SID’S QUERY: I am looking for information on Jainism. Any help you can give me would be great. THE RELIGION GUY’S RESPONSE: Jainism is an ancient religion of India that’s relatively unknown in the West. Though with only 4 million or so adherents it is considered a major world faith, alongside others with followers that number in the mere millions like Baha’i, Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. This is a remarkably rigoristic and ascetic creed, not only for monks nd... Read more

THE QUESTION: What are the reasons the Catholic Church might, or might not, ordain women in the clerical rank of deacon? (Almost all Q and A topics are posted by our online audience, but The Guy decided to pose this timely question himself.) THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Catholicism’s long-simmering discussion about whether to ordain women into the clerical ranks as “permanent deacons” took a dramatic turn May 12 when Pope Francis said he’ll form a commission to study the issue.... Read more

GORDON’S QUESTION: Why do some Christians use (unfermented) grape juice or leavened bread in Communion since what was on the table at the Last Supper was almost certainly unleavened bread and fermented wine? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The Bible records that on the night of Jesus’ arrest he blessed and distributed bread saying “take; this is my body,”  and shared a cup saying “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” He concluded with “do... Read more

JOHN’S QUESTION: It has always been my understanding from Proverbs (condemning the “sluggard”), and Paul’s instruction that missionaries earn their keep and not be a burden, that the Bible encouraged hard work and a responsibility to give of our blessings to the poor — personal responsibility vs. government responsibility. The trend toward government socialism seems to discourage that. Is capitalism biblical? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: In America, it’s springtime for socialism. A Harvard survey of those ages 18 – 29... Read more

NORMAN’S QUESTION: How can we get people informed about the results of academic biblical scholarship, work that completely undermines the ordinary popular conception of Christianity and faith? Why are Christians not interested in the truth? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: “What is truth?”, Pilate asked Jesus. Or did he? America’s “Jesus Seminar” claimed the Roman tyrant never spoke those famous words and, for that matter, much else in the New Testament never happened either. Norman worries that people aren’t “informed.” Sunday... Read more

CLAUDE’S QUESTION: How did you come to the conclusion that Junia / Junias in Romans 16:7 is an apostle? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Paul’s weighty New Testament letter to the Romans concludes with chapter 16’s greetings to various friends. Verse 7 applies the exalted label of “apostle” to Andronicus alongside someone named either “Junias” or “Junia.” Was that name, and thus the apostle, male or female?  What did the “apostle” title mean? And what does this tell us about gender... Read more

DAVID’S QUESTION: Why don’t mainstream Muslims acknowledge that the Quran orders them to do just what ISIS does? MIKE’S QUESTION: Does the Quran tell Muslims to kill anyone who doesn’t become a Muslim? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: David’s full question — posted before the latest slaughter aimed at Christians in Pakistan, children included, and the bombings in Belgium — asks why Quran passages “explicitly order the killing of non-Muslims.” Mike, posting after those atrocities, wonders “why there is so much... Read more

JACK’S QUESTION: What do we know about Joseph of Arimathea? Have scholars learned anything more about him than what is said in the Gospels? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The man who buried Jesus is a timely topic for Christians’ Holy Week. The quick response is that lots of stuff about Joseph of Arimathea is floating around out there. But much of it was written long centuries after the fact and is best regarded as folklore that tells us about British... Read more

NORMAN’S QUESTION: Why do an overwhelming number of Christians believe (or say they believe) things about Jesus that were not believed by his earliest followers in Jerusalem, led by his brother James? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This important question results from the previous Q and A item, which summarized central teaching about Jesus Christ that has united most Christians since it was finalized by 5th Century ecumenical councils. It holds that the one true God exists in a Trinity of... Read more

DAVID ASKS: Most of us in the U.S. are aware of Orthodox Christians but don’t really understand their organization. Can you expand on their split around the world? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: Our previous Q and A about Islam’s founding Sunni – Shi’a split mentioned divisions within Orthodox Christianity. Orthodoxy, which means “correct teaching,” sees itself as preserving Christianity’s earliest and most authentic form. This faith is in the spotlight what with 1) history’s first meeting between a Catholic pope... Read more