THE GUY EXPLAINS: Nobody posted a “Religion Q and A” item on the new year’s theme so here’s his own chosen topic, aspects of time’s passage in world religions. The commonly observed times have notably religious origins. Years (e.g. 2014) are counted from an ancient and inaccurate guess on when Jesus Christ was born. Non-Christians often designate years as C.E. (“Common Era”) instead of A.D. (“Anno Domini” meaning “Year of the Lord”). Our Gregorian Calendar is a reform ordered by... Read more
MARY (an appropriate name for this) ASKS: Did the infant Jesus cry? THE GUY ANSWERS: Good one. A beloved Christmas carol says “the little Lord Jesus no crying he makes,” which would have been a tiny miracle. But the New Testament, which has the only early accounts of Jesus’ Nativity, tells us nothing about his infancy, or even his youth except for teaching in the Jerusalem Temple at age 12. If pondered in terms of what Christianity has always thought there’d be... Read more
DUANE ASKS: There are many different versions of the Bible: King James, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, etc. Which is considered the closest to the earliest available manuscripts? THE GUY ANSWERS: Folks shopping for Christmas gift Bibles are well aware of the countless editions on sale, those aimed at Moms, teens, substance abusers in recovery, ESL students, and the like, and all the useful study Bibles with marginal notations, explanatory articles, timelines, maps, and indexes. However, Duane isn’t asking... Read more
MARY ASKS: What happened to saying “Merry Christmas”? Is the move to saying “Happy Holidays” instead a good thing? THE GUY ANSWERS: On the hit CBS-TV drama “The Good Wife” we’re in the offices of Illinois’ governor-elect as his top aide scans a hallway and angrily barks a Yuletide order: “Holiday decorations! Not Jesus! Holiday!” Bruce Tinsley’s satirical comic strip “Mallard Fillmore” carries this TV announcement: “The following Christmas special actually mentions Christianity. Viewer discretion is advised.” Another “Mallard” strip... Read more
ROBERT ASKS: Do you think God hears, listens to, prayers of anyone? THE GUY RESPONDS: Nobody should care what a mere journalist like The Guy thinks on matters like this beyond his spiritual pay grade that are better left to pastors or theologians. However, the topic is important so here are a few notes. This assumes we’re talking about “petitionary” prayer that asks for things, not prayers of adoration or thanksgiving. As part of this, the questioner asks whether God hears only... Read more
LINDSEY ASKS: All Protestants practice baptism by immersion — true or false? THE GUY ANSWERS: False. Protestants are divided over many tenets and that includes baptism. Churches that rarely or never fully immerse candidates’ bodies in water include the Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican (or Episcopal), Presbyterian, Reformed, etc. On the opposite side, immersion is mandatory with Baptists and many others. Also, churches in the second category believe candidates must be able to profess personal faith, ruling out infant baptism which they say was not Christianity’s... Read more
ROYCE WONDERS: (Paraphrasing) What’s the origin of Mormonism’s official name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and do those two “of” phrases mean Saints are on equal footing with Jesus, or that Jesus was Mormon, or what? THE GUY RESPONDS: The founding Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. originally called his group “the Church of Christ.” The scriptures that Smith added to the Bible say that in an 1831 revelation God pronounced this to be “the only true and living... Read more
GORDON ASKS: (Paraphrased) Secularists challenge tax exemptions for houses of worship, saying this denies valuable revenue to communities that get little or nothing in return. True? THE GUY ANSWERS: False, judging from new scholarly research. Putting money aside for a moment, those knowledgeable about troubled urban neighborhoods will especially shudder to think what local conditions might be like if taxation forced financially strapped congregations to disband. Even small, struggling flocks that lack the money for professional social services provide their members (according... Read more
ANNE ASKS: Do we have to get married to have sex? What does the Bible teach? THE GUY ANSWERS: The questioner lives outside the U.S., reminding us this affects all devout Christians and Jews (also adherents of Islam and other non-biblical faiths) coping with the “new morality” promoted in entertainment media and western society more generally. The discussion typically treats “premarital sex” among teens and young adults, but Anne is a “mature woman” who believes the Bible teaches sex without... Read more
ERIN ASKS: What are the attitudes toward mental illnesses in different Christian congregations? THE GUY ANSWERS: There may be trivial exceptions but The Guy sees hardly any difference on this among Christianity’s various branches. The Catholic Church’s approach was well defined in a 1996 speech by Pope John Paul II that encouraged professionals who treat mental illnesses. His major theme was that “whoever suffers from mental illness always bears God’s image and likeness in himself, as does every human being,”... Read more
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