THE QUESTION: When Does Life Begin? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Those four words are regularly posed in the current abortion debate, so let’s scan the lines in pregnancy that have been drawn. Pre-scientific cultures spoke of “quickening,“ typically between 16 and 18 weeks, when the mother first feels the unborn child moving in her womb. A famous example involves the unborn John the Baptist in biblical Luke 1:41. Some ancient Jewish authorities in the Talmud, and Roman and Greek philosophers,... Read more

THE QUESTION: What religious groups oppose vaccination — even during epidemics? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Judges and public officials will be coping with the issue of vaccination mandates that President Biden, states and employers are imposing to counter spread of the stubbornly contagious and virulent COVID-19 virus. This again raises the issue of religious-liberty claims for exemption from required vaccination. Pastor Greg Locke of the independent Global Vision Bible Church in suburban Nashville, Tennessee, has just been permanently banned from... Read more

THE QUESTION: What are the do’s and don’ts on religion in U.S. public schools? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: As U.S. public schools cope with in-person learning in the midst of another COVID-19 upsurge and argue about “critical race theory,” let’s remember some good news. Divisive past disputes about how schools handle religion have been substantially settled. Debates continue on certain church-and-state issues but most deal with religious schools and taxpayer funding, not public education. There’s widespread agreement on what federal... Read more

THE QUESTION: One more time: What is an “evangelical”? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Last month the Public Religion Research Institute reported that its latest polling shows white U.S. Protestants who identify as “evangelical” are now outnumbered by whites who do not do so. That upended the usual thinking on numbers, and analysts raised doubts. The discussion led Terry Shoemaker of Arizona State University, writing for theconversaation.com, to again mull the perennial question of what “evangelical” means. In the American context,... Read more

THE QUESTION: Where is Islam heading in the U.K. (and what about the U.S.)? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: As in the United States, the Muslim minority population is growing steadily in the United Kingdom, up 107% since 2001 to exceed 3 million — even as participation in many Christian churches declines. British society will be reshaped by the inner workings among followers of the world’s second-largest religion. That underscores the importance of the new book “Among the Mosques: A Journey... Read more

THE QUESTION: What was the ancient Didache and what is its relevance today? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Except for the Bible or Quran, ancient writings rarely pop up in 21st Century public disputes. So it was rather interesting to see that happen with the Didache, whose importance rests on its likely status as the oldest surviving text from Christianity’s earliest days other than the New Testament itself. Certain scholars think it was written even before the Gospels, between A.D. 50... Read more

THE QUESTION: After 176 years, does the Southern Baptist Convention need a new name? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This question has simmered over the years within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which is by far America’s largest Protestant body. Discussions heated up a decade ago and are now more pertinent than ever. Some Baptists hope this step toward a fresh new image might help overcome public relations disasters over SBC mishandling of sexual abuse cases, misogyny, racial insensitivity and partisan... Read more

THE QUESTION: Should 21st Century Christians still give 10% of their income to the church? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: A bad pun says that the week of a church’s annual budget pledge drive the pastor preaches the Sermon on the Amount. Many churches are fretting about amounts these days, hoping attendance and offering-plate receipts will recover from the COVID crisis. How much should modern-day Christians donate to support their churches? The oft-cited standard is the “tithe,” a biblical term for... Read more

THE QUESTION: Would proof that intelligent life exists on distant planets overturn the Christian religion? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Religious skeptics say very likely yes. Why? They argue that given the unimaginably vast number of planets throughout space, there seem to be heavy odds that life would have evolved on some or many of them. If so, we earthlings no longer stand at the center of God’s plan for the cosmos, and that overturns the biblical viewpoint. No, according to... Read more

THE QUESTION: Did Winston Churchill believe in God? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Sorta. Maybe. Depends what you mean. The question and that answer are raised in the new book “Duty & Destiny: The Life and Faith of Winston Churchill” (Eerdmans) by Grove City College historian Gary Scott Smith, whose prior works include “Faith and the Presidency from George Washington to George W. Bush.” It’s fair to say that during World War Two Churchill saved the United Kingdom and with that... Read more