Yesterday, a Christian psychologist named Mike Kuvakos left the following comment on the post Dear Jesus. My response is indented and italicized.
Couple of questions arise. You didn’t mention whether you believe in God, you know, as an entity in himself and if not, why?
I have been writing for this blog iteration since December 2014 — 4,000+ posts (3.5 million words). You read all of two posts before leaving this comment. Had you bothered to click on the WHY? page, you might have learned a bit (okay, a lot) more about me. Instead, you read two posts.
I was in the Christian church for fifty years. I spent twenty-five years pastoring Evangelical churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. So, yes, I believed in God, specifically the Christian deity.
I’m your age and maturity does make you realize in the gifts of plants, trees, miraculous medicines developed from ecology that some kind of supreme being has a hand in the cycles in life. Or do you think these things just happen. I don’t think I could make a donation from that kind of viewpoint.
My age (an objective statement) and maturity (a subjective statement) have led me to far different conclusions about the universe, our planet, and our biological world from yours. I put my “faith” in science, not a fallible, contradictory ancient religious text. I am no scientist, and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, but I trust the explanations for our world given by trained experts in the various scientific fields. In other words, I know what I don’t know. Unfortunately, religion often makes people think they are “experts,” when, in fact, they are not.
Science tells how our world began — no God needed. What happened before the Big Bang no one knows. Asserting that a God who exists outside of time and space created everything is not supported by the current understanding of the universe. Maybe there is some sort of divine creator, but we don’t know. You don’t know, and neither do I. So, we base our understanding of the universe on what evidence we do have. If you have evidence for the claim that your peculiar God created everything, please provide it. Quoting the Bible is not evidence.
Of course, things “just happen.” We are surrounded by randomness. Much of our lives are governed by chance and luck. That said, I suspect you mean something different by “just happen.” Please clarify.
You are a Christian, so you believe that “some kind of supreme being” created everything. One might argue that a deistic God of some sort created everything, but I have yet to see persuasive evidence for the claim that this creator God is the God of the Christian Bible.
As far as donating, please, please, please donate. My family is starving, and I desperately need donations from people who show no interest in my writing. (That’s sarcasm, by the way.) Feel free to donate, or not. Whether you donate will not affect the content of my writing.
Also, I’m interested in reading some of your site’s content (I AM a Christian).
Please read Curiosity, A Missing Evangelical Trait. Reading only two posts tells me that you aren’t really that interested. And I AM an atheist. Not sure why you felt the need to capitalize “am.” Emphasis noted.
The biggest disagreement is that you really don’t provide a reason for your new found disbelief. I assume it’s all-the-above. I’m also a psychologist by trade and can tell you – that’s the dumbest reason in not believing in anything. You’ve had a tough time growing up. Join the list, friend.
Actually, I have provided numerous reasons for why I am an atheist. Again, please read the WHY? page. Seek, and ye shall find.
Newfound disbelief? Uh, I deconverted in November 2008 — almost thirteen years ago. Because of your laziness, you failed to learn anything about me. Had you bothered to investigate, you would never have said that the reason for my deconversion was “all of the above.” Do your homework, and then we will talk.
Thank you for your passive-aggressive comment: “you’ve had a tough time growing up. Join the list, friend.” In other words, “get over it.” Evidently, you missed the class lecture on empathy and understanding. You, my friend, are an asshole.
And as far as the Bengals are concerned, I’ve been a sports psychologist for many years and I can tell you with complete assuredness that there are several teams in sports who purposely lose (until the odds for these athletic teams get odds of 500 to 1 against their winning a Super Bowl in Vegas). Their owners acquire collegiate players who are notorious for willingly selling out their performances to wealthy owners like Robert Kraft of the Patriot’s who can buy off these cheating players and can make big extra money in betting in Las Vegas. You think these multi-million dollar salaries come from fans and TV? Look-up in the stands. You see anyone there totaling the 200-500 million dollar contracts? When they get three or four cornerbacks willing to make it look like they’re slipping and sliding while covering the opposition’s receivers the games are pretty well lost, wouldn’t you say? In the meantime – owners put down money bets you yourself couldn’t imagine. Or do you think that a genius like Joe Namath could really give a guarantee his team would win the Super Bowl years ago. There is a lot more involved in this than I told you but I don’t have the time.
For readers who may not understand what this commenter is saying, he is responding to me saying this in the Dear Jesus post:
“Always silent, Jesus. Why is that?
If you ever want to talk to me, you know where I live. Show up at my door, Jesus, and that will be a miracle I can believe in. Better yet, if you can help the Cincinnati Bengals win their last six games, well, I just might rethink your existence. Not going to happen, I know. The Bengals are going to bungle their way to an 0-16 record.
If you can’t help my football team win a few games, Jesus, what good are you? It’s not like I am asking you to feed the hungry, heal the sick, or put an end to violence and war. That would require you to give a shit, Jesus, and if there’s one thing I have learned over the past sixty-two years, it is this: you don’t give a shit about what happens on earth. We humans are on our own, and that’s fine with me.”
Why Kuvakos decided to educate me about American football, I have no idea. Not that I know anything about the subject, right? Sure glad Kuvakos stopped by to “educate” me.
God-Bless
Ah yes, always the “God bless” benediction.
And here’s mine . . .
A Sinner Saved by Reason,
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Wow, Bruce. For a man who says he is a psychologist he isn’t very much of a scientist. He makes claims based on a cursory read of your blog posts, and makes specious claims about Jesus. I wouldn’t go to this dude and get advice if you paid me…well, unless you paid me well. 😉
Lol 😀
Kuvakos, why did you even bother to say anything at all? And what do you expect ?
BLB, Luke 19:26 ‘I say to you that to everyone having will be given, but from the one not having, even that which he has will be taken away.
If you start by taking instead of giving, you won’t be welcome in many houses
As a psychologist though, he should realise that his clumsy comment, especially the capital AM, is indicative of insecurity and doubt – hence his counter offer of telling a lot about American football, something that he does feel knowledgeable and secure about
Not that anyone gives a damn about it LOL!
Excellent answers! One thing I’ve learned since encountering fundamentalism over the past few months is that it seems to turn people into arrogant assholes.
Yer dumb! Hey Stupid, I’m a psychologist!
Wow. Helpful. This anal leakage is definitely from God, sent to offer one last chance to Almighty Bruce: Everything is evil and fixed, even sports, EVEN sports. Hell, I’d tell you more, dummy, but I don’t have time.
Psychologist: ” I’m also a psychologist by trade and can tell you – that’s the dumbest reason in not believing in anything.”
Zpe: And not a very good psychologist either.
Psychologist: “You’ve had a tough time growing up. Join the list, friend.”
Zoe paraphrasing: ‘Boo hoo Bruce. Cry me a river. Don’t you know everyone has a story? Listen here you dummny (because I AM God’s gift to those in a boat load of hurt and trauma. Follow me and we’ll be free, you dumb ass.’
Zoe: Yup. That’s the kind of therapist we all need. I can feel the healing now. I AM recovered!
:/
I don’t know how you do it Bruce. This constant stream of preachers that never bother to read a word you’ve written would drive me insane. You have the patience of… ahem… a saint!
I AM so very fond of professional psychologists who freely voice what they “assume” and in the next breath use neutrally descriptive words like “dumbest”.
Ah yes, evangelicals, on the one hand rejecting all knowledge of science and archaeology while simultaneously telling you their profession, qualifications, titles and so forth as if they value education.
oh, i’m deeply crushed. Oh and I did read your story by the way.
Server logs, dude. I know exactly what you read. Your questions and statements show that you were either high or you didn’t read my story. You are the first person in thirteen years to ask me if I believed in God. This tells me you read one autobiographical post. Try harder, Mike, try harder.
You’re continuing the proud evangelical tradition of being snotty on Bruce’s blog. What about that vaunted Christian love and forbearance? Oh wait, don’t bother, you’ll just say you don’t have to be kind to apostates blah blah blah. Oh, and you aren’t impressing us as a shrink, either.
I bet you that Mike would say the fruit of the Holy Spirit is not conducive to winners, at least he does not display it. How paradoxical.
If Christians acted in ways the bible indicates I might think there was something to what he and others claim to believe.
And mike is here to whine. He may be a psychologist, but he is an incompetent one. “I’m your age and maturity does make you realize in the gifts of plants, trees, miraculous medicines developed from ecology that some kind of supreme being has a hand in the cycles in life. ”
There are no “gifts”, it took hard work by humans to get these medicines. So, Mike, why was your god such an asshole to the people who dared to be born before it got around to “giving” us antibiotics, chemotherapy, anesthesia?
Server logs don’t lie.
You’ve got a live one, Bruce. Throw him back.
“Man accuses Blackhawks, Cubs of ‘stealing his ideas'”
By Rosemary R. Sobol Tribune reporter
Apr 18, 2012 at 7:00 PM
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/chi-man-accuses-blackhawks-cubs-of-stealing-his-ideas-20120418-story.html
“A man from Burr Ridge is accused of sending threatening emails to the president and owner of the Chicago Blackhawks and the former general manager of the Chicago Cubs, accusing them of “stealing his ideas” to win championships, police said.
…
Kuvakos, whose nickname is “Mike,” said during a telephone interview with the Chicago Tribune that he has been a freelance sportswriter for 30 years, and claimed he is a sports psychologist and “savant” who works for the Blackhawks, White Sox and the Cubs.
Kuvakos denied the messages he sent accused officials of stealing his championship-winning ideas and claimed the police arrested him because of what “he knows’’ about the Blackhawks.
“Police wouldn’t be responding if I wasn’t as important as I’m telling you,” he said.”
This could be Mike Kuvakos:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/chi-man-accuses-blackhawks-cubs-of-stealing-his-ideas-20120418-story.html
Thanks to Doctor DJ for the link!