EYTAN IN COLLEGE PARK, MD., ASKS: Why do Christians not follow Jewish law or celebrate Jewish holidays if they believe in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible? THE GUY ANSWERS: A classic issue. Eytan is correct that Christianity ignores many laws and festivals in the Bible’s first five books, yet fully embraces the Hebrew scriptures (“Old Testament”) alongside its New Testament. The church decided this with finality in the 2d century when it spurned Marcion and other heretics... Read more

CHRIS IN MASSACHUSETTS ASKS: Christians and non-Christians alike announce that “there are no such things as coincidences” (so that e.g. getting a good parking space) is an act of direct divine intervention…. Are all of these coincidences “little miracles” that God hands out to virtually everyone? THE GUY ANSWERS: Good theme for the days between Lincoln’s Birthday and the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony where the movie “Lincoln” is up for 12 Oscars. Why? Historian Allen Guelzo’s magnificent biography “Abraham Lincoln:... Read more

THE RELIGION GUY, instead of waiting for a question to be posted, offers some quick thoughts on Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement today that he will resign February 28 as leader of the world’s billion-plus Catholics. The timing is notable, coming just before Ash Wednesday without waiting till after Holy Week. Far more amazing  is the resignation itself. Like England’s monarchs or certain other religious dynasts, popes simply do not resign. The last one who did, Gregory XII, stepped down in a 1415... Read more

JOHN IN NEW JERSEY WONDERS: (In Matthew 1:21-23) the angel tells Joseph to call the baby Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves,” and that this relates to the Old Testament and fulfills what was written there: They will call him Immanuel, which means “God with us.” How does one reconcile these differences? THE GUY ANSWERS: Like his New Jersey namesake, Father John Meier of the University of Notre Dame says “at first glance” it’s indeed “puzzling” that Matthew provides two names,... Read more

KEN IN PENNSYLVANIA ASKS: What effect do you think the Romney campaign had on Mormons? THE GUY ANSWERS: Politically, not so much. In favoring Mitt Romney, a notably devout member of their church, Mormons (a.k.a. Latter-day Saints) merely continued longstanding, lopsided fidelity to Republicans, including McCain 2008 and Bush 2004. Heavily Mormon Utah hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964 or a Democratic U.S. Senator since 1970. As is customary, church officialdom carefully avoided hints of partisanship and the... Read more

PETER IN N.J. ASKS: (Regarding Rob Bell’s book about hell) I was wondering to what extent his views are or are not new across prominent Christian traditions THE GUY ANSWERS: Conservative Christians might have thought “hell’s bells” upon hearing about Bell’s hell. His “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived” (HarperOne) generated a “Time” magazine cover story, a “New Yorker” profile, and a heckuva reaction. It’s no big deal when liberals... Read more

MARK (listing no location) ASKS: Why do so many journalists seem to think that the small (and dwindling) Episcopal Church is the most important of the “mainline” churches? THE GUY ANSWERS: Small? In the current “Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches” the Episcopal Church reports annual proceeds of $2 billion and an “inclusive” membership of 1,951,907, or #14 in size among U.S. religious bodies. Dwindling? For sure. It boasted 3,647,297 members in the peak year of 1966 (using a somewhat... Read more

ELIZABETH IN MASS. ASKS (on behalf of a Prison Fellowship pen pal): If divinely inspired holy books are for our guidance, benefit, spiritual enlightenment, etc., why is much of it so obscure and beyond the common lay person’s understanding? Where do I draw the line between sticking to what I can grasp and what another source asks me to believe? THE GUY ANSWERS: How great is it that an inmate is making good use of time behind bars to ponder important questions! The... Read more

JOSHUA (no location listed) ASKS: What wouold you say is the biggest political theology story that has gone relatively untold in the last few decades? THE GUY ANSWERS (U.S. only, skipping other nations): Nobody missed the rise of the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition etc. Media analysts have expressed continual fascination or dismay over “religious right” activism, often missing the obvious fact that these conservatives merely imitated prior mobilizations by religious liberals. Which brings to mind the great civil rights movement... Read more

GEORGE IN MICHIGAN ASKS: Why is Acts 1:15-20 so different from Matthew 27:1-10? What bearing does this, and similar phenomena, properly have on how we describe biblical authority, reliability, importance, etc.? THE GUY ANSWERS: The death of Judas is a favorite for Muslim polemicists, Christian leftists, and others who scoff at the New Testament’s historical reliability. Matthew 27 recounts that Judas “hanged himself” and was buried in the Field of Blood, which temple priests bought with the payment of 30... Read more