Catholic Answers Live

Questions Covered: 01:30 – Do we need to fast on Holy Days of Obligation? 08:01 – Is it okay for Catholics to read the Left Behind series if viewed as Fiction? 15:11 – Why haven’t problematic catholic influencers been excommunicated? 28:55 – Is my confession valid if I am not given a penance or asked for the Act of Contrition? 35:09 – Can you explain the existence of the Serpent before the fall in Genesis 3:12? 50:00 – I’ve heard that only people who bear the mark of the Antichrist will be able to buy things in the end times. Is this true? …

Questions Covered: 11:46 – What does the Catholic church view as the main problems with to Martin Luther’s Ninety-five theses? 18:01 – Why do Catholics Baptize infants? 29:18 – Is it a permissible view Genesis 18 as a manifestation of the Trinity? 34:25 – I found $600 today, what should I do? 42:00 – What is the Catholic view of organ donation specifically when it comes to brain death? 48:30 – Why is it assumed that Mary died before she was assumed? …

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. …

Questions covered: 14:42 – Some Protestants are telling me there was no centralized authority in the early church and the bishops of Rome weren’t popes. How would you answer that? 22:32 – What are the other possible interpretations of Isaiah 53? 25:14 – Is it licit to practice cranialsacral therapy? 32:21 – How does the Catholic Church justify what it did in the Inquisition? 44:23 – I think what goes on in my neighborhood during Halloween is demonic. They’re glorifying death. 50:49 – Can you tell me more about the Black Mass happening in Atlanta on Friday? What’s going on there and what should we do? …

Questions covered: 06:05 – Is the story of the rich young man the same story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, or is it something that happened frequently enough that they all reported similar but distinct interactions? 15:29 – Exodus says half of the ten plagues didn’t impact Israel, but doesn’t say that about the others. Did they impact Israel, and if so, why? 21:15 – The physical human body is sexed male and female. Is the human soul also sexed masculine and feminine? 34:38 – Can you help me understand the Church’s new teaching on the death penalty? …

Questions Covered: 03:48 – How to respond to Catholics recent teaching on infallibility? 15:00 – I question the validity of annulments? 20:04 – How do we reconcile a dogma taught by Pope Pius XI being counter only a few decades later by Vatican II? 29:25 – I struggle with the teaching on life when it comes to cases of rape or incest? 36:46 – What is the point if only 144,000 will be saved? 44:49 – I struggle with the line “I go and prepare a place for you in Heaven” in John 14:3? …

Questions Covered: 05:39 – Why does the Church teach that there in no salvation outside the Church? 13:29 – I struggle with the statistical proof for faith? 19:57 – My friend has a hard time with the Pope. Why are there disagreements? 30:16 – My friend can’t get over the Queen of Heaven in Jeremiah and Pope Gregory’s teachings on it? 34:06 – I struggle with the lack of clarity in RCIA classes. Should RCIA members participate in the sign of the cross and other parts of the Mass? 43:56 – My obstacle to practicing is my personal challenge with improving past behaviors and my friend group? 51:28 – My friend struggles with what makes monotheism true? …

Questions covered: 08:11 – If you got permission from the Pope to access the secret vatican archives, what’s the one thing you’d want to see? 19:20 – Why does it seem like so many Catholic priests are hard to interact with on a personal level? 24:10 – My granddaughter is being taught that Adam and Eve aren’t real people and that bothers me. What are Tim’s thoughts on that? 35:28 – How did the rosary come to be? And how did it become associated with Mary? 46:05 – Why does the stigmata occur in the hands when most historical data suggests Jesus was crucified through his wrists? 51:14 – Who is the man of lawlessness referenced in 2 Thessalonians? …

Questions covered: 23:30 – What would be a short, succinct response to the Protestant claim that indulgences aren’t found in the Bible? 32:20 – How can I develop my online outreach and persuasiveness in order to reach peoples’ hearts? 42:20 – How do I evangelize online? 48:07 – How should I go about starting a YouTube channel for Christian apologetics to boost my profile as a DJ? …

Questions Covered: 01:31 – Is Zachary King’s testimony a legitimate conversion? 05:39 – Why is it not good to receive the Eucharist in your hands? 13:06 – My first wife had abortions; do I still need to confess this? 15:17 – What is the will of the Church regarding Baptism? 19:13 – How do you discern if the traditions you believe are from God? 23:25 – What is the origin of relics in Catholic Altars? 33:34 – Was the Gospel of Luke written as a Classical Greek comedy? 44:22 – How should I view the unapproved Our Lady of the Tear of Joy apparitions? 48:47 – What is the difference between First Baptist and Catholics? 51:39 – If there is no time in Heaven, how was Moses in a waiting place? …

Questions Covered: 06:21 – If we know that angelic beings can assume physical bodies, why don’t we just say they have physical bodies? 14:48 – Why didn’t Jesus acknowledge a scenario where He and the demon were putting on a play verses saying Satan doesn’t allow conflict? 17:49 – Why should we have trust in the Papacy based on the historic aspect of having good and bad Popes? DAILY DEFENSE 23:21 – To what degree are we expected to defend the Eucharist physically? 33:09 – When we say there is no salvation outside the Catholic church, do we mean the institution or the body of Christ? 35:55 – Is the Immaculate conception a Holy day of Obligation on this year’s Calendar? 41:44 – How do we pray for the repose of the souls of still born babies? 44:23 – Can you explain buying blessed items? 48:48 – Is it okay to have relations with an ex-spouse prior to being remarried? Does this second marriage need to be in a church? 52:17 – Why are Holy days of Obligation different in the United States and Canada? …