Evangelicals are up in arms over a recent statement made by Adele about Beyoncé. Here’s what Adele had to say:
“Beyonce is the most inspiring person I’ve ever had the pleasure of worshipping. Her talent, beauty, grace and work ethic are all in a league of their own. I appreciate you so much! Thank god for Beyoncé X.”
According to CHARISMA writer Jessilyn Justice, Adele’s Instagram post proves that “idol worship is very much a reality.” Justice bolsters her claim with several comments from indignant Evangelicals on Adele’s Instagram page:
“Lowercased g, upper cased B? Only God is to be worshipped, artists are to be admired.”
” _______wrote that Adele’s caption has a lowered case g in God.. When referencing God, it’s always capital G..her worshipping Beyonce this way is disrespectful to God and all those who believe in Him and Jesus Christ,” wrote on fan.
“She’s now saying that Beyoncé is a god . Can worship people and things and not hold them to the level of God . Do you know what worship means ?”
“!!THESE DEVIL WORSHIPPERS ARE STARTING TO THINK THEY’RE GODS,ITS TIME TO STOP THEM BEFORE ITS TOO LATE…WAKE (expletive) UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ALL UR FAULT FOR IDIOLZING THEM THE WAY YALL DO…WAKE (expletive) UP!!!!!!!!!!THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT THINK THEY ARE GODS ….WAKE (expletive) UP!!!!!WHAT MORE PROOF DO U NEED.”
Ah yes, each new day brings Evangelicals numerous opportunities to express their indignation and outrage. What I find so amazing about these comments is that they assume that there is only one God — theirs — and that Adele’s use of the word lower g god was a direct attack on the name of the Christian God. Adele is not religious. I found no evidence on the internet for Adele ever making a public statement about God, Christianity, or religion in general. One website pointed to a 2015 Rolling Stone interview in which Adele purportedly said that she is not religious. However, I could not find the interview on Rolling Stone’s website. That said, in the course of looking for this interview I read several other Rolling Stone articles that quoted Adele. These articles clearly show that Adele’s two favorite words are God and fuck, with fuck being the runaway winner in the favorite word race.
Evidently, Evangelicals are okay with what they call the “F word,” but using the word “God” incorrectly is considered a mortal sin. And evidently, even spelling “god” incorrectly is considered a serious infraction of God’s vocabulary Code®. Spend any amount of time around Evangelicals and you will find out that the quickest way to get their backs up is to use the word God in way they consider disrespectful (yet these same Evangelicals ridicule Muslims for doing the same). Some Evangelicals even go so far as to police public speech, correcting and admonishing people who dare to use the name of the Christian God (and Jesus) inappropriately. Here’s a short list of usages Evangelicals disapprove of:
- Saying God like GAWD
- Saying Lord Almighty like LORD ALMIGHTY!
- Saying Jesus like JESUS!
- Saying Jesus Christ like JESUS CHRIST!
- Saying Jesus H. Christ
- Saying Jesus Fucking Christ
- Saying Jesus, Joseph, and Mary
- Saying Goddamn
- Saying God dammit
Utter these words in front of certain Evangelicals and you will likely get a self-righteous look of rebuke. Continue taking the “Lord’s name in vain” and some Evangelicals might even publicly call you out. I have known Evangelicals to even complain to their employers about their fellow employees’ offensive speech. Picture a toddler stomping his feet and saying, Mommy, make them stop! Of course, when their fellow employees find out about them going to the boss, guess what happens? That’s right. More taking the Lord’s name in vain. I learned this years ago when I worked for ARO Corporation in Bryan, Ohio. Newly married and filled with “Godly” zeal, I went to the plant manager and complained about the handful of pornographic (Playboy) pictures that were on display here and there on the factory floor. The plant manager “heard” my complaint and did nothing. The next afternoon, guess what I found taped to the front of my machine? That’s right, a picture of a naked woman. This went on for several days, long enough for me to understand that I should mind my own business. So it is with Evangelicals who get their panties in a knot when people profane the name of their God.
Evangelicals expect preferential treatment in the workplace, and often become outraged and offended when people refuse to play by their rules. I wonder if they ever bother to see things from the perspective on non-Evangelicals? My daughter works for a company where her job requires her to work in proximity with a handful of people. Her supervisor is an Evangelical. In her department they are permitted to play the radio. Guess what station is on every day? The local Evangelical Christian station. For eight hours each day, my daughter is forced to listen to atrocious Christian music, talk shows, and sermons. She could complain, resulting in the radio being removed from her department. Instead, she says nothing. My daughter has learned to tune out what she certainly considers “profane speech.” Evangelicals upset at Adele should do the same.
Evangelicals need to understand that for the nonreligious, words like God and Jesus are just that — words. If Evangelicals don’t like hearing (or reading) people use words that they deem offensive, then they should avoid people who use such words. Or they can grow up and quit throwing juvenile temper tantrums every time someone uses a word on God’s vocabulary Code®. Evangelicals need to stop expecting non-believers to play by their rules. I am an atheist, and when I say God dammit, I am not asking for the Evangelical God to damn the subject of my tirade. Last night, the Cincinnati Reds bullpen blew yet another game. When the relief pitcher gave up the lead, I said, in a voice that I am sure my neighbors could hear, REALLY? GOD DAMMIT! ARE WE E-V-E-R GOING TO WIN A GAME? Sometimes, I get texts from several of my sons expressing similar sentiments. None of us is calling on the Christian God when we use such language.
I am sure this post will do little to sway Evangelicals from their view of language. Like my wife in the morning needing several cups of black coffee, many Evangelicals need a cup of outrage to get them through the day. (Please see Christian Swear Words.)
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 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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god Fucking dammit, those evangelical-turds get my panties in a wad, if I HAD any panties. which I don’t, because my boyfriend just got done worshiping my ass and I’m laying here in a post-worship state of bliss, now RUINED by these christian assholes. Sweet buttery baby jesus!!! when will they grow up and stop being so fucking thin-skinned? It’s like they are little children in adult bodies who run around defending their god all day long. Isn’t he the master of the universe? Let him defend his own fucking ass. fucking hell…
Oops I used a fake email, sorry, here’s a real email just to show I’m legit and not fake. (goddamnit)
“Lowercased g, upper cased B? Only God is to be worshipped, artists are to be admired.”
I immediately thought this as well looking from a fundie perspective. The fun thing is that since we tend to always write first names and companies with upper case letters, it follows that nearly everyone worships everyone because you write names with upper case letters. So that means that writing our own names with uppercase letters makes us all narcissists worshipping ourselves. Never mind worshiping, oh, I don’t know, Mc Donalds, Taco Bell, Coca Cola, need I continue 😉 ?
Why can’t people see how obvious it is that their argument makes no sense? You destroyed the grammar argument in all of 3 seconds. I still type many theological words with a capital first letter. Force of habit, I suppose, One dumb ass commenter years ago said that my doing so was God still speaking to me, 🙂 NO….it is just hard to teach old dogs new tricks. 🙂
iPad predictive text always uses a capital letter at the beginning of dog backwards.
Mind it even does that for the word ‘Internet’ so I’m not sure I need be impressed.
It’s interesting that when you’re still part of fundamentalism, you’re simply not allowed to use your logic. Everything is magical thinking and questions are not permitted. So after listening to authority figures first, you finally end up not allowing yourself to ask certain questions or use your logic in argumentations. Much like some journalists and self-censuring out of fear, you simply stop going there. It’s so relieving to have that freedom now and it helps enormously when realizing that arguments just really do not make any sense at all. It’s like the logical, thinking part of myself is finally free to roam 🙂
Adele also said:
Are there any Beyoncé fans here tonight? How is it even possible that she only ever gets better? She is Jesus f*cking Christ. Beyoncé is the sickest artist around in the whole entire world. It’s unbelievable. I’ve been listening to her for 17 years, and she’s still making music that blows my mind.”
Some years ago I sat in a courtroom in suburban Atlanta, preparing to discuss a speeding ticket. There was an extremely elderly usher helping to answer questions that people had as they sat in the pews, I mean benches. One man, very obviously from New York or New Jersey, was bewildered because he had been sitting for awhile and not been called. The usher looked at his summons and explained that he needed to be in the City courthouse, and not the County courthouse (the two buildings were very close neighbors). The poor guy said “So where the hell do I go?”
Well. The old usher, in a classic Southern voice (think Foghorn Leghorn and you’ll have it), proceeded to give this guy the most “righteous” tongue-lashing you ever heard. I’m sure he went to church at the first opportunity and regaled the pastor and all his fellow congregants with how he Stood Up For the Lord and put the Yankee in his place. He not only informed the guy that “such FOUL language” was “absolutely forbidden in a court of law and you could look it up,” but also threatened him with arrest and several days in jail, and that it was only by the compassionate mercy of our court system that the man was being set free to walk across the square and spew his verbal filth in yet another hallowed temple of justice. He finished up with “It’s just a short walk, Sir, but I certainly hope you will take the opportunity to reflect upon your manners and common decency!”
I somehow doubt the guy ever drove through Georgia again for the rest of his life.
Kudos to you for wanting the porn gone, and standing up for decency. Have you seen the sexual assault and child molestation stats in the US? Not very First World. They’ve moved the argument from, “Why are there this many rapes,” to whether or not any of these many victims should get abortions. Lawlessness begins in the heart. More women need to dump dump disrespectful losers early and often, eh-hem, Mrs. Clinton. Today’s porn addict is tomorrow’s dissociated, broken, possessed politician. Real men have a responsibility to run for government and pastor the flock.
sigh I see that you paid no attention to what I actually wrote. I don’t want porn gone. If consenting adult men and women want to make porn and adults want to watch it, I have no objection. Porn addiction? For the most part, porn addiction is not a thing. Certainly, humans can become addicted to anything — i.e. I’m addicted to candy bars and sports and Polly — but most porn addicts are just Evangelicals/Mormons/Catholics/Muslims who feel guilty thanks to religious indoctrination and conditioning. OMG! I see boobs! I’m an addict now.
There’s no connection between porn and sexual assault and child molestation. Do you have evidence that suggests otherwise? A cause and effect between porn and sexual assault? I am more than happy to engage you on this issue, but I am not interested in personal feelings and opinions. Please bring a factual, rational argument for your claims.
Define “real men.” Why do only men have the responsibility (and right) to run the government and pastor churches? Are you suggesting that women are “less than”; that they don’t have the psychological makeup and skillset necessary to be politicians or pastors?
I assume you are a Christian. Where in the Bible does it say that wives can divorce their husbands if they look at porn?
What empirical evidence do you have for your claim that “today’s porn addict is tomorrow’s dissociated, broken, possessed politician?” Or are you just “preaching”?
So many questions . . . 🙂
He said real men…😂😂🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sage stands up tall and thumps their chest “we need real men to stand up and take charge.”
😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Why does it seem that real men always seem to have the most to hide??🤔😏🙄