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Religion News

2015-03-13T22:08:19-04:00

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.

Same-sex marriage & religious freedom

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

ELIZABETH ASKS: Liberals in the U.S. frequently point out that clergy will not be forced to perform same-sex marriages against their beliefs. However, are there other religious freedom issues at stake with the new Supreme Court ruling? THE GUY RESPONDS: The answer is yes, lots of them, according to religious groups that oppose same-sex marriage but also certain legal experts who advocate same-sex marriage and yet worry about threats to religious freedom. The Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the federal... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:19-04:00

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.

Mormons vs. God’s creation “out of nothing”

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

HARVEY ASKS: A Mormon scholar says the Christian belief that God created the universe ex nihilo (“out of nothing”) is “apostasy in action” and typical of the pagan Greek thought Mormons believe corrupted the early church. But Mormonism unites with ancient Greek philosophers in thinking matter is eternal and had no beginning. Explain? (Paraphrasing the posted question). THE GUY ANSWERS: This may seem esoteric but “creation” debates always get interesting. One of the most famous sentences ever written is “In the... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:19-04:00

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.

Alert: Supreme Court & same-sex marriage

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

The Guy points out these previous Religion Q and A postings in light of the Supreme Court’s two marriage rulings June 26: — Which congregations in America are the most accepting when it comes to same-sex marriage? http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionqanda/2013/03/same-sex-marriage-and-u-s-religion — Are there any [Bible] passages that explicitly condemn same-sex marriage? http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionqanda/2013/04/does-the-bible-condemn-same-sex-marriage Also note that Religion News Service, a valuable resource, posts reactions to the “Hollingsworth v. Perry” and “U.S. v. Windsor rulings: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/06/26/reactions-to-gay-marriage-wins-at-supreme-court Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:19-04:00

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.

Is suicide a sin?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

JOSEPH IN MARYLAND ASKS: According to Christianity, is suicide a sin? THE GUY ANSWERS: The answer from Christian tradition is clearly yes. However, as with many topics these days the full answer is yes, but. Historic Christianity strongly opposes murder and, by extension, self-murder, “mercy killing,” and assisting others to kill themselves. All are regarded as basic violations of the Ten Commandments’ “thou shalt not kill,” and defiance against God’s sovereignty over life and death. Founders of Protestantism (Luther, Calvin)... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:20-04:00

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.

Are Jehovah’s Witnesses “Christian”?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

JOSEPH IN MARYLAND ASKS: Since Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God, are they truly a Christian denomination? THE GUY ANSWERS: As an old-school journalist, The Guy’s role is not to answer such questions but to explain the dispute. Jehovah’s Witnesses assert that across the centuries all other groups claiming to be “Christian” have been grievously in error about Jesus Christ and related beliefs, and that Jehovah God commissioned Charles Taze Russell, a self-educated Bible teacher in 19th... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:20-04:00

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 Muslims interpret the Quran?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

JAY (no location listed) ASKS: Who / What do Muslims look to to understand what the Quran teaches? THE GUY ANSWERS: Jay’s full posting says that when questions or confusions about the Bible arise his fellow Catholics can refer to ample, officially sanctioned explanations, including those in the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church. He wonders whether a Muslim has such standardized resources on the Quran, in addition to guidance from a local imam. Actually there are varied Bible interpretations... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:20-04:00

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.

A popular Christian creed’s confusing word

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

LOU (no location posted) ASKS: What does the word “again” mean in the Apostles’ Creed when we say “he rose again from the dead”? THE GUY ANSWERS: Lou isn’t alone in head-scratching over this word in a creed regularly recited by untold millions of English-speaking Christians. Catholicdoors.com lists this under “frequently asked questions.” Does “again” mean Jesus Christ had risen once before and then rose “again,” as though Easter celebrates a second resurrection? A Californian who posed Lou’s question to... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:20-04:00

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.

Unitarian Universalists’ Jesus puzzlement

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

EYTAN IN MARYLAND ASKS: What do Unitarian Universalists believe about Jesus? THE GUY ANSWERS: All sorts of things. Jesus is a perennial puzzlement for the 221,000-member Unitarian Univeralist Association (www.uua.org), which was formed by a 1961 merger of two liberal denominations. The 19th Century forebears unhesitatingly identified as Christians, though they rejected orthodox belief in Jesus Christ worshipped as the one savior from sin and God the Son in the Trinity. By today’s standards it’s hard to believe that the... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:21-04:00

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.

Is Allah the Father of Jesus?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

ROBERT IN NEW JERSEY ASKS: Is Allah the Father of Jesus? THE GUY RESPONDS: The Christian-Muslim confrontation is one of our era’s major global themes, and the theological discussion is as central as the politics. In 1964, the world’s Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican Council answered Robert with a yes, stating that the plan of salvation “includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place among these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of... Read more

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2015-03-13T22:08:21-04:00

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.

U.S. Muslims: Where? How many?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:08 pm By Richard Ostling

TYLER IN MARYLAND ASKS: Where are the largest Muslim populations in the U.S. located? Is there a reason Muslim-Americans tend to flock to one area over another? THE GUY RESPONDS: We have good current information thanks to “The American Mosque 2011” survey and head researcher Ihsan Bagby of the University of Kentucky (a Muslim and onetime United Methodist). Not all ethnic Muslims join, but mosque locations provide our best indicator of population dispersal since the U.S. Census does not ask... Read more

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