Recently, Evangelical zealot Geri Ungurean had this to say about atheists:
Find a person who not only claims to be an Atheist, but obsesses on pushing their atheistic views on others so as to recruit them; and I guarantee that if truth be told, and this person opened up about their life, you would find an ANGRY person. You would find a person who blames the God whom they say does not exist, for something that happened in their life.
It’s truly sad.
There is a saying that goes like this: “There are no atheists in foxholes.” I believe this is true. A lifelong “atheist” will cry out “God help me” when faced with death.
VERY TELLING.
Do you have a person in your life who claims to be an atheist? I have many. But I came to the point when I realized that God must be the One who gets through to the “haters.” The more you push against them, the nastier they become. The more Scripture you give to them, the more they laugh.
So, what can we do?
Love them and pray for them. There is a man on Twitter whose sole purpose for being on there is to tout his “atheism” in hopes of drawing others to his sad conclusions.
I watched this man for many days. I wanted to say something to him, but it was as if God was holding me back. I felt in my spirit to show Christian love to him and most importantly to Pray for him.
He finally opened up to me that he went to seminary and that he was saved during college. He knows that my boys (grown) refer to themselves as atheists now. I feel that the Holy Spirit has led me in this friendship. I pray for this man every day – expecting God’s answer.
I am hoping and praying that the Lord will bring him back. I pray for God’s will to be done in his life.
But I don’t for one minute believe that he is an atheist. I believe that something happened in his life which made him bitter towards God.
Brethren, I believe that many of us have these people in our lives. Sometimes, they are in our immediate families. Sometimes they are friends or co-workers. Show love to them and do not argue with them.
Most importantly, PRAY for them every single day!
The Arm of God is not too short to reach anyone, and that includes those who are angry with Him!
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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“Brethren”?!?
Who the hell says “Brethen” these days?
No atheists in foxholes?
The tunnel vision and arrogance of Christians is amazing. Apparently death brings you to their god. Never mind the majority of the world never believed in the Christian god. I doubt Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Pagans or any other religion is turning to god in a foxhole. I doubt any Muslims, Jews, Hindus, or Pagans who became atheists suddenly call out to god in the foxhole.
The binary view creates belief that if you aren’t one of them, then you are evil. That in turn leads to the bigotry and intolerance we deal with in everyday life.
Angry with their god? Whatever. Once I realized this god doesn’t exist, there was no need to have any emotion. They just cannot fathom that people simply do not see their god as real.
But,I do ask her to just continue to keep silent and pray. I encourage all Christian’s to do the same. Let the rest of us live our lives in peace without your attempts to manipulate us or force us to live like you want.
Atheists who are angry at God? That’s contradictory. Anger at something that you don’t believe exists is just incoherent. My Father was an angry Atheist though. I gathered it in part from his conviction that an afterlife was nonsense. He did not proselytize atheism in any way but he was indeed quite angry not at or about religion or God but his childhood in an extremist Catholic home. He endured daily ritual beatings which were supposed to chastise him and his siblings for whatever evil they may have done. Anger at God was not a thing to him. He only believed in what he could see hear and touch, entertaining no supernatural ideas. His anger was with his Father and the Priest. He considered religion itself to be nothing and nonsense.
Considering the lies that Christianity pushed and the abuse of many churches, it’s no wonder many questioning their beliefs are angry. I was angry at God at the worst point in my life. Then, I was angry at the lies that were supposed to be comforting to me. Now, I’m no longer angry at a non-existent sky being. At churches and RW Christian Nationalists? Yes, I am pissed! And I have every right to be. They are destroying democracy, and with it, people’s lives. Maybe Geri should stop pitying atheists and start looking at why her fellow Christians are so unpopular. There is a good reason why some atheists are angry. Not at a god, but at Christians. Real, live people.
Not only is the saying ‘no atheists in foxholes’ a ridiculous nonsense, those who say it don’t really believe it themselves. Christian (other religions too) who are caught up in some sort of emergency, may pray to their gods like mad, but when it comes to being rescued they know in themselves that this is only going to happen via human agency or fortunate circumstance. Of course, when the rescuers arrive they then give praise to god for the rescue, whilst the atheists of the group give credit where it’s due, to the rescuers. As for fortunate circumstance, that’s called luck, and again gods played no part.
Oh, and who let you enter the foxhole in the first place?
Her kids are atheists. Sounds to me like she has issues.
She, like so many other Evangelicals, misses the point about anger. We, as atheists (or simply people who don’t believe in the god(s) of the dominant culture) get angry at the same things everyone else rages at. As often as not, that ire has to do with someone who has deceived or betrayed us. Thus, an atheist (or simply someone who has simply left their) who is angry is more than likely upset at those who coerced or manipulated them into religious practice—not at a being or power in which they no longer believe.
Oh, and she repeats that lie that we “recruit” people into our non-belief. She probably believes, likewise, that LGBTQ + people “recruit “ others into our “lifestyle.”Thus, as a transgender atheist, I must have recruitment powers I never knew I had! Wish I’d known that earlier in my life.(Snark)
yep, you are a trans Jedi..or trans sith?
Geri: ” But I came to the point when I realized that God must be the One who gets through to the “haters.””
Zoe: And yet, here you are trying to get through to the haters.
Some of us atheists are angry at fundamentalist religious people who try to force their religious bigotry and mythology onto us. Some of us are angry that many religious people conflate lack of belief in deities as lack of compassion, self-control, basic human decency. Some of us are angry that some fundamentalist religious people try to dehumanize us, calling us demons, or saying that we are controlled by an invisible mythological villain. Some of us are angry at fundamentalist religious people treating us as projects that need saving, that we’re only worth being tortured eternally. Some of us are angry that certain religious people don’t listen to us when we say we don’t believe in mythology and want to be left alone.
I couldn’t have said it better!
So many great comments here. What a great contrast to a vapid blogger who cannot comprehend how critical thinking can free others from superstition.
I just read this about Geri Ungurean, that her sons both have rejected her,and her faith. I don’t know much about the woman, but it often happens that children who had to put up with abusive Christian parents as minors will drop the faith like a hot potato as soon as they leave home, or are too big to hit, whichever comes first. This happened with the Ezzo daughters, who have cut off Gary Ezzo and his wife, because they advocate an adversarial relationship with one’s own children. Um, those ” Baby Wise” books they wrote. Mrs. G. has those ” crazy eyes” that fanatics have, every church has them, it seems. What kind of child rearing methods or books did she and her husband use, when these kids were young ? That’s what stood out in her latest post. I didn’t know she’s on the outs with them. Point being, Christians have to stop mistreating their kids !
Fine. If it gives you comfort, believe it. But don’t push your beliefs on anybody else. The biggest problem with evangelicals isn’t their personal beliefs. It’s buttonholing.
buttonhole: To accost or detain a person in conversation. Grasping someone by a buttonhole on their clothing in order to corner and talk them into something.
My college roommate went from being the most popular person in our class (before his conversion), to emptying rooms (after his conversion). The reason? He buttonholed people and yelled, “Turn or burn.”
I don’t think he made a single convert, but he sure turned a lot away from religion.
There was a soldier who once said (referring to World War II), “The person who said ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’ has never been anywhere near a foxhole.”