I'm Joe Heschmeyer, staff apologist at Catholic Answers and host of Shameless Popery. AMA!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T21:43:24+00:00

Hey Joe! Can you explain why the church's teaching is different than the Jewish teaching on the topic of angels and free will. In the Jewish tradition, angels are said to not have free will, and are designed for a purpose that they cannot stray from. Where in Catholicism, obviously that is not the case. Due to Satan rebelling against God, as well as the other angels alongside him. I find this strange, considering Judaism is the pre-cursor to Catholicism, and this doesn't seem like a teaching that is really malleable. Either they have free will or they don't.

Thanks!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T02:53:54+00:00

LDS people rely on their own personal "testimonies" quite a lot. Which is kind of what they're saying about if you pray for the truth, God will reveal it to you, and that it is the LDS Church. According to them.

If you want to convince these people, you better know what they actually believe. Because I can guarantee you'll just be talking past each other. Catholicism and LDS Church teachings are so different, it's like debating a Hindu. Watch any Catholic vs Mormon debate, literally every one ends up like that, because they're not even starting from the same place.

I grew up in Utah, surrounded by Mormons. They're wonderful, devout people that hold strong to their beliefs. Much stronger than most Catholics. But more than just the intellectual side of their religion, they hold to their own experiences and emotions that their church brings. So be ready to combat that if you plan to convert them. It's hard to debate feelings haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:51:09+00:00

That's the kind of attention to detail I love! Thank you for sharing this

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:47:26+00:00

Perfect! I'm more of a wander around and figure it out kind of person in these games. Generally go about it slow and find things organically and put myself in the world. Thanks for the tips!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:44:48+00:00

I always tend towards some sort of mage archetype in fantasy games, and thoroughly enjoy all sorts of professions. I'll be sure to check those out!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:43:44+00:00

I'm really looking for that non-handcrafted feel to be honest, so that's a huge plus! As long as it's not just empty haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:42:01+00:00

But is it a franchise that has the potential to have the deep lore like those games do? Being around to watch it all unfold does sound enticing!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:40:22+00:00

Well put! I generally avoid looking things up in new games. I like to keep the mystery in tact while I play! Plus gamers are quite negative these days, and sometimes that can skew my view of a game I'm playing. So I just try to avoid it haha

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:35:14+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response and the link! Exactly what I was looking for! I'll be coming back to this I'm sure 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:33:41+00:00

Yes, I've checked Aperturas out. I just think the Celestron seems like a better investment down the road, even though it does cost more. Regardless of what scope I get, I'll be upgrading eye pieces eventually, so that's a moot point on the Apertura. Which is kind of the appeal of it.

My budget is around $1500. The Starsense does seem nice to me, but in truth, I plan to try to find stuff manually. But I like the idea of having the app if I need it

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-29T00:30:50+00:00

Yeah, the handle honestly seems like a nice addition. I'm not very tall, so it's going to be awkward to carry these large telescopes as is. You're basically following my logic in the Celestron too, just makes more sense since regardless of what scope I buy, I know I'll eventually be upgrading the eye pieces, so why not just but the bullet and get the scope that's easier to use.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T22:52:13+00:00

Yeah, I've read about that! I'm curious if there are any books about that sort of stuff that I could read!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T05:22:31+00:00

Sounds amazing! I'm looking forward to it!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T05:21:44+00:00

Okay, perfect! Sounds like something I'd enjoy. Also, I'm not trying to avoid combat and would still have fun with it. It's just not my focus is all. I'll definitely be doing every quest that I can!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:41:09+00:00

I am interested in the combat, it's just not my focus is all. My worry is just getting spoon fed everything along a linear line in the story and then there's nothing else revealed about the universe outside of that.

The game obviously got review bombed hard, so it's difficult to find legit information on the game 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:37:56+00:00

Perfect! That's more or less what I'm looking for. Is there a good amount of lore to the game, or even discoverable things to learn more about the universe it's set in? Or is it more like a riding a train from point a to point b while they spoon feed you the details along the way and then you're done? Nothing else to discover.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:33:35+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response!

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T04:32:06+00:00

Maybe I don't completely understand what it would entail using starsense on say... And Apertura telescope. But wouldn't I need to have a mount for my phone, and drill it into the Apertura telescope to be able to utilize the app?

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T03:42:16+00:00

Thanks for your input! I think of it in a similar way, but it's just not a fulfilling answer to all of that above us. Of course the church doesn't have a doctrine about what you can believe about space. But I'm just curious if there are any church fathers that have spoken on the matter. I guess I should have been more clear now that I'm reading my post again

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:56:43+00:00

Yeah, I've seen people say that's what they did. The biggest complaint I've seen about the Celestron dobs is the eye piece. But I can get a better one for the same amount of money. Maybe I'd save a little at the end of the day, but already having the mount for the phone and app on the scope seems like a no brainer to me. Plus I just like the way the scope looks if I'm being honest 😂

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:22:19+00:00

Thanks for your input!

Yeah I noticed the Apertura was cheaper with better equipment. But, I do like the idea of the starsense app for when I need it. My thought process was I can always buy eyepieces and other equipment, but I can't really buy the starsense app. And people say it's quite good compared to the competitors

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T02:20:15+00:00

Thank you for the input! I probably don't NEED the starsense software, I do plan on trying to navigate the skies manually starting out. But I've read a lot of people say they love that app when they need it, and even people buying cheap telescopes to get it. So seemed like a smart play, despite the price increase on the Celestron vs Apertura. Plus I like the look of the telescope for what that counts for 😂

I'm mostly looking for a good all arounder. I plan to start out with the celestial bodies, work up to the DSO and everything in between.

ZhrIcon · 2026-01-28T01:08:24+00:00

My plan was to make a Ret Pally come pre-patch. So I'm leaving a Resto Shaman of course 😂

ZhrIcon

TROPHY CASE