 – There are certain acts which have an indulgence attached to them.  Let’s say that a woman named Mary is in the habit of a particular prayer at a particular place and time.  One day Mary explains her habit to Martha.  Martha exclaims “Did you know there’s an indulgence attached to that”.  “No, I didn’t”, Mary replies. My weird question is: Does Mary receive those indulgences retroactively with this knowledge and desire?  Or has she been unconsciously receiving them all along?  Or is it the case that only going forward, she will receive the indulgence?
• 07:53 – My understanding is that during the canonization process the body of the potential saint is exhumed and if their body has not suffered corruption that plays a role in their path towards sainthood. The question has to do with cremation. With the rise in acceptance and practice of cremation for Catholics, how would someone being a future incorruptible interact with the act of cremation? Would the body burn at all? If it would, are we destroying future incorruptibles by practicing cremation?
• 10:34 – I was wondering if Jimmy could speculate on a presupposed notion on the salvation of Erwin Rommel. Rommel was a Catholic German General during WWII and supposedly involved in the plot to kill Hitler. Because of the nature of the cause he fought for, would his Catholic faith have (assuming he stayed true to its tenets) be sufficient for his salvation?
• 16:55 – If someone went into a church and removed the consecrated Eucharist from the church.  Would it be a matter of kidnapping or theft?
• 21:20 – Saint Apollonia leaped into a fire. They would have tossed her in anyway, because she wouldn’t renounce her faith. Where do you draw the line between martyrdom and suicide?
• 32:57 – I have heard a theory that alien abductions could be demons pretending to be aliens. This is supported by the fact that in a lot of these cases anti-religious messages are given by the aliens. Could this be possible? I have also been intrigued by the theory that gods worshiped in antiquity (specifically Mayan and Sumerian) may have been demons also. Would this fit the Catholic belief system? How would God allow this if true?
• 39:32 – Are you familiar with Isaac Asimov’s short story “The Last Question”? How do you understand the final sentence with in the whole of the story? And what was the message Isaac was trying to convey?
• 46:15 – I’ve been trying to read about the theological implications of finding out that aliens exist. How might we determine if any aliens we had met were fallen, once we knew they had souls?

Links for this episode:

• Please spread the word about the podcast. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!
• Purchase the books and other material from this and other episodes at the Mysterious World Bookstore.
• Join the conversation at the Starquest Facebook page and the Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World Facebook page.
• Send your feedback or comments to mysterious@sqpn.com or send a tweet with the hashtag of #mysteriousfeedback

This Episode is Brought to You By:
Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World is brought to you in part through the generous support of Aaron Vurgason Electric and Automation at AaronV.com. Making Connections for Life for your automation and smart home needs in north and central Florida.

RosaryArmy.com. Have more peace. Visit RosaryArmy.com and get a free all-twine knotted rosary, downloadable audio Rosaries, and more. Make Them. Pray Them. Give Them Away at RosaryArmy.com.

Colchester Curry House, helping people make authentic Indian cuisine from the comfort of their own home. Find authentic Indian spice blends and recipes at ColchesterCurryHouse.com.

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Merry Christmas! Jimmy Akin is answering more weird questions, including whether an insane person confessing sins to a cat could result in forgiveness; whether one could baptize with tea in emergency; and whether some bodily mortification is spiritually healthy.

Help us continue to offer Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. Won’t you make a pledge at SQPN.com/give today?

Questions covered in this episode:

• 02:51 – I’d like to know about the so-called “Satanic Panic” around Dungeons and Dragons, but also the related panic about D&D and murder/suicide.
• 14:38 – Does CCC 2290 have anything to say about people’s addiction to coffee? We all seem to give coffee a pass even though people spend lots of money on it and develop significant physiological and psychological dependence on it. Find any humorous coffee meme and substitute the word “heroin,” and suddenly it isn’t so funny.
• 20:57 – Where would we be today if the Library of Alexandria never burned down?
• 24:20 – I have questions about bodily mortification. I am reading about the lives of saints who did actual damage to their physical bodies. To me, that seems very wrong, as our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and God created the body as “good,” so much so that burial of the dead is an act of Christian charity. Yet, we still are being advised in some quarters to “subdue” our bodies” with either extreme and unhealthy neglect, or actual harm.
• 30:33 – Was Jesus dead all day on Holy Saturday and just waiting to come out on Sunday?
• 32:55 – What would the implications be in terms of philosophy, theology, and morality if animals other than humans were discovered to be sapient?
• 38:42 – In dire circumstances, can one baptize using tea? It’s mostly water. What if it’s sweetened?
• 41:45 – In Confirmation class a kid once asked me this: “If there were an insane man who thought his cat was a priest, and he went to Confession to his cat and heard the cat give him absolution, would his sins be forgiven?”
• 49:50 – I read that Augustine believed that concupiscence is specifically passed down through the act of intercourse of the parents. Would concupiscence still be part of a child if there was artificial Insemination without any sexual act involved?

• Please spread the word about the podcast. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!
• Purchase the books and other material from this and other episodes at the Mysterious World Bookstore.
• Join the conversation at the Starquest Facebook page and the Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World Facebook page.
• Send your feedback or comments to mysterious@sqpn.com or send a tweet with the hashtag of #mysteriousfeedback

This Episode is Brought to You By:
Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World is brought to you in part through the generous support of Aaron Vurgason Electric and Automation at AaronV.com. Making Connections for Life for your automation and smart home needs in north and central Florida.

RosaryArmy.com. Have more peace. Visit RosaryArmy.com and get a free all-twine knotted rosary, downloadable audio Rosaries, and more. Make Them. Pray Them. Give Them Away at RosaryArmy.com.

Colchester Curry House, helping people make authentic Indian cuisine from the comfort of their own home. Find authentic Indian spice blends and recipes at ColchesterCurryHouse.com.

Want to Sponsor A Show?
Support StarQuest’s mission to explore the intersection of faith and pop culture by becoming a named sponsor of the show of your choice on the StarQuest network. Click to get started or find out more.

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

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The Randonautica phone app promises to take you on a magical, mystery journey. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli explore whether there is anything paranormal about these random journeys or if it’s all just random chance. And Jimmy reveals the unexpected results of his own Randonautica trip.

Help us continue to offer Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. Won’t you make a pledge at SQPN.com/give today?

Links for this episode:

• Randonautica.com
• Top 10 Ways to Randonaut Responsibly
• 16 Happy Randonauting Experiences
• Global Consciousness Project
• Freakiest Randonautica Coincidences (video)
• Confirmation Bias
• YouTube Version of Original Seattle TikTok Video (DISTURBING)
• Police Probable Cause Document
• Random Noun Generator
• Sheep-Goat Effect
• The Mysterious Throw Rug Jimmy Found

• Please spread the word about the podcast. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!
• Purchase the books and other material from this and other episodes at the Mysterious World Bookstore.
• Join the conversation at the Starquest Facebook page and the Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World Facebook page.
• Send your feedback or comments to mysterious@sqpn.com or send a tweet with the hashtag of #mysteriousfeedback

Mysterious Headlines

• App That Translates Cats’ Talk
• Human Genes Expand Monkey Brains
• BONUS: Rare (800 Year) Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction Dec. 21

This Episode is Brought to You By:
Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World is brought to you in part through the generous support of Aaron Vurgason Electric and Automation at AaronV.com. Making Connections for Life for your automation and smart home needs in north and central Florida.

RosaryArmy.com. Have more peace. Visit RosaryArmy.com and get a free all-twine knotted rosary, downloadable audio Rosaries, and more. Make Them. Pray Them. Give Them Away at RosaryArmy.com.

Colchester Curry House, helping people make authentic Indian cuisine from the comfort of their own home. Find authentic Indian spice blends and recipes at ColchesterCurryHouse.com.

Want to Sponsor A Show?
Support StarQuest’s mission to explore the intersection of faith and pop culture by becoming a named sponsor of the show of your choice on the StarQuest network. Click to get started or find out more.

Direct Link to the Episode.

Subscribe on iTunes. | Other Ways to Subscribe.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download