Internet Open Forum

Questions Covered:

• 04:27 - How can Catholics respond to the argument against human life beginning at conception which goes like this – If human life begins at conception, that implies that the zygote is already a person. But identical twins come from the same zygote. So the zygote cell cannot already be a one of a kind person. A zygote can even fuse with another zygote to create a single new embryo. And we do know that the cells of the normal early embryo are totipotent meaning each cell or groups of cells from a single normal early embryo can become an embryo too and subsequently a person too evidenced by triplets and quadruplets. BECAUSE of totipotency scientists and fertility clinicians are able to routinely split apart embryos to create more embryos. But if life begins at conception, then are you saying every time an embryo is split into 2 embryos a person is being split into 2 persons? Certainly not. Therefore, there is no inherent individuality with the zygote or early embryo thus cannot already be a one of a kind person. Of course a live zygote is living but not a one of a kind person according to science.
• 17:27 - If the ancient Egyptians had a 10-day week and the Israelites were slaves there for 400 years, where did they get the 7-day week from in the Creation Story? Does this affect the dating of the Pentateuch?
• 23:24 - I caught just a part of a show on one of the cable channels and a so-called middle east Historian was laying blame heavily on the Romans versus the Pharisees for Jesus death. He said that putting Jesus to death was not the Jewish way. He said that the Romans viewed Jesus as a threat to keeping order and to them, he was just one of 100s that they killed in a week. And said that there were at least 100 other Jews claiming to be the Messiah at that time. I’ve never heard that before. Your thoughts on the accuracy of those statements?
• 39:04 - Say we could travel back in time. what year would you like to travel and why? Also, if we could travel to Jesus’ time, would he know that we didn’t belonged and what do you think he’ll say or do.
• 45:41 - What happened to the 500 people whose tombs where open right after Jesus died? Then they appeared in many places? We’re they resurrected?
• 48:56 - Someone I work with claimed that artists painted Jesus and the saints with halos not just to indicate their holiness, but because they likely had an aura around them in real life. I’m having a hard time buying that but wondered if Jimmy could come up with any possible scientific explanation that could support that line of thought.