Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Religion News

2019-05-07T11:11:18-04:00

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.

Does Islam require stoning to death for adultery and gay sex, and amputation for larceny?

Last updated on: May 7, 2019 at 11:11 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: This month, the Muslim nation of Brunei cited religious grounds for prescribing execution by stoning for those guilty of adultery or gay sex, and amputation of hands to punish convicted thieves. Does Islam require these penalties? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: In the Muslim world there’s no consensus that the faith requires these traditional punishments in modern times, but a handful of the 57 member nations in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have such legislation. One is the small... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-04-05T11:23:18-04:00

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.

Regarding Israel and the End Times, what is Dispensationalism? What is the rapture?

Last updated on: April 5, 2019 at 11:23 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Regarding Israel and Bible prophecies about the End Times, what are the meanings of such terms as Dispensationalism, the rapture, premillennialism, the great tribulation, pre-tribulationism, and Armageddon? THE GUY’S ANSWER: A March 31 New York Times article on how religion may influence U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s approach toward Israel had this headline: “The Rapture and the Real World: Pompeo Mixes Beliefs and Policy.” One key point was that the then-Congressman told a religious audience in 2015... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-03-22T11:25:09-04:00

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 current world situation with religious persecution?

Last updated on: March 22, 2019 at 11:25 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: What is the current world situation with religious persecution? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The slaughter of 50 Muslims and wounding of dozens more at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, provoked horror in that pacific nation, and sorrow and disgust worldwide. Why would anyone violate the religious freedom, indeed the very lives, of innocent people who had simply gathered to worship God? Unfortunately, murders at religious sanctuaries are not a rare occurrence. In the U.S., recall the murders... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-03-11T11:24:48-04:00

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.

Looked at internationally, what’s the status of church policies on gays?

Last updated on: March 11, 2019 at 11:24 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Looked at internationally, what’s the status of churches’ policies on the same-sex issue in the wake of the United Methodists’ important decision on this February 26? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: You may have read that in late February the 12.6-million-member United Methodist Church held a special General Conference in St. Louis, seeking to settle its painful conflict over the gay-and-lesbian issue and avert a split. The delegates decided by 53 percent to support and strengthen the denomination’s longstanding... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-02-22T11:22:22-05:00

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.

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?

Last updated on: February 22, 2019 at 11:22 am By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This topic hit the news February 4 when Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayebb of Egypt’s influential Al-Azhar University issued a joint declaration “in the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity.” Did Francis, who was making history’s first papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, thereby mean to say that the Christian God is the Muslim God?... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-02-07T17:45:12-05:00

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.

Was the New Testament’s Simon Magus a true believer or a fraud?

Last updated on: February 7, 2019 at 5:45 pm By Richard Ostling

NICHOLAS ASKS: In the New Testament, Acts chapter 8 says that Simon Magus “believed” and then was baptized. But he was not saved. Does this teach us there’s a gap between mental assent and change of heart? Or what? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The intriguing figure known in Acts 8 as just Simon was later designated “Simon Magus,” which helped distinguish him from the Bible’s other Simons. His name led to the sin called “simony,” the corrupt buying or selling... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-02-02T15:24:57-05:00

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 worst misuse of the Bible in history?

Last updated on: February 2, 2019 at 3:24 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Across the ages, what passage in the Bible was the subject of the most heinous misinterpretation and application? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Without doubt, the answer is Genesis 9:18-27. The use of those verses as biblical support for black slavery was “devastating, and patently false,” says David M. Goldenberg, who wrote the important studies “The Curse of Ham” (2005) and “Black and Slave” (2017). Black History Month is an appropriate season to contemplate a perverse biblical claim long... Read more

Uncategorized

2019-01-22T15:03:37-05:00

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.

How and why will your New Testaments be changing in the computer era?

Last updated on: January 22, 2019 at 3:03 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: How and why will a new technique for computer analysis of ancient texts affect the New Testaments you’ll be reading? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: A revolution now under way will gradually change every future English translation of the New Testament you’ll be reading. Translations are based upon some 5,800 hand-written manuscripts of the New Testament in Greek that survived from ancient times, whether fragments or complete books. Scholars analyze their numerous variations to get as close as possible to the... Read more

Uncategorized

2018-12-28T14:29:45-05:00

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.

How much should religious groups pay their leaders?

Last updated on: December 28, 2018 at 2:29 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: How much should local religious congregations, agencies, and charities pay their leaders? THE GUY’S ANSWER: This topic is brought to mind by three simultaneous articles published in December. In the first, The New York Times “Ethicist” column responded to an anonymous employee of a non-profit agency that works on consumer rights and economic literacy who’s upset that due to a financial crisis its management cut the staff by a fourth. This was said to be necessary to protect the... Read more

Uncategorized

2018-12-11T22:55:42-05:00

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 explains the durable popularity of Handel’s “Messiah”?

Last updated on: December 11, 2018 at 10:55 pm By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION: Handel’s oratorio “Messiah,” so frequently heard at Christmastime, is probably the most-performed and most-beloved piece of great music ever written. What explains this long-running appeal? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Underlying this theme is the poignant reality that our culture and many of its churches are gradually losing historical moorings that include the excellent fine arts created in former times. So how and why does “Messiah,” which exemplifies the “classical” musical style and faith of 276 years ago, so... Read more

Uncategorized

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest book in the New Testament by word count?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Acts Matthew Luke Revelation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Religion News