Monthly Archives: July 2010

Why Evangelical Christians Believe the Bible

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Let it therefore be held as fixed, that those who are inwardly taught by the Holy Spirit acquiesce implicitly in Scripture; that Scripture carrying its own evidence along with it, deigns not to submit to proofs and arguments, but owes the full conviction with which we ought to receive it to the testimony of the Spirit. Enlightened by him, we no longer believe, either on our own judgement or that of others, that the Scriptures are from God; but, in a way superior to human judgement, feel perfectly assured—as much so as if we beheld the divine image visibly impressed on it -that it came to us, by the instrumentality of men, from the very mouth of God. We ask not for proofs or probabilities on which to rest our judgement, but we subject our intellect and judgement to it as too transcendent for us to estimate.  (John Calvin)

I wish Evangelicals would be honest about this instead of trying to “prove” the Bible is true ,reliable, accurate, scientifically accurate, historically precise, etc, etc, etc.

Evangelicals believe the Bible because the Holy Spirit tells them it is truth. This is a matter of faith.

Evangelicals embarrass themselves, and their religion, when they attempt to “prove” that the Bible is the truth.

One either accepts the claims of the Bible as truth or they don’t.

It has always been about faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:1-6)

HT: Ken Pulliam

What is a Church According to the IRS?

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Anyone can start a Church in America. In most cases, the new Church will be considered tax exempt.

The IRS lists the following generic (albeit very Christian sounding)characteristics of a Church:

The term church is found, but not specifically defined, in the Internal Revenue Code. With the exception of the special rules for church audits, the use of the term churchalso includes conventions and associations of churches as well as integrated auxiliaries of a church.

Certain characteristics are generally attributed to churches.  These attributes of a church have been developed by the IRS and by court decisions.  They include:

  • Distinct legal existence
  • Recognized creed and form of worship
  • Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
  • Formal code of doctrine and discipline
  • Distinct religious history
  • Membership not associated with any other church or denomination
  • Organization of ordained ministers
  • Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study
  • Literature of its own
  • Established places of worship
  • Regular congregations
  • Regular religious services
  • Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young
  • Schools for the preparation of its members

If a group of people generally exhibit characteristics like the list above they are considered a Church by the IRS. (state laws are different from federals laws and vary from state to state)

A Church is not required to file for 501c3 status to be tax exempt. 501c3 status does grant certain additional benefits to the Church BUTit is not required for tax exemption.

The IRS handbook for Churches states:

Congress has enacted special tax laws applicable to churches, religious organizations, and ministers in recognition of their unique status in American society and of their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Churches and religious organizations are generally exempt from income tax and receive other favorable treatment under the tax law; however, certain income of a church or religious organization may be subject to tax, such as income from an unrelated business.

The IRS Church handbook states:

Churches and religious organizations, like many other charitable organizations, qualify for exemption from federal income tax under IRC section 501(c)(3) and are generally eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. To qualify for tax-exempt status, such an organization must meet the following requirements:

■ the organization must be organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific, or other charitable purposes,
■ net earnings may not inure to the benefit of any private individual or shareholder,
■ no substantial part of its activity may be attempting to influence legislation,
■ the organization may not intervene in political campaigns, and
■ the organization’s purposes and activities may not be illegal or violate fundamental public policy.

Churches that meet the requirements of IRC section 501c3 are automatically considered tax exempt and are not required to apply for and obtain recognition of tax-exempt status from the IRS.

How a Minister Can Take 40,000 and Turn it into Zero Tax Liability

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I am getting a lot of questions about ministerial compensation. I thought I would try and explain it in a more detailed manner.

I am not an accountant, but  I have found that many accountants have no clue about how to handle clergy compensation. The tax law affecting ordained clergy and Churches is complex and, at times, contradictory.

For example, I pastored 3 Churches that, in the past, had given their minister a 1099 instead of a W-2 at the end of the year. In two of the Churches it was  their accountant that told them to do this. The accountant was wrong. In most every instance a pastor should be getting a W-2 from the Church. One accountant argued over and over with me about this. I refused to take the 1099 he provided. Finally, he educated himself on the matter and found out he had been for years erroneously giving the ministers a 1099. As  I said, the tax law for ordained clergy and Churches can be complicated .

Take a 40,000.00 pile of money.  If the money is wages then it will be taxed as wages. The 40,000.00 will show up on the person’s 1040 tax form as income. If the person is married, with two children, his taxable income would be 14,000.00 (minus 11,400.00 standard deduction14,600.00 personal exemptions) The person would owe 1,398.00 tax.

Give that same 40,000.00 to an ordained minister. With a few magical, but legal, tricks the ordained minister can turn 40,000.00 into zero tax liability. Using the tax code the pastor can deduct, deduct, deduct, until his tax liability disappears.

  • 16,000.00 housing allowance
  • 7,000.00 automobile allowance (car used strictly for ministry use)
  • 3,000.00 books, education expenses, vestments, taking Church members out for dinner, computers,cell phones. (additional exemptions)

Without any trouble the pastor has reduced his taxable income (before exemptions) to 14,000.00

The pastor is married with two children. Using the standard deduction and personal exemptions, the pastor’s income is reduced to zero. Now this may not be to his benefit when it comes to the Earned Income Credit, so he may need to adjust his deductions to give him the maximum  refund.

The pastor can also opt out of social security, and by doing so save himself an additional 15.3%. (ministers are generally taxed as self-employed) Only religious workers have the option of opting out of social security.

This is legal and is done by thousands upon thousands of ministers every year.  It is what the tax code allows.

Is it moral? Is it ethical?

I’ll leave that discussion for another day.

At the very least, every Church member should know how their pastor is compensated. (and I suspect most don’t)

The Dogma That Followed Me Home

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Guest post by Cat Givens.

When I was growing up in northeast Ohio, my family attended a Baptist Church. It was one of those places where you’d meet every Sunday morning and then again Sunday evening. Bible study on Wednesday night. Soul-winning every Tuesday eve. Thursdays were youth group nights, and on Friday or Saturday we may have some other activity and then back again on Sunday.

We learned about heaven, and about hell. They preached a lot about hell.

I can remember being taught as a young child to tell everybody I came in contact with about Jesus and how to be saved. If I neglected to tell someone, then on Judgment Day this would happen:

The person I did not tell would be led before the Lord God. I would be sitting behind this god with the rest of the saved people. God would turn that person I neglected away, saying he did not know them. As they would be lead away, they would see me behind god and scream, “WHY? Oh Why didn’t you tell me?” And as they were lead away, to be cast into the eternal fire, damned for all eternity, their blood would be dripping from my hands. Pretty heavy stuff for a kid, huh?

In my teens, I was a bit of a rebel, and I’d run away when I got the chance, rather face the consequences at home for my actions.
When I was 14, almost 15, my parents were at their wits’ end. I was in the Detention Home for running away yet again, and they sought out help from the “experts”. A nice lady at the United Way told my parents doctors were having success with rebellious children by hospitalizing them and giving them intense psychotherapy.

My parents met with the doctors, then the doctors met with me. Yes, they could help me, they assured my folks. They told Mom and Dad I could be transformed into a willing obedient child and would change my “criminalistic way of thinking”.

I was sent to a local hospital’s psych ward with mostly adults (this was 1974, and there were no children’s wards at that time here). There I was locked up with a bunch of strangers. I was shot full of “behavior modifying” drugs which made my physical movement robotic. I also received electroshock therapy treatments.Thanks a lot, Dr. Vallaba! Some of the men abused me while I was in there. I thought I fell in love with a man who said he and Bob Dylan shared a soul.

After the doctors had used up all my parents’ insurance money, they wanted to send me to another hospital in Connecticut. But Mom and Dad had been talking to the preachers. They had another idea.

Off to a girls’ home in Louisiana for me! New Bethany Home for Wayward Girls.I was to be there for a year.

Surely, this would save my soul and make me a compliant teenager. At this girls’ home, the same type of hellfire and brimstone attitude prevailed. I was not allowed to wear pants, as that was a sin. I could not listen to any music besides gospel, as that was a sin. I could not talk about my past, as I had no past. I had to be called by my first and middle name because I was to become a new person.

There was an evangelical preacher who ran the place, Rev. Mac Ford. He and his wife, Thelma founded the home, and they took in rebellious teens from all over the country and also took in the unwanted girls who would just be abandoned there. We were all to comply with every rule or get whipped with a belt. That was the easy punishment. If a girl acted out, often she would be forced, after lights out, to stand in the hallway on her tip toes with eggs or tomatoes under her heels. If she slipped and squished one, she’d get a whipping or get hit with the switch. Runaways from the home were usually caught and then, after a sound whipping with the belt from Bro. Mac, she’d be handcuffed to her bed and a ‘trusted girl” would have the key. All meals were served her at her bed, and only was she uncuffed for bathroom and shower breaks. Once Bro Mac determined she had repented, she was off the cuffs.

Everything we did was strictly controlled. We were told not to trust our conscience, as the devil could be in there, so only trust the bible. And trust Bro Mac.

Everyday after chores, we’d have chapel. There we would learn about hell and how the love of god brought us to this place and how we must repent our evil ways and change. Then we had breakfast. After more chores, off to school. A trailer down the street with one teacher and learning packets, it was an ACE school….Accelerated Christian Education. After school it was time for chapel again, and then lunch. Then chores and free time, then chapel and supper. Even our bathroom breaks were timed and we actually had to count the toilet paper and beg for more through the bathroom door if we needed it. We were often awakened in the middle of the night. Sleep deprivation and what Brother Mac called “breaking down the will” were the norm. I could go on, but I think the picture is clear. This was a brainwashing southern Baptist cult and we were the subjects.

After nearly a year, I got to come home. And yes, I was changed. I was a good little southern Baptist obedient teenager who addressed my parents and all adults as “sir” and “mam”.

At my new Christian high school, I was more conservative than most of the staff! At this school, we would only have chapel once a week, unless it was “spiritual emphasis week”. During the “emphasis” we would have chapel every day. Chapel was where we were told about how the devil tries to get every teen to be worldly and do evil. We were ripe for the danger of hell fire! We must be saved. We must repent if we do anything displeasing to god. I recall Mr. Russell, the gym teacher, leading us in a prayer, asking God to kill us rather than let us live to set a bad example!

Throughout high school, I loosened up quite a bit. I still believed the dogma, but wasn’t quite so hung up on the rules. I began to read the bible for myself, and it did not read the same on my own as with a preacher interpreting for me.

After graduation, I began to think more for myself.  I sought out a therapist who helped me let go of the guilt and confusion.  Gradually I was losing the dogma and forming my own spirituality. I found god in nature and other human beings. I read about other religions and philosophies, realizing there are many paths to enlightenment. I enjoyed comparing the teachings of my youth to the myths and stories from other cultures and religions. I saw beauty and truth in many forms, and rejected the hellfire and brimstone from my upbringing. Or so I thought.

I recently found a movie that was shown to us “wayward girls” back at the girls home. It was about the communist takeover of the United States. I really wanted to see this film again, as an adult without the expectation of a great revelation and insight. The movie, along with another about hell, arrived the other day and I watched them. The acting was way over the top, and the subject matter was absurd. There on the screen a little boy had a bamboo stick driven through his ears so he could no longer hear the gospel. Communists on horseback terrorized citizens and the blood and guts spilled! Demons tormented people in hell, and worms ate at the burning flesh of the damned.

What happened next is what shocked me the most. As the choir sang “Just As I Am” and the preacher plead with the congregation to come to the alter and get right with god, I felt uneasy and a little sick. Fear and dread took hold, and then the panic ! What if it was true? Would my children go to hell to be tormented for all eternity because I chose to raise them as free thinkers?

Mind you, this is NOT how I believe, yet here it was, all this dread and fear and worry. I felt horrible and confused. It was as if a great wave had pummeled me and I was breathless! I contacted a woman who was raised similarly, and found that she, too, suffered from this occasionally. We discussed brainwashing and conditioned response, then I began to examine what had happened.

It was twenty plus years of dogmatic teachings took my emotions and spilled them out in front of me like so many dice. I realized that this memory’s emotional effect needed to be changed. So I set to work, discussing with my therapist these reactions, and he encouraged me.  I reminded myself that it was out of love for my children I chose to NOT subject them to the stifling negative dogma. And I’m glad of it, as I would never want them to feel the way I did right then!

What good is spirituality if it does not lift one up? I examined what I actually do believe, and did some reading from some positive authors. I watched the movies again with my husband, and we laughed and shook our heads. The effect was more benign, but not gone away completely, so I shall work on these memories some more, bringing in more humor and love. Still, I am amazed this dogma has followed me for so many years.

I wonder, has anything like this ever happened to you?

The Difficulty with Having Christian Friends

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When a person becomes a born-again Christian the slate is wiped clean concerning the past. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses them from all sin. According to the Bible when a person is born again they become a new creation in Christ. Old things pass away and all things become new. No wonder people with troubled lives find the born-again experience so liberating. In a moment, through the blood of Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are set free. Go and sin no more.

For those of us who have left the Christian faith, who have deconverted, who have become unborn-again, there is no such liberating, cleansing moment. Our past is ever with us. In fact it is our past that informs our present. We see our past as a necessary part of our present. I’ve come to understand that I will never outlive my past. I can only come to terms with it and use it for my betterment.

My past is a life spent preaching the gospel and helping others live according to the teachings of Jesus. ( at least how I interpreted the teachings of Jesus) Over the course of  twenty-five years I pastored thousands of people, saw hundreds of people make professions of faith, baptized hundreds of people, dedicated numerous children, and performed a number of weddings and funerals.My life intersected with, and touched, many people for good and for bad.

Rarely does a week go by that somebody from my past doesn’t try to look me up via the Internet or Facebook. There’s a part of me that wants to leave the past in the past. I don’t want to invite people from my past into my present. Yet, I am a part of their lives. I cannot easily dismiss the connection that we have.

So I’m always faced with a dilemma. Should I or shouldn’t I respond to their e-mail or friend request? Is it better for them to remember me for what I once was? What purpose is served by troubling their past with my present?

Yet, I don’t want them to think that I’m something I’m not. I want them to know me for who I really am.

Who am I anyways?

I was Bruce Gerencser, a man, who with great sincerity, taught thousands that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life. I was a man who believed the Bible was the truth and that we should live according to its precepts and teachings. Nothing in my present invalidates my past. For thirty-three years I walked with Jesus as a Christian man. Twenty-five of those years were spent as a Baptist preacher. My life was authentic and filled with zeal for the things of God. If I wasn’t a Christian then no one is.

Now I am Bruce Gerencser, a man, who with great sincerity, no longer believes the Bible is the truth and no longer believes that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. I know it’s uncomfortable for people from my past to read what I’ve written in this paragraph. They can’t imagine me as a nonbeliever. They can’t imagine me not being a preacher.

I want everyone, both from my past and present, to understand who I am. I don’t ask anyone to believe what I believe. I don’t ask anyone to embrace my version of  truth. I don’t ask anyone to walk along with me on the journey that I am on. All I ask for is respect. With integrity and passion I lived my life as a Christian and I continue to live with integrity and passion as a non-Christian.

I am curious about the lives of those from my past. What difference did I make in their lives? Did I have a good influence on them or was I a bad influence? I want to know how their lives turned out.

So I usually say yes to their friend requests on Facebook. I figure it won’t take them long to determine whether or not they really want to be friends with me. Some will try to convert me, thinking that God will really reward them if they can get me back in the fold. Usually these kind of friends don’t stay around for very long. Others are glad I am where I am now. More than a few of my former parishioners and acquaintances are no longer followers of Jesus.

I wish we could get past religion but I realize it is almost impossible for ardent believers to set aside their religious beliefs. When a person’s life is wrapped up in an absolute belief that carries with it eternal ramifications it is foolish to think that such a person can, all of a sudden, become indifferent to their beliefs.

I have several Christian friends who have agreed to be friends with me with one string attached. We don’t talk about religion. They know I write about religion, evangelical Christianity in particular, and if they are going to be my friend they have to just grin and bear it. ( or at least pretend to grin) I don’t expect them to not practice  Christianity for my sake. What we have agreed to do is not bring religion into the common space of our relationship. Most Christians from my past can’t have this kind of friendship with me. I understand why and I wish them well as they continue on down the road.

It’s too bad religion messes everything up. We have so many other things we could talk about. Great stories from the past. Family. Children. Sports. Gardening. Movies. etc. etc. etc. Why is it that everything has to be about religion?

Let’s embrace the common humanity we have and be friends.

Let’s leave our religious differences for eternity.

I’m sure one of us will then be able to say “I told you so.”

Until then, let’s eat drink and be merry.

Been There, Done That or Yeah, YOUR Church is Different

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I pastored my last Church in 2003. Between July of 2002 and November of 2008 my wife and I, along with our children, personally visited the Churches that are listed below.  These are the Churches we could remember. (and there are a number we can’t, or vaguely remember so we didn’t put them on this list.) Churches in bold we attended more than once. All told, from 2002-2008 we visited about 125 Churches. If I added every Church I have ever attended or preached in in my lifetime the count would near 200.

When Christians tell me THEIR Church is different I often tell them that I have been to THEIR Church. Not literally of course, but one Church or another that I have visited over the past 30+ years is just like theirs. Churches are not as unique as they would like to think they are.

Church Name Location
   
Our Father’s House West Unity, Ohio
First Brethren Church Bryan, Ohio
First Baptist Church Bryan, Ohio
Grace Community Church Bryan, Ohio
Lick Creek Church of the Brethren Bryan,Ohio
First Church of Christ Bryan, Ohio
Eastland Baptist Church Bryan, Ohio
Christian Missionary and Alliance Bryan, Ohio
Union Chapel Bryan, Ohio
Celebrate Life Christian Fellowship Bryan, Ohio
Faith United Methodist Church Bryan, Ohio
Trinity Episcopal Church Bryan, Ohio
Evangelical Mennonite Archbold, Ohio
Sherwood Baptist Church Sherwood, Ohio
Ney Church of God Ney, Ohio
Ney United Methodist Church Ney, Ohio
Sonrise Community Church Ney, Ohio
Farmer United Methodist Church Farmer, Ohio
Lost Creek Emmanuel Missionary Church Farmer, Ohio
Hicksville Church of the Nazarene Hicksville, Ohio
Hicksville Community Church Hicksville, Ohio
Grace Bible Church Butler, Indiana
St John’s Lutheran Church Defiance, Ohio
Harvest Life Fellowship Defiance, Ohio
Community Christian Center Defiance, Ohio
Second Baptist Church Defiance, Ohio
First Baptist Church Defiance, Ohio
Grace Episcopal Church Defiance, Ohio
First Assembly of God Defiance, Ohio
Defiance Christian Church Defiance, Ohio
First Presbyterian Church Defiance, Ohio
St John’s United Church of Christ Defiance, Ohio
Peace Lutheran Church Defiance, Ohio
Pinegrove Mennonite Church Stryker, Ohio
St James Lutheran Church Burlington, Ohio
Zion Lutheran Church Edgerton, Ohio
Northwest Christian Church Edon, Ohio
Restoration Fellowship Williams Center, Ohio
Pioneer Bible Fellowship Pioneer, Ohio
Frontier Baptist Church Frontier, Michigan
Salem Mennonite Church Waldron, Michigan
Waldron Wesleyan Church Waldron, Michigan
Lickley Corners Baptist Church Waldron, Michigan
Prattville Community Church Prattville, Michigan
Betzer Community Church Pittsford, Michigan
Fayette Church of the Nazarene Fayette, Ohio
Fayette Bible Church Fayette, Ohio
Fayette Christian Church Fayette, Ohio
Morenci Bible Fellowship Morenci, Michigan
First Baptist Church Morenci, Michigan
Demings Lake Reformed Baptist Church Demings Lake, Michigan
Medina Federate Church Medina, Michigan
Thornhill Baptist Church Hudson, Michigan
First Baptist Church Hudson, Michigan
Rollins Friends Church Addison, Michigan
Canandaigua Community Church Canandaigua. Michigan
Alvordton United Brethren Alvordton, Ohio
Pettisville Missionary Church Pettisville, Ohio
Vineyard Church Toledo, Ohio
Providence Reformed Baptist Church Toledo, Ohio
Lighthouse Memorial Church Millersport, Ohio
Newark Baptist Temple Heath, Ohio
Church of God Heath, Ohio
30th Street Baptist Church Heath, Ohio
St Francis De Sales Catholic Church Newark, Ohio
Bible Baptist Church Newark, Ohio
Cedar Hill Baptist Church Newark, Ohio
Eastland Baptist Church Newark, Ohio
Northside Baptist Church Newark, Ohio
Brethren Church Newark, Ohio
St John’s Lutheran Church Newark, Ohio
Vineyard of Licking County Newark, Ohio
Vineyard Grace Fellowship Newark, Ohio
Grace Fellowship Newark, Ohio
Faith Bible Church Jersey, Ohio
Vineyard Church Pataskala, Ohio
Cornerstone Baptist Church New Lexington, Ohio
St Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church Fort Wayne, Indiana
Nondenominational Church Angola, Indiana
Nondenominational Church Fremont, Indiana
Victory Baptist Church Clare, Michigan
First Assembly of God Yuma, Arizona
Desert Grace Community Church Yuma, Arizona
Calvary Lutheran Church Yuma, Arizona
Bible Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Calvary Chapel Yuma, Arizona
Oasis Yuma, Arizona
Faith Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Valley Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Calvary Assembly of God Yuma, Arizona
Foothills Assembly of God Yuma, Arizona
Morningside Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Faith Horizons Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Stone Ridge Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Old Order Mennonite Church Yuma, Arizona
Grace Bible Church Yuma, Arizona
Calvary Temple Yuma, Arizona
Maranatha Baptist Church Yuma, Arizona
Independent Lutheran Church Yuma, Arizona
Community Christian Church Yuma, Arizona
Church meeting in funeral chapel Yuma, Arizona
Pentecostal Church Winterhaven, California
North Holtville Friends Church Holtville, California
Sierra Vista Baptist Church Sierra Vista, Arizona
Hedgesville Baptist Church Hedgesville, West Virginia
New Life Southern Baptist Church Weston, West Virginia

As Long As You Believe in God That’s All That Matters

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I have heard this line many times over the past several years “as long as your believe in God that’s all that matters.”

Implied in this statement is the notion that belief in the CHRISTIAN God is all that matters. No matter what flavor of religious belief a person might be, as long as they believe in the Christian God then everything is OK.

But what about specific beliefs? Doesn’t it matter that I believe something, anything specific, about the Christian God? Or is it Ok if I just have warm, fuzzy feelings about the Christian God?

Every organized religion has a formulated belief system. To be a ___________________you must believe ___________. Can one be a Christian and not believe in Jesus?  Of course not.

It seems that many Christians are uncomfortable with what they believe, especially when it comes to judgment and hell. Christians hem and haw about the future state of those who do not believe in Jesus. That’s why they like the “as long as you believe in God that’s all that matters” line of thinking. It lets them and their God off the hook.

What if I said I believe in Allah or Zeus?  Would that satisfy the “as long as you believe in God that’s all that matters” crowd?

Is there any God that is not an acceptable God?

Inherent to this line of thinking is the notion that humans MUST believe in a being bigger than themselves.

Why?

Why must I have any god at all? Is it not enough to live, embrace life,and die? Is it not enough to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow I die? Is it not enough to love the wife of my youth, my children, and my grandchildren? Is it not enough to love my neighbor as myself?

I find no need for a god.

Perhaps on my deathbed I will think differently. But, for now, God seems of little importance in the day to day machinations of my life.

Most Americans have a difficult time understanding atheists and agnostics. (or for that matter anyone different from themselves) They are quite certain that godlessness means that a person is a Satanist, child molester, or a deviant of some kind. (no matter that most child molesters and deviants have a religious background and atheists don’t believe in Satan).

How can one live without God, they ask themselves.

I find little difference between myself and most Christians I know. I say there is no god and live accordingly and they say there is a God and live, for the most part, as if there is no god.

It seems the only difference is what we “say” we are and where we spend Sunday  morning. Such a religion does not interest me. I far prefer the Church of the NFL or the Church of College Football. (and it seems a lot of my Christians acquaintances and neighbors do too)

So, my Christian friend,let’s play a game.

Let’s compare lives. After all, the only way we can know what a person believes is to watch how they live their lives. We LIVE what we think is important.

How is my life any different from yours?

Surely, since I don’t believe in God, don’t have the Holy Spirit in me, don’t follow the Bible…….my life should be a blazing example of what most Christians think about nontheists.

Shall we compare morals? Ethics?

Shall we compare our love for our respective families?

Or does it really all come down to whether or not I “believe”, lifestyle be damned?

I see no compelling reason for embracing Christianity or any theism for that matter.

It seems all quite meaningless to me.

I realize it doesn’t for you.

I have Christian friends, most of whom are liberals or universalists, so this post really isn’t directed at them, whom I respect greatly. They quietly live according to the teachings of Jesus. I admire them.  That they are still friends with me means a lot to me.

Anne Rice recently wrote about “leaving” Christianity.

She wrote:

For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten …years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else…..

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of …Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

I doubt the cohesiveness of Rice’s beliefs BUT I do understand and appreciate her sentiments.  

I have often been told that I have looked for God in all the wrong places.

Perhaps.

At this point in life…….I am going to leave it to God to find me. I am no longer interested in looking for him/her/it. There is too much life to be lived to spend it looking for God. Most days, I can’t even find the remote.

How Successful Evangelicals Stifle Criticism

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The modern Evangelical Church is all about the numbers:

  • Attendance
  • Souls saved
  • Baptisms
  • Offerings
  • Number of missionaries supported
  • Number of ministries
  • Number of staff members
  • Number of preacher boys/missionaries called under a pastor’s ministry

The thinking goes, the more you have of any of the above the more successful you are.  Once a certain level of success is achieved your critics are supposed to shut up. After all……….what are THEIR numbers?  This is really a religious version of “how big is your penis.”

I used to tell people “when you have as many eggs in your basket as I do in mine then you can criticize me.” I pastored mostly small Churches but  I did pastor one Church, that grew to several hundred people, which made it one of the largest Churches in the rural area we lived in. My critics were many. I considered them jealous of my success, and I don’t doubt some of them were.  I thought myself immune to criticism since I had a bigger, better Church than my critics. My egg basket was full but theirs was not.

Frank Viola, of house-Church fame, has written a book titled Reimagining Church. Viola has made a mighty fine career out of criticizing and critiquing the Church. On Viola’s blog he mentions a critique of the Reimagining Church book and he also mentions a critique by famed  Mark Driscoll (pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle) of his previous book Pagan Christianity.

Viola writes:

The second response is to Mark Driscoll. I don’t know Mark. We’ve never spoken nor written to one another. But we have a number of mutual friends. While we’ve never met, I admire what Mark has done in preaching the gospel to many young people in the Northwest USA – a very difficult place to have a Christian witness. I am thankful for this and believe that God is using him.

(For those who would be critical of Mark, please ponder this question: Have you done more than he has in preaching the gospel to the lost? If not, then consider dropping your critical attitude and remarks. We all have one Judge to whom we are accountable. As the New Testament repeats, it’s not our place to judge another man’s servant (Romans 14:4; 1 Corinthians 4:3-5; James 4:11).

Apparently Mark published a critique of Pagan Christianity some months back. I had no idea it existed except for the fact that people began telling me about it and asking if Mark had contacted me. Honestly, I wish Mark had come to me and George to openly dialogue about our book before he reviewed it.

Note the second paragraph.

Have you done more than he has? Then shut up. (New Living Bible Translation)

Of course this thinking pervades American culture. We see it sports and the corporate world. How many championship rings so YOU have? How much has YOUR stock gone up?

It’s just that Evangelicals have turned this into an art form.

I don’t care how big or small Mark Driscoll’s Church is…….nor do I care about how he has done in preaching the gospel to the lost. (which I think is probably not much as one might be led to think since he generally preaches to CHRISTIANS and with his outside preaching gigs preaching to CHRISTIANS I doubt he has a lot of time to reach the lost. It’s simple to confirm. “Mark how many people have you personally won to Jesus this year?” Ah, that’s what I thought.

Mark Driscoll remains a crude, arrogant,misogynist, in everyone’s business, Calvinist. While he may not be a cultural fundamentalist, he is a theological fundamentalist. It astounds me that he can attract thousands of people to hear his preaching, but I suspect that might have a lot more to do with other things like music and the Church subculture.

So, no there are no eggs in my basket. Dammit, I don’t even have a basket.

But, I know what Mark Driscoll is.

I was one.

My Evangelical Disaster

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My friend, and commenter on this blog, Larry C, has posted his testimony on exchristian.net. I hope you will venture over there and read it in its entirety. I learned a lot about Larry by reading this post and I appreciate him all the more as a result. His willingness to be open about his journey is a real encouragement to me. (and I hope to you)

Larry writes:

Somewhere in the middle of my 2nd year of seminary (1988/89), while I was serving as an Army Chaplain Candidate in the Tennessee Army National Guard, and was endorsed by a extreme religious right “full gospel” (i.e., Pentecostal/Charismatic) chaplaincy group, I quit believing in my fundy faith.

But here’s the strange thing: I knew I no longer believed, but I didn’t want to see myself as an “unbeliever”. I had, what I would now call, an “identity lag” due to the fact that by the time my de-conversion had taken place, I had a deeply ingrained self concept as an “on fire for Jesus” believer.

It’s an odd kind of floating phase that one enters into when one has crossed from faith to unbelief. You are aware that you have changed, but you don’t want to identify oneself as an agnostic or, God forbid, an atheist! I think this phase is much like someone who is a lifetime drinker finally admitting that their usage of their dear friend alcohol is a problem but they can’t bring themselves to use the A-Word (Alcoholic) to describe their condition. Or, a person who finds themselves after many years of being in a loveless marriage, and they fall deeply in love with another person, that they are unable to acknowledge to themselves that they no longer “love” their spouse. But they can’t leave the marriage because of their self-definition is very much tied to being “married” to their legal spouse. In the end, this long history of being psychological and socially linked to another is to great to overcome and so they stay in the marriage with someone they not only don’t love but actually loathe!
So what did I tell myself about the new un-fundy me? I told myself I was still a Christian but that I was now a “liberal evangelical” or “liberal Christian”…….

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