#11323 Internet Open Forum - Jimmy Akin

Open Forum – Questions Covered:

6:14 – What do you make of the statement in 1 Maccabee 12:21 and it’s accuracy? Could the Greek demonym Danaans be for members of the tribe of Dan, so that some Greeks were once Jews?
14:49 – I understand a common answer on Catholic Answers is that the era of “public revelation” ended with the death of the Apostle John. Any further revelation is considered “private” and not binding to the faithful. My question is, “Why?” Wouldn’t the era public revelation have ended with the Ascension of Christ? If not – and original apostles could add to public revelation, then why not their disciples, and the disciples of their disciples, etc.?
20:06 – I have several follow-up questions to Michael’s question: In Lamentabili Sane, Pope Pius X condemned the following proposition (#21): “Revelation, constituting the object of the Catholic faith, was not complete with the Apostles.” Was there any magisterial precedence for this condemnation? After the publication of Lamentabili Sane, many theologians restated the condemned proposition as a positive statement: “Revelation was completed with the death of the last apostle.” But in more recent years, some theologians are stepping back from that positive statement. If Public Revelation did not end with the death of the last apostle, is there a definite time, event, or condition which closed the era of Revelation? Could you walk us through the steps to show how “Revelation was completed with the death of the last apostle” is not infallible teaching, if that is the case? Thanks in advance!
28:56 – Could the intro to the gospel of John be discussing the pre-incarnate Christ? I’ve heard this as an opinion held by some. Note that the verses talk about Jesus coming into his own before in verses 10 through 13, before announcing he became flesh in Verse 14. Is this a plausible interpretation? Did any of the fathers hold it?
36:37 – The book of Jonah: history or parable?
42:30 – When Jesus performed various miracles in the gospels, why did He tell the recipients not to tell anyone what He had done? Why did He want His miraculous deeds to be kept secret?
47:23 – Could God create a rock too heavy for him to lift?
50:15 – When the stone was rolled back from the tomb, what became of the cord and seal?

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