MICHAEL’S QUESTION: As a “religious pluralist,” Michael needs to “somehow make sense of the seemingly (in many other instances) peace-loving and merciful Muhammad simultaneously being involved in what in all honesty appears quite atrocious.” He refers to Muslims killing 400 to 1,000 Arabian Jews after winning the pivotal Battle of the Trench in 627 (C.E.). THE RELIGION GUY RESPONDS: April’s mass kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram has alarmed multitudes. These insurgents claim to champion true Islam, but leaders of... Read more

BRAD ASKS: [Regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s new Greece v. Galloway ruling that allows prayers before town council meetings]: Is the door being nudged open for an ugly discourse on separation of church and state? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: Brad fears this pro-prayer decision might stir up ugliness, but The Guy thinks there’s be more of it if the Court had instead barred invocations like those in Greece, New York. Americans generally like prayers to solemnize civic occasions from inauguration of... Read more

JIM ASKS: Conservative commentators ridiculed [Pope Francis’s decree Evangelii Gaudium] for its criticism of the free market system. But how different, really, is Francis’s thinking from his predecessors? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: The Catholic Church is experiencing Hurricane Francis, the early phase of what may become the most liberal pontificate in a half-century. The new pope’s eyebrow-raisers including his words on economics. An April 28 Twitter feed from Francis (or his handlers) said “iniquitas radix malorum,” (“inequality is the root... Read more

DAVID SAYS: (Regarding the feature film “Noah”) I would love to read your personal reaction. THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: Personally? The Guy is no fan of science fiction or slam-bang special effects. Those hulking stone monsters with flashing light bulbs for eyes didn’t thrill and otherwise Hollywood’s puzzling ark-aeology seemed, so to speak, all wet. But who cares about The Guy’s taste in movies? “Noah” is a conversation-starter so let’s survey the conversation. Preliminaries: There are well-known literary parallels between... Read more

JANET ASKS: What is your opinion on the historicity of the ancient text mentioning Jesus’ wife? What are the implications for the Christian faith? THE GUY ANSWERS: To decide what to make of this text, which has one word that apparently says Jesus was married, it’s all-important to know when it was written. So www.christianitytoday.com takes the prize for funniest religious pun of the month if not the year with its headline: “How to Date Jesus’ Wife” The quick journalistic summary for Janet ... Read more

ARTHUR ASKS: Christians observe that the Son of God died to atone for human sins. But St. Paul says (Romans 1:4) that Jesus was “declared … to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.” So apparently Jesus wasn’t divine when he died (or before). How then does atonement work? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: A timely inquiry as Christians reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection, and also due to the clash between two new scholarly books, “How Jesus Became... Read more

RACHAEL ASKS: Who does the Pope go to if he has to go to confession — or is he exempt because he’s the Pope? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: The Pope gets no pass because he’s the Pope.  Pope Francis, who has shown a flair for the dramatic his first year in office, demonstrated this in highly unusual fashion during this Lenten season, which puts special emphasis on contrition for sin. On March 28, to the surprise of worshippers in St.... Read more

PAUL ASKS: (Regarding the World Vision relief agency deciding U.S. employees can live in same-sex marriages): What does the Religion Guy think? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: This question was prompted by that dramatic policy change by a prominent Christian organization, but a mere two days later World Vision restored its limit of employees’ relationships to male-female marriage. A news reporter’s job isn’t to tell agencies what to do but to analyze what’s going on, and The Guy thinks these neck-snapping events say much... Read more

MADDIE ASKS: What caused ancient religions to become less prevalent? THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: Our previous Q and A item treated ancient Confucianism, Jainism, Shinto, and Taoism, which have survived into the 21st Century but with radically diminished status. Maddie wonders why ancient Babylonian, Greek, and Roman mythologies died out and Zoroastrianism has nearly disappeared while Judaism and Hinduism didn’t vanish like other ancient creeds. She asks,  did the younger proselytizing faiths of Christianity and Islam simply “push out” the... Read more

JAEDE ASKS: I need to know the founder, area of the world it’s in, what their holy book is called, and their holidays, for Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto. THE RELIGION GUY ANSWERS: Jaede headlined this item “Help!!” and was probably sweating over some school exam or term paper so this comes too late. Nonetheless, a sketch of these five Asian creeds might be informative since they’re lesser-known than the much larger Hinduism and Buddhism. The Guy is grateful that... Read more