#12710 Was Jesus an Alien? Weird Questions - Jimmy Akin

May 9, 2026

Jimmy Akin, longtime Catholic apologist and author, answers bizarre and big questions with clarity and wit. He unpacks Communion and Ash Wednesday fasting, explores possible abilities of resurrected bodies, and explains why the idea of Jesus as an alien fails historically and theologically. He also tackles Rome’s primacy, dinosaurs and the Fall, and what might happen to pets at the end times.

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ADVICE

Receiving Communion Doesn’t Break The Lenten Fast

Do not count Communion as breaking the Ash Wednesday or Good Friday fast.
Jimmy Akin explains canon law: fasting allows one full meal and two occasions of some food, and Communion never counts toward those meals.

INSIGHT

Resurrection Could Restore Preternatural Abilities

Resurrected bodies may regain preternatural abilities lost by the Fall.
Jimmy Akin draws on Aquinas and Alois Weisinger to suggest modern paranormal categories map to medieval preternatural gifts restored at resurrection.

ANECDOTE

Saints Levitated And Jimmy’s Dream Preview

Jimmy Akin recounts historical levitation reports from saints and his own dream experiences.
He describes St. Joseph of Cupertino’s inquisitorial investigation and personal dream-based sense of controlling center of gravity as a preview of levitation.

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Could Jesus have been an alien using advanced technology—and how can Christians know that’s not true? In this episode of Catholic Answers Live, Jimmy Akin tackles some of the strangest and most fascinating questions listeners have ever asked. He explains whether receiving Communion affects Ash Wednesday fasting rules, what kinds of abilities resurrected bodies may have, and why theories about Jesus as an extraterrestrial don’t hold up historically or theologically. The discussion also explores why Rome is called the Church founded by Christ despite Jerusalem coming first chronologically, whether dinosaur cancer challenges traditional understandings of the Fall, and what Christians should think about pets and the end times. A fun and thoughtful episode blending theology, science, apologetics, and the unusual questions Jimmy Akin is famous for addressing.

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Questions Covered:

04:04 – In the case of Ash Wednesday, when fasting and abstinence are required, would receiving communion break one’s fast or count as a smaller meal? In other words, can one receive communion in addition to eating one full meal and two smaller meals? Thanks, Jimmy!
12:24 – Hi Jimmy. You’ve previously mentioned Aquinas and the possibility that humans have low-level psychic ability.. Will our resurrected body have other abilities, such as telekinesis or telepathy? Will I be able to fly like Superman? Jesus ascended, and there are stories about Saints “levitating”, so will the body get any potential flying or levitating abilities, or what other abilities might we get?
23:48 – How can we be sure that Jesus wasn’t actually an alien talking about his “father in heaven” who is actually in outer space and his spaceship is actually his kingdom? And the eternal life that we get from following Jesus to his kingdom is from advanced alien technology that keeps you alive forever? And the immaculate conception was by an alien that performed IVF on Mary, and the “angels” in the Bible are actually all just aliens too? This question has really been the only thing challenging my faith, even though it seems preposterous.
40:59 – How is the Church of Rome considered “the first church” or “the church that Christ founded”, when (chronologically) the first church was in Jerusalem?
44:38 – I watched a video with a young earth creationist who claimed that there are dinosaur fossils that show evidence of cancer, which was, in his opinion, proof that dinosaurs existed after the fall because cancer wouldn’t have existed until after the fall. The question has kind of bothered me ever since. If dinosaurs went extinct before humans existed, why would they have had cancer?
50:22 – What will happen to our pets after the Rapture?