Question: “Did Jesus Have Brothers & Sisters?”

Last updated on: June 22, 2023 at 3:27 pm By Richard Ostling

THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER The quote above is the headline for an article this month by Ginny Baxter, the “Woman to Woman” blogger on patheos.com. She figures “the answer is a definite ‘maybe’.” See www.patheos.com/blogs/womantowoman/2023/06/did-jesus-have-brothers-sisters/. On this age-old but ever-debated topic, The Guy would answer that it depends on what church is fielding the question. From ancient times, Catholicism and Orthodoxy have said no. They believe in Mary’s “perpetual virginity,” meaning that she and husband Joseph never had sexual relations... Read more

Question: Is California’s anti-“caste” effort unfair to Hindus?

Last updated on: June 6, 2023 at 2:55 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: A bill sponsored by a Muslim legislator and passed by California’s Senate May 11 would make this the first U,S. state to add “caste” to the categories of illegal discrimination under civil rights laws. The bill defines caste as “a system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status” that involves “socially enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation” and “social exclusion on the basis of perceived status.” Action on the bill by California’s... Read more

Question: “Is Premarital Sex Always Sinful?”

Last updated on: June 1, 2023 at 9:43 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The question above was the headline with an April article by Talley Cross, a “gender and sexuality” blogger with patheos.com. She responded with a cautious no. A yes answer is the contrary and familiar tradition in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other faiths, and as we’ll see below has lately gotten a degree of backing from surprising places. That age-old teaching is terribly counter-cultural and also subject to critique from within religions. The Gallup Poll says in... Read more

Question: Should Christians Use Tarot Cards?

Last updated on: May 10, 2023 at 4:08 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: If you think this topic is off the wall, at least it’s not off the news. Tarot for Christians is promoted by the May cover story in The Christian Century, a venerable independent magazine that helps define what’s trendy and acceptable for “Mainline” and liberal Protestant readers. See www.christiancentury.org/article/features/woman-behind-tarot-s-strange-beauty/ The article’s author is the monthly’s own Associate Editor Jessica Mesman, who also co-founded the Sick Pilgrim blog aimed at “people who questioned EVERYTHING.” Her self-described social... Read more

Question: Why doesn’t the U.S. Census ask about religion?

Last updated on: April 25, 2023 at 1:47 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Most Americans may never have thought about this, an odd omission considering that religion is such an important aspect of society. Canada’s government, for example, has asked about religious affiliations since 1871. But from the first once-a-decade U.S. Census conducted in 1790, the federal government has never directly asked all Americans about their religion (or lack thereof). Responses are anonymous, which should remove any sensitivities about answering such a question. The usual explanation is that... Read more

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

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

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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

What did Israel ask Samuel for despite his warnings?