Understanding the Ascension of Jesus

Ascension of Christ. 1510-1520. Oil on panel. Image licenced to Amy Jordan CNN PRODUCTIONS by Amy Jordan Usage : - 3000 X 3000 pixels (Letter Size, A4) © Scala / Art Resource

In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (May 25, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

1:29 Why is Ascension Thursday a holy day of obligation in some places and not others?

5:30 How do we know the Ascension happened on a Thursday?

7:20 When will we get our glorified bodies?

8:10 How does Jesus’ glorified body work?

9:25 Why didn’t the disciples always recognize Jesus immediately?

17:35 Why does the Gospel of Mark end the way it does? Why do Matthew and Luke end differently?

23:45 Where did the Ascension take place?

24:10 Did the disciples go to Galilee (as Matthew and Mark say) to encounter Jesus or did they see him in Jerusalem (as Luke says)?

27:20 Does only Luke mention the Ascension?

28:25 Why does Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to touch him in relation to the Ascension?

30:30 How are Jesus’ appearances in the 40 days different than his appearances to saints? What about his appearance to St. Paul?

33:05 Why did Jesus ascend? What was the purpose of the Ascension?

36:30 Why did Jesus go *up*? Is heaven *up*? Why is God depicted as being in the sky?

44:35 How do we know Luke didn’t make up the Ascension?

48:38 Who were Luke’s sources? Did they include Peter and Paul themselves?

51:15 When did Christians start proclaiming the Ascension?

51:55 What happened with the two “men in white” at the Ascension? Who were they, and what was their message?

Did Jesus say the Second Coming would happen in the first century?

second comingIn this episode of Catholic Answers Live (April 20, 2017, 2nd hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

2:22 Did Jesus falsely prophesy that he would return before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70?

13:39 Did some of the disciples initially think Jesus was a ghost after his resurrection?

17:50 What is “hermeneutics”? How to respond to the “All have sinned” passage in Romans with respect to the Immaculate Conception of Mary?

28:50 How should we evaluate Buddhism in relation to the Christian Faith?

38:50 How to deal with a problematic family situation that may even be dangerous?

47:23 Did the Council of Nicaea invent the divinity of Christ? Did it arbitrarily select books of the Bible? What was Constantine’s role in it? Was he a sincere Christian? How to know the truth about all this?

53:39 Catholic Answers MORE begins

In this episode of Catholic Answers More (April 20, 2017), Cy and Jimmy discuss:

* Beards!
* The origin of “Rindercella”
* Spoonerisms and other eech sperrors
* Hee-Haw comedian Archie Campbell
* Why the Church accepted 1 and 2 Maccabees into the canon but not 3 and 4 Maccabees
* Easter foods
* Why eggs are associated with Easter

Special appearance by Nick Chamberlain!

Archie Campbell does “Rindercella”: https://youtu.be/1FcUc2Tk0GQ

Click this link to watch the Catholic Answers Live show on YouTube.

 

The Last Days of Jesus

lenten-2In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (April 14, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

1:10 What was happening at the Triumphal Entry?

4:50 What is happening with the mysterious incident where the disciples get the animal for Jesus to ride?

8:30 When was the cleansing of the Temple?

9:50 What is a “Markan sandwich”?

10:40 Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?

12:00 Why is Jesus angry in the temple? Why did he cleanse it?

13:55 Why does John have the cleansing of the temple at a whole different point in Jesus’ ministry?

15:00 How did Jesus’ opponents challenge him and try to get him in trouble with the authorities?

19:00 How did Jesus respond to the challenge of the Sadducees?

21:50 How did Jesus use one of the same techniques that modern apologists use?

22:55 What are we missing about the story of the widow’s mite?

24:55 What does Jesus teach in his prophetic discourse?

27:35 Who anoints Jesus and why is he anointed?

28:50 Why are the identities of some people kept secret in the Synoptic Gospels but then revealed in John’s Gospel?

30:05 How do we explain the mysterious way Jesus arranges a place to celebrate the Last Supper? How did Jesus secretly thwart what Judas might have done?

32:40 Where is the garden of Gethsemane? How do we know what Jesus prayed there if the disciples fell asleep?

34:10 Why is the identity of the disciple who used a sword kept secret–until John’s Gospel?

35:25 What’s happening with the young man who runs away naked in Mark’s Gospel? If it’s not Mark himself, who might that be?

37:15 Was Jesus’ trial legal? Why did the Jerusalem authorities have to take him to Pontius Pilate?

39:15 Why is Jesus said to rise “on the third day” when it was only two days later? Could he have been crucified earlier than Good Friday?

41:15 How do we reconcile the different descriptions of the angels at the tomb? What about the women?

44:10 Did Jesus bodily rise from the dead?

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

Mysteries of Holy Week and Easter

Holy weekIn this episode of Catholic Answers Live (April 10, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

2:50 Why don’t Christians all celebrate Easter on the same day?

8:20 How is Easter related to Passover?

10:44 What date was Jesus crucified?

16:10 Why are the days of Holy Week given the names they are? (e.g., Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday)

21:22 Where does the word “Easter” come from? Is Easter pagan?

27:30 How do we know what Jesus prayed when he was alone in the garden of Gethsemane?

30:15 Where was Jesus held after he was arrested?

32:30 Why do we have an “interactive” reading of the Gospel in holy week?

34:50 What does “A.D.” mean? Is it “After Death”? Also, what’s the deal with “C.E.” and “B.C.E.”?

41:40 Do the Gospels contradict each other on when Jesus was crucified with respect to Passover?

49:40 Did Jesus and the apostles celebrate Passover on Wednesday? Do we need to propose that to allow time for all the events that happened after Jesus was arrested?

51:50 If Jesus “descended into hell,” how would he tell the good thief that he would be with him that day in paradise?

Click here to watch the video on Youtube.

Did God “Pour out His Wrath” on Jesus? And More!

crucifixionIn this episode of Catholic Answers Live (April 6, 2017, 2nd hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

01:28 How did people understand the term “church” at the time of Jesus? Was there a pre-Christian use of this term?

05:23 Are people in purgatory aware they are in purgatory? Could they be released only when they acknowledge that their sins deserve hell but God is being gracious to them?

08:09 How culpable is a person who sins after having been poorly counselled by a priest?

11:10 Are there equivalents to high mass, low mass, etc., in the ordinary form of Mass?

17:58 Were there female deacons and bishops in the early Church?

27:45 How to respond to the claim that, in the Atonement, the Father “poured out his wrath” on Jesus?

32:35 Is there historical evidence that the early Church had a papacy?

38:30 What does the Greek mean when Jesus says he is the Son “of Man”? Should it be translated the Son “of God made Man/flesh”?

41:30 Can we be affected by the sins of our ancestors and by curses people speak against us?

44:45 Does the Old Testament promote slavery?

48:20 Does the Church teach that the Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

50:35 Does the Church have a teaching on the meaning of death in Genesis? Does it refer to “spiritual death”?

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

How to explain the loss of salvation–and more!

In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (March 30, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

00:12 What “polymath” and “autodidact” mean

03:35 How to respond to the claim that Peter isn’t the rock in Matt. 16.18 because Paul says no one can lay a foundation other than Christ

06:35 How to reconcile free will with John’s 6.44’s statement that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him

14:48 If a Catholic marries an unbaptized person, is the marriage valid?

17:30 If we’re supposed to bury cremated remains, why are saints’ relics put on display?

22:10 If one can use contraception to control hormones, why can’t you use them for contraceptive purposes?

28:15 How to explain to Protestants that at Christian can lose salvation

35:55 How does the Catholic Church explain the veneration of saints who were not in communion with the Church when they died?

42:25 How to evangelize someone who is ambivalent toward God and says they’re totally happy

46:30 How to defend the use of gendered pronouns to someone who is not Christian

51:40 How to dispose of remains after a miscarriage

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

Also, don’t miss our new mini-show, Catholic Answers MORE!

In this episode of Catholic Answers More (March 30, 2017), Cy and Jimmy do a relaxed, pre-show in which they:

* Explain what Catholic Answers More is

* Say hello to people watching and commenting

* Talk about heresies and which is Jimmy’s “favorite”

* Who Marcion was

* Why Pope Benedict resigned

* Whether the pope gets to order whatever kind of food he wants

* What kind of secular authority the pope has (can he order a Catholic president to do something?)

* What was the name of the Animaniacs’ pet fish?

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

When Should You Conclude Something Is Not God’s Will and Stop Praying? And More!

prayersIn this episode of Catholic Answers Live (March 21, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

  • What is a “eucharistic minister”?
  • Do Muslims (and Jews) worship the same God as Christians?
  • Is it necessary to renew your marriage vows at some point? Does it need to be done during a Mass?
  • Who was James “the brother of the Lord”?
  • When should you conclude something is not God’s will and stop praying?
  • If someone has requested that you don’t pray for them after they die, should you honor that request? Can an angry soul take revenge?
  • How to understand the issues of medical marijuana and recreational marijuana?
  • Why is pouring more common in the Catholic Church than immersion when performing baptism?
  • If you’re invited to someone’s house on a Friday in Lent, is it mortal sin to eat the meat they serve?

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

The Mystery of the “Beloved Disciple”–And More!

In this episode of Catholic Answers Live (March 14, 2017, 1st hour), Jimmy answers the following questions:

  • Why shouldn’t we only believe things verified by science?
  • How can we reconcile the Council of Trent saying that we have free will with John 6:44, where Jesus says “nobody can come to me unless the Father draws him”?
  • How can we reconcile differences in the Gospels like where Jesus exorcizes either one or two men, depending on which Gospel you read?
  • Are John, the Gospel writer, St. John, the Beloved Disciple, and St. John of Patmos are all the same individual.
  • Did the Blessed Mother know she was free from original sin?
  • Why do we not talk about the trauma felt by the soul of an aborted baby after it is separated from the body?
  • What is the Catholic perspective on physician-assisted suicide?

Click the link to watch the video on YouTube.

Death in Heaven (Secrets of Doctor Who)

Doctor-Who-death-in-heaven

We discuss the second part of the Doctor Who finale of series 8, “Death in Heaven”. Love, Life, Death and the survival of the human soul: big themes in this epic finale of this season of Doctor Who. How well did the writers wrap up this year’s story line? Hear our thoughts in this episode of ‘Secrets of Doctor Who’.

Join Jimmy Akin, Fr. Cory Sticha, Dom Bettinelli and Fr. Roderick for discussion, analysis and speculation!

Click this link to listen or use the player on the web site.

Links for this episode:

Check out Jimmy Akin’s blog Let’s Watch Doctor Who and Dom Bettinelli & Fr. Roderick’s podcast Secrets of Star Wars! Subscribe to the Feed | Subscribe with iTunes

Dark Water (Secrets of Doctor Who)

Doctor-Who-dark-water

We discuss the first part of the Doctor Who finale of series 8, “Dark Water”. What did we think of the revelation of the nethersphere that was hinted at during the entire season? And what to think of the true identity of ‘Missy’? Hear our thoughts in this episode of ‘Secrets of Doctor Who’.

Join Jimmy Akin, Stephanie Zimmer, Fr. Cory Sticha, Dom Bettinelli and Fr. Roderick for discussion, analysis and speculation!

Click this link to listen or use the player on the web site.

Links for this episode:

Check out Jimmy Akin’s blog Let’s Watch Doctor Who and Dom Bettinelli & Fr. Roderick’s podcast Secrets of Star Wars! Subscribe to the Feed | Subscribe with iTunes