As an Evangelical pastor and devout student of the Bible, I saw the “alleged” contradictions and errors. I knew there were verses that contradicted with each other in it. When I ran into verses that were antithetical to each other, I typically studied the verse in its original language, read what commentaries said on the verse, and consulted several “Answers to Bible Contradictions” books I owned. Usually, this process would satisfactorily give me what I needed to be sure that what I was reading was straight from God himself. Or so I thought, anyway.
Occasionally, my studies left me more confused than when I started. Was I reading an actual contradiction or error in the Word of God? Surely, this cannot be, I thought. God says the Bible is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. How could the Bible have errors or mistakes if it is inspired, inerrant, and infallible? Talk about a contradiction.
Ultimately, when faced with insurmountable contradictions or errors, I appealed to faith, believing that every word in the Bible was true; trusting that, in time, God would give me understanding about about the alleged textual problems. I implicitly believed that God would one day make all things known to me, and if not in this life, then in the life to come. And if not in eternity? I trusted that God would ALWAYS do what was best for me.
This I believed for almost fifty years. It was not until I learned that the contradictions and errors of the Bible could not be explained away or justified that I began to question what it was I really believed. And once the genie in the bottle was released, there was no going back.
Were you raised in Evangelicalism? Did you ever come upon contractions and errors in the Bible? How did you reconcile them, or did you even try? Please leave your pithy thoughts in the comment section.
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 Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
“Dr.” George Bell, founder and pastor of Anchor Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, was accused in 2024 of four counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition involving a minor under the age of 10. Anchor Baptist is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation.
George Bell, 72, of Grove City, appeared Tuesday for arraignment in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on four counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition involving a minor under the age of 10. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $20,000 recognizance bond, according to court records.
Bell was formerly the pastor at Anchor Baptist Church, located at 3699 Clime Road on the city’s Far West Side, which he founded in 1989.
Court records say the alleged assaults occurred between 2021 and June 2024. The sexual assault charges do not involve a member of Bell’s congregation, authorities said.
….
A statement on the church’s website said he resigned in front of the congregation in June, citing personal reasons.
As a church, we are committed to full transparency and to the truth throughout this process. We have been and continue to fully cooperate with any law enforcement and the justice system. We invite you to join us in prayer for and support of victims, their families, and individuals involved. We continue to remain loyal to God’s Word and the principles established in Scripture. We sincerely desire your prayers for us to have Godly wisdom and clear direction as we move forward. We were previously informed by law enforcement that there was no evidence of any incident on church property or involving any church member. Recent events have verified this. Colossians 1:18 “… that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
Our former pastor, George Bell, submitted a resignation letter which was read to Anchor Baptist Church after the Thursday evening service on June 27, 2024. Pastor Bell cited personal reasons for his immediate resignation and did not go into details. To our knowledge there was nothing untoward involving church members or church property. We are grateful for his and Mrs. Bell’s years of service to Anchor Baptist Church and ask for your prayers for them during this difficult time. Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Anchor Baptist Church will continue forward for the cause of Christ. Please pray for church leadership as we seek God’s will and follow our Constitution, By-Laws, and Statement of Faith. The deacons and staff have unanimously selected Bro. Peter A. Cordrey to serve as the interim pastor. During this transition, we will maintain the same schedule and activities. We will act with integrity and transparency in this process. Colossians 1:18 “… that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
Due to new information that has come to our attention, we are amending our previous statement released on July 3. Our testimony in this community is of the utmost importance to us. We now know that there was more to the unexpected resignation of our former pastor, George Bell, than we were originally led to believe. It breaks our heart to discover that there have been serious allegations and an indictment that have been brought. Any conduct that is contrary to the Bible and our laws as citizens are unacceptable and not tolerated. In light of this new information, we endeavor to make clear our stand to our church family and to our community.
We have been and will be cooperating fully with law enforcement and the justice system.
We are committed to full transparency and to the truth throughout this process.
As a church, we are loyal to God’s Word and the principles established in Scripture.
We sincerely desire your prayers for us to have Godly wisdom and clear direction as we seek God’s help and guidance.
We get it, your pastor is a pervert and you say you didn’t know ANYTHING about his proclivities. In time, the truth shall be known — no prayers or “understanding” needed. My advice? Stop making statements and carefully consider whether the church was in any way culpable in Bell’s crimes. Quoting Bible verses rings hollow when sexual abuse against children is the crime. Readers of this site are familiar with rampant IFB cover-ups of criminal misconduct by pastors, evangelists, missionaries, youth pastors, bus drivers, music directors, choir directors, and Christian school administrators and teachers. Your commitment to “full transparency and to the truth” remains to be seen. I do hope you are true to your words.
I was born in the very poor and crime-ridden area of North Columbus, Ohio. Of four girls and two boys, I was the second youngest. My only brother was to play a key part in my life as a sinner and a Christian.
My parents were not close. I never heard my dad and mom exchange an “I love you” or show much affection at all. My dad never had much time for us kids, and I personally never heard my dad say to me, “I love you” or “I am proud of you” while I was growing up. My parents were not Christians and never attended church, though my mother and grandmother tried taking us to a Seventh-day Adventist church for about a year. We were not taught to pray anything more than a bedtime prayer and never read the Bible. No church people ever stopped by the Bell house to present the Gospel. No bus workers ever stopped by to see if the Bell children could go to church.
I was eleven years old. A woman I did not know was standing in our living room. My mother was there, and all of us kids were ushered into the room. The woman stranger then asked us if we wanted to live with our dad or our mom. I could not understand what was really going on, but I heard the others say, “Mom,” so I did, too. Not long after, my mom and dad were divorced after twenty-one years of marriage. As I grew older, it did not surprise me as to the reason why: my dad was a drunkard, a womanizer, and abusive to my mom and us kids.
That event seemed to open the floodgates of tragedy. The family continued to fall apart. For the first time in twenty-one years my mother had to get a job. My sisters began to date, go to slumber parties, and run with other bad kids. My brother, Bill, started fighting, drinking, and gambling. He was good at it, and I emulated him. By age thirteen I was already smoking, drinking, and running the streets. After having several altercations with the police, my mother thought it would be best to leave the small suburb where we lived and move to the west side of Columbus.
….
I was seventeen-and-a-half years old. In September of 1969, I volunteered for the Army. Because I was very physically fit and tough, I liked basic training. In A. I. T. (advanced individual training) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, I met my first airborne sergeant. As a result of our meeting, I determined I wanted to be an Airborne Ranger. From a worldly viewpoint, I thought I was finally on track at the age of eighteen. I found something I was good at that those around me appreciated me doing. Like any other teenager, I was starving for attention, and if being a “gung-ho” soldier would do it, then why not?
After airborne training, while waiting to get on a list for Green Beret (the next step before getting into Ranger school), I again fell in with the wrong crowd. I was living in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I was eighteen with no dad to call for answers, no paster with whom to get counsel, and no Christian friends upon whom to rely. With my security level and self-confidence basically non-existent, it was easy to follow a strong voice of any kind. The wrong crowd began to convince me that the government and military were all against me and giving my best to them was a joke. They taught me to rebel, disobey, make fun of authority and look for an opportunity to get out of the Army. They introduced me to illicit drugs. I had smoked cigarettes since I was eleven and drank since I was thirteen, but now I encountered marijuana and LSD. The early success of my military career notwithstanding, since nothing I had ever wanted, tried or was good at last long, it was not surprise that my life continued to go down. Because of never having a Christian background and never being witnessed to of Jesus, I assumed my condition was just bad luck and that it was bound to change sooner or later. But it did not. Without going into detail, I got into deep trouble while at Fort Bragg. Once again, I came before a judge and was told that if I was found guilty, I could receive a maximum sentence of 15 to 25 years in the penitentiary.
I had nowhere to turn. Because I was in trouble, I called my brother Bill, thinking he would understand. I really did not want help; I wanted help out of trouble. On the phone he said, “I can’t help you live like that. I go to church now.” And he hung up. He had gotten saved. My idol and example changed directions on me. The person I thought would always understand and side with me had abandoned me.
At eighteen my life had added up to zero and now I was looking at prison time. Don’t ask me why people do it or where it comes from, but it seems whenever people are in real trouble in life, they somehow find themselves in a church house. While walking across a parade field on base, I noticed a small while church house situated there on a hill. I opened the door, walked inside, sat on a pew, and through tears got down on my knees and pleaded with God, “If you get me out of this mess, I will never do it again.” Of course, the prayer was nothing more than selfish plea-bargaining. I remember when I was done, I felt as lonely and as empty as I was before I knelt. Oh, had a real Baptist preacher or soul winning been there to guide this blind, hurting, and lost soul!
….
I never met a Christian while in Vietnam. No one ever talked to me of Christ, and no one spoke of church. But one day while being re-supplied in the jungle, word was spreading that a chaplain was coming out. I remember many men went over to him. He spoke to us, and though I do not remember what he spoke, he prayed for us and gave all of us a little Bible. Though I did not read it, I thought it was incredibly nice of him to do that for me. Oh, but had someone, anyone, interrupted my life! Had someone spoken up and at least shared the Gospel with this young man seemingly doomed for Hell, but “no man cared for my soul.”
Still in the Army but back in America at age nineteen, my rebellion and hatred grew for everyone and everything. Little did I know I was about to come face to face with two people, Jesus and my brother Bill, who were not afraid of me and were determined to change me.
I came back to America just before I was discharged from the Army. At that time I met a girl whose daddy preached at a small by fiery Baptist church out in the country. Her dad said that if I wanted to see her I had to come to church. I did not know that it was the same church that my brother had gotten saved in and was attending. No one knew I was coming that night. I had never been in a Baptist church before, and though it was not a fundamental Baptist church, they believed in fiery preaching and sinners getting saved by Jesus.
A young man who had recently been called to preach was preaching that night. As I sat there I was dumb-founded that he seemed to know all I had been doing, and then he was telling everyone! I honestly believe that at the age of nineteen, for the first time in my life I heard about sin, wickedness, Jesus dying, and men needing to get right. They did not teach soul winning in that church. They believed folks should be saved, but they just believed the Holy Spirit and the sinner would work it all out when they met at the altar. So at the end of the church service, with my brother pleading with me to come back in and pray, I walked out. Between that first time I attended a Baptist church and the second time I attend (which is when I got saved), I had gotten busted four grades in the military, almost killed two people in a car accident, was almost sent to prison again, and was numb to the world and everything in it.
At twenty years of age, I was discharged from the military and found myself back in Columbus. More trouble with fighting, drugs and jail had inundated my life. Now I had lost everything. I literally had no friends, no job, no money, no car, no drugs or booze and no place to live. My mother said I could move back home until everything got better. And who lived behind my mother’s house? My brother, Bill, “the preacher.” It seemed that every evening he was over at my mother’s house talking to my mom and sisters about the Bible and telling them that they should be saved. He would beg and plead with them to come to church. I would stand by the back door and ignore the whole thing, wanting nothing to do with it. But each time he left to go back home after being turned down again by the family, he would stop and invite me to go to church with him. As always, I would turn him down.
Then came April 14, 1972. That evening I was once again standing and staring out the back door of my mother’s home when once again my brother came over to invite everyone to church. Once again, they all turn him down. And as usual, on his way out, he stopped to talk to his little brother. “Would you like to go to church with me tonight?” he said. “There is no preaching, just singing.” I told him, “I don’t have a shirt.” He said, “I’ll get you one.” “Well, I don’t have any dress pants.” “Would you quit worrying about it and just go?” he pleaded. There was one statement my brother always used when trying to get me to come to Christ. He would say, as he said that night, “I know someone Who will help you if you just let Him.” Finally, I relented and said, “Okay.”
As soon as we walked into that Baptist church on that cool Saturday night, I felt unclean and dirty. I thought this was no place for a guy like me. Before the service even started, I was overwhelmed with guilt. We found our place on the fourth row to the pulpit’s right. Outwardly I tried to return the friendliness the people showed to me. People who did not even know me acted as though they cared about me. I shook their hand. I gave a nod and a “hello.” Yet as I quietly sat there, an immense struggle began inside me.
The service began. We stood and began to sing a full-throated congregational song. Unhindered tears began to run down my face. I wanted to hide my face. We sat down and I buried my face in my hands questioned and reasoned: “What’s going on?” While an average church service continued, two voices raged in my mind. One rehearsed the same old routine of promises: “Don’t give in! Remember that party? That girl is waiting. What about your friends?” The other promised nothing, it said, “Come on. It’s the right thing to do. Come on.”
There seemed to be no one else in that room but me. Like a rush it dawned on me that the old voice was lying to me. I thought, “I have no friends out there. No one wants me around anymore. What do I care what they think?” I had heard the preacher say (yes, there was preaching that night), “You who need to be saved need to pray and ask Jesus to forgive you.” I did not know what to do. He said to pray. I had never been taught to pray. I did not know how, but I made up my mind to do whatever it would take to find relief. I was broken. With my heart breaking, my lips trembling, and my cheeks dripping with tears, I turned to my brother and said, “Bill, what do I do?” He simply stepped into the aisle and pointed toward the altar.
My heart was bursting inside. I ran to the altar and in a child-like trust begged Jesus in the only words I could form, “Oh, Jesus, forgive me; forgive me; forgive me; forgive me; I’m sorry; I’m sorry; I’m sorry…” This was the simple prayer of a lonely, empty, sinful man. I knew nothing of Bible doctrine or Christianity.
….
I am now Dr. George E. Bell, pastor and founder of Anchor Baptist Church and schools in Columbus, Ohio. The church started with ten people (six of whom were my own family) in a recreation center, on July 30, 1989. Currently (2002), our average Sunday morning attendance is over 550. We run six bus routes, average 110 soul winners out each week, average 100 baptisms a month, and have over 40 Sunday school classes. We have just built a 6,000 square foot education building and have property worth well over a million dollars. Our church has led our state in baptisms for the last four years.
Bell recently pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to at least fifteen years in prison.
A former Columbus pastor accused of raping a juvenile pleaded guilty and was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison, according to Franklin County Court of Common Pleas documents.
George Bell was indicted last year on four counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition with the alleged crimes reportedly happening between 2021 and 2024. According to the indictment, the victim was under the age of 10.
Bell pleaded guilty to two counts of rape. The other charges were dismissed.
He was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison and must register as a Tier III sex offender.
Bell was a pastor at Anchor Baptist Church in Columbus at the time of the incidents.
The church said in a statement last year that Bell had resigned in front of the church on June 27, 2024, citing personal reasons.
Bell founded Anchor Baptist Church in 1989 and served for almost 35 years as pastor before he resigned.
Back in my IFB days, I was a casual acquaintance of Bell. Our paths crossed at preacher’s meetings and conferences in Columbus.
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 Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Lindsey Whiteside, a youth pastor at Getwell Church in Hernando, Mississippi, and high school basketball coach, was accused of having sex with a minor girl under her care. She was later sentenced to house arrest for her crimes, leading to widespread condemnation of the judge.
Recently, Whiteside was rearrested, this time on federal charges.
Chief Judge Debra Brown reversed Whiteside’s bond decision Wednesday, and she was taken back into custody by U.S. Marshals pending her federal trial.
The former DeSoto County youth pastor and basketball coach has been out of jail since October 31 and living at her mother’s house after Federal Magistrate Judge Jane Virden ruled to allow house incarceration as she waits for a federal trial for federal charges.
Judge Brown stated that she weighed a few different things when making her ruling Wednesday, including Whiteside’s previous bond conditions, GPS monitoring, and the defense’s downplay of the relationship between Whiteside and the then-16-year-old victim.
Whiteside walked into the federal court building with her family and attorney on Wednesday, but she did not walk out with them.
Last month, she pleaded not-guilty to federal charges of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes.
During the four-hour evidentiary hearing Wednesday, the defense argued that Whiteside was not a danger to the community.
Her attorney, Tony Farese, said she has been out on bond and in home incarceration since Halloween with no issues.
He also said this case stems from a consensual relationship between Whiteside and the teenage victim.
Farese said it was not predatory, and that is why he argued Whiteside is not a danger to the community.
Farese mentioned a report by Desoto County Deputy Miranda Fox that said “what was done to one, was done to the other,” and Fox also testified Wednesday that the victim was not forced into the relationship.
The prosecution disagreed with the arguments made by the defense. U.S. Attorney Parker King said Whiteside groomed the victim and the victim’s mother by gaining their trust.
During a brief recess before the ruling, the victim’s mother, teary-eyed, told Action News 5, “A minor can not consent.”
The mother went on to say that her daughter has to keep the memories of what happened to her and shared that she is going through a lot. She mentioned this after the defense argued this was a consensual relationship.
The judge mentioned she was “troubled” by the defense’s reference that this was a “sexual dating relationship.”
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 Red Collar Scandal Series relies on public news stories for its content. If you read a story about an Evangelical preacher who can’t keep his pants zipped up, please send it to Bruce Gerencser.
Samuel Renihan has resigned as the pastor (elder) of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in La Mirada, California, after confessing he engaged in an adulterous relationship.
Prominent Reformed Baptist Pastor Samuel D. Renihan has resigned as the leader of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in La Mirada, California, after confessing to engaging in an adulterous relationship.
“I have sinned in an exceedingly wicked way. This past week it was discovered that I have committed adultery. The Lord, whose Spirit yearns jealously for his people (James 4:5), the Lord, who is an avenger in these things (1 Thess. 4:6), exposed my sin. To my great shame, I did not bring it to light,” Renihan wrote on his blog Petty France on Monday.
Renihan, whose father is prominent Reformed Baptist Pastor James Renihan, is well-known in the Reformed Baptist community and has authored several books, including The Mystery of Christ and His Covenant.
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on Wednesday.
In his public confession, Renihan used multiple Scriptures to define his “stiff-necked sin” and said he was caught in arrogance.
“As a minister, I should have set an example in holiness, but by my unholiness I have made myself unfruitful and ineffective (2 Pet. 1:8), a warning, an example never to be imitated (1 Tim 5:20),” he declared. “Such clear warnings should have deterred me from sin in the first place, but I was the greatest of fools.”
Though he did not share many specifics about his sin, Renihan said he “read a letter of confession to my church, resigned from the office of pastor, and submitted myself to the judgment and discipline of the church.”
“I am deeply ashamed of my sin. All sin deserves damnation, but some sins are far worse than others, and mine is exceedingly wicked. The only way that I can honor and glorify God, and the only way that I can do anything to help those whom I have hurt is through the grace of repentance,” he added. “The Scriptures say, ‘By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil’ (Prov. 16:6). I do fear the LORD, and by his grace and help I will show steadfast love and faithfulness to God, to my wife, and to Christ’s church.”
Renihan, who has written for organizations such as Ligonier Ministries, said he also made confessions of his sin to “various institutions and organizations” he was affiliated with so “their good names may not be sullied by my sin. “
“I have also unpublished my self-published theological works,” he added. “I thank God that my wife has graciously forgiven me. I have humbled myself before God as a wicked sinner, praying that he would lift me up. And now I humble myself before a broader audience, asking only that you forgive me my hypocrisy and give glory to the Good Shepherd who will never leave or forsake his flock. By his grace, may my repentance be as notorious as my sin.”
Shocker, another Evangelical preacher gets caught fucking someone who is not his wife. What’s interesting in this story is Renihan’s confession. As someone who formerly ran in Sovereign Grace Baptist/Reformed Baptist circles, what I spotted right away in Renihan’s admission was a plethora of Puritan sounding verbiage. Instead of a simple admission of guilt, Renihan says things such as:
I am deeply ashamed of my sin. All sin deserves damnation, but some sins are far worse than others, and mine is exceedingly wicked. The only way that I can honor and glorify God, and the only way that I can do anything to help those whom I have hurt is through the grace of repentance. The Scriptures say, ‘By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil’ (Prov. 16:6). I do fear the LORD, and by his grace and help I will show steadfast love and faithfulness to God, to my wife, and to Christ’s church.”
Renihan could have said, I’m sorry for fucking Elder Bubba’s wife. Instead, Renihan delivered what I call a “sermon apology,” Instead of a simple confession and apology, Renihan used his press release as an opportunity to preach to others.
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.
I recently listened to an Evangelical apologist revel in the wondrous “creation” of the human hand; a sure sign to him of intelligent design. He went on to list all the wonderful things we can do with our God-created hands.
I laughed and said, “you forgot masturbation.”
The next time you are masturbating — yes, even you Evangelicals, I know you do it — just remember, you are worshipping God’s design and creation of your hand — assuming you are a one-hand masturbator — penis, clitoris, or both if you are ambidextrous — every time you ring the Devil’s doorbell or go solo.
Praise the Lord for perfectly fitting hands (and fingers). By all means, “intelligently” use them. 🙂
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.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse, for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Engage in discussion and debate with Evangelical apologists long enough, and Romans 1 is sure to come up. The moment an atheist or other unbeliever denies the Evangelical God’s existence, Evangelicals will quote Romans 1, saying that unbelievers KNOW the truth because God has revealed it to them, so they are without excuse.
According to Evangelical apologists, God revealed himself to all of us several ways:
Creation
Conscience: the law of God written on our “hearts”
Divine revelation:the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God
The thinking goes is that all any of us need to do is look at the wonders of creation and conclude, “God did it.” Fine, I always say. Which God? Why do apologists assume the creator God is their deity? I have yet to have an Evangelical connect the dots between the God of creation and the triune God of the Christian Bible.
All of us have a conscience, but there’s a lot we don’t know about it. Evangelicals, on the other hand, are convinced that their deity has written his law on the conscience/heart/mind of every human being. This is how mortals determine right from wrong, Evangelicals say. However, left unanswered is the question, “What law?” The Ten (or nine) Commandments? The law of Moses? Where is this “law” so we can know exactly what God expects of us.
Evangelicals will confidently state that God supernaturally gave us the Bible so we can know exactly what it is he requires of us. The Bible is the divine blueprint for life, teaching believers everything they need to know about life and godliness. If this is so, why are so many Evangelicals stupid as a brick, showing that they know very little about what the Bible says? You would think Christians would make studying, knowing, and understanding the Bible the most important priority of their lives. But, they don’t. Why is that?
As an atheist, I am not suppressing anything. I am willing to embrace truth wherever it is found. If Christian apologists can provide compelling evidence for the existence of their God, I’m listening. Whether I would convert remains to be seen, but I would, at the very least, give their evidence a hearing. Unfortunately, I remain unconvinced. I haven’t heard an Evangelical apologist give a compelling argument for the existence of God and the veracity of Christianity in years. Same old arguments over, and over, and over again. Setting aside esoteric philosophical arguments for which I have zero interest, Evangelical apologists use a handful of arguments to justify their beliefs. Some of these defenses of Christianity are “interesting,” but none of them close the deal — at least for me, anyway.
Maybe Evangelicals should ask themselves whether they are the ones suppressing the truth; that conditioning and indoctrination keep them from hearing any other arguments but their own.
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.
Ian: So, God is not good? If it is “good” to cure childhood cancer, then is God not good if he doesn’t do so?
We know, of course, that God doesn’t cure childhood cancer, because children have cancer, including babies born with it.
Usually, at this point, Christian apologists realize they are trapped, so they start rolling out the justifications and excuses for God. “No, God doesn’t cure childhood cancer, but he has a reason for not doing so.” “Gods thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not are ways. God’s ways are higher, unknown by mere mortals.” “Yes, God gives cancer to children, but after they die a horrible death, he will take them to Heaven when they die. Ain’t God good?”
And so it goes, but never forget, God could in a split second cure childhood cancer. That he chooses not to suggests either he doesn’t exist or he doesn’t care about the pain and suffering of his created beings — especially children. Either way, such a deity is not worthy of our worship.
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 Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Matthew McGinley, the worship pastor for Ascent Project in Fort Collins, Colorado and a Christian school teacher, stands accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
Fort Collins police have arrested Matthew McGinley, 30, accusing the former worship pastor and teacher of sexual assault of a minor by a person in a position of trust. In police and court records obtained by CBS News Colorado, McGinley is accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student that continued for more than one year.
McGinley was a part-time educator at a prominent Northern Colorado Christian school for the 2018-2019 school year, according to the school.
According to police, that is when McGinley met the victim in one of the classes he helped teach. The student was younger than 18 when they met.
Police reported that McGinley, 24 at the time, and the student started off by sending flirtatious late-night texts before the relationship evolved to kissing. Police said the two started having sex at the beginning of 2020. It continued through part of 2020 until the victim cut off communication, according to police.
The intimate relationship had allegedly taken place off-campus after McGinley had stopped working at the school.
McGinley was, and still is, married.
McGinley went on to become the worship and marketing pastor for a Fort Collins church known as “Ascent Project.”
The relationship went largely unshared until 2025, when McGinley allegedly told a church leader about his affair with the minor. Church leaders reportedly gathered and decided to have a meeting with McGinley, one in which they told police he fully confessed to his actions during. Fort Collins Police filed court documents saying McGinley was fired from his role at Ascent Project immediately by the church leaders and was then taken to the police department to turn himself in.
Police obtained an email that McGinley allegedly sent to the victim’s mother. In the email, McGinley wrote an apology for his actions and said they were part of a “quarter-life crisis” he was going through. The email in the court records goes on to suggest McGinley was remorseful for his actions and had repented to God.
McGinley was charged with felony sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse. He was booked into the Larimer County Jail and has since posted bond as he awaits further steps in the criminal proceedings.
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On Thursday, Ascent Project, which is pastored by McGinley’s brother, provided a statement to CBS News Colorado regarding his arrest.
“On September 2, Pastor Josh McGinley and the elders of Ascent Project Church were made aware of serious allegations involving a former staff member, Matthew McGinley. These allegations were unknown to church leadership prior to that date. Upon his confession, he was accompanied to the police station, where he turned himself in, and his employment was terminated the same day. We are deeply grieved by these events and remain committed to the care and well-being of everyone in our church,” said the Ascent Project Church Elder Team.
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.
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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 of an interview with Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, a professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The main focus of her research is on the Hebrew Bible, and on Israelite and Judahite history and religion. Her seminal book, God: An Anatomy, is a must read.
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.
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What follows is a letter my mother wrote to the editor of the Bryan Times It was published May 7, 1969. I am hoping this letter will provide a glimpse of the type of home I grew up in. I was 11 years old when this letter was written. 12 days later, this letter was also published in the Toledo Blade.
Bryan Times:
In view of recent student uprisings, revolts, demonstrations, anarchy and lawlessness on college and university campuses in these United States — I, an American taxpayer and mother of three children, urge a PUBLIC Congressional Investigation into the colleges and universities that fit the above and an investigation into the SDS, its leaders, motives, and followers.
Either local authorities on campus or the government must stop this outrage or there should be a taxpayers’ revolt. I, for one, do not care to support such so-called institutions for a so-called higher education. Why don’t parents of these students cut off funds? Why doesn’t the government cut off funds to such institutions and cut off student loans to such students?
Now, summer approaches and Americans are wondering and waiting to see whether the riots in our cities will resume. Many of these same students will be taking to the streets this summer. Rioting has become a habit, a thrill. I have heard the remark, many riot all day and run home to watch themselves on the 6 o’clock news.
Many Americans are justifiably living in fear. I have heard remarked that only a dictator and a police state will be able to protect American citizens from anarchy and lawlessness. Is this what we want? I ask you to ask yourself, what can I do? What can or should our duly elected government officials do? What can or should our tax supported institutions do? Let your universities and government officials know how you feel. It is time to stand up and be counted.
I had thought that with a new administration (Richard Nixon) we might begin to enter into a period of law and justice and might once again go back to majority rule upon which this country was founded. How can a handful of 50 students completely subdue a college campus and its authorities?
I used to think a college education was an ideal goal for a youngster. Now I am very skeptical of sending my children to such an educational institution. Have you ever asked yourself why the students on the large and small campuses of Bible colleges and other religious institutions are not rioting, or are you trying not to think, period? (now that was one snarky line, Mom)
Did you ever stop to think that the students who do not like their teachers, courses, university rules and regulations have the freedom to go elsewhere? Perhaps a trip to Vietnam might give them the proper perspective. While our boys fight and die to preserve freedom, the students usurp the freedom and rights of others to an education in a tax supported institution. Teachers not going along with students are being intimidated as well as their families being threatened. Some even have had bomb threats in the name of freedom.
To all college and university authorities, to all judges and law enforcement officials and to all government officials: in regards to the students, I say Amnesty-NO, Prosecution, Expulsion-YES.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Barbara Gerencser Route 2, Hicksville
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.
