It has been twelve years since I left Christianity and declared myself to be an atheist – twelve years of email from primarily Evangelical Christians asking me to explain WHY I am no longer a follower of Jesus. It has been a long time since someone has asked me a question that hasn’t already been asked by someone else. This is to be expected. There are only so many ways I can explain my reasons and motivations for becoming an atheist after spending 25 years in the ministry.
To help me better manage my time, I have decided to create a WHY page where I can point people when they have questions about my deconversion. After the questioner has read the following posts, I will then be quite happy to answer whatever questions they might have. I think these posts will likely answer 99% of the questions people ask me about my journey from Evangelicalism to Atheism.
Thank you for taking the time to read these posts. If you have any questions, please use the contact form to email me. If you are an Evangelical, I ask that you read one more post, Dear Evangelical, before sending me your question, sermon, prayer, rebuke, or denunciation. Thanks!
Spaniard VIII, a proud Fundamentalist Christian, runs a boutique blog titled, Spiritual Minefield: Exposing the spiritual landmines of the devil through the Word of God. Spaniard VIII attracts a small band of like-minded apologists, people who are unwilling or unable to see anything other than their peculiar brand of Evangelical Christianity — which they arrogantly and self-righteously call “True Christianity®.”
Spaniard VIII has written about me, long-time commenter John Arthur, and the readers of this blog now and again. He routinely lies about people and refuses to understand why people leave Christianity. In Spaniard VIII’s mind, everything is reduced to Satan and spiritual weakness. Atheists such as I were never True Christians®, and when life got hard, we left Christianity so we could “sin.”
This John Arthur is full of hatred, bitterness, and rage against a righteous God, Jesus Christ because John Arthur is in darkness and serves his father the devil. If you notice that all these godless people hate the Word of God, proving its power and truth in it. Satan hates God’s Word because it saves those who believe in what it says about Jesus Christ. No wonder Satan’s followers also detest the Scriptures.
People who are godless, like atheists, have a pure hatred towards the Living God, Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world because Satan is their god. You see this with their vile and filthy mouth against Jesus Christ and His saints. If you are a Christian and have dealt with one, you know exactly what I’m talking about. There are even atheists who have committed their blogs to attack the person of Jesus Christ and even try to persuade believers, if they can, to abandon their Lord and Savior as they have done. They never had a spiritual backbone, the Holy Spirit, from keeping their faith from collapsing
….
Anyone who curses God by blaspheming and attacking God’s Word, calling the truth, a lie, and the lie [the theory of evolution] the truth, comes from demonic spirits who live in their hearts.
If you notice, when a fake Christian apostatizes, they become full of rage against Jesus Christ. Why does this happen? Well, what happens when the light is turned off? Darkness appears, resetting them to default, sin. The absence of light is darkness, not the other way around. So, when a person abandons God, darkness fills their heart, and you will see them get from somewhat good, to bad, then worse, and finally unapproachable with the gospel.
Atheists speak vile, filthy things against True Christians®
Atheists have demonic spirits living inside of them
Atheists rage against the Evangelical God
Atheists are filled with darkness
Atheists are unapproachable with the Evangelical gospel
Calling me a “fake Christian” — meaning I never was a True Christian®, I never was a follower of Jesus — Spaniard VII says “I committed my blog to attack the person of Jesus Christ and even try to persuade believers, if they can, to abandon their Lord and Savior as I have done.” This, of course, is a lie, but Spaniard VIII is convinced that my goal as a writer to attack the dead Jesus and persuade his followers to become atheists. Evidently, telling my story and critiquing Evangelical Christianity are attacks on Jesus and attempts to lead people away from the one true faith. Amazing the “power” I have over Jesus’ followers.
Spaniard VIII refuses to give the readers of this blog credit for thinking for themselves. I write, people read, and it is up to them to weigh the merits of what I’ve said. Have people deconverted after reading my writing? Sure. But I am not an atheist evangelist. As I have stated countless times before, my objective as a writer is to help those who have questions and doubts about Christianity and to help and encourage those who have left Christianity. I make no effort to evangelize, nor do I take my show on the road, commenting on Christian blogs or engaging believers on social media. I am never the initiator of contact. Having bullied and abused unbelievers during my preaching days, I am sensitive to the harm caused by such tactics.
Spaniard VIII also refuses to let atheists comment on his blog. He’s known for deleting the comments of anyone who disagrees with him. I suspect, deep down, he fears what “truth” other than his might do. So, he makes sure that the only “truth” his readers hear is his — or what he perceives is God’s. Granted, blog owners are free to make their own rules of engagement. I do so on this blog. However, Spaniard VIII walls off his blog from outside intrusion, not even allowing those he preaches against to comment.
Let me conclude this post with three comments lifted from Spaniard VIII’s latest blog post. I think readers will find them enlightening:
Caeli:
Only the Holy Spirit can reach the most calloused soul. There comes a time when being miserable becomes so miserable and for some, this becomes the pivotal point to salvation and to the believers, growth.
I can understand the temptation to abandon God when things blow up. As believers, we expect God to step in and when He allows us to go through the most trying times, it’s hard to see past the pain. But without the pain, we will never have an experiential grasp on the nature of choice, faithfulness, and above all, love. Jesus says, “Follow me” and to follow leads to no other road but one.
Londoninvestigates:
It’s best not to engage with these demonoids who hate. The same people who wanted Christ crucified.
Be true to yourself and Christ.
Spaniard VIII:
These series are for exposure, to show people what is in the heart of atheists.
Spaniard VIII says that he KNOWS what’s in the “heart” of atheists. First, what evidence does he have for his claim that atheists have “hearts?” Second, how does he KNOW what’s in the hearts of unbelievers? Third, why does he make no attempt to see atheists as they are, and not as the caricature he has built up in his mind? Fourth, does he really believe that atheists are vile, evil people, filled with Satan; that we are empty of love, kindness, and decency?
While I pointedly address Spaniard VIII’s errant beliefs, I have no doubt that he is a good husband and father. I know numerous Christians who are decent people, despite holding beliefs I consider irrational. Can he not see that I am more than an atheist; that I am a loving and kind husband (of 42 years), father, and grandfather; that I love my neighbors as myself and go out of my way to not cause harm to anyone — mosquitoes and flies excepted? Spiders, for example, co-inhabit with the Gerencsers. It is not uncommon for us to be watching TV and see a spider rappelling down from the ceiling. And then there was the mouse who entertained us a few years ago. We’d be watching TV and out he would pop, running across the top of the entertainment center, sometimes stopping to say, “how ya doing, folks?” My grandchildren have heard Grandpa’s lecture numerous times about not stepping on ants, pulling the wings off of insects, etc. I have a deep love and admiration for all living things. This is the kind of man I am, but unfortunately, all Spaniard VIII sees is a man he thinks is vile and wicked; a man condemned by his God and his peculiar interpretation of the Bible. Not to toot my own horn — oh, hell I am going to do it — Spaniard VIII is missing out on knowing (and understanding) a good man; he’s missing out on knowing people who may be unbelievers, but are some of those most loving, humane, and sympathetic people I know.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
The Sounds of Fundamentalism is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a video clip of Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church in Texas, explaining how it is impossible to be an atheist. This video contains a rebuttal of Morris’ ignorant claims by Hement Mehta, the Friendly Atheist.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
This is the latest installment in The Voices of Atheism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. Know of a good video that espouses atheism/agnosticism or challenges the claims of the Abrahamic religions? Please email me the name of the video or a link to it. I believe this series will be an excellent addition to The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser.
Thank you in advance for your help.
What follows is a video excerpt from a debate between Sam Harris and Evangelical apologist William Lane Craig.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
That felt good didn’t it? Do you know why Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet? You may not care but there is a lesson to be learned. Do you know why? It was his followers last message to them. It was a reminder of the dust they would soon become. I know you think you’re smart. I know you think you’re valuable. Ultimately, even you know you’re headed for dust and that fact will prove/show your true value. Rejecting the only message that will bring your any semblance of lasting happiness is a horrible mistake. You have nothing left.
This will be his one and only comment.
Earlier tonight, this man — who is starting to act like a stalker — sent me the following email:
Noticed you updated your response/website with my response and your comments. I didn’t get a notice and I just checked today.
It seems the only argument you have is against my “supposed” nastiness. I haven’t been nasty at all. In fact, I haven’t been remotely close to matching your common responses of “prick”, “asshole”, and etc. Nor have I told anyone to “fuck off” like your followers enjoying doing.
Again, you make more assumptions about me. You’re the one that doesn’t want to interact. I am not an IFB. I abandoned them a very long time ago. Notice I said, I abandoned them. I didn’t blame them for what was wrong with me. Sure, I might have for a short time but I realized what I did, I did willingly. They feed my own ego. Since that time, I’ve tried to restrain my ego. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Which is why I recognize your ego for what it is. You have an innate desire to feed your ego. A desire you can’t resist. Which is why you have a website telling everyone just how good you’ve become since abandoning God. You’re attracting like minded people that love to yell “fuck off”. You need them because you know…. you are nothing by yourself.
You’re dropping out of the conversation because you know it is a losing proposition for you. You can’t drive your narrative with me and you will look bad to them. Just like the good old “baptist” you once were, you know when to stop before it looks bad on you.
So. I’m still here. Appealing to your weaknesses. Talking about how you need to be “self aware”. How you have to see things for what they are….. even it it reflects badly upon yourself. After all, you are just human. A product of your surroundings. Even you can recognize an end. I think your realize just how meaningless you will become. Forgotten. Fleeting energy at the bottom of the Universe’s rectum. You can pretend to take pleasure in this or you can abandon your ego and look beyond yourself.
I don’t plan to personally respond to his email. I will leave it to the readers of this blog to assess and judge his words accordingly. While this man claims to not be an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christian, I don’t believe him. He’s active on an IFB forum, frequently spouts IFB theology, and certainly behaves and talks like someone deeply immersed in the IFB church movement. He may have changed his address, but he kept all his old furniture.
My youngest daughter and her two sons, ages two and seven months, stopped by earlier tonight. While we were in town, I bought Ezra, the two-year-old, a 2-car package of small friction cars. He proceeded to stuff them in the sound port on the back of our center channel speaker. I had to remove one of the speakers to extract the cars. Ezra — all boy, ever-moving, and a hell of a lot faster than his grandfather. Ezra and I also shared a bottle of Towne Club Cream Soda — his first drink of the nectar of the Gods. He loved it! I also spent some time playing with Silas, our youngest grandchild — a redhead.
I chopped down some weeds earlier today, cleaned part of the garage, and went to Defiance with the love of my life to do some shopping. We are remodeling our living room, and we are at the nickel-and-dime phase of the project. $10 here, $20 there. Afterward, we ate dinner — roasted chicken, asparagus, and potatoes. Later tonight, we plan to eat homemade guacamole and chips.
I am exhausted, and in a lot of pain. That’s the price I pay for admission. However, life is good, even if a clueless Fundamentalist thinks otherwise. I’m content to embrace life as it is, believing that this present life is all I have and all that matters. That the man who sent me several emails can’t or won’t understand this fact is not my problem. Why, unprovoked, he has decided to personally attack me and the readers of this blog is beyond me. Whatever his motives, nothing he’s said or done has appealed to me or caused me to reconsider my way of life. If he had not been a judgmental prick, an asshole, and a downright rude and inconsiderate man, he might have got his foot in the door. But instead he has provided a classic example of the behavior that caused many of us to leave Evangelical Christianity. If Heaven is filled with people like this man, I will take Hell with Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Hawking, Steve Gupton, and Gandhi every time.
I could die tonight, tomorrow, or a year from now. Until then, I plan to keep on living my life to its fullest. I hope you will do the same.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
Yesterday, Anna sent me the following email. I have edited her email to remove any data that might personally identify her (all spelling and grammar in the original):
Hello Bruce. I’m going to tell you a little about myself. First my sincere apologies for being rude. I just get very defensive when my Lord is attacked. I am sorry.
….
My Hero [her brother] gone in a moment but not forever. I do not say this sarcastically, I say it in all sincerity what makes you go on when someone you love so deeply is gone. When your life is over do you believe you just go into the ground and decay. That you get this life for 1 breath or 100 years but that is it? To me that would be truly depressing. I know depression all to well it’s a place I never want to be again.
….
When I was *** years old I was swimming in a river. I could swim quite well. I went a ways out to one noticed me. All of a sudden I was under the water and drowning.
….
All I can remember is calling for help in my head, that I didn’t want to die. Bruce no human being came to my rescue that day, it was Christ that put His Arm under me and raised me up out of that water. Without His intervention I would have died.
….
Last thing, as a child growing up I was sexually abused many times. I lived in fear many years. I always asked God to pick my spouse. I did not want the job. A month before my *** Birthday i was helping at my now husband’s father’s church. Organizing little boys for a Christmas concert when someone cupped my face. Turned my head towards my husband and said this is the man you will marry. At *** we married *** years ago. Without God our marriage would have never survived. Satan has tried to kill us many time. We have been tested so many times. he wants to destroy us but it will not happen. Jesus has saved us. If our lives were nothing but chaos and pain He has marked our hearts forever.
I don’t follow Jesus for riches, for beauty, for material goods or expect life to be easy. Tough times do not shatter my faith. I’ve had a million of them. But I have peace, a peace I prayed for, for years. Whatever I have to live through here on earth cannot compare to His pain nor the life He has in store for me. So Bruce you did judge me prematurely on that. I absolutely do not hide my faith. I am very bold about my faith, some day it may cost me my earthly body but never my life. I dont you your [???] story but I pray it ends well one day. I will be praying for you at times. You can’t stop that my friend. These are only a couple examples of His love for me. I honestly never read your replies. I’m sure they were insulting but all is fair.
Take Care
Angela
Before I could reply to Anna, she fired off another email to me:
I forgot something Bruce. My evidence is my life, I don’t need any other proof. Jesus has made Himself real to me. I have heard His voice and felt His touch. Literally on both, nothing can undo a heart and life that has been touched by Jesus. I care about you, I don’t know what happened in your life to draw you away but it’s just not worth it Bruce, it’s just not
Angela
I could have responded to Anna’s theological assertions, but after I read this line: “I honestly never read your replies,” I thought, “why the fuck bother.”
I replied:
Angela,
You are clueless. You don’t bother to read my responses to you, yet you want me to wade through your long, rambling emails. Remember, you contacted me. You are the one who refused to say you were a Christian. You are the one who personally insulted me. You can tell me anecdotal stories, but your behavior reflects poorly on your faith. You see, it’s how people behave that matters — at least to me, anyway.
Based on how you treated me, why would I ever want to become a Christian? You really need to rethink your approach, Angela. Again, you contacted me, personally insulted me, and then showed no interest in my responses to you. Not going to win many people to Jesus using this approach.
I plan to write another post about our “interaction.” I won’t mention any personally identifiable information.
Bruce Gerencser
Minutes later, I received a two sentence response from Anna:
Read one line, this cant be a real person. Answer is to fast
Evidently, Anna, AKA Angela, thinks I am an AI Atheist. Now, that’s a new one. Anna, of course, doesn’t know anything about me. She has made no effort to learn anything about my story. Had she done so, she might have found out that I am a prolific writer. I write and type quickly — with two fingers, by the way. I can churn out 1,000 words quicker than Cincinnati Reds’ closer Raisel Iglesias can blow a save. And trust me, Iglesias is a prodigious save blower.
I have always been quick with my words, even when I shouldn’t be. If that makes me some sort of Atheist Robot, so be it.
In closing, I want to challenge Anna’s claim that she did not read my blog responses to her. The server log for her IP address suggests otherwise:
It is possible that Anna opened the post, but did not look at it. I know, I know, about as likely as the existence of God. The evidence suggests that she indeed read at least one of the posts I wrote about her. I may be a godless heathen, but I do tell the truth 99.9% of the time. Why not admit to reading my posts? You know, like admitting you secretly surf porn sites?
As is my custom, I will send Anna the link to this post. If I hear from her again in any substantive way, I will be sure to let you know.
Some readers may wonder why I write posts such as this one and the others about Anna. I think it is important for you to witness how some Evangelicals respond to me behind the scenes. Their behavior is an ever-present reminder of the fact that I made the right decision 12 years ago to walk away from Christianity. Why in the world would I want to be part of a club that treats non-club members so poorly? No thanks!
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
Long time readers, all three of you, know that I had a plethora of blogs over the past fourteen years. I would write for a while, burn my blog to the ground, only to resurrect again months later. Welcome to the mind of a depressive. The good news is this: The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser will celebrate its sixth anniversary come November. Can I get an AMEN! Or dare I not mention this milestone lest I find the gasoline and matches again?
Several readers have asked me about the names of my former blogs. Here ya go:
Fallen From Grace
The Way Forward
Rethinking Church Life
Bruce Droppings (my favorite name)
World of Bruce
A Restless Mind in a Restless World
The Hungarian Luddite
The World According to Bruce
The Emergent Church
Northwest Ohio Skeptics
Restless Wanderings
Crazy, huh? Hey, I have never claimed to be sane.
I want to thank readers who jumped on Bruce’s crazy train in the early days and continue to ride today. Your love and support are appreciated.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
This is the latest installment in The Voices of Atheism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. Know of a good video that espouses atheism/agnosticism or challenges the claims of the Abrahamic religions? Please email me the name of the video or a link to it. I believe this series will be an excellent addition to The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Here’s what Christopher Hitchens had to say in a Slate article about Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) preacher Jerry Falwell the day after his death on May 15, 2007:
The discovery of the carcass of Jerry Falwell on the floor of an obscure office in Virginia has almost zero significance, except perhaps for two categories of the species labeled “credulous idiot.” The first such category consists of those who expected Falwell (and themselves) to be bodily raptured out of the biosphere and assumed into the heavens, leaving pilotless planes and driverless trucks and taxis to crash with their innocent victims as collateral damage. This group is so stupid and uncultured that it may perhaps be forgiven. It is so far “left behind” that almost its only pleasure is to gloat at the idea of others being abandoned in the same condition.
The second such category is of slightly more importance, because it consists of the editors, producers, publicists, and a host of other media riffraff who allowed Falwell to prove, almost every week, that there is no vileness that cannot be freely uttered by a man whose name is prefaced with the word Reverend. Try this: Call a TV station and tell them that you know the Antichrist is already on earth and is an adult Jewish male. See how far you get. Then try the same thing and add that you are the Rev. Jim-Bob Vermin. “Why, Reverend, come right on the show!” What a fool Don Imus was. If he had paid the paltry few bucks to make himself a certified clergyman, he could be jeering and sneering to the present hour.
….
Falwell went much further than his mad 1999 assertion about the Jewish Antichrist. In the time immediately following the assault by religious fascism on American civil society in September 2001, he used his regular indulgence on the airwaves to commit treason. Entirely exculpating the suicide-murderers, he asserted that their acts were a divine punishment of the United States. Again, I ask you to imagine how such a person would be treated if he were not supposedly a man of faith.
….
Like many fanatical preachers, Falwell was especially disgusting in exuding an almost sexless personality while railing from dawn to dusk about the sex lives of others. His obsession with homosexuality was on a par with his lip-smacking evocations of hellfire. From his wobbly base of opportunist fund raising and degree-mill money-spinning in Lynchburg, Va., he set out to puddle his sausage-sized fingers into the intimate arrangements of people who had done no harm. Men of this type, if they cannot persuade enough foolish people to part with their savings, usually end up raving on the street and waving placards about the coming day of judgment. But Falwell, improving on the other Chaucerian frauds from Oral Roberts to Jim Bakker to Ted Haggard, not only had a TV show of his own but was also regularly invited onto mainstream ones.
….
The evil that he did will live after him. This is not just because of the wickedness that he actually preached, but because of the hole that he made in the “wall of separation” that ought to divide religion from politics. In his dingy racist past, Falwell attacked those churchmen who mixed the two worlds of faith and politics and called for civil rights. Then he realized that two could play at this game and learned to play it himself. Then he won the Republican Party over to the idea of religious voters and faith-based fund raising. And now, by example at least, he has inspired emulation in many Democrats and liberals who would like to borrow the formula. His place on the cable shows will be amply filled by Al Sharpton: another person who can get away with anything under the rubric of Reverend. It’s a shame that there is no hell for Falwell to go to, and it’s extraordinary that not even such a scandalous career is enough to shake our dumb addiction to the “faith-based.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
Letter submitted the editor of the Bryan Times on August 18, 2020
Dear Editor,
Jerry Bergman’s latest letter to the editor about Karl Marx, Marxism, and atheism would be hilarious if it wasn’t for the fact that his distortions of history are believed by millions of Evangelical Christians. Marxism, socialism, and atheism are the new boogeymen used by preachers to foment outrage and fear among the faithful. Worse yet, many of these same preachers tell congregants that Donald Trump, a fascist, is the only thing standing between them and the socialist/Marxist horde taking over America.
Bergman takes one line from Marx, using it to paint a distorted view of 20th-century history. Here’s the rest of the quote:
“Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.”
As readers can see, Marx’s view of religion is more nuanced and complex than Bergman suggests.
Marx believed that religion provides a fantasy of sorts for the poor and disenfranchised. Economic realities prevent the poor from finding happiness in this life, so religion promises them happiness in the life to come. This Faustian bargain chains the poor to the rotting carcass of immoral American capitalism. It is only when the poor and disenfranchised see beyond the false promises of eternal life and heavenly prosperity that they see their only hope of a better tomorrow rests in casting off the chains of religion and resolutely standing against the political and social status quo.
It is clear to anyone who is paying attention that American capitalism is a failed economic system. Is Democratic Socialism the answer? Maybe. One thing is certain: capitalism is not the answer. Once Trump and his robber baron cronies are voted out of office in November, we can then begin anew to not make America great again, but to make her more fair, equitable, and just for all Americans.
Bruce Gerencser Ney, Ohio
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
Several weeks ago, I wrote an article titled Why Some Professed Atheists Return to Jesus, about a Facebook acquaintance of mine. This acquaintance of mine professed to be an agnostic. Several weeks ago, he made an announcement on Facebook that said he was returning to Christianity. While such returns are rare, they do, on occasion, happen. Why is it that someone would want to return to the leeks, onions, and garlic of Christianity once they’ve tasted the good fruits of reason and rationality? Surely it can’t be the evidence for the central claims of Christianity. After all, Christian theologians haven’t had an original thought in-like-forever. I can’t think of one argument in my lifetime that Christian apologists have come up with that advance our understanding of God. Christian theologians have been making the same, old, worn-out arguments since a man by the name of Jesus walked the shores of Galilee 2,000 years ago. So if a Christian becomes an atheist or an agnostic because of insufficient evidence for the existence of God, then what changed when they went back to Christianity? Surely not the evidence. Granted, many people reject Christianity and say they are atheists without really understanding the intellectual reasons for doing so. More often than not, it is for emotional reasons such people turn their backs on God, reject the Bible, and want nothing to do with Christianity. And it is often for similar reasons that people return to Christianity, disavowing their former atheistic beliefs.
My Facebook acquaintance posted my article to his wall. Most of the people who commented were Christians who disagreed with the content of my post. One Christian lady even made a prophecy about me, saying:
Daniel, I read the article and this is what I truly sensed in my spirit. This person will also return to his faith. He will have an experience that switches his inner switch back to ON and his love for the Father will be radical!
As with the pastor in my post yesterday titled, Evangelical Pastor Instructed by God to Give Me a Message, this woman believes that God talks to her; that God directly communicates messages to her about other people. In any other setting, such behavior would warrant a psych evaluation. I am not saying that religious belief is mental illness. What I am saying, however, is that hearing voices in your head other than your own and believing that an invisible being is instructing you to say or do something is a sign of psychological imbalance. And that’s what Evangelical Christianity does to people. It screws them up psychologically.
Bible literalism forces Evangelicals to believe all sorts of nonsense, including the notion that God lives inside of them. The popular Christian hymn In the Garden says God walks, talks, and tells Christians they belong to him. Evangelicals believe that God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is an entity that envelops every fiber of their being. He is their teacher, guide, and conscience. According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit gives to Christians everything they need pertaining to life and godliness. Never mind the fact, that the Bible hasn’t been updated in almost 2,000 years; that its teachings have little relevance to the scientific age we live in. Surely, the Bible needs a rewrite, one that better reflects the world we live in today. Instead, Evangelicals tell us,” God’s word is timeless!” “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Evangelicals say, and “so is the Bible.” However, when pressed about certain archaic, bizarre, and immoral teachings found in the Bible, Evangelicals are quick to make all sorts of explanations and justifications that thoroughly discredit their claims.
I’m sure that this woman, based on her steadfast belief in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, sincerely believes that the voice she hears in her head is the voice of the Christian God. I too at one time believed that God spoke to me; that my actions and sermons were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit who literally lived inside of me. On more than a few occasions, I spent numerous hours preparing my sermon, only to have “God” whisper to me in a still small voice when I entered the pulpit to preach something different. “God are you sure?” I’d say to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would reply, “Yes, that’s what I want you to preach.” And so I did, often with powerful demonstrations of God working in the midst of the congregation. Of course, I know now that the only voice I was hearing was my own. I now know that every answered prayer and every leading of the Spirit was me, not God. It was hard for me to realize that everything I attributed to God was in fact, Bruce. If there is a God in this story, it is me. You can call me Bruce Almighty.
As far as this woman’s prophecy is concerned, I have a matching prophecy to give:
This is what I truly sense in my mind, based on reason, knowledge, and personal experience. I will never return to Christianity; to my former life as an Evangelical pastor. I will continue to advance skepticism, rationalism, atheism, humanism, and good old common sense. I will continue to promote intellectual inquiry, and if I live long enough, I hope to see the death of Evangelical Christianity. It will be a good day when the “voice of God” fades from human consciousness; a day when humans finally understand the only Gods are they themselves.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 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.
