The Weekly Francis – 12 December 2024

16:24 How can we solve the “Trolley Problem” for self-driving cars? Does it make a difference if the five people who get hit are nuns and the one person who lives is an escaped convict?

23:28 Did Mary or Jesus ever get sick? Could they?

29:00 If we colonize another planet in the future, how would the Church on Earth communicate with Catholic colonists? What would need to be done before sending Catholics to such a colony?

35:40 If strong Artificial Intelligence (AI) is created, would it falsify the Church’s teachings on the soul? How likely is such the development of such intelligence?

45:00 Is it ever okay to lie to a Cyberman?

49:37 Is the multiverse theory at all compatible with Christianity?

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What kind of prayers for sports teams are okay? (Weird Wednesday strange questions about faith!)

Tim-Tebow-Jets-Bills-Praying 00:29 Remembering Stephen Hawking on the occasion of his death.

04:53 What kind of prayers for a sports team are appropriate?

12:42 Is it true that a medieval pope had a previous pope dug up and put on trial?

16:14 Have some saints and popes used tobacco?

20:46 If life exists on other planets, did Jesus incarnate there also?

28:18 Today would we keep a beheaded John the Baptist alive with pumps and stuff?

29:50 How much of your body mass can you lose before you lose your soul?

33:14 If a Catholic is eating a hot dog on a ship and crosses into a time zone where abstinence is required, is it a sin to finish the hot dog?

41:22 Could an artificially intelligent and sentient creature be saved? What is required to have a rational soul?

48:32 Throughout the series Black Mirror, a recurring theme is digital duplicates of human consciousness getting treated with cruelty as they are enslaved by and pitted against actual body-and-soul human beings. As Catholics, who are we rooting for? The humans or the AIs?

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Does the Second Coming Mean We’ll Never Have Space Colonies? (And More!)

In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (March 8, 2018, both hours), Jimmy answers the following questions:

00:07 What are the Orthodox objections to the Filioque (“and the Son”) clause in the Creed, and what are reasonable responses?

09:52 What is the history of sacrificing animals to God?

17:14 Were the Great Flood and other Bible stories ripped off from the Sumerians?

28:47 What should one make of Fr. Raymond Brown and the Jerome Biblical Commentary?

34:58 Are all our future sins forgiven? How to answer this claim?

44:51 What is the status of the Johannine Comma? Is it inspired and part of the Bible?

51:51 What are some recent philosophers that we can learn from the same way that Aquinas learned from Aristotle?

1:02:14 Does Jesus returning to earth for the Second Coming mean that mankind will never establish colonies on other planets?

1:09:50 How to disagree with the pope without making it seem we’re anti-pope or “popier-than-the-pope”?

1:20:48 Could the Internet cloud be the Beast and our smart devices be the mark of the Beast?

1:29:53 If Mary was conceived without original sin, why did she die? Would Jesus have been spared a natural death if he hadn’t been crucified?

1:34:54 Does everything that occurs in our lives have a special divine purpose or do some things not have a special purpose?

1:39:34 What is the difference between development of doctrine and changing doctrine? Can doctrine ever change and become the opposite?

1:46:58 Did God instruct Abraham to perform an intrinsically evil act with the sacrifice of Isaac? How does this relate to God’s goodness?

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Do Dogs Go to Heaven? And More!

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In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (July 11, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

0:15 What are some of Cy’s favorite books?

2:30 What’s significant about John Paul II’s book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”? (Hint: One thing is that he basically revealed the Third Secret of Fatima in it!)

4:50 Did Joseph Ratzinger ghostwrite many of John Paul II’s writings?

6:35 How to find hidden treasures in John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s Wednesday audiences.

11:50 How to respond to the challenge that Catholicism is false because it bases its teachings on things other than the Bible–the word of God.

16:00 What is the new path that Pope Francis has instituted for people becoming saints?

25:17 – What are some early church sources about the immaculate conception?

31:26 – Can a pope be a heretic personally?

33:40 – What is the earliest evidence for Purgatory?

37:50 – In Acts 11, St. Paul says his proof for the Gentiles in the Church is that the Holy Spirit falls on them. Is this analogous to the Holy Spirit working in other churches today?

44:06 – What are we supposed to be doing in the afterlife?

46:30 – How do we define grace? Someone told me we merit grace, but we also receive initial grace free of merit. So what are the different kinds of grace, where are some places we can find them in the Bible?

54:55 – Can a non-baptized person, who’s married to a Catholic, receive a Catholic funeral and burial?

57:50 – Do dogs go to Heaven?

Resources Mentioned:

The Drama of Salvation by Jimmy Akin

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How to Use the Internet for Evangelization–And More!

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In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (July 13, 2017, 2nd hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

4:25 How to responding to the challenge that Acts isn’t reliable history because it was written long after the events it describes.

12:11 – How can we use the internet for evangelism?

20:40 – In Revelation what does it mean at the end when it gives a curse to people who add or subtract?

29:39 – I’m wondering if there’s a definitive description of Heaven and Purgatory.

34:45 – Why is it that God can strike someone dead with no warning?

44:50 – Do you believe that Catholics and Protestants can be reconciled? And what form might it take?

51:32 – I’m marrying a non-Catholic and he has some weird history questions, why is the Vatican surrounded with walls? Where did all the treasure from the Crusades go?

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Is There Free Will in Heaven? And More!

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In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (June 22, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

02:30 – What are your thoughts about baptizing infants twice? Once in the Catholic Church, once in the Protestant church.

10:30 – Will there be free will in Heaven?

12:10 – Does 1 John 5:13 tell Christians that they know for sure whether or not they are saved?

16:25 – What are some tips for Catholics who are concerned about doing wrong?

32:05 – What is your take on protesting on blasphemous images of Jesus Christ?

41:45 – Can I attend a SSPX Mass with my family?

44:55 – I have heard that Jesus had a blood brother who was not part of the faith until Jesus died and rose again. That was why he chose Peter. What is your stance on this?

49:50 – If one is experiencing temporal punishment because he committed a mortal sin, can the punishment be used as redemptive healing for someone else?

Resources Mentioned:

http://www.scrupulousanonymous.org

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The Official Jimmy Akin Jingle (Catholic Answers MORE)

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In this episode of Catholic Answers More (May 30, 2017), Jimmy surprises Cy Kellett with the Official Jimmy Akin Jingle (written by Kevin Murphy of MST3K/Rifftrax).

Cy and Jimmy also discuss:

* Bad Movies & Good Movies
* Mystery Science Theater 3000
* Citizen Kane
* Gone with the Wind