Question: “Why have many worshippers stopped singing in church”?

Last updated on: April 12, 2023 at 7:24 pm By Richard Ostling

THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The question in that headline accompanied a provocative article about U.S. Protestant church trends that The Guy will turn to in a moment. The answer is important, and it’s quite obvious to observers of the long-running “worship wars” that are about far more than guitars and drums supplanting pipe organs and hymnals. (For Catholicism’s parallel debate, check out the lively book “Why Catholics Can’t Sing” in the revised edition subtitled “With New Grand Conclusions and Good... Read more

Question: How do scholars explain bloodthirsty Bible passages?

Last updated on: March 31, 2023 at 11:42 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Skeptics seeking to disparage the Bible and, with it, Judaism and Christianity, cite certain passages in the Bible that depict all-out warfare as mandated by God. Consider Israel’s “conquest” of Canaan under Joshua, and a notably bloodthirsty passage like Deuteronomy 20:16-17, which says “you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them. . . as the LORD your God has commanded.” There’s been intriguing recent discussion of this complex issue. Even conservative... Read more

Question: What is Sikhism, candidate Nikki Haley’s onetime religion?

Last updated on: March 16, 2023 at 1:55 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Nikki Haley, who is challenging Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, was raised in the religion of Sikhism (“SEEK-ism”) by immigrant parents from India. But soon after both Sikh and Methodist weddings she converted to husband Michael’s Christianity. During Haley’s first run for South Carolina governor in 2010, National Public Radio posted a notably nasty piece by a fellow Indian-American who said “I’m not buying” Haley’s “Christian bit,” noting that “serious churchgoers” and political opponents... Read more

Q: Why do Southern Baptists and like-minded Protestants bar women pastors?

Last updated on: March 9, 2023 at 1:28 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Why? Simple. Because they believe that’s what the Bible teaches. But other conservative evangelical groups see female clergy as biblically proper, for example the Assemblies of God, Evangelical Covenant Church, Free Methodist Church and Salvation Army, along with many independent congregations. The question is timely because the June 13-14 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, will be a landmark on this. The gathering will decide whether to expel any congregation with... Read more

Is Gambling Evil?

Last updated on: March 7, 2023 at 2:10 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE QUESTION: Is gambling evil? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Analysts anticipate a record high cash haul from the Super Bowl with the explosion in legalized online sports betting. The big weekend produced several interesting articles about the pros and cons, the inroads and innovations, of America’s gambling industry. The Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim mulled religious aspects under the arresting headline “Would Jesus Bet on the Super Bowl?” He said that for Jews and Christians the Bible is “less than... Read more

Why do images of the Prophet Muhammad so deeply offend Muslims?

Last updated on: February 4, 2023 at 10:44 am By Richard Ostling

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THE QUESTION: Why do images of the Prophet Muhammad so deeply offend Muslims? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This issue has erupted unexpectedly at Methodist-related Hamline University in Minnesota. Last October, adjunct art teacher Erika Lopez Prater showed an online class two medieval paintings in which pious Muslims had portrayed the Prophet Muhammad receiving Quran revelations from the angel Gabriel. Lopez Prater warned Muslim students in advance so they could avert thir eyes. Nonetheless, the president of the Muslim Students Association... Read more

How should worn-out Bibles or Qurans be disposed of?

Last updated on: January 23, 2023 at 5:58 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE QUESTION: How should worn-out Bibles or Qurans be disposed of? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Due to occasional news about Muslim riots when a copy of the Quran is believed to be mistreated, you’re probably aware that Islam takes very seriously the way its sacred book is handled, about which more below. But The Guy has rarely if ever heard of such discussion about a printed Bible and therefore was intrigued this past week when Joe Carter (a GetReligion alumnus)... Read more

Why do 21st Century Christians favor, or oppose, same-sex marriage?

Last updated on: January 6, 2023 at 12:54 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE QUESTION: Why do 21st Century Christians favor, or oppose, same-sex marriage? THE GUY’S ANSWER: Just before Christmas, a top Trump-loving conservative on New York City talk radio professed disbelief that some Americans persist in opposing same-sex marriage because of some book (unnamed) written ages ago. So The Guy again realizes that journalism has important work to do explaining the basics on Christian thinking, both con and pro. The teaching against gay and lesbian relationships stood essentially unquestioned for 2,000... Read more

What are America’s biggest local Protestant churches?

Last updated on: December 26, 2022 at 8:38 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What are America’s biggest local Protestant churches? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Through American history, Catholic parishes tended to have large memberships while local Protestant congregations were relatively small, with a few prominent exceptions. But beginning in the 1970s, the U.S. has entered a remarkable era with by now at least 1,750 Protestant “megachurches,” typically defined by average (pre-Covid) weekend attendance of 2,000 or more. These flocks often say they’re simply “Christian,” but The Guy insists the “Protestant” label... Read more

What’s signified by shepherds and wise men worshipping the newborn Jesus?

Last updated on: December 8, 2022 at 1:57 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What’s signified by shepherds and wise men worshipping the newborn Jesus? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The world’s most-read and most-recited narratives are quite likely the two independent and contrasting accounts of Jesus’ birth that begin the biblical Gospels of Matthew and Luke. A particularly striking difference is that Matthew has a Jewish flavor yet features Gentile “wise men from the East” of high status and Luke, aimed at a Gentile audience, tells us of humble Jewish shepherds. Intriguingly,... Read more