Author: Domenico Bettinelli

Civilization (ENT) – The Secrets of Star Trek

As the Enterprise encounters a primitive world, they learn a lesson about the Prime Directive. Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha the themes of respect for cultures and exploitation, environmental pollution, and the other side of alien abduction in this story.

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Can Catholics be Jedi? Saying Mass in Klingon? Saved Zombies? … & More Weird Questions – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World

It’s a fifth Friday of the month, so Jimmy Akin is answering more weird questions, including whether Catholics can be Jedi, saying Mass in Klingon, whether zombies can be saved, whether Elves need sacraments, and more.

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Questions from this episode:

  • 02:55 -I was watching a sitcom on one of the major networks. In this episode, a teenage character was trying to win over a girl by pretending to be as religious as she was. The female character had decided to be baptized in a Baptist church and the young man joined her hoping that the gesture would garner her affections. The pastor character dunked both teenagers in the font and recited the proper Trinitarian form. Now even though they were acting on a set, it seems to me that all the necessary requirements were fulfilled for Baptism. Provided the actors had not previously been baptized, would they now be baptized?
  • 07:10 – As sort of an academic exercise among linguists, there’s a hypothetical language, Anglish, created from a Britain isolated from Latin and French influence. What would the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be sound like if Anglo-Saxon-influenced words were used exclusively in the prayers?
  • 11:11 – Would Tolkien’s Elves, as unfallen humans, require the sacraments?
  • 14:54 – Would a Mass performed in Klingon be invalid or illicit? If it is valid, where can we find a priest who could do that? Could Fr. Hugh be trained to do this?
  • 19:09 – Where did Jesus’s Y chromosome come from?
  • 20:00 – And where did Adam get his Y chromosome? And did Eve have a Y? Could the Y that was withheld from Eve have been preserved and passed down somehow until it was utilized in Jesus, the second Adam?
  • 23:34 – How long did it take to grow your beard and how long is it?
  • 25:32 – Apparently there is a Non-Theistic movement called Jediism that is based on what the Jedi follow. Would it be ok for Catholics to be a part of this even though the “real life Jedi” may not be too quick to admit they are role-players?
  • 28:38 – Can zombies be saved?
  • 30:50 – Are zombies biblical?
  • 34:04 – Does tradition give us any idea if what happened to the saints that rose from the grave and went into the holy city after the crucifixion of our Lord. Did they have incorrupt bodies or glorified bodies? Did they die again? Did they return to the grave? Were they assumed bodily into heaven? Also, is there any record of what the said to people in the Holy City?
  • 37:29 – What is the real point of liturgies where pets are blessed?
  • 38:48 – Suppose you took a single-celled human embryo. You removed the sex chromosomes from this embryo’s DNA and replaced them with chromosomes of the opposite sex. Now the child will grow up to be the opposite sex. What sex will this person be in the Resurrection?
  • 43:12 – In Scripture we read many times that Jesus wept. Yet I can’t think of a single instance to read Jesus laughed. Did he?

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Russell T. Davies and 10th Doctor Retrospective – The Secrets of Doctor Who

Russell T. Davies resurrected Doctor Who in 2005 and Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha look back at his era and his impact on the show for the future. They also discuss the 10th Doctor’s character and stories and the best and worst episodes from the RTD era.

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Emanations (Voyager) – The Secrets of Star Trek

What if the afterlife was just another dimension? Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss how this Voyager story tackles questions about life, death, assisted suicide, and euthanasia with surprising sensitivity and openness.

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Mysterious Celebration! (100th Episode Anniversary!) – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World

We’re celebrating our first 100 episodes with updates on the some of the mysterious topics we’ve discussed, as well as hearing your feedback on the podcast and what it means to you. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli want to thank the listeners for their support in our first 2 years and look forward to many more shows.

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:
Episode 1: Ghosts

Episode 3: Bigfoot
Astonishing Legends Patterson-Gimlin Series

Episode 4: Area 51

Episode 6: Pyramids

(See video description for links to raw footage of the robotic expedition)

Videos exploring hidden chambers below the pyramid:

Episode 22: Bob Lazar

Episode 23: Astrology

Episode 24: Dyatlov Pass

Episode 26: Jimmy Hoffa

Episode 36: Skinwalker Ranch

Episode 38: Golden State Killer

Episodes 40 and 70: Navy UFO Studies (AATIP)

Episode 45: Voynich Manuscript

Episode 53: Betz Sphere

Episode 67: Numbers Stations

Episode 73: Somerton Man

Episode 83: Dark Matter, Dark Energy

Videos explaining why Dark Energy might not exist:

Episode 87: Nephilim

Episode 91: Government Acid Conspiracy

Episode 96: David Koresh

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The Dalek Invasion of Earth – The Secrets of Doctor Who

The Daleks take London! Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss this 1st Doctor story of a post-apocalyptic world ruled by Daleks and includes the first departure of a companion, his granddaughter Susan, from the Tardis.

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Q-Less (DS9) – Secrets of Star Trek

Q was an entertaining thorn in the side for Picard on TNG, but what happens when he shows up on DS9? Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha talk about Sisko’s different approach to Q and why this Q story, while it has its moments, may not work as well as the TNG ones.

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Our Lady of Akita – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World

From 1973 to 1982, a Japanese religious sister reported receiving messages from an angel and the Virgin Mary as well as a series of miraculous events. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli examine the mystery of Our Lady of Akita, what happened, whether it was supernatural, and its connection to Fatima.

Links for this episode:

Mysterious Headlines

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Dreamland – The Secrets of Doctor Who

An animated 10th Doctor adventure in Area 51! Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha discuss this little-known special featuring David Tennant’s Doctor in 1950s America dealing with an alien invasion, a Doctor Strangelove-style military officer, native Americans, and a diner waitress who happens to be his real life wife.

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Picard: Last Best Hope – The Secrets of Star Trek

To celebrate 100 episodes, Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, and Fr. Cory Sticha take up a detour from Star Trek shows to a book, “Picard: Last Best Hope,” which is a prequel for the events of the Picard series. They discuss how it adds to the show and creates depth for some of the new and old characters.

Buy the book: Star Trek Picard: Last Best Hope

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