Those of us raised in Evangelical churches were told that the God of the Bible gave us lives with meaning and purpose. Without God, our lives have no meaning and purpose. Want an awesome life? Get saved! Or so the story goes, anyway.
However, when asked to provide evidence for this claim, none is forthcoming. Does religion give countless people meaning and purpose? Sure, but Evangelicals argue that only their peculiar deity actually gives life meaning and purpose. This means that billions and billions of people go through life living meaningless, purposeless lives. This claim, of course, is absurd.
Babies come into the world as a blank slate. Outside of what DNA gives them, babies have no religious or political beliefs. Virtually all of us begin life with the political and religious beliefs of others — our parents, grandparents, tribe, and church. It is not shocking in the least to see how parental and tribal influences affect how a child grows up. It is not surprising at all that I grew up as an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christian and a right-wing Republican. It would be many years before I shook the indoctrination and conditioning of my parents, family, and church. And I should add, it was also years before I cast off the borrowed theology of my pastors and professors.
Evangelical children’s ministries push the idea that it is important to reach people with the gospel when they are children. The older people become, the harder it is to evangelize them. That’s why Evangelical churches have children’s programs that aggressively proselytize children as young as five.
Both my partner and I were saved at age five. We later made professions of faith as teenagers — a common experience in IFB and Southern Baptist churches. Both of us became what our parents and churches made us into. It would be years before we saw our way clear to embrace our own beliefs. I suspect this rings true for many Evangelicals-turned-atheists.
The most important thing parents can teach their children is to think for themselves. Parents have the responsibility to nurture, care, and protect their children. Evangelicals tend to teach their children what to think instead of how to think. From the time I was born, my parents and other influences taught me what to believe. No instruction was given in philosophy or world religions, outside of other religions being heretics or cults. For the first twenty-five years of my life, the goal of my influencers was to reinforce Fundamentalist beliefs and practices. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, these well-intentioned people withheld the truth from me. Maybe they were as ignorant as I was, having indoctrinated themselves in the “one truth faith.” No ground was ever given to other beliefs or practices. The IFB, and later Evangelicalism, was the one true faith. One lord, one faith, one baptism — ours.
Once liberated of past indoctrination and conditioning, I was free to reinvestigate my beliefs. I learned that despite five decades of having religion determine the meaning and purpose of my life, there is no inherent meaning or purpose. Life, then, is the slates upon which we write the parameters of our lives. Atheists are told they live meaningless and purposeless lives, but this is patently untrue. Only people who think God is the end-all make such a stupid claim. Just because I believe differently from Evangelicals doesn’t mean I am lacking in any way. My life has all the purpose and meaning it needs. I have a good idea of what I need, want, and value in life.
While our lives have no inherent meaning and purpose, they do have meaning and purpose — that which we give them every day of our lives. We alone decide what matters in our lives. Truly, to each our own.
As an ex-Evangelical, how do you explain purpose and meaning of your life? Please share your 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.
Geri Ungurean is an Evangelical Christian known for her fanatical support of Donald Trump, the nation of Israel, and Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Devout in her faith, I would never question whether she is a Christian. When it comes to professed beliefs, I generally take people at face value. If a person says they are a Christian, I believe them, and I expect the same treatment from Christians. Each of us has the right to control our own storyline. Who better to tell their story than the person who lived it?
Unfortunately, many Evangelicals refuse to let atheists and agnostics control how they self-identify. Supposedly, the Bible gives them the right to tell unbelievers what they “really’ believe or whether atheists are atheists at all.
Find a person who not only claims to be an Atheist, but obsesses on pushing their atheistic views on others so as to recruit them; and I guarantee that if truth be told, and this person opened up about their life, you would find an ANGRY person. You would find a person who blames the God whom they say does not exist, for something that happened in their life.
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There is a saying that goes like this: “There are no atheists in foxholes.” I believe this is true. A lifelong “atheist” will cry out “God help me” when faced with death.
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Do you have a person in your life who claims to be an atheist? I have many. But I came to the point when I realized that God must be the One who gets through to the “haters.” The more you push against them, the nastier they become. The more Scripture you give to them, the more they laugh.
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Love them and pray for them. There is a man on Twitter whose sole purpose for being on there is to tout his “atheism” in hopes of drawing others to his sad conclusions.
I watched this man for many days. I wanted to say something to him, but it was as if God was holding me back. I felt in my spirit to show Christian love to him and most importantly to Pray for him.
We are now friends on Twitter. We can write back and forth in private messages. This was during the medical scare I had recently. By the way – all tests came out benign (Thank You Jesus).
The Twitter atheist and I would talk to one another about things which were going on in our lives. He is very polite and compassionate. He knows that I am an Evangelical Christian who will not budge from my deep faith. I know that he claims to be an ardent atheist. So, with that out of the way, we speak as friends.
He has opened up to me that he went to seminary and that he was saved during college. He knows that my boys (grown) refer to themselves as atheists now. I feel that the Holy Spirit has led me in this friendship. I pray for this man every day – expecting God’s answer.
I am hoping and praying that the Lord will bring him back. I pray for God’s will to be done in “David’s” life.
But I don’t for one minute believe that he is an atheist. I believe that something happened in his life which made him bitter towards God.
Brethren, I believe that many of us have these people in our lives. Sometimes, they are in our immediate families. Sometimes they are friends or co-workers. Show love to these people and do not argue with them. Most importantly, PRAY for them every single day!
The arm of God is not too short to reach anyone, and that includes those who are angry with Him!
Where oh where do I begin?
Ungurean denies the existence of atheists; that when push comes to shove, atheists will cry out to Jesus in their time of need. She has no evidence for this claim other than her own opinion. I’ve been an atheist for seventeen years. I know more than a few atheists who have died, including readers of this blog. Not one of them abandoned atheism. Not one of them embraced Christianity on their deathbed. Is it possible for an atheist to get “saved” at the end of life? Sure, it happens, especially among those deeply conditioned and indoctrinated in Fundamentalist Christianity. Fear of death, Hell, and judgment return, leading the dying person to return to the safety of their religious past. Of course, more than a few Christians have died wondering where the Heaven God is in their time of need.
So, to Ungurean and other atheist deniers, we exist, and we ain’t going away. I am confident that when it comes time for me to die, I will expire knowing that I was right about the existence of God and my eternal future. And if I do, per chance, struggle with these issues on my deathbed, it will be because of how Fundamentalist Christianity fucked up my mind for fifty years.
Ungurean thinks people become atheists because of anger, bitterness, or some sort of negative experience. I can’t speak for all atheists. Every atheist has a unique story to tell. For me personally, I came to a place where the central claims of Christianity no longer made any sense to me; that the claims critical to faith in Jesus are false. Have I, at times, been angry or bitter? Sure, but these feelings came after I deconverted. I was angry and bitter for a time because of how Evangelical Christians treated me post-Jesus. I’ve never been more abused and demeaned than by Evangelicals who savaged and belittled me for walking away from Christianity.
I find it hilarious that Ungurean chastises atheists for promoting atheism, yet she does the same for Christianity virtually every day — as do countless other Christians. Unlike Evangelicals, however, outspoken atheists rarely try to evangelize people. Sure, it happens, but, for the most part, atheists want to be left alone and only share their beliefs when asked or accosted by a zealot.
Ungurean asks her followers to pray for atheists and not try to debate with them. Why is that, I wonder? Is it the fact that most Evangelicals — including Ungurean — are ill-equipped to have a thoughtful, intelligent discussion with an atheist? Is it the fact that outside of giving a salvation testimony, most Evangelicals can’t defend the core doctrines of Christianity, including the existence of God? They wrongly think that quoting Bible verses will defeat any atheist, when, in fact, the Bible is a book of claims, and not evidence.
Let me note, in closing, several of Ungurean’s grown children are atheists. Why has she been unable to convince them to get “saved” or does she think they are still saved, based on childhood religious experiences? Her children, like the rest of us, own their own stories. She has no more right to tell their stories than she does those of atheists and other unbelievers. All that should matter is truth, and to Geri Ungurean, I say, stop psychoanalyzing atheists and engage them in debate; honest, open debate. If you can’t do that, you are just chucking rocks at atheists instead of defending the faith.
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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David Tee/Derrick Thomas Thiessen is the tall man in the back
I promised to ignore the Evangelical featured in this post, but sometimes he writes things so vile and so egregious that his words are impossible to ignore. Yes, I am talking about Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen.
Several days ago, Thiessen wrote a post titled, People Are Not Going to Like This. Like what, you ask? Blaming thirty teen boys for committing suicide after they were sexually blackmailed.
High school senior James Woods was obsessed with comics. He could quote every episode of “The Flash,” idolized the superhero Green Arrow, and often sported a Naruto-inspired headband he insisted helped him run faster in track meets. He looked forward all year to a trip his family and friends planned for the Dream Con comic book convention the following summer.
Three months into the school year, just before Thanksgiving, the 17-year-old died by suicide. His parents were shocked, grieving and baffled. James, who lived in Streetsboro, Ohio, had not struggled with mental health, they said.
When police looked through James’ phone, they discovered he had fallen victim to financial sextortion, a crime that occurs when a predator threatens to distribute private material or harm a victim if they don’t comply with the predator’s financial demands. The scam is the fastest-growing cybercrime targeting children in North America and most commonly exploits young men, particularly boys ages 13 to 17.
Sextortion has been connected to at least 30 deaths of teen boys by suicide since 2021, according to a tally of private cases and the latest FBI numbers from cybersecurity experts.
In more than a dozen interviews, male sextortion victims and the parents of teenage boys who died by suicide described how predators established a false sense of trust before blackmailing their victims. All of the parents USA TODAY spoke with said their teens died by suicide within 24 hours of being threatened − though the window was often shorter.
James’ predators falsely told him he would face jail time for sending nude photographs, that his parents would stop loving him, and that he would never be able to run track again or go to college. In the next 19 hours, they would send James more than 200 messages, a technique predators use to instill a sense of urgency and prevent giving the victim time to think or reach out for help.
“They eliminated his desire for a future,” says his mother, Tamia Woods. “I don’t think that James knew he was a victim.”
Most of us rightly grieve for the parents and families who lost a child due to sextortion. Seems to be a proper response, right? But not for David Theissen, a moral crusader who obsesses over what he deems sinful behavior in others while ignoring his own. As a young Bible college student, I was taught to practice what I preached. Evidently, Thiessen never had that lesson at the Christian Missionary & Alliance college he attended years ago.
Yes, the predators are guilty of committing a crime and some of them may even qualify legally to be charged with murder BUT there would be no crime if the boys had morals, obeyed the Bible, and had some courage.
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The predators cannot force anyone to take those nude shots or participate in sexually charged conversations. They can only set up the situation and hope that, like these boys, someone will take the bait and get themselves entwined in this criminal activity.
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That is part of the situation as well. Once the boys or any boys jumped at the opportunity to have a female friend like them, they made the fateful decision to make themselves vulnerable to criminals.
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It is the boys’ decision to disobey that instruction that helps get them in trouble. This is the key to this whole problem. The boys made their own independent decisions to act on the requests of fake females. They over-rode their parents and others’ instructions and gave into temptation.
Sadly, they came to a point where they saw no other way out but to kill themselves. The Bible verses these boys violated were ‘Children obey your parents’ ‘Resist temptation’, ‘Flee from evil’, Resist evil and it will flee from you’.
There are others and there were other options available to the boys, and even girls, caught in this problem. They could easily not decide to send those photos, take part in those conversations, or do anything that would compromise them on the internet.
The boys in that article contributed to their demise by making bad decisions after bad decisions until they made that fatal one that ended their lives. Life is all about decisions. If people were taught strong morals, right from wrong, etc., then we would see fewer suicides from sextortion and other internet crimes.
If they knew they could resist temptation and flee evil, then the same results would be achieved. To be honest, part of the blame lies at the boys’ feet because they let emotions, etc., over-rule common sense and what instructions their parents and others gave and went off to do immoral behavior.
The Bible verses these boys violated were ‘Children obey your parents’ ‘Resist temptation’, ‘Flee from evil’, Resist evil and it will flee from you’.
There are others and there were other options available to the boys, and even girls, caught in this problem. They could easily not decide to send those photos, take part in those conversations, or do anything that would compromise them on the internet.
The boys in that article contributed to their demise by making bad decisions after bad decisions until they made that fatal one that ended their lives. Life is all about decisions. If people were taught strong morals, right from wrong, etc., then we would see fewer suicides from sextortion and other internet crimes.
If they knew they could resist temptation and flee evil, then the same results would be achieved. To be honest, part of the blame lies at the boys’ feet because they let emotions, etc., over-rule common sense and what instructions their parents and others gave and went off to do immoral behavior.
People may hate the Bible but it is full of instructions that protect everyone from predators like the ones involved in the article. The key is to make the right decisions first, not afterward. Biblical instructions are signs that God does love everyone and has provided protection for them.
The people of this world just have to humble themselves and make the right decisions to obey God and the Bible if they do not want to be involved in these and other types of crimes. Of course, it takes courage to do so but God can give the courage to those who need it to overcome evil and resist temptation.
Speaking of one 15-year-old boy who killed himself, Thiessen said:
Sadly, he did it to himself by failing to follow Biblical and parental teachings.
Just follow the Bible, and all will be well? Really? The Black Collar Crime Series clearly shows that even preachers who “follow Biblical teachings” can and do commit crimes and other untoward behavior. Sexual misconduct is common among Evangelical preachers and church members alike. Thiessen, himself, has enough secrets in his life to suggest he doesn’t practice what he preaches. In fact, I would suggest that he writes stories such as this to cover up his past peccadilloes. What better way to make yourself look good than by either defending those accused of sexual misconduct or attacking those making allegations against so-called men of God?
Many readers of this blog faithfully attended Evangelical churches as teenagers. We know firsthand that the Bible is no match for sexual hormones; that God allegedly gave all of us sexual desire and made it its strongest during our teenage and young adult years. Teenagers are not adults, and that’s why they need to have mature, educated parents; parents who know that quoting Bible verses and taking their teens to church are not effective protections against sexual desire — especially in the digital age. Yes, parents need to be proactive, but that takes more than proof texts, sermons, and youth group meetings. Even if parents do everything possible to protect their children from sexual predators, predation still happens. When it does, children need love and support from their parents, not religious pronouncements. What children don’t need are parents and preachers who barrage them with words allegedly from God, complete with interpretations from preachers who, in many cases, broke God’s law themselves when they were teenagers.
What these boys’ families need most of all is love, kindness, and support, and not hateful judgments from a self-righteous Evangelical preacher who only sees the “sins” of others — never his own. Thiessen abandoned a child he fathered years ago, failing to pay court-ordered child support. Some believe he lives in the Philippines to avoid legal responsibility for paying support. Whether Thiessen has other children, I do not know. For those of us who have responsibly raised teenagers, we know the pressures teens face in life. Hopefully, we remember facing similar pressures when we were teens. And most of all, if our children are victims of extortion, we hope they will come to us for help. Unfortunately, Fundamentalist Christianity often keeps children from asking for help because they don’t want to be harshly punished for a sexually oriented text message or picture.
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.
Michael Brown, a Messianic Jew and Christian apologist, stands accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with his secretary years ago and having an allegedly non-sexual “emotional” relationship with another woman. For those of us who frequently swim in the putrid waters of Evangelical sexual misconduct, claiming immoral, and even criminal behavior is “emotional” in nature is a common ploy used by accused preachers to skirt sexual misconduct allegations. More often than not, when the truth is revealed, we find out their behavior was, in fact, physical. Not that “emotional” affairs are okay, by the way. They, most certainly, are not.
“Erin” was one of millions of believers whose faith in God was so transformed by the Brownsville Revival of the mid-1990s that she accepted a secretarial job at the revival’s ministry school in Pensacola, Florida. But in 2002, the 21-year-old suddenly cleared her desk, quietly left the state, and has struggled with her faith ever since.
Erin told The Roys Report (TRR) she left because she felt trapped when revival leader and FIRE School of Ministry founder Michael Brown—a man she called “Dad”—would frequently cross physical boundaries. He’d hold her hand, kiss her on the lips, and slap her bottom, she said.
“He was supposed to be a spiritual father,” Erin said. “He was supposed to look after me.”
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TRR keeps alleged victims of sexual harassment and clergy sexual abuse anonymous, so Erin is a pseudonym. However, we confirmed her identity with former FIRE staff Kris Bennett and former FIRE missionary Katherine Marialke.
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Last month, as TRR began reaching out to Brown for comment on this story, Brown told board members for The Line of Fire about Erin’s allegations, board member Cindy Panepinto told TRR.
Panepinto said Brown also revealed an emotional connection he had with a second woman more than 20 years ago,
“There was no physical aspect of that, but it was a soul tie,” Panepinto said of the second woman. “It was something he repented of to his wife and they both took care of it with their spouses.”
Two weeks ago, The Line of Fire Board hired the law firm Mitchell, Stein, Carey, and Chapman to conduct a third-party investigation. Lee Stein is a former U.S. attorney and former Arizona assistant attorney general.
Line of Fire board member Jonathan Bernis said the ministry will make the firm’s final report public when the investigation is complete.
In a written statement to TRR, Brown said he’s in agreement with the investigation because he’s “shocked and horrified” by the accusations, some of which he said are “false statements” and “mischaracterizations.” Brown denied ever committing adultery and said all interactions with Erin were “nonsexual” but lacked judgment.
“(A)spects of my interaction with her, although totally non-sexual in every way, reflected a lack of judgment on my part,” Brown wrote. “(I)f it’s true that for 23 years she has carried this pain and I am responsible for it, I am beyond mortified and would plead forgiveness and the opportunity to bring healing and restoration.”
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In 1999, at age 18, Erin attended the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry.
Then in 2000, John Kilpatrick, former pastor of Brownsville Assembly of God where the revival originated, clashed with Brown over the direction of the ministry and fired Brown from his position as president of the Brownsville school.
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In response, Brown started the FIRE School of Ministry. It would remain in Pensacola until 2003, when Brown relocated it to North Carolina.
Erin followed Brown to FIRE, which is about the time when she says Brownasked her to call him, “Dad.” Since her home life was difficult, she initially enjoyed his attention and the notes they’d write to each other.
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Erin said she hadn’t been at FIRE even a year before Brown initiated physical touching. Once, she said Brown made a big deal of the handholding to other people while together in a vehicle.
“He lifted it up in the truck . . . and he’s like, ‘You all know that I think of (Erin) as my daughter,’ and said, ‘That’s why we’re holding hands because she’s like a daughter to me,’” Erin said.
Then one day when they were alone in his office, she said he asked for a kiss on the lips. She didn’t want to do it, so she gave him a chaste peck. But she said kisses on the lips became a pattern of their goodbyes when they’d been alone.
“It was no longer (Brown) was asking for a kiss,” she said. “It was (Brown) leaning down to get a kiss. . . . I knew I couldn’t stop it or I felt I couldn’t stop it.”
Erin said Brown also began smacking her rear end with his hand, which made her uncomfortable.
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A disturbing incident happened when Erin was housesitting for the Browns while they were away, she told TRR. The Browns told her she could sleep in their bedroom in their newly-built house, since the other bedrooms weren’t finished.
Erin said she would often leave short encouraging notes in Brown’s Bible, desk drawers, or coat pocket, and sometimes he’d write a note for her in return. So, she opened the drawer of his nightstand to hide a note for him when his handwriting on a yellow legal pad caught her eye. But she said Brown’s words described an inappropriate situation Brown had with a married woman associated with the Brownsville school.
“The letter basically stated that they were having a talking relationship and how they would dream about having sexual relations with each other and what they wanted to do with each other, how she wanted to wrap her legs around him, how he played into it,” Erin said.
Previously, she said she assumed the interactions she’d had with Brown, which sometimes felt off, were what a healthy father-daughter relationship should be. But reading that note made her see the interactions in a new light.
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Last November as Brown was involved in talks about a third-party investigation of International House of Prayer founder Mike Bickle, Londa Parker texted Brown. She wrote that Brown also should have been subjected to a third-party investigation for the “inappropriate” interactions with Erin.
Brown disagreed, texting back, “(T)he reason for a third-party investigation is because of charges of adultery or criminal behavior, obviously none of which apply to me, thank God.”
Parker wrote back, “I think my point is that isn’t Mike Bickle denying the accusations? The need for an investigation is to find out the truth.”
Brown told Parker the difference is that Erin had told a FIRE leader at the time that nothing sexual happened between them. Brown added: “And of course, I will keep our interaction private, as I know you will.” However, Parker instead shared the texts with TRR.
A couple months ago, Gladstone heard about the butt-smacking and kissing allegations and confronted Brown for the second time.
“I addressed him for never telling us, the four main leaders,” Gladstone told TRR. “He apologized for that, and then he assured me that all was well. He said that he took care of it, whatever it was that was going wrong in him.”
But Gladstone said he’s not satisfied with Brown’s response.
“I would never treat my daughter that way,” Gladstone said. “So, I say that as a dad. I say that as a reader of Scripture and as a leader that would require for me a long way away from ministry and complete transparency and a long road of healing.”
Keep in mind, Brown is known for his preaching against sexual sin. Yet, we still have another preacher allegedly not practicing what he preaches. Shocker, right?
Brown is an apostolic elder [a made-up title] at Mercy Culture Church in Forth Worth, Texas. Recently, Mercy Church held a conference where its pastor Landon Schott claimed the allegations against Brown were “gossip and slander.” Schott added:
The accuser of the brethren is going after men of God that have given their lives to build the kingdom.
In other words, Satan is going after men like Brown, who have given their lives to build God’s Kingdom.
Schott is evoking comedian Flip Wilson with the notion that the moral failures of Evangelical clerics are due to Satan, and not personal moral failings.
In a court of law, Brown is innocent until proven guilty, but since he has already admitted to inappropriate behavior, it seems to me that cheers and applause are not warranted. Alas, Brown is a celebrity preacher, and we know when it comes to Evangelical celebrities, they are rarely held to the same standard as the rest of us. Brown will likely hibernate for a while, waiting until Evangelicals find other disgraced preachers to cheer for. Evangelicals are quite forgiving when their idols “sin,” and that’s why men such as Brown will always find a church or ministry to call home.
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.
Jesus summed up God’s laws by commanding Christians to love God and love their neighbor. Jesus had much to say about how to treat others, especially the poor — whom the Bible calls “the least of these.” Allegedly, Republicans are God’s Only Party, and President Donald Trump is Christian in Chief. Evangelical Christians hold numerous cabinet-level positions, and others hold lesser positions in the Trump Administration. Yet, a cursory review of President Trump’s first month in office reveals a Republican administration disconnected from the teachings of Christ in the gospels.
Sadly, many Evangelicals think they will one day be judged based on having the right beliefs; that what’s important to God is certain doctrines and social beliefs. However, the gospels reveal that God will judge everyone based on how they live, not what they believe. Matthew 25 makes clear that God will judge people, not on their beliefs, but on how they treated poor, marginalized people.
While I am no longer a Christian, I was a follower of Jesus for fifty years. I pastored Evangelical churches in three states for twenty-five years. If there’s one thing I learned, it is that how we treat other people matters to God; and, more importantly, how we love, care, and minister to the least of these reveals what matters to us.
With these things in mind, what do we make of the Trump administration’s treatment of undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, non-Christians, people of color, transgender people, pregnant women, government employees, and poor people? Just today, Jesus-loving Republicans voted to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, with cuts to Social Security and Medicaid to follow. Millions of Americans will lose medical insurance, child care, and food stamps. It is impossible to square these draconian, immoral cuts with the teachings of Jesus. Local Evangelicals send weekly letters to the editor preaching right doctrine and political affiliation. I have yet to read one letter in the Crescent News from Evangelicals preaching the importance of helping the least of these. I am grateful that a handful of local churches take seriously the teachings of Christ, providing food, utilities, rent, car repairs, and clothing to the poor. However, most churches are more concerned about political and theological fidelity than they are about a beaten, half-dead man along a dirt road. What we need are more Good Samaritans — Christian or not, Republican or Democrat — who love their neighbors as themselves.
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.
This is the latest installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series, which I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent toward religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.
Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Miracle Man by Ozzy Osborne.
I’m looking for a miracle man That tells me no lies I’m looking for a miracle man Who’s not in disguise
I don’t know where he’ll come from And I don’t know where he’s been But it’s not our Jimmy Sinner Because he’s so obscene
Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted
Today I saw a miracle man On T.V. cryin’ Such a hypocritical man Born again dyin’
He don’t know where he’s goin’ But we know just where he’s been It was our little Jimmy Sinner I saw on the screen
Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted
Miracle Man Miracle Man
A devil with a crucifix Brimstone and fire He needs another carnal fix To take him higher and higher
Now Jimmy he got busted With his pants down Repent ye wretched sinner Self-righteous clown
Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted Miracle Man got busted…
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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In the late 1990s, I started having problems with joint/muscle pain and fatigue. At first, I ignored my symptoms, thinking I was just overworked and tired. After months of pain and tiredness, I decided to see a doctor. The doctor I saw then is still my primary care physician today. It took a year or so to determine I had fibromyalgia. Over the years, I went through a lot of tests and treatments, along with taking more medications than I can count.
I took a variety of pain management drugs, both narcotics and non-narcotics. In 2004, I started taking narcotics such as Tramadol, Darvocet (which was later banned because it caused heart problems), and Hydrocodone. For years, I took both Tramadol and Hydrocodone — upwards to 80 Morphine equivalents a day. I also took a Benzodiazepine, Restoril, for muscle spasms and sleep. And then came the unholy war on opiates — a war my primary care doctor doesn’t support, but is forced to accede if he wants to keep his job and license.
First to go was Restoril. Why? According to so-called experts, taking benzodiazepines and opiates together could cause respiratory problems (typically only in drug abusers or patients lacking tolerance build-up), so I had to stop taking Restoril. From there I tried numerous sleep medications, without success. I finally started using Cyclobenzaprine at night — 20 milligrams. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tough shit, so sorry, you are out of luck if it doesn’t.
Next to go was Tramadol. “Can’t take two narcotics,” the doctor sadly opined. After weeks of withdrawal hell, I stopped taking Tramadol. I was still taking 50 morphine equivalents of Hydrocodone a day. And then came the edict that my Hydrocodone dosage had to be cut. Last doctor’s visit it was cut to 40 and sometime later this year it will be cut to 30. I have no choice in the matter, and neither does my doctor. Keep in mind, my pain has only gotten worse during this time. Over the past fifteen years, I was diagnosed with degenerative spine disease, gastroparesis, and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. I had numerous procedures, including experimental ones, and two major surgeries. While the surgeries helped address specific pains, my core pain problem remains. This is my cross to bear. Drugs help, but they are not a fix. Cannabis helps (which my doctor doesn’t know I take, because I know he is required to stop my narcotic pain medicine if he finds out I’m using cannabis), but its effects are short-term. Why many doctors refuse to prescribe cannabis is beyond reason. Worse, insurance companies refuse to cover cannabis, so chronic pain sufferers are forced to pay out of pocket for it. In Ohio, cannabis is prohibitively expensive, so I drive to Michigan — thirty minutes away — to get my “fix.”
Over the years, my doctor has referred me to four different pain clinics, without success. None of the clinics was narcotic- or cannabis-friendly; all were run by anesthesiologists who were more interested in performing procedures and giving steroid injections than they were in treating long-term, chronic pain. I found the pain clinics to largely be a waste of time. One doctor, who never looked me in the eyes, said there was nothing he could do for me. Another treated me like I was a drug-seeking addict, even though I have NEVER, not ONE time, abused my prescriptions.
The FDA has admitted that they erred in their directives on opioid use; that people with chronic pain were being unnecessarily harmed, often leading to suicide. Despite new directives, many doctors and pain clinics continue to be narcotics-adverse. I see no hope of it being better any time soon. I’ve concluded that limiting legal liability is more important to doctors — most of whom now work for large corporations — than treating people with chronic pain. I expect there to be an increase in illegal drug use and suicide by chronic pain sufferers. When pain has you screaming and banging your head on the wall, you will do almost anything to make it stop, and that includes killing yourself. Chronic pain sufferers don’t want to die, they just want the pain to stop. And if the pain can’t be stopped, we, at least, want everything possible done to make our suffering tolerable. And let me be clear, when chronic pain sufferers kill themselves, the blame almost always lies at the feet of callous, indifferent medical corporations and doctors.
I don’t need advice or treatment/drug suggestions. I’ve been going at this for twenty-five years. I know my stuff inside and out. I intimately know every inch of my body; what’s causing my pain, and how to lessen it. Well-meaning, but uninformed advice, while humored, is not helpful. From prescription drugs to supplements to alternative medicine treatments, it is likely I have tried them. This post is more about making readers aware of what I personally face and what chronic pain sufferers deal with, in general. If you are a chronic pain sufferer, you know what I am talking about. Twenty years ago, a primary care physician could prescribe narcotic pain medications without question. Today, they have not only their corporate overlords breathing down their necks, they have the FDA threatening to monitor their narcotic prescriptions. Pharmacies face similar scrutiny. Both federal and state regulations make it almost impossible to abuse narcotics via doctors’ prescriptions. Gone are the days of doctor shopping or filling prescriptions early. Narcotic users are now entered into a database accessible by doctors, pharmacies, and law enforcement. This makes it impossible to game the system, as was common years ago. I understand the need for some regulation, but these days the regulations are punitive, leading to needless pain and suffering. Chronic pain sufferers are literally being regulated to death.
Are you a chronic pain sufferer? Please share your experiences 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.
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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.
Dale Burbank, a worker at the Evangelical group home, Mustard Seed Ranch in Cookeville, Tennessee, stands accused of raping a child under his care.
A 65-year-old man who works at Mustard Seed Ranch (MSR) in Putnam County was arrested on the property Friday for allegedly raping a child who was in short-term care there, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), on Feb. 20, the Department of Children’s Services notified the PCSO about a potential situation involving a child at MSR. The following day, investigators did a forensic interview, which gave them probable cause for a search warrant.
Around 8 p.m. the same day, PCSO investigators executed that search warrant at MSR on Kuykendall Road. There, they arrested 65-year-old Dale Burbank and charged him with statutory rape by an authority figure. Burbank used to live in Michigan, PCSO said. His bond is set at $70,000, and he has a court date on March 31, 2025.
In a statement released Saturday, Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris called the arrest a “bad, hopefully isolated incident that took place while a child was in a short-term care at this facility.”
“The Mustard Seed Ranch has been operating in our community since 2006,” Sheriff Farris said. “It is a highly respected Christian based Residential Licensed Child Care Agency, and it has helped many children in our community over the years.”
According to its website, MSR “is a community-supported, interdenominational Christian ministry designed to take children out of unsafe environments and into loving, nurturing homes.” They have three existing homes that are near capacity, the website said.
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.
Jackie Shroyer, an Evangelical missionary affiliated with the Vineyard Church, stands accused of being a co-author of her husband Beau’s murder. The Shroyers were members of Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
Former Detroit Lakes resident Jackie Shroyer has been formally charged as a “co-author” of the Oct. 25, 2024, murder of her husband, former Detroit Lakes police officer and missionary Beau Shroyer, which occurred while he and his family were serving as missionaries in the African nation of Angola.
According to a statement from Lakes Area Vineyard Church Lead Pastor Troy M. Easton, “I made the commitment that I would update you on any news regarding the investigation around Beau Shroyer’s death,” he posted on the church’s website Monday.
“It saddens me immensely to have to share with you that we were notified that Jackie has been formally charged as a co-author in the murder of her husband. As a result of formal charges, it is our understanding that she will remain in custody and be tried before a judge,” Easton wrote.
Several young Angolan men, all with criminal records of armed robbery and kidnapping, have also been accused in the case, according to the Angolan federal Criminal Investigation Service.
The court date for Jackie Shroyer has not yet been set, but will likely occur within the next six months, Easton added. “Beau and Jackie’s children will continue to be cared for by close family with support from both SIM and Lakes Area Vineyard Church,” he said.
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In a story released Nov. 7, 2024, by the Angolan Press Agency, the CIS alleges that Beau Shroyer’s wife, Jackie Shroyer, 44, was the “mastermind” behind the murder, which allegedly occurred after Beau Shroyer was lured to a remote area by the suspects, who feigned engine failure, then murdered him while his wife was away from the scene.
The story implies that Jackie was only pretending to be distraught when police arrived at the scene, and that she failed to appear in Lubango “for ‘alleged’ health reasons” when the other suspects were presented.
The motive for the stabbing, according to the spokesperson for the national SIC, Superintendent of Criminal Investigation Manuel Halaiwa, was “strong suspicions of a romantic relationship” with the security guard who has been charged, and “a presumed intention of the wife not wanting to leave Angola when her husband’s mission had ended.”
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Jackie Shroyer supposedly had $50,000 to pay for the murder; Halaiwa said the evidence includes the vehicle used to commit the crime, the murder weapon (a knife from the United States that Beau Shroyer had allegedly offered to the security guard) and 4.5 million kwanzas (about $5,000) that were seized.
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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Where art thou, Democrats? Instead of sitting on the sidelines whimpering and whining about lost elections, how about standing up to Trump and fighting back?
Trump is no genius. His plan is simple: give tax cuts to the wealthy, punish those who oppose him, and wholesale cut spending to cripple the Federal government and give the appearance of finding money to pay for tax cuts.
Marco Rubio is the only Trump cabinet member fit to hold office. The rest of them have no business being around the levers of power.
Trump is not wrong about excessive government spending. He is, however, dead wrong about how to cut spending. A congress-mandated Department of Government Efficiency is a good idea; an autocratic DOGE operated by multibillionaire Elon Musk and his cronies is not.
All spending reductions must start with defense and security spending. Instead, Trump cuts insignificant spending while ignoring large ticket items such as defense and homeland security. It’s like cutting out Netflix to pay for your mortgage. It doesn’t work.
Trump is not wrong about our borders. He is, however, wrong about how to address the issue. Using ICE, the Border Patrol, and state/local law enforcement to terrorize undocumented immigrants is not the answer. We need immigrants for jobs Americans cannot or will not work.
ICE raided several restaurants not far from my home, deporting numerous gainfully employed Mexicans. I can’t wait to eat Mexican food made by Gringos. No more authentic Mexican food — Taco Bell for everyone.
Memo to Trump and his MAGA supporters: Ukraine did not start their war with Russia, Vladimir Putin did.
I hope the United States’ allies are paying attention. You can no longer count on America to stand with you when your adversaries threaten or attack you. Taiwan, for example, should not expect us to protect them if China invades them. All Trump cares about is making deals; deals that personally benefit him and his fellow oligarchs.
A democracy such as ours requires all citizens to agree to play according to the same rules. Once Trump ignores the law and lawful court orders and does what he wants without penalty, our democracy is gone.
Bonus: Elon Musk is the proverbial fox in the chicken house; the door of the coop swung wide open by Trump and his fellow Republicans. We shouldn’t be surprised by the bloodshed and slaughter that takes place as a result.
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.
