Then, a few verses later, he appears to the Virgin Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of Jesus Christ.

Both Zechariah and Mary ask questions of the angel--but with very different results.

Zechariah is rendered mute and unable to speak until John the Baptist is circumcised!

Mary . . . isn't.

So, what's the difference? 

They both asked questions about the seemingly impossible pregnancies that Gabriel had come to announce?

Why is Zechariah treated so differently?

Is God just playing favorites with Mary?

Or is there a subtle difference between their questions and the attitudes which the questions reveal?

That's what I take a look at in this podcast.

Jimmy appears on Catholic Answers Live in this episode of the podcast and answers these questions:

·      Why don’t we call bishops “apostles” if they’re the successors to the apostles? When did we start having bishops? (2:30)

·      Why did the Catholic Church support the “bad guys” in the Spanish Civil War? (5:00)

·      What can Jimmy recommend to a searching Protestant for understanding the pope and Mary? (12:15)

·      Are there apostles living today? (20:35)

·      Are all churches the same? (22:25)

·      Does the fact that Paul was sent to the Gentiles and Rome disprove the authority of Peter? (30:00)

·      Why do Catholics pray to saints if Jesus is the only Mediator? Can we pray for those who have passed on, and if so, do they have to be canonized saints? (34:35)

·      Does Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees imply sola scriptura? Where do Catholics and Protestants differ on sola scriptura? (44:40)

(Original Airdate: December 5, 2013)

Jimmy appears on Catholic Answers Live in this episode of the podcast and answers these questions:

•          What does Jimmy think of the pope’s new apostolic exhortation? (2:35)

•          Why do the early Church Fathers know best? Why are they authoritative? (6:15)

•          Is there evidence that the apostolic Fathers carried over the deposit of faith? (9:00)

•          Did the Reformers educate the people, whereas the Catholic Church deprived people of knowledge? (14:45)

•          Is it okay to lie the way Rahab did? (22:05)

•          Does the existence of non-canonical Gospels diminish the authority of the ones in the Bible? (27:35)

•          Were the four canonical gospels established at the Council of Carthage? (32:40)

•          What resources review Catholic books and movies in light of Catholic teaching? (34:30)

•          Can people do things pleasing to God before they know Jesus? (40:05)

•          Do conceptions have to occur through a sexual act? (48:40)

•          Is it morally permissible to contribute to a fund that your job requires you to permit to if it’s pro-abotion? (51:45)

(Original Airdate: November 26, 2013)

Jimmy appears on Catholic Answers Live in this episode of the podcast and answers these questions:

• Do our souls go to sleep when we die? (3:00-8:25)
• How to deal with an anti-Catholic husband? (11:45-19:35)
• How to interpret 1 John 3:9? (19:40-24:53)
• What does Scripture have to say about Tradition? (27:50-33:45)
• Are the differences in the Gospels due to the audiences they are written for? (33:45-38:40)
• Is it moral to sell your organs? (42:23-49:40)
• Was Adam more culpable for the Fall than Eve? (49:45-53:00)

(Original Airdate: November 19, 2013)

The Catholic Church associates the image of fire with the final purification known as purgatory.

Why does it do this?

Is there a scriptural basis for this image?

Also, what kind of fire is this?

In past centuries, many theologians have speculated that it might be a form of material fire.

Although that has been a common opinion historically, there's a difficult question that the idea raises: How could material fire affect the holy souls in purgatory? They don't have their bodies, so how could material fire affect them? And why would it accomplish a spiritual effect on them?

More recently, some theologians have suggested that the fire is something else entirely.

In fact, they have suggested that the fire of purgatory is an intense, transforming encounter with Jesus Christ.

You might be surprised to find out just who has been proposing this idea.

Why did the Virgin Mary remain a virgin even after the birth of Jesus?

It is an interesting question, and it can be answered on both a divine and a human level.

In this video, Jimmy Akin explores both aspects of the question, showing why, on a human level, Mary would have chosen to remain a virgin and why, on a divine level, God would find it fitting to have his Son born of a woman who remained a virgin for her whole life.

In the process, Jimmy quotes from from a little-known document from the A.D. 100s that sheds some light on the question.

It’s an interesting question.

Today most scholars date the book of Revelation to late in the first century, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian.

According to this view, it was written around A.D. 96.

But there is very good reason to think that the book was written earlier than this—quite a bit earlier.

Here’s why. 

WATCH A VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x27mjKaRQ4A

Some people claim that, a long time ago, there was a god.

This god was born of a virgin on December 25th.

He was baptized.

He had twelve disciples.

He healed the sick and raised the dead.

But he was betrayed and crucified, and on the third day he was raised from the dead.

And according to the people who claim this, this god was not Jesus Christ.

Instead, he was the god Horus.

And, since Horus was worshipped before Jesus Christ, they claim that Jesus Christ is just a rip off of the god Horus.

Are they right?

That’s what we look at in this episode of the Jimmy Akin Podcast.

St. Paul tells us:

"For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:21-22).

Does this mean that there was no death--of any kind--before the Fall of Man?

Would that mean that no animals, plants, or microbes died?

What about animals that are carnivores?

Were lions vegetarians? How about alligators? Or sharks?

How about carnivores like Tyrannosaurus Rex?

Let's take a look at the subject . . .

It has been widely reported that, when he was still the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, the future Pope Francis washed the feet of women during the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

Now he has done so as pope.

Did he break the Church's law?

What does this event mean, and how can we understand what he was trying to do?

CLICK HERE TO READ WHAT I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THAT.

Popes Who Thought About Resigning . . . But Didn't

Benedict XVI's resignation may have been the first papal resignation in hundreds of years, but it didn't come completely out of the blue.

He'd already indicated that he had been thinking about the subject of resignation.

What is less well known is that other recent popes had been thinking about it, too.

A lot of recent popes.

CLICK HERE TO READ WHAT I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THAT.

Two Interviews

This special, extra episode of the Jimmy Akin Podcast contains two interviews I recently did on these two subjects on Al Kresta's and Drew Mariani's radio shows.

I thought they were very interesting, productive discussions, and so I thought I'd share them with you.

In this episode, Al Kresta interviews Jimmy about the St. Malachy prophecy and how reliable it is (or isn't).

They also discuss the history of pope names and what name the new pope is likely to choose.

To get Jimmy's new ebook "Pope Names," visit . . . 

http://www.PopeNamesBook.com

Jimmy and historian Dr. Andrew Jones discuss the history of papal resignations.

In this episode they cover the most recent papal resignations, including that of St. Celestine V, who is the most direct parallel to Pope Benedict XVI's resignation.

They comment on how Pope Benedict is modeling his resignation after that of Celestine V and what light this sheds on Pope Benedict's thinking.

They also discuss what this means for the future and why Pope Benedict XVI's resignation may be as momentous an event in the history of the Church as the development of the conclave.

Jimmy is joined by the historian Dr. Andrew Jones to discuss the fascinating history of papal resignations.

Before Pope Benedict XVI, which popes have resigned, why have they done so, and how did their resignations shape Catholic history?

Part 1 of 2.

Wouldn’t it be nice is the devil and his angels all repented, stopped doing evil in the world, and turned back to God so that they could be saved?

But can something like this really happen? What is the biblical evidence and how does the Church understand this question?