The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Blacks Should be Glad for Slavery, Says Evangelical Pastor Joel Webbon

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Bruce Gerencser

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joel webbon

The greatest moment in history for any brown or Black country is the moment that the White man’s ships arrive and n your shore. He brings the gospel of Jesus Christ, he catechizes you and your children, he brings exports, he brings hospitals, medicine, life expansion increases, GDP and resources increase, medicine increases, and most importantly, you get taught the gospel of Jesus Christ so that you can live longer on Earth and then go to Heaven instead of Hell.

And for those who are of non-European descent, but live in the Western world, you are exceedingly blessed. And the response shouldn’t be, ‘Let’s push back against wokeness and just say nobody talk about race.’ No, the response should be: Stop whining, stop throwing a fit, get it together. God has blessed you, and he blessed you in large part through White people. So stop doing it. And also, as for you and your house, do your part to change the FBI crime statistics and stop killing people.

— Evangelical pastor Joel Webbon, as reported in The Root. Webbon, a Calvinist, pastors Covenant Bible Church in Georgetown, Texas

Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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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Comments

10 responses to “Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Blacks Should be Glad for Slavery, Says Evangelical Pastor Joel Webbon”

  1. Avatar
    Jen

    Does this have a death wish or something? Yikes

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Jimmy

    Hearing this from an evangelical pastor is hardly shocking. My guess is that his statements are fueled in large part by verses in Genesis 9. The view of some believers is that Ham, who was cursed to slavery by Abraham, is the ancestor of dark skinned people. While growing up I’ve heard friends and family use this idea to justify their racial prejudice. My response, when I was still a Christian, was “Aren’t we all cursed?”. Usually that question was met with silence.

    Reply
    1. Avatar
      Jimmy

      Correction, I meant to say Noah not Abraham.

      Reply
  3. Avatar
    Barbara Jackson

    This is ridiculous. He is hiding behind his religion to get his version of history.

    Reply
  4. Avatar
    ObstacleChick

    I think he’s part of the CREC, Doug Wilson’s movement. Wilson started his own publishing house Canon Press, the Association of Classical Christian Schools, and New St. Andrews College. Wilson published a booklet on how American slavery was beneficial for both the enslaved and the enslaved, a good model of Christianity. He stopped publishing that booklet after a lot of uproar over it, but there are lots of copies still out there, and I’m sure those beliefs are popular in the CREC and many Classical Christian Schools.

    Given the leak this week on the massive communications among members of Young Republicans, with racist, pro-slavery, Nazi, and misogynistic content, are we surprised? In addition to the GOP congressional staffer’s swastika/American flag Mashup that was seen on background during a zoom meeting? This is a massive part of America that’s “out loud” given the winks and nods from the Trump administration.

    Reply
    1. Avatar
      Bruce Gerencser

      You are correct. I’ve known Doug Wilson for almost 40 years. Both of us were Calvinists and theonomists. He published a magazine I received called Credenda Agenda. His theology has really evolved — negatively— over the years. It seems preachers go one of two ways over time: either they become more liberal/progressive or they become right wing extremists.

      Reply
      1. Avatar
        Old Rick

        I just read this disturbing article which does mention a bit about Doug Wilson and his beliefs:

        https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christian-discipline-husband-doug-wilson-spanking-marriage_n_68f3e01de4b085924979ae20?utm_campaign=yahoo-recirc

        Reply
  5. Avatar
    … Zoe ~

    Does he have any concept of the numbers killed because of the white man? Is that a blessing too?

    Reply
    1. Avatar
      GeoffT

      My thoughts exactly. Does he have no empathy for people being forcibly taken from their families for life, made to work for nothing in horrifying conditions with the constant threat of punishment? And of course that assumes they survived the gruesome sea journeys; captured slaves who were sub standard, or became ill, or were simply surplus to the capabilities of the ship, were casually thrown overboard.

      It actually makes me angry that people can hold and propagate these types of view. Whilst I uphold the right of people to be free to speak, I hold this thought juxtaposed with the knowledge that they are denying the much greater right of people not to be forcibly enslaved.

      Reply
  6. Avatar
    Asphalt-Type Person

    So where’s all the hospitals the slave traders built fotr the Africans?

    Reply

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