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Religion News

2022-01-07T13:54:53-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What do U.S. churches believe on the transgender issue?

Last updated on: January 7, 2022 at 1:54 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What do U.S. churches believe on the transgender issue? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: As with American society at large, churches’ consideration of the sensitive transgender issue emerged only recently and rather suddenly, compared with their decades-long-debate over whether to leave behind the Christian tradition against gay and lesbian relationships. The religious implications go well beyond political agitation over “bathroom bills,” athletic competition, or women’s shelters. Transgenderism is part of a broader gender-fluidity movement. A recent survey by the... Read more

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2021-12-22T10:45:56-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Did Baby Jesus Cry?

Last updated on: December 22, 2021 at 10:45 am By Richard Ostling

The Religion Guy is taking time off to celebrate Christmas so with slight changes posts this "Q & A" from December, 2013. MARY (appropriate name for this item) ASKS: Did the infant Jesus cry? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Good one. A beloved Christmas carol says “the little Lord Jesus no crying he makes,” which would have been a tiny miracle. But newborn reality — and Christian doctrine — are better expressed by Jesus’ “tears” in “Once in Royal David’s City.” This... Read more

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2021-12-10T10:14:36-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Santa take note: Do beards symbolize good or bad behavior?

Last updated on: December 10, 2021 at 10:14 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Do beards symbolize good or bad character? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Any self-respecting Santa Claus will have actual or artificial paunch, a red suit and, perhaps most important, that luxuriant white beard. Yet notwithstanding shopping-mall Santas and St. Nicholas, the bearded but skinny 4th Century original, some fear that beards symbolize questionable character. Take the New York Yankees. Please. In 1973, boss George Steinbrenner was perturbed by a player’s sloppy appearance during the National Anthem and ever since... Read more

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2021-11-27T22:10:47-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is U.S. Christianity becoming two separate religions?

Last updated on: November 27, 2021 at 10:10 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Is U.S. Christianity becoming two separate religions? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: If the question above seems off the wall, at least look why it has arisen. Two years ago, The Guy wrote that he was quite astonished by some survey research reported in “The Twentysomething Soul” (Oxford University Press) by Tim Clydesdale of the College of New Jersey and Kathleen Garces-Foley of Marymount University. Young Americans age 30 and under, quizzed about religion, were asked how they think... Read more

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2021-11-12T21:49:04-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What was the biblical “thorn in the flesh” that plagued St. Paul?

Last updated on: November 12, 2021 at 9:49 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What was the biblical “thorn in the flesh” that so plagued St. Paul? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: We’ll never be sure. But the question is perennially fascinating. “Thorn in the flesh” is one of many commonplace phrases we take from the Bible. It appears in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, where St. Paul writes that he knew “a man” — modestly referring to himself — who was “caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be... Read more

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2021-10-30T17:36:07-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How do today’s Latter-say Saints view their faith’s past polygamy?

Last updated on: October 30, 2021 at 5:36 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: How do Latter-day Saints view the polygamy in their faith’s past? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which seeks to abolish its former “Mormon” nickname) was founded in 1830 by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., who later began practicing and advocating polygamy (the faith prefers the term “plural marriage” and in past times spoke of “the Principle.”) Smith wanted this kept secret but dissenters inside his flock revealed the controversial teaching, which... Read more

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2021-10-14T15:53:29-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What? Is the COVID vaccine the Bible’s sinister “mark of the beast”?

Last updated on: October 14, 2021 at 3:53 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Is the COVID vaccine the biblical “mark of the beast”? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Many odd anti-vaccination rumors with murky origins are floating around social media, alarming healthcare workers as they combat a virus that has killed 720,000 Americans and counting. Take the “mark of the beast” claim. The Guy can confidently answer “no” to this question, based upon the strong consensus among Bible experts, both those who take the Bible portion at issue — Revelation chapter 13... Read more

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2021-10-04T13:03:22-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Central to the Abortion Debate: When Does Life Begin?

Last updated on: October 4, 2021 at 1:03 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: When Does Life Begin? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Those four words are regularly posed in the current abortion debate, so let’s scan the lines in pregnancy that have been drawn. Pre-scientific cultures spoke of “quickening,“ typically between 16 and 18 weeks, when the mother first feels the unborn child moving in her womb. A famous example involves the unborn John the Baptist in biblical Luke 1:41. Some ancient Jewish authorities in the Talmud, and Roman and Greek philosophers,... Read more

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2021-10-02T16:40:44-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What religious groups oppose vaccination — even during epidemics?

Last updated on: October 2, 2021 at 4:40 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What religious groups oppose vaccination — even during epidemics? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Judges and public officials will be coping with the issue of vaccination mandates that President Biden, states and employers are imposing to counter spread of the stubbornly contagious and virulent COVID-19 virus. This again raises the issue of religious-liberty claims for exemption from required vaccination. Pastor Greg Locke of the independent Global Vision Bible Church in suburban Nashville, Tennessee, has just been permanently banned from... Read more

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2021-09-03T12:00:43-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What are the do’s and don’ts on religion in U.S. public schools?

Last updated on: September 3, 2021 at 12:00 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What are the do’s and don’ts on religion in U.S. public schools? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: As U.S. public schools cope with in-person learning in the midst of another COVID-19 upsurge and argue about “critical race theory,” let’s remember some good news. Divisive past disputes about how schools handle religion have been substantially settled. Debates continue on certain church-and-state issues but most deal with religious schools and taxpayer funding, not public education. There’s widespread agreement on what federal... Read more

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