REX’S QUESTION (Paraphrased): How can anyone believe in Jesus when he was a liar who preached “liberty” yet instructed people to beat slaves? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Rex, and any folks who influenced his thinking, seriously misread Jesus’ teaching, so it’s worth unpacking why and glimpse how experts advise us to understand the Bible. Here’s the full question, as posted: “How is it possible to believe in Jesus when he claimed to ‘set at liberty them that are bruised’ (Luke... Read more

THE QUESTION:  What’s the background on Hinduism’s belief in “sacred cows”? (Posed by The Religion Guy himself, not a reader, because the topic is in the news.) THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Press reports from India say street vigilantes and the government in Uttar Pradesh state are campaigning against Muslim slaughterhouses accused of processing cows, which is illegal, instead of buffaloes, which is allowed and constitutes a large industry. Though Muslims deny the charge, Reuters reports that thousands of butcher shops have been... Read more

MARK’S QUESTION: Is the Shroud of Turin really the burial cloth of Jesus? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Is Italy’s celebrated Shroud of Turin an authentic relic of Jesus Christ from the 1st Century that undergirds belief in his crucifixion and resurrection? Or a hoax from medieval times? Or an ingenious work of pious art? Or what? The Religion Guy will attempt to fairly summarize key aspects of this seasonal topic. Quick answer: There is no undisputed, empirical proof that this... Read more

HEATHER’S QUESTION: [Paraphrased]  I remember being shocked years ago that some Irish terrorist acts were carried out in the name of Catholicism. What were the reactions to that, compared with the support or denial of Muslims toward violent jihad today? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The Guy can only sketch a few aspects of the religio-ethnic strife that has so roiled Ireland for centuries, or of the terror syndrome currently plaguing world Islam. Another preliminary point: Believers should realize that such... Read more

JULIA’S QUESTION: (In light of news about efforts of U.S. churches and others to shield immigrant aliens from arrest) she asks “whether teachings from the Old Testament on ‘sanctuary’ apply today.” THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Many nations, including the United States, struggle over their moral duty in the midst of impossibly huge floods of refugees and other immigrants desiring residency and citizenship, alongside matters of border security. Those challenges obviously relate to the Bible’s many admonitions to love one’s neighbor... Read more

LISA ASKS: If Henry VIII founded the Anglican Church, does that mean today’s head of the Episcopal Church is the reigning monarch of England? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: No. After the American colonies won independence, Anglican leaders in the new nation met in 1789 to form the “Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America” as a totally separate, self-governing denomination, though with shared heritage, sentiment, and liturgy with the mother church. The current distinction between these two bodies... Read more

“ERASMUS” ASKS: Why do the religious authorities feel strongly about what we wear when we go about our daily lives, when we worship — or indeed when we swim? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: One evening The Religion Guy was at the house of a physician who got an emergency summons to visit a hospital patient. Before departing, he took time to change from a polo shirt, ragged jeans, and sneakers into a dark suit, freshly starched white shirt, tie, and... Read more

RACHAEL’S QUESTION: Once in a while I’ll see someone comment online about how taxing churches could help with some of the nation’s financial problems. Would taxing churches help or hurt? How do other countries handle their churches and taxes? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Governments always want more cash. However, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court warned in 1819 (in McCulloch v. Maryland) that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy,” so policy-makers need to weigh societal benefits churches provide, often... Read more

NORMAN’S QUESTION: The Hebrew Bible makes no mention of an afterlife. When did this belief come into being among the Israelites, and why? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This is an appropriate follow-up to our December 1 answer to Paula concerning “what does Christianity say happens to believers after death?” True, the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (= Christians’ Old Testament) has no explicit and detailed concept of the afterlife such as we have in the New Testament. This whole topic has... Read more

THE QUESTION: In the accounts of Jesus’ Nativity in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, why are the genealogies so different? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Because there are no Christmas-y questions from readers awaiting answers, The Guy raises this Yuletide classic himself. When Matthew and Luke recount the birth of Jesus they present different genealogies with fascinating intricacies. The following can only sketch a few basics from the immense literature on this. The Bible provides no roadmap, leaving us to... Read more