Over the past two days, I have responded to two emails from a Christian author from Tennessee named D.S. Mullis. Please see the previous emails and responses here and here. Today, she sent me another email, this time telling me what she really thinks of me. If you have been following the Mullis Saga, you will see that her latest email is her crowning achievement: putting the atheist Bruce Gerencser in his place. As she will find in a moment, I am not one to wither when one of Jesus’ followers pisses in my direction.
To give readers an idea of what is coming, let me give you the sentence Mullis ended her screed with:
Will see if you’re man enough to post this reply on your blog for the world to see.
I checked, and yes I am “man” enough to post her email on this site for the “world” to see. 🙂
Mr Gerencser,
First off, let me say I don’t surf the net nor seek out strangers, either.
You came to this site via a search or a link that took you to a post in the Black Collar Crime series. You had no idea who I was when you came to this site, and over the past seventy-two hours, you have made no effort to remedy your ignorance. No need, right? I said I was an atheist, end of discussion.
You have a public site I had never heard of or seen until it came up from an article I was reading. I think God allowed it for such a time as this.
“God allowed it for such a time as this”? Really? How could you possibly know this? Did God whisper in your ear and tell you to come to this site; to send me increasingly hostile, preachy emails? Did you read the text on the Contact page? If so, you would know I am not interested in receiving emails from people like you. The Contact function exists for people who need help to contact me. It is evident you don’t need help, have questions, or want to do anything else but preach. For the Contact function to work properly, I must endure emails from Christian zealots. I decided years ago to turn emails such as yours into blog posts, providing entertainment and instruction to readers.
Even though you state I came into your home and overstepped a boundary, I would say if that were true you should either get off social media or else not have a public blog site giving any and everybody who visits it access for comment. You are opening your ‘home’ and ‘life’ to the world which is your first amendment right, as are my comments which your site gives ability to do.
Let me educate you. This is a private site that the public can read if I permit them to do so. If you read the comment policy, you know that I don’t give “any and everybody who visits it access for comment.” Besides, you haven’t commented on this site, to start with. You have sent me three emails, and not three comments.
You are a debater.
A masturbator too. I can be, but did you think I was trying to debate you? If that was the case, I would have burnt your vacuous statements to the ground. No, the purpose of my response to you was to show you why your first email was impolite, disrespectful, and rude. A proper response from you would have been: “You are right, Bruce. I don’t know anything about you, and I shouldn’t make any judgment about you until I educate myself about your background and life.”
Apparently you have a need to be heard and as long as you have supporters who applaud your lifestyle you receive them gladly.
Remember, you never commented. If you had, your first comment would have been approved. Christian zealots are given one opportunity to say WHATEVER they want in a comment. Let ‘er rip! Tell me what God had laid upon your precious little heart! However, after the first comment, you must abide by the comment rules. If you prove you can play well with others, then I will continue to approve your comments.
This site is read by thousands of people every day from every walk of life. Scores of Christians read my writing and some of them even comment. Without knowledge of who actually reads my writing — shocker, right? — you have pigeonholed the readers of this blog.
Otherwise, those of us who don’t you call us attackers. Truth is still truth, whether one believes it or not. And a life lived and based on God’s word still stands the test of time. When one folds up like a dishrag and opens their heart and mind to the god of this world, then all hell wreaks havoc and torments them to the point of death. It happens every day.
Ah, here comes the first attack: I have opened up my heart and mind to Satan. You say by opening my mind (heart is the same thing as mind) to Slewfoot that “all hell wreaks havoc and torments.” Really? I haven’t had any of these things today. Woke up in a lot of pain today; decided not to go to the races; drove to Fort Wayne to eat dinner with Polly and Bethany at an upscale Chinese restaurant; took a country drive home; made a joke about Skynet when we saw the wind turbines; laughed at and mocked church signs; ate a chocolate cone at DQ in Paulding; counted deer; saw a new type of hawk we’ve never seen before; laughed, sang, made jokes — a wonderful time. No havoc and torment, for me.
I adequately answered your first and second emails.
You assume your personal beliefs = truth. Are you interested in having that premise challenged? I mean, really challenged? Something tells me that you are really aren’t a truth seeker. Instead, armed with certainty and an inspired, inerrant, infallible ancient religious text, you arrogantly think you are absolutely right. Your mind is shut off from any challenges to your peculiar “truth.”
My first comment still stands true.
Again, you didn’t make a comment, you sent me an email.
I feel sorry not only for you, but countless thousands if not millions who enjoy the beauties and splendors that our Creator made, who daily thumb their nose at Him because they are their own gods.
Picture D.S. Mullis, shovel in hand, digging deeper and deeper, unable to stop with her zingers, one-liners, and cliches.
Atheists don’t thumb their noses at the Christian God — he doesn’t exist. It would be silly for us to go around being upset with mythical beings. No, our argument is with organized religion and those who want to shove it down our throats.
You seem to think that atheists can’t enjoy the beauties and splendors of our world. This, of course, is untrue. We just have no need to point to a tree, flower, or star and say “God did it.” I was a professional photographer for twenty-five years. I know a good bit about wonder and beauty, having captured a good bit of it with my cameras.
And atheists I’ve met seemingly thrive off trying to thwart Christianity. If atheism is real, why talk about God, Christians, the Bible, and not about all the ways atheism enriches one’s life since they’re void of those elements?
The purpose of this blog is to help people who have questions and doubts about Christianity and provide help and support to those who have already left the faith. In that context, I talk about God, Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. It’s what I do; it’s my calling.
I have written a number of articles on atheism too, but you are too lazy to read them. Yesterday, I wrote a post titled Is Atheism Meant to Offer Answers for Human Meaning and Purpose? Did you read it? Of course not. Had you done so, you would have found your questions answered there.
It is evident that you don’t know anything about atheism or atheists, in general. Most atheists don’t give a shit about what you and your fellow blood cult worshippers do on Sundays. Keep your religion out of government, stop trying to evangelize us, stop trying to force us to live by your peculiar interpretations of the Protestant Christian Bible, and end your theocratic delusions. Then most atheists won’t say another word about Christianity. In fact, I’ll quit blogging. Of course, you are unwilling to do this. So, as long as Christians do these things, they should expect atheists, agnostics, humanists, liberal Christians, and non-Christians to push back.
You say I attacked you, when in reality you are the attacker.
You know this is gaslighting right?
You say you’re an atheist but you’ve quoted Prov. 18:13 to me twice. Having a ministry background of over 25 years, you can’t get away from the Word, can you? Countless scriptures come to mind, but I’m sure you know them.
Yes, I know the Bible inside and out. In fact, I have no doubt that I know it better than you do. I quoted Proverbs 18:13, thinking its words might challenge your behavior. Alas, it seems you are resistant to God’s Word. When dealing with people who refuse to read my autobiographical work and make judgments about me anyway, I use the Bible they “say” they believe to point out that their God condemns such behavior. Evidently, I believe the Bible more than you do. 🙂
You lied when you said I knew nothing about you until after you responded to me. Your site gives enough information about who you are that anyone who visits it can immediately know what kind of person you are. No, I don’t know you personally, as I’m sure most who comment on your writings don’t.
No, I didn’t lie. I know exactly what posts you clicked on. You didn’t read any of my autobiographical writing, yet you felt justified to judge my life — particularly the quality of my life. All you knew is that I am a former Evangelical pastor, an atheist, and a humanist. That’s it, yet that was all you needed to know for you to say “I truly feel sorry for you,” and all the other bullshit found in your subsequent emails.
I am not asking you to know me “personally.” I am, however, asking you to at least make a good faith effort to understand my story before launching into moral judgments and critiques. When I saw your email, the first thing I did was do a Google search on your name. I looked at ALL the available information about you. Several weeks from now, when people search for D.S. Mullis, you know what they will find? Links to your emails and my responses — usually first page. I hope you are proud of your behavior. Soon others will share “pride” in your actions too
You are explicit to tell that you left ministry in 2005 and Christianity in 2008 to become a humanist and atheist. That’s what made me say, I truly feel sorry for you.
This still doesn’t change the fact that you made no effort to know and understand my story. Is this how you typically do things; read a few words and think you know all you need to know about a person or subject?
Proverbs ch. 26 is a powerful chapter because the wisest man in the world confronts the subject of the actions of fools. Psalm ch. 14 and ch. 53 further attest to same.
Finally, we come to invectives and namecalling. Awesome. A Christian called me a “fool.” Oh My Loki, no one has done that before. (That’s sarcasm, by the way.)
I will say your rebuttals don’t insult me, although it’s apparent with your “biting back” comment you want to.
If my words mean nothing to you, then why did you dissect my reply and post it for all your followers to read?
Your words and my responses are, at the very least, instructive; reminders of the fact that Evangelicals find it almost impossible to treat atheists as Jesus asked them to do in the Sermon on the Mount. Your emails are added to a mile-high pile of other emails I have received from Christians, reminders of the bankruptcy of a religion that supposedly is transformative, yet, in fact, many of its adherents are no different from the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world. Jesus told you how to treat your enemies in the Sermon on the Mount. Paul spoke of the fruit of the Spirit; the behavioral traits that must be in the lives of his followers for them to be considered believers. Do your emails reflect the words of Jesus and Paul? I think not. So, don’t tell me about your faith, show me. Show me with your behavior. D.S., not sermonettes, cliches, one-liners, and personal attacks.
I hold myself accountable daily, as does God.
Sure . . . How could anyone possibly know this? Not by your behavior. Tell Jesus to give me a call so I can check your accountability report.
And again, having been a man of the Word, you lied when you said, “I don’t concern myself with eternity…Just because the Bible says something doesn’t make it true.”
In what way did I lie? It is most certainly true I don’t concern myself with eternity. I care about the present — today — not a mythical Heaven (or Hell).
You have asserted a lot of things from the Bible. Just because the Bible says something doesn’t make it true. If you want to have a full-throated discussion about the history and nature of the Bible, I’m game.
You’re treading on thin ice, according to the writer of Hebrews in ch. 6…
Ah, yet another threat. Surely you realize these threats don’t work with me. I am not afraid of your God, Satan, or the Bible. The only person I fear is my wife. 🙂 Is there cyanide in my food tonight? 🙂
I’ve done the math. You’re 66 years old, was in ministry 25 years, and have been an atheist now for 16 years.
There’s more power in the Word of God which supposedly you preached those 25 years, than all the words of humanism and atheism you’ve acquired in the past 16…must be why you continue to speak of Christ and God and Christianity daily. Actually, you’re a testament to Christianity more than some Christians I know.
Yea! You can do math.
Actually, my influence lies in turning people away from your brand of Christianity. I am confident that I have been more successful as a soulwinner than you. You seem clueless to the fact that your emails are actually helping my cause. Ponder how a doubting believer might view your emails. Read the comments on this post and the previous two. They reveal a lesson for you if you are willing to learn.
Jesus is the living Word-and He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. Even though you are claiming to have forsaken Him, He still has your number.
So, I’m still a Christian. Good to know.
Some were sent, others went…Whether you were ‘called’ by God to serve Him in ministry or you went into it on your own, the fact remains Isaiah 55 still burns in your life. You cannot escape the power of the Word, unless you become a reprobate and be damned.
So you know my life better than I do? Surely you can see how arrogant this sounds.
Wait a minute, I thought you said “once saved, always saved. Now you say I am a reprobate and damned. Which is it. Since you can “read” the essence of my life, by all means tell me: am I in or am I out?
I will end on that note. Will see if you’re man enough to post this reply on your blog for the world to see.
Do you see how ugly your words sound; challenging my manhood?
Respectfully,
You have not said one respectful word in any of your emails, so please stop with the fake respect.
D. S. Mullis
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 sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
Well, that email was about as successful at converting Bruce as Baldwin Locomotive Works was at selling locomotives in the 1950’s. Queue next email in three…two…one…
Critical thinking and reading comprehension are clearly not her thing despite being an author.
Pardon my cliches,but D.S. is as mad as a wet hen at you. 🐔 You ruffled her feathers. 🐔 And you revealed her true colors. 🦚
Huh. I don’t know what the D stands for, but the S just HAS to stand for Sanctimonious.
I only have 2 things to say to DS. Yeah yeah, everyone is shocked..
First amendment does not apply to private blogs or people that may be invited into places.
This might be the place where you may want to “shake the dust off your feet”. But I suspect you either do not know what that means, or will just simply continue to ignore it.
“ And atheists I’ve met seemingly thrive off trying to thwart Christianity. If atheism is real, why talk about God, Christians, the Bible, and not about all the ways atheism enriches one’s life since they’re void of those elements?”
I wonder if DM has ever actually met any atheists, or at least interacted with them on theology? It’s not as though most atheists are going to push their views on others unbidden, and even if given cause to bite are unlikely to do more than just nod and smile. On the odd occasion I’m with a believer who makes reference to their belief, I’ll at most say ‘oh, is that what you think’, end of, or else just change the subject.
Anyhow, atheism isn’t a worldview, whereas theism is. Look at the analogy of food and veganism. A person who doesn’t know about veganism (he’s an a-veganist) can live his life not caring what food he buys and eats, just gets on with it. A vegan meanwhile must adapt their whole lives around the issue. Going to work, including where you work (possibly), staff canteen, supermarket choices, going out, time spent preparing food, all are affected in a way that an a-veganist doesn’t buy into. The only thing I will say, however, is that veganism is much better supported by evidence than is any deity. And for the record, I’m not vegan!
Dear Ms/Miss/Mrs Mullis: Do you know of any human being in the past or present who got saved/converted/reconverted because a x-tian was incredibly rude to them, didn’t respect normal human decencies or their personal boundaries? No, neither do I. When fundy, my favourite verses were Gal 6:22-23. You and many other x-tians seem to have re-written them as ‘The fruit of the holy ghost is gratuitous rudeness, personal insults, ad hominem arguements and plain all round discourtesy and unpleasantness.’
Bruce, once again, game set and match to you. I love your peanut gallery posts. This one cheered me up as I woke on an unseasonally wild and stormy morning here. Contrary to DSM’s assertions, I was so looking forward to harvesting my blackberries, apples, plums and blueberries to freeze….then going on a long hike along a new coastal path I’m told has fantastic views…..yup, DSM, I assure you we heathens do appreciate the natural world and human creativity, more maybe than when we spent our Sundays with our bums on pews…..I love having a 2-day weekend instead of a one day one. We’re not the ones to be pitied here!
And to quote Bruce ‘I have found the Promised Land, why would I want to return to Egypt?’ and to quote Matilda, try stepping out of your darkness, it’s really, really great out here in the sunshine out of the fiction of x-tian faith.
Ms Mullis certainly seems to thrive on threatening people that her deity is going to get them one day! It sounded creepy the way she insisted that reading the Bible has a hold over Bruce, and that Jesus will never leave Bruce. Stalker much? What I got from this was the following: “I don’t like what Bruce is saying. I am right, Bruce is wrong. I am under the auspices of a deity that is going to blast Bruce into submission one day sooner or later. Nah nah boo boo.”
I don’t care what religious nonsense people believe. I do care when those zealots try to force their beliefs onto others.
I’m not sure how she warranted 3 blog posts. It isn’t withering to ignore her.
She’s worth as many blog posts as Bruce wants to give her. I for one enjoy the way Bruce completely destroys her sanctimonious arguments and reveals to the world the ugliness of fundamentalism.
@Dave, It did garner a lot of comments, so I suppose it was successful as a blog post. That said I still don’t believe the person in question deserved this much consideration. She is just a backwoods hick and a self published “genius”. Bruce can’t really take her down a peg, because she isn’t up any pegs at all.
A jewel and a crown for perseverance and defending her faith. It’s not really about her faith. It’s about her.
Well, Ms Mullins, you have certainly convinced ME…that you are sadly lacking the fruit of the spirit. Funny how Christian fundamentalists don’t really believe in the Bible. Sad!
You better listen to her. It may be your last chance…
Shaddup, Dumpster Fire.
Derrick Thiessen may also be about to have his last chance to hear someone outside his echo chamber, but I don’t see you worrying about him … not that you can, because he doesn’t allow anyone to comment on his blog. But much as you and your compatriots like to use it on people whose sexuality you don’t approve of, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 addresses multiple categories of people …
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Got news for you. Derrick isn’t as righteous as he claims to be.
“… Do not be deceived; neither the immoral
I dunno, is there some Bible verse I’m unaware of suggesting that it’s moral to be verbally and physically abusive toward your quadriplegic spouse?
.”.. nor idolaters”
This is not exclusive to worshiping at the altar of Baal. That’s all I’ll say about that where Derrick is concerned.
“… nor adulterers”
Derrick was living with a woman who was not his wife, and trying to get into her pants, while still married to his wife. (Derrick, if you’re reading this, Lori says hello.)
” … nor sexual perverts”
Yeah, Derrick, this would include the two people you “didn’t” demonize after they befriended you and pulled your sorry rear end out of the fire all those years ago, because they happen to be gay, and your anti-gay screeds have never excluded them from your “all gay people” carping.
“… nor thieves”
Identity theft is theft. Wage theft is theft. Failing to pay child support is theft from your child.
“… nor the greedy”
Derrick, there’s an old television show called Dragnet. Look for the episode about “Mister Daniel Lumis.” He didn’t think he was greedy either.
“, nor drunkards”
I will concede that to my knowledge, you are not a drunkard. I’ve gotten mixed information as to whether you prefer plant-based intoxicants, but you’re not a drunkard.
“… nor revilers”
You revile the entire American legal system.
“… nor robbers”
See also: thieves
“… will inherit the kingdom of God.”
What say you, Revival Fires? Would your life stand up to the same kind of scrutiny he’s faced?
In case it isn’t obvious, no one is swayed by your fear-mongering and hate.
Dumpster Fire, if Bruce decides to return to Christianity,it won’t be because of Ms. Mullis,it will be in spite of her, not because of her ! Nor others like her. She is just another marginalized Southern Christian writer,a ‘ backwoods hick’, as one of the regular readers mentions. I used to see a plethora of these exact types,in Christian bookstores all the time- they dominated the choice of books one could buy in such stores. They’re hard to find now,in California. Anyway, they do create the worst books in general. I remember the terrible advice in them, I can just imagine the ruined lives of those who felt they had to follow those ‘ instructions.’. One can be a Christian, a SANE one, without these toxic tomes !!🤮💰👀
Dear D. S. Mullis, as a former Christian of 25 years, I do a bit of blogging now myself, though not near as prolific nor capable as Bruce. Allow me to say this – and believe me – I don’t say this with any malice toward you. I am not trying to insult you. This is just my honest reaction when I listen to or encounter Christians with a similar mentality to yours – my reaction is this:
Christians like you make me so glad that I got out when I did.
No such thing as a “former Christian “. There’s “never was Christian’s”. One who is truly redeemed by Jesus Christ will not run willingly into satanic darkness of the world.
Keep telling yourself that. 🤣🤣
Perhaps there is something to this “once saved, always saved” idea.
Bruce was at one time saved from the folly which is fundamentalist Christianity. And I suspect that he will always remain saved from that folly.
And there are always judgmental Christians. But I guess loving and forgiving is just too much to ask. Too bad that holy book of yours doesn’t have a human example of how to treat people….
🤔🙄🙄
And since “Christians” can’t agree on what “True Christianity” is we’ve no worries on your imaginary “hell”, your threats are empty.
Well they can agree “I” am a “True Xtian ™” “YOU” are a heretic. Its all very simple…..
Soldiers of the Cross, no one has ever been “redeemed” (truly or otherwise) by Jesus. If there ever was such a person, he died about 2000 years ago. People don’t come back from the dead except in fairytales, and dead people can’t even save themselves.
“No such thing as a “former Christian “.”
I am a former Christian. Bruce is a former Christian.
We are living proof that your claim is wrong.
Zoe raises her hand. Former Christian here.
Yep, cultists keep telling themselves that no one can leave the cult. People have and do. Your cult is nonsenes and people realize that. Such an imotent cult, not one of the cultists can do what their suposed messiah promised, showing they are all frauds.
It’s like how christians even switch teams, since there is no TrueChristianity(tm) at all, but just different versions.
And gee, for “satanic darkeness” in the world, poor christians, why don’t you volunteer to dispose of landmines and cluster bombs, and get to heaven quicker?
@SotC: for the moment, let’s stipulate your dichotomous categorization of “Christians” and “never were Christians” is valid.
Into which of those two categories do you place individuals struggling with mental illness?
(Raising my hand) I am a former Christian
poor Donna, she’s quite a failure and yep, Bruce put up her failure for the world to see.
Off topic: I wish to thank Derrick Thiessen for one of the heartiest laughs I’ve had in a while after reading his post today, which included the following sentence:
“It is not a good Christian thing to do to violate the laws of another country.”
Unless, I suppose, those laws relate to voter registration, laws governing one’s employability, laws governing your obligation to comply with lawful court orders, laws about not assaulting your life partner … and since this is Derrick, I’ll clarify that there are also laws about not destroying someone else’s inanimate objects.
Derrick, there is no possible legal strategy you can be using that would merit a comparison to Jesus before the Sanhedrin. I’m going to go out on a limb and say you probably never plan to set foot in the United States again, so the particulars of a state’s statute of limitations notwithstanding, there is no substantive risk of you facing further criminal charges at any point during the remainder of your life, let alone anyone determining any punishment based on what you might say. Therefore, the reasons Jesus had for not answering the Sanhedrin do not apply.
You said the other day that one should not fall into the “trap” of engaging with someone over false accusations. These accusations are not false, Derrick. They are true and you know it. I also have hard-copy proof of it. That’s not a trap unless you think the facts are a trap. Although you and the truth have a very tenuous relationship, so …