Geoff asked:
What changes have you seen, if any, to the types of comment you receive to your posts over the many years you’ve been going? There’s been a huge advance in the quality of comment on dedicated atheist websites, where it’s more about taking the arguments and the evidence to apologists, but this is not really one of those sites, being more about the practical implications of being a nonbeliever living in a religious culture. Obviously there are the silly commenters like Revival Fires, but what about more general comments?
Blog comments have always been an important part of this site. Since December 2014, 53,000 comments have been left by readers. The stated goal of The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser has been to provide help to those who have questions and doubts about Christianity and those who have already left Christianity. While some posts are outliers to this goal, for the most part, I have stayed true to my goal: helping others navigate having questions about or leaving primarily Evangelical Christianity.
Over the years, millions of people have stopped by this site. People come and go, often without a word about why. Most readers never comment or send me an email, so I am uncertain as to how my writing has been received by them. As far as commenters are concerned, I do wonder why certain people stop commenting. Did I piss them off? Maybe. I suspect that the real reason is they may have found my writing not as helpful as it once was, or they disagree with my progressive, liberal, socialist, pacifist politics. Nothing I can do about that. I’m not going to change my beliefs for the sake of readership numbers. While the Orange Menace, President Donald Trump, has certainly amped up my political writing in recent years, I don’t think anyone would say this is a political blog.
This blog was a deconstruction/ex-evangelical site long before these words came into popular, everyday use. The other day, I stumbled upon a three-year-old social media post about me. The writer, a Christian, wanted to know if anyone had heard of an atheist named Bruce Gerencser. He wondered why I wasn’t part of the atheist mainstream, suggesting I must have done something “bad” to be marginalized by atheists.
I have contented myself to stay in my lane. I am not a big self-promoter, so I am not going to contact an atheist (or Christian) site or podcast to sell myself to them. I’ve been blogging since 2007, first as a barely-hanging-on liberal-leaning Evangelical Christian, and then, after deconverting in 2008, as an atheist. Over the years, I have been interviewed by blogs, websites, magazines, newspapers, and appeared on numerous podcasts, which you can access here. From time to time, journalists contact me for information about Evangelicalism in general, and the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. In all of this, I have not promoted myself one time. I rely on word of mouth and personal recommendations to spread the good news that “Bruce Gerencser Saves.” S&H Green Stamps (for older readers)? No, but I have helped “save” countless people from the clutches of Evangelical Christianity and other Fundamentalist religions. I know this because I hear from people thanking me for helping them deconstruct, deconvert, or move on to kinder, gentler forms of religious faith.
I have also been labeled a follower of Satan; an enemy of Christianity. Thousands of comments have been left by Evangelicals upset over something I wrote. The attacks, at times, have been brutal, so much so that I stopped blogging several times years ago. I have been blogging continuously now for almost thirteen years. On this iteration of my blog, I have written over 6,000 posts.
In the early days of this site, the comment section was flooded with comments from butthurt IFB adherents, including pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. These folks have largely stopped commenting, leading me to claim victory! 🙂 Not really. I suspect they either became bored, or, unable to successfully challenge my claims, moved on to easier targets for their sermons, proof-texts, and shallow, contradictory apologetics.
Geoff mentioned the evolving and improved content and comments on some atheist sites, and I agree with him. The online atheist community is changing. Out goes the old guard, and in comes a new batch of atheists to hopefully lead the community forward. Shows such as The Atheist Experience and Talk Heathen are mere shadows of what they once were; other sites such as Almost Ian, the DZ Debates (Justin), The Bible Guy, Mythvision, Harmonic Atheist, Jon Cohen, and the various shows on Jimmy Snow’s network, The Line, to name a few. Whether these content creators have long-term success remains to be seen.
I continue to wonder why so many atheist readers come and go. Do they get what they need from me and move on, or do they find my writing boring? I don’t know, outside of the fact that I know some atheists stopped frequenting this site because of what they perceived from me was an unwarranted friendliness towards religion. Some atheists have even suggested that I am a “secret Christian.” None of these claims is true, as the vitriol dumped on my head by God’s chosen ones surely shows.
I am not sure what more I can do to attract more commenters. Typically, the people who comment are regular, long-term readers, with a few new readers’ comments sprinkled in. Gone are the long running arguments and debates over this or that religious belief or practice. Why this is no longer the case remains unclear to me. The comment section has a friendlier tone these days, more like friends getting together on a Friday night at the local pub.Usually it’s bottom feeders such as Dr. David Tee, Revival Fires, and others who provide entertainment, but none of them is up to the task of cogently defending the “faith once delivered to the saints.” These folks are little more than monkeys who fling shit at those they disagree with. No real arguments or defenses of Christianity. Instead, they resort to personal attacks and character assassination. Such people are the price you pay for having a public blog.
Over the years, the comment policy has changed, moving from a wild, wild west format to more of a controlled environment where every commenter is given at least one opportunity to say whatever they want to me. Whether they get a second comment depends on how well they play with others. I am much more likely to ban or block someone today than I was years ago. After you have heard the same Bible nonsense and personal attacks over and over and over again, it’s easy to say to yourself “I don’t want to hear this drivel any more.”
Recently, I have thought about loosening up the comment policy, but I fear that doing so might run off commenters who prefer the walled garden approach I currently use. I know I can’t please everyone, but your thoughts on this matter would be helpful.
Here’s the comment policy that has been in effect for the past four years:
All commenters are expected to use a functioning email address. The use of a fake or non-functioning email address will result in your comment being deleted.
Pseudonyms are permitted. Please use the same pseudonym with every comment.
All first-time comments and comments with more than one HTML link are moderated.
Before commenting, please read the ABOUT page to acquaint yourself with my background. You might also want to read the Dear Evangelical page.
Evangelical commenters will be given one opportunity to say whatever they want. One, not two, three, or ten. Just one. Quote the Bible. Preach the sermon God has laid upon your heart. Put in a good word for Jesus. Deconstruct my life. Call me names, attack my family. You have one opportunity to impress readers with your John Holmes-like Bible prowess. After that, the following rules apply:
The following type of comments will not be approved after your first comment:
- Preachy/sermonizing comment
- Extensive Bible verse quoting comment (limited Bible-quoting permitted)
- Evangelizing comment
- “I am praying for you” comment
- “You are going to Hell” comment
- “You never were saved” comment
- “You never were a Christian” comment
- Any comment that is a personal attack
- Any comment that attacks the readers of this blog
- Any comment that is not on point with what the post is about
- Any comment that denigrates or marginalizes abuse victims
- Any comment that attacks LGBTQ people
- Unsolicited medical advice of any kind (and I mean ANY)
- Any comment that disparages my wife, children, or grandchildren
Please be advised that personal threats of violence or stalking will be reported to your service provider and law enforcement.
I write about issues that might not be child-friendly. Please be aware of this. I also use profanity from time to time, and I allow the use of profanity in the comment section. Any butt-hurt comment about language will be ignored, and if warranted, ridiculed.
The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser is not a democracy where anyone has a right to say whatever they want. This is my personal blog and I reserve the right to approve or not approve any comment. When a comment or a commenter is abusive towards the community of people who read this blog, I reserve the right to ban the commenter.
If you can be respectful, decent, and thoughtful, your comment will always be approved. Unfortunately, there are many people — Evangelical/Fundamentalist Christians in particular — who have a hard time playing well with others. They often use a passive-aggressive approach towards me and the non-Christian people who frequent this blog. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and will result in a permanent ban.
This blog is also not a place for hardcore atheists to preach the gospel of atheism. While I am an atheist, many of the people who read this blog are not. Frank, honest, open, and passionate discussion about religion, Christianity, and Evangelicalism is encouraged and welcome. However, I do expect atheists not to attack, badger, or denigrate people who still believe in God. If you are respectful, decent, and thoughtful, you will be fine.
My writing is direct and pointed and so is my response to comments. Please do not confuse my directness and pointedness with me attacking you or your religion. This is a grown-up blog, so crying that I offended you or “attacked” your religion will fall on deaf ears.
If you can play by these rules, I hope you will become a part of our community and join the discussion.
— end of comment policy
Do you see something in the comment policy that you think should be changed or done away with? Or is there something you would like to see added to policy? Please share your ideas with me in comment section.
In closing, I can’t help but note how my declining health has affected this site. I was once known as a prodigious blogger, writing several posts a day. Sadly, I can no longer put out like I once did — yes, there’s a sex joke lurking in that line. I have really struggled with this issue, wondering if it is time for me to stop writing. My friends, acquaintances, and family continue to encourage me to keep writing, but when you have multiple days when you can’t even get out of bed, it’s hard to find the energy and stamina to write a text message, let alone a blog post. That said, I still try. I still push myself, even when I want to curl up on the couch and be left alone My sleep is so disturbed these days, that I sleep when I can, usually in short one- to two-hour blocks. Yesterday, I never made it out of bed, spending the day fitfully sleeping while family gathered at our home to celebrate the best mother ever. I had slept for six hours straight, but that was due to only getting a total of five hours sleep over the previous three days. This, of course, has severely messed up my schedule, forcing me to live in the moment instead of on a schedule. I can’t say I have adapted well to my new reality. I’m too old for this shit, but no one asked me, so I take every day as it comes.
Suggestions are welcome. You know what to do!
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.
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.
Want to Respond to Bruce? Fire Away! If You Are a First Time Commenter, Please Read the Comment Policy Located at the Top of the Page.