Several readers have asked me to explain the belief that the King James version of the Bible alone is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God for English-speaking people. With this post, I hope to shed some light on what is commonly called King James-Onlyism; the belief that the only true Bible for English-speaking people is the King James version. While this system of belief is absurd and irrational, millions of Americans believe that the King James Bible is the one true Word of God. These same people, by the way, tend to be anti-evolution, young earth creationists. I grew up in King James-only churches, attended a King James-only Bible college, and believed, for many years, that the King James Bible was the perfect Word of God.
Engage in discussion with adherents of King James-Onlyism and you will hear all sorts of theological-sounding verbiage. Some preachers will tell you that the Bible that they use is the 1611 King James version, when in fact the version they actually use is most likely the 1769 revision. There are numerous differences between the 1611 and 1769 editions. These alone destroy the notion that the King James Bible is inerrant. All that it takes to defeat King James-Onlyism is one error, mistake, or contradiction. Inerrancy demands perfection, and that perfection does not exist. Bruce, what about the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts? These original manuscripts don’t exist either, so there is no such thing as “inerrant in the originals.” That’s a faith claim, one that has zero evidence to back it up. Despite this fact, promoters of King James-Onlyism say that there is a pure line of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts from which the King James Bible was translated. You might hear preachers say that the underlying Greek text for the New Testament is the Textus Receptus (Received Text) or the Majority Text. All sorts of arguments are made for one manuscript family being inerrant and all others being errant, false, and Satanic. Again, remember that it only takes one error, mistake, or contradiction for the doctrine of inerrancy to collapse. This is why I promote Bart Ehrman’s books as I do. I know if Evangelicals will honestly and openly read his books, they will be disabused of the notion that the Bible is inerrant, be it at the manuscript or translation level.
Imagine translating a book from French to English and, when doing the translating work, you only use some extant French manuscripts for determining the meaning of certain words or terms. Wouldn’t a competent translator want to use all the manuscripts and texts at his disposal? Why would he ever want to limit his translating work to only a few manuscripts? So it is with the King James Bible. Translators ignored numerous manuscripts, choosing instead to use previous English and Latin translations and certain Greek New Testaments as the foundation of their translation work. According to Wikipedia:
The translators appear to have otherwise made no first-hand study of ancient manuscript sources, even those that – like the Codex Bezae – would have been readily available to them. In addition to all previous English versions (including, and contrary to their instructions, the Rheimish New Testament which in their preface they criticized); they made wide and eclectic use of all printed editions in the original languages then available, including the ancient Syriac New Testament printed with an interlinear Latin gloss in the Antwerp Polyglot of 1573. In the preface the translators acknowledge consulting translations and commentaries in Chaldee, Hebrew, Syrian, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, and German.
The translators took the Bishop’s Bible as their source text, and where they departed from that in favour of another translation, this was most commonly the Geneva Bible. However, the degree to which readings from the Bishop’s Bible survived into final text of the King James Bible varies greatly from company to company, as did the propensity of the King James translators to coin phrases of their own. John Bois’s [sic] notes of the General Committee of Review show that they discussed readings derived from a wide variety of versions and patristic sources; including explicitly both Henry Savile’s 1610 edition of the works of John Chrysostom and the Rheims New Testament, which was the primary source for many of the literal alternative readings provided for the marginal notes.
King James-Onlyism is, at best, magic and trickery. For example, one argument that King James-only believers make is that because the King James Bible has more words than other translations, this means modern translators are guilty of “taking away from the word of God.” After all, the Bible says in Revelation 22:18,19:
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Countless other similar arguments are made to defend the inerrancy of the King James Bible. Some Evangelicals take King James-Onlyism one step further when they say the italicized helper words added to the King James Bible by translators are inspired and inerrant too. People who believe this are often followers of the late Peter Ruckman. Ruckmanites, as they are often called, believe that the italicized words are some sort of advanced revelation from God; God moved the King James Bible translators to put the exact helper words he wanted in the text. Amazing, right?
King James-Onlyism is widespread among Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christians. It is not uncommon to read church doctrinal statements that state unambiguously that the King James Bible is the only Bible translation allowed in the pulpit and the various church ministries. All other translations are considered errant and, in many cases, Satanic.
Readers may note that I use the King James version when quoting the Bible. I do this for several reasons. First, I love the poetic flow of the King James Bible. Second, my head is filled with memorized verses from the King James Bible. I spent much of my Christian life immersed in the pages of the King James Bible. Third, I use the King James Bible in my writing because many visitors to this blog come from King James-only sects, churches, and colleges. You know, when in Rome …
Were you raised in a King James-Only church? 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
ObstacleChick asked, “What did you learn about the Bible as a college student?” Specifically, ObstacleChick wants to know what I was taught about the origin of the Bible, the existence of “other” texts, and why the Apocrypha was excluded from the Protestant Bible. ObstacleChick also asked what I taught congregants about these things.
Most Evangelicals believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. The college I attended, Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan, believed the Bible was a divinely written, supernatural, one-of-a-kind book; a text by which all things were to be measured. My professors took one of two approaches to how the Bible came to be:
God dictated the exact words of the Bible to its authors.
God used fallible humans, with their cultures and experiences, to write the Bible, and supernaturally, through the Holy Spirit, made sure that what they wrote was exactly what he intended for them to write. (2 Peter 1:21)
Of course, appeals were made to the Bible itself to “prove” that the Bible was indeed what my professors claimed it was. In other words, the Bible was a supernatural book because it said it was; the Bible was inerrant because it said it was. There were no errors, mistakes, or contradictions in the Bible because its author, God, is incapable of making mistakes. This, of course, is classic circular reasoning.
These presuppositions were laws students were expected to obey without question. Questioning the nature of the Bible brought swift, certain expulsion. Midwestern was also King James-only, and only used certain Greek texts in its Greek classes. The premise upon which every class was taught was the belief that the Bible was inspired, inerrant, and infallible.
I can’t remember a time when one of my professors talked about non-canonical texts or variants. Many of my classes were little more than glorified Sunday school classes, a common problem found in Evangelical colleges to this day. The goal was to teach ministers-in-training how to properly preach and teach the Bible. The Bible, then, was viewed as a book of divine knowledge, an instruction manual for life.
The IFB church movement is inherently and proudly anti-Catholic. To many IFB preachers, the Catholic church is the great whore of Babylon described in Revelation 17; a false religion that will one day be used by the Antichrist to control the masses. Thus, the Apocrypha was rejected because of its inclusion in the Catholic Bible. It was not until much later that I learned the 1611 version of the King James Bible included the Apocrypha, and that many of the men who put together what is now the Bible were Catholics. Facts that didn’t fit the approved narrative were ignored or banned.
Most of the students at Midwestern came from Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches which had similar beliefs as those of the college. Thus, college classes reinforced beliefs students brought with them from home. The New International Version (NIV) came out in 1978, and students were not allowed to have a copy of it in their possession. Midwestern was a King James school — no corrupt, Satanic Bibles allowed. I remember having a discussion with the Greek professor’s son who was home on break from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He had a brand spanking new copy of the NIV. I remember thinking of how “liberal” he was, and that if word got out about his use of the NIV it could cost his father his job. By the next academic year, the Greek professor was gone. Rumor had it he was dismissed because he refused to toe the party line on the King James Bible. (Keep in mind the Greek professor was Fundamentalist in every other way — and still is today — but his refusal to use only the King James Version of the Bible branded him as a heretic.)
I carried the aforementioned beliefs from Midwestern into the ministry, and I wouldn’t question them for many years. I expected congregants to embrace without question the belief that the Bible was a God-inspired, inerrant, infallible text. At the churches I pastored, we were people of the BOOK! Questions and doubts were viewed as tools used by Satan to lead Christians astray and to render churches powerless. Alleged contradictions were “explained” and those that couldn’t be were relegated to the land of Trust God. He never makes mistakes.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that I came to see that what I had been taught about the history and nature of the Bible was a lie; that all translations had errors, mistakes, and contradictions; that there were no such things as inerrant manuscripts. My exposure to higher textual criticism forced me to conclude that the Bible was very much a man-made book; a fallible book used by God to convey truth. I believed then that God could use human means to convey his truth, even if the Bible itself was fallible.
As far as the churches I pastored were concerned, I never said anything from the pulpit that would cause people to doubt that the Bible was the Word of God. Toward the end of my time in the ministry, I would mention variants in the Greek texts and why some Biblical texts might not say what we Christians have traditionally thought they said. No one seemed to have a problem with these admissions. As is often the case in Evangelical churches, congregants trusted me. They believed that whatever I told them from the pulpit was the Truth. Of course, the truth I was preaching was shaped and molded by my presuppositions about the Bible. Telling congregants the REAL truth would have resulted in conflict and loss of faith. Can’t have that! Remember, most people attend church so they can feel affirmed and have their felt needs met. No one wants a pastor who casts doubt on the Bible and its teachings. Congregants want cheerleaders, not truth-tellers.
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.
Evangelicals, regardless of their peculiar theological beliefs, all believe that the Christian God is the one true God, and that he, as the creator of all things, is the giver of life, and is sovereign and in control of all things. While some theologically ignorant Evangelicals will argue that humans have libertarian free will and are thus totally responsible for their actions, a careful reading of the Bible makes it clear that God rules and reigns over all, and there is nothing that happens apart from his will. Calvinists and Arminians love to argue about free will and whether once a person is saved he can ever fall from grace, but both agree that God determines who is saved and what happens in their lives. It is God, through the merit and work of Jesus Christ, who saves sinners from their sins. No one can save themselves. Evangelicals deny that there is anything such as luck or circumstance. Things happen because God wants them to happen, and no amount of work or objection can change God’s plan. From the election of political leaders to the very air we breathe, God is in control.
In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus commands his followers to pray in this manner:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Christians are to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus illustrated this command in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed:
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39)
O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42)
Those of us raised in Evangelical churches have heard people say countless times, not my will, Lord, but yours be done. Such utterances are statements of faith rooted in the belief that God has a perfect plan for everyone’s life, and Christians are duty-bound to fully and passively submit to this plan. God’s machinations are never to be questioned or doubted. The apostle Paul in Romans 9 told those who would dare to question God choosing to only save certain people (the elect):
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Simply put, Paul is saying the critics of God’s purpose and plan should shut the fuck up; that God is the creator of all things and he has the absolute right to do whatever he wants.
Throughout the New Testament, Paul reminds Christians of the importance of dying to self; of crucifying the flesh; of giving oneself totally, completely, and without reservation to God. Christians are commanded to give themselves as living sacrifices to God. In the Old Testament, God’s people are reminded that Jehovah’s thoughts are not their thoughts and his ways are not their ways. In other words, Christians might think that a certain action is right, when in fact it is not; that God has a higher purpose, plan, and agenda that cannot be understood by mere humans. Instead of trying to understand why this or that is happening in their lives, followers of Jesus are commanded to blindly believe that their God is working out everything in their lives according to his purpose and plan. No matter what happens, believers are told, God only wants what’s best for you. A church not far from my home has emblazoned on its building the words, God is good all the time. For these believers, God’s actions must never be questioned. Romans 8:28 says: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
How do Evangelicals know what the will of God is? Generally, the sources for determining God’s will are thus:
The Bible
The leadership of the Holy Spirit who lives inside every believer
The counsel of mature followers of Jesus
The alignment of circumstances that are such that there is no doubt that God is behind what is happening
I was a part of the Evangelical church for fifty years and an Evangelical pastor for twenty-five of those years. I know a good bit about submitting oneself to the will of God, and I watched countless Evangelicals suss out God’s will for their lives. I found that in almost every circumstance, God’s will coincided with what people wanted to do. Christians love to gussy up their decisions with spiritual-sounding statements such as yielding to Christ, following in his footsteps, etc., but no matter how the picture is painted, one fact remains: God’s will and human desire are the same. As a pastor, I made numerous decisions that I believed resulted from God’s leadership. I stood before church congregations and told them that I believed this or that — buying property, starting a new program, stopping an old program, buying a copier, purchasing a bus, starting a private school, to name a few — was the will of God. How did I know that these things were the will of God? Because it seemed the right thing to do at the time, or it was something that I wanted to do.
I wish Evangelicals would be honest about their decision-making process. It’s evident to anyone who is paying attention that Evangelicals make decisions just like the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world do. Whatever the factors might be that affect and influence our decisions, the fact remains that we do what we want to do. Think of this post as a sermon. Thousands of Evangelical pastors will stand behind pulpits on Sunday and preach what they believe God has laid upon their hearts. Some of them might even tell parishioners that they wanted to preach a different sermon, but God commanded them to preach this sermon. These preachers will lead congregants to believe that their sermons come straight from God, and they are preaching their sermons because God’s will demands it. Thus, any objections to what these preachers are saying are viewed as challenges to God’s will. Most of us have had social media experiences with Bible thumpers who dump a bunch of Bible verses on our wall. When we object to their proof-texting, they respond, Your problem is with God, not me. God said it, I didn’t. As an atheist, I delivered this sermon (post) because I wanted to and I thought it might be helpful to people with questions and doubts about Evangelical Christianity. When Evangelical preachers deliver their sermons, the small print says: I, God, approve of this message. When Bruce the atheist preacher delivers his sermon, there is no small print. The words I write and speak are mine, and mine alone. While certainly my writing is influenced by my past and present experiences, I claim no higher authority than self. I write, say, and do what I want. And so it is with Evangelical Christians, whether or not they are willing to admit it. The reason I know this to be true is that the Christian God is a mythical being, and so talk of God’s will or God leading is — how do the British put it? — poppycock. The only voice whispering in the ears of Evangelicals is their own. No God, no Holy Spirit, no Satan.
I’m sure more than a few Evangelical readers will be outraged over what I’ve written here. For those upset over this post, I ask you: How do you know that it is God leading or speaking to you? What evidence do you have for your claim that you are following the will of God? What evidence do you have for the voice in your head being anything other than your own wants, needs, and desires? And if everything happens according to God’s purpose and plan, does that include me writing this post? If God really is the sovereign of the universe, does he control what I say and do?
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.
Dr. David Tee, an Evangelical preacher and world-renowned Bible archeologist, hasn’t written much about me in recent weeks. Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, hasn’t said much about his other nemesis, Meerkat Musings (Ben Berwick) either. Ben and I are pleased when Thiessen moves on to other people to use as “object lessons” for his teachings; which are, in fact, neither. As you will see in a moment, something flew up Tee’s nether regions, causing him all kinds of irritation and aggravation. After you read his words below, ask yourself, “Why”? Why did Thiessen bother to write this post? What did he hope to accomplish? Certainly not interaction or discussion. Certainly not a good faith attempt to reconcile differences of opinion. No, in less than five hundred words, Thiessen goes out of his way to harm and slander. Why? I, for the life of me, can’t figure out Thiessen’s motivations.
What follows is my response to Thiessen’s diatribe. I rarely respond to Thiessen unless he first mentions me on his blog. All spelling, grammar, punctuation, and irrationality in the original. Thiessen hates it when I point this out, but since he has repeatedly accused me of altering his words (even those written on other blogs), I present his writing unedited. He might want to think about hiring an editor. Or, at the very least, find himself a Carolyn who is willing to turn shit into gold.
Why we do not write much about BG & MM anymore.
BG is Bruce Gerencser (that’s me!) and MM is Meerkat Musings, a blog operated by my British friend, Ben Berwick. Thiessen knows he should properly mention our names and link to our content when he uses it in his writing, but, for some unknown reason, he refuses to do so. I’ve been blogging for seventeen years. I have only had a few other people do the same. Thiessen and these writers have one thing in common: they are all hardcore Fundamentalist Christians; people who generally have reputations for bullying, harassing, and demeaning other people. No matter how often I point out their behavior is inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible, they continue to give Christianity a bad name.
You may have noticed that we rarely go to their sites for examples to use. The simple explanation is that God doesn’t want us to do it and one reason for that direction is that they never say anything new.
I assume Thiessen means that over the past few weeks, he has rarely visited “our sites for examples to use.” Previously, Thiessen has written numerous posts about me and my favorite Meerkat.
Thiessen claims that the Protestant Christian God personally communicates with him and instructed him not to use content from Meerkat Musings and The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser. However, Thiessen does not provide any evidence for this assertion, expecting readers to simply take his word for it. According to Thiessen, God communicated to him that he should stop using Bruce’s and Ben’s content on his site and move on because they “never say anything new.”
This is a subjective claim based on personal beliefs and experiences. Readers have various reactions to my writing. I cannot control how people respond to me. All I can do is write thoughtful content that might help others. I strive to write in a way that others find valuable. Email, blog comments, and social media messages suggest that some people really appreciate my writing, while others strongly dislike it.
Thiessen knows that the Bible says “There is nothing new under the sun,” so it is unlikely that I am going to break new ground on this site. Of course, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. I started this blog for one reason: to have a place to tell my story. This is a personal blog, a place where I can flesh out the fifty years I spent in Evangelicalism and the twenty-five years I spent pastoring Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, Jesus-loving churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan.
In December, this blog will celebrate ten years of blogging glory. By then, I will have written over 6,000 posts — many of which have been edited by my dear friend Carolyn (she doesn’t edit short posts or the Black Collar Crime series). She has edited thousands of posts, making me a better writer in every way — even if she is unable to exorcise some of my stubborn grammar errors and spelling mistakes. If anyone knows my motivations, it is Carolyn. I am confident if she thought I was straying from my purpose and goal, she would say something. If all I ever wrote were Black Collar Crime stories, I doubt she would be interested in being my editor. However, I hope she sees something of value in my writing, and wants to help me make it better, thus reaching a wider audience.
Roughly 20 percent of the posts on this site are Black Collar Crime stories. The rest are primarily personal retellings of past experiences or critiques of Evangelical beliefs and practices. My chosen path for this blog naturally limits how much new, original content I post to this site. Christianity is a closed system of thought; a text-based religion. Theologians, apologists, and pastors rarely, if ever, have new thoughts about Christianity or this or that Bible teaching. Christians have spent the past two thousand years “defending” the faith, so I highly doubt that groundbreaking research is coming any time soon. Thiessen’s blog is typically a regurgitation of Evangelical dogma or posts pointing out that he is right and the other person is wrong. And according to Thiessen, Ben and I are ALWAYS wrong. No matter what we write, we are w-r-o-n-g. Why are we wrong? Cuz, what we write opposes or is contrary to his personal religious/political/social beliefs. I can’t remember the last time Thiessen engaged me on a particular subject; a good faith discussion where there is an honest, open exchange of thoughts, opinions, and ideas. No, all he does is tell me I am wrong, he is right, and that’s the end of the matter. Of course, it is hard to have a thoughtful discussion with someone who thinks you are a child of Satan and headed for Hell.
It is all the same material. BG whines about being told he is wrong, then he points accusing fingers at those he disagrees with./
Thiessen repeatedly makes this claim, yet does not justify saying that all I do is “whine” and “point fingers” at people I have disagreements with. Perhaps he can write a full-throated defense of his claim. If not, I will assume he is just making shit up. I have done all I know to do to engage Thiessen in a way that leads to profitable interaction and discussion for both of us. I have several times offered him opportunities to write guest posts or rebuttals to something I have written. He’s written one post, ignoring all other offers for discussion and dialog. I also offered to debate him — any time, anywhere, any subject. This offer he has also rejected. I suspect he thinks it beneath him to be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (I Peter 3:15) Maybe I am an apostate and a reprobate — one beyond the grace the God — but thousands of other people who read this blog are not. Surely, they are a golden opportunity to put in a good word for Jesus; to warn people of the dangers of listening to the Evangelical-pastor-turned-atheist Bruce Gerencser.
Thiessen, as Christian Fundamentalists are wont to do, thinks he is right. His words excrete certainty. Of course, when you believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible (two claims I would love to debate with Thiessen) and God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, lives inside of you as your teacher, guide, and conscience, how could it be otherwise? One thing I have learned post-Jesus is that I don’t know as much as I think I do;, not only do I know what I know, but more importantly, I know what I don’t know. I know my limitations and weaknesses. I know where my expertise lies, and when it is best for me to keep my mouth shut. Years ago, I got into a lengthy email discussion with a mainline Baptist preacher on psychology. This man, much older than I, was well-educated in psychology and psychiatry. Several emails in, it became clear to me that I was out of my depth. However, instead of admitting this, I doubled down and went into preacher mode. His next email to me was direct: “Bruce, you are full of shit and don’t know what you are talking about.” He was, of course, right.
If you challenge him he starts doing nasty things to people.
What, exactly, are those “nasty things” I do to people? Outside of a few pranks, I haven’t done anything “nasty” to Thiessen, or anyone else, for that matter. Again, Thiessen makes a claim for which he provides no evidence.
Besides, we have had a belly full of his repeated claim of 4000 sermons, pastor for 25 years, song and dance.
I have repeatedly told Thiessen that I treat every post I write as a stand-alone article. I never assume that a reader knows anything about me. This is a courtesy provided to new readers. I wonder, however, if Thiessen is challenging the veracity and truthfulness of these claims? Did I pastor churches for twenty-five years? Did I really preach 4,000 sermons? Why would I lie about these things? Even at three sermons a week (Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday) for twenty-five years, I would have preached over 3,900 sermons. For many years, I preached more than three sermons a week, along with holding revivals and conferences. Throw in teaching Sunday school and preaching on the street 2-3 times a week, 4,000 sermons is a conservative estimate.
If my writing causes Thiessen stomach problems, I suggest he make an appointment with a gastroenterologist and get his digestive tract checked out. Either that or avoid foods that cause his belly to ache.
No matter what you say, he will find a way to ignore the evidence provided and repeat stupid claims like ‘I will consider believing if you…’ The evidence is there, he just does not want to believe anymore or he cannot return to his faith.
It is not that I ignore what little evidence Thiessen provides, as much as I find it lacking. Thiessen forgets that I was a pastor for twenty-five years; that I spent, on average, 20 hours a week, reading and studying the Bible and other theological tomes. That’s roughly 26,000 hours. So when I use the number 20,000 hours, I am being conservative. I know his arguments and evidence inside and out. I have weighed the central claims of Christianity in the balance and found them wanting. I am open to compelling evidence for Christianity, but just saying “The Bible says” or quoting proof texts ain’t going to cut it.
If the “evidence” is there for me to see, I would see it and respond accordingly. I am more than willing to engage Thiessen provided he is an honest, thoughtful interlocutor. Hell, I will even engage him if he is an Asshole for Jesus®. I enjoy a good roll in theological hay, even if I know the “sex” will result in a premature ejaculation.
As for MM, who we will call the great distorter. He still does not know what he is talking about and continues to create strawman arguments based on unreality and his socialist views. One of the latest is his distortion who loves money.
I will leave it to Ben to defend himself. I find Ben’s writing to be thoughtful and compelling. Not everything, of course. I am not an F-1 or soccer fan, so I tend to skip over those posts, but I enjoy the rest of his content. He and I hold similar political views — similar, not identical. It should be noted that Ben is not an atheist. I am trying to get him “saved,” but so far I have not succeeded. That’s not to say Ben’s a Christian. He’s not, but as with most of us who are not Fundamentalist Christians, we are on a journey. Where that journey takes us remains unknown.
While we will still check their websites from time to time, we have no interest in bringing attention to their false claims, accusations, and histrionics. Their woe is me, we are victims drama has gotten old. Plus, they do not know how to discuss properly.
What is it that we don’t know how to discuss properly? Again, Thiessen provides no evidence for his claim.
Besides we have other sources we can turn to that can be used to use for teaching moments, examples, and other important topics.
Thiessen has always had these other sources to use for his so-called “teaching moments,” (he sees himself as THE teacher, and the rest of us as students) yet he has primarily used Ben’s and my content for his blog — hundreds of posts over the past three or so years.
By all means, Derrick, move on to other object lessons. I guarantee you, the moment you stop writing about me, you will never be mentioned again on this site. Of course, you won’t do this. For whatever reason, you are obsessed with me. I have offered to send you a large blow-up of me naked that you can place on the ceiling over your bed, but you declined my offer. Others, however, begged for me to send them a photo. Maybe this would be a new way for me to make money.
Maybe our disinterest n their websites content began when we found out that neither of them have very popular websites.
I can’t speak for Ben, but Thiessen is accusing me of lying about the traffic numbers for this site. How did he come to this conclusion? If Thiessen has evidence for his claim, I want to see it. Here’s what I know: last year, this blog had almost one million page views. This number has dropped a bit in 2024 since Google tweaked its search algorithm. Both big and small sites have complained about traffic drops. Mine dropped almost 40 percent, but in recent weeks, it has rebounded a bit.
Maybe Thiessen is using an Internet site that allegedly tells you how much traffic a particular site has. These websites are rarely accurate. For example, I went to one site that said this blog gets 342 page views a day. Thiessen would see this as proof of his claim. When I search for his site, do you know what it says? Thiessen’s site averages three page views a day.
I use several internal SEO tracking programs to monitor site traffic. This blog is larger than many blogs and much smaller than some. As long as the numbers stay consistent or continue to improve, I am happy. Like every writer, I want my writing to be read by as many people as possible. In that regard, I am someone who cares a lot about statistics. Nevertheless, I would continue to write if only 100 people read my blog daily. I find writing to be a form of therapy and a pain reliever. When I no longer personally benefit from writing or people stop finding my work helpful, I will retire my laptop and spend my remaining days of life watching M.A.S.H. reruns.
Thiessen needs to provide empirical evidence for his claims. What metrics is he using? How does he define “popular”? Otherwise, he’s just talking nonsense, hoping to depreciate the value people find in my writing or to belittle me for allegedly having a smaller dick than I say I have.
They do not reach a large audience.
Thiessen needs to define “large.” No, this site is not Microsoft or Google-sized. However, it is larger than most of the blogs on the Internet, especially in my chosen category. Why the sudden obsession with “size”? Is it surprising that Theissen is also a big Trump supporter — a man noted for his obcession with size?
We reach whomever God wants us to reach and we are content with that. So do not expect frequent references to BG or MM and their false content on this website.
Thiessen’s blog, by all accounts, is a low-traffic site. He feels justified attacking my traffic numbers, while at the same time attributing his poor traffic numbers to God. If God wanted more people to read his blog, God’s social media manager would send people his way. Instead of using proven techniques and practices to improve his site, he leaves its success or failure to God; and in doing so resigns himself to obscurity. His choice, but I want to attract as many readers as possible, atheists and Christians alike.
By the way, Thiessen has a new blog where he touts his writing prowess. You can check it out here. Let me know what you think of his new site.
I hope Thiessen will respond to this post, providing actual evidence for his claims. My offer to him to write rebuttals or engage me in a public debate still stands. Count me a one atheist who is “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Saved by Reason,
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.
Over the years, I heard countless sermons, both during church services and at pastor’s conferences. I have also spent extensive time talking shop with my colleagues in the ministry. Needless to say, I have heard some interesting, outlandish, and, at times, insane statements on all sorts of subjects. What follows are a few of the things I heard. I give them to you as I remember them. Some of the quotes are forty-plus years old, so they may not be verbatim. Unless otherwise noted, quotes are from Sunday sermons.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:1, Arm Yourselves! (The speaker pushed his suit coat back and pulled out a revolver. The crowd went wild.) — Jack Wood, Baptist evangelist, said at a preacher’s conference in Rossville, Georgia
Go to Hell for all I care. No, I don’t mean that. Yes, I do. Go to Hell for all I care — Tom Malone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Pontiac, Michigan
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out! (Said to a man who got up to leave during the sermon.) — Tom Malone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Pontiac, Michigan
Who cares about the hole in the ozone layer? That just means there will be a bigger hole for Jesus to come through when he returns to earth again. — Bruce Gerencser, pastor of Somerset Baptist Church, Somerset, Ohio
Speaking of Matthew 5:28. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart, When a good looking woman comes your way, it’s not the first look that’s a sin; it’s the second one. So just make sure the first look is a long one. — Unnamed Baptist evangelist to a group of preachers, including fifteen-year-old Bruce Gerencser, at Trinity Baptist Church in Findlay, Ohio
Girl, when you climb into the backseat with a boy, I hope the only face you see is mine. — Baptist Evangelist Don Hardman (who came out of the pulpit, stood right in front of a teen girl, pointed his finger, and said the aforementioned quote), said during a revival meeting at Somerset Baptist Church, Somerset, Ohio
No girl has ever gotten pregnant without holding hands with a boy first. — Bruce Gerencser, pastor of Somerset Baptist Church, Somerset, Ohio
I have checked the tithing records, and it has come to my attention that there are some church employees who are not tithing. Either you will start tithing or I will have your tithe taken out of your check. — James Dennis, Newark Baptist Temple, Heath, Ohio
I don’t know, I have never, never lost. — Jack Hyles, First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana (answering someone who asked Hyles how he responded when he lost), said at a Sword of the Lord conference held at the Newark Baptist Temple, Heath, Ohio
Years ago, some men were drilling a deep hole towards the center of the earth. Suddenly, they heard what sounded like voices and screams. The men got a microphone and lowered it into the hole, and sure enough they heard people screaming. Hell is real! — Bill Beard, pastor of Lighthouse Memorial Church, Millersport, Ohio
If the King James Bible was good enough for the Apostle Paul, it is good enough for me. — Unnamed preacher at a Sword of the Lord conference held at the Newark Baptist Temple, Heath, Ohio
God doesn’t use quitters! — Tom Malone, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Pontiac, Michigan
The government is coming to take our guns. It’s the duty of every Christian to own guns so they can defend themselves. — John Williams, Baptist evangelist, said at a revival held at Somerset Baptist Church, Somerset, Ohio
There was a man whom God called to be a preacher. Instead of obeying God, the man took a secular job, married, and he and his wife had several children. One day, his wife and children were killed in an automobile accident. At the funeral home, God said to the man, now will you serve me? The man began weeping, and said to God, yes, I will serve you. I ask you, what will God have to take away from you for you to serve him? — Greg Carpenter, preacher
Divorce is always a sin. — Keith Troyer, Fallsburg Baptist Church, Fallsburg, Ohio
Your girlfriend’s skirt is too short and it is immodest. (This judgment was said to me, not my girlfriend. I replied, don’t look. Were her skirts too short? Not from my vantage point.) — Chuck Cofty, Sierra Vista Baptist Church, Sierra Vista, Arizona
What’s your favorite quote from your days as an Evangelical Christian? Please share them 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.
Evangelicals love to talk about the Bible. They call themselves “People of the Book.” Yet, despite all their Bible-loving talk, most Evangelicals are quite ignorant about what the Bible actually says. Why is Biblical ignorance so widespread within Evangelical Christianity? Evangelicals think that by reading the Bible devotionally, they are learning exactly what the Biblical text says and means. Rarely do they read books dealing with textual and historical criticism. If Evangelicals read books besides the Bible, they turn to books that are approved by their denomination, pastor, or church; or they read books that reinforce their beliefs. Evangelicals are far more likely to read Christian self-help books, Christian romance novels, Christian biographies, or superficial “look what God did for me, he’ll do it for you too” books than they are books that deal with doctrine, church history, or textual criticism. I think I can safely say that most Evangelicals have never read a book written by Dr. Bart Ehrman. If pastors and churches sincerely wanted congregants to understand the Bible, you would think that they would encourage them to read the books of the man who has done more than anyone to make the biblical text and early church history accessible to people in the pew. Instead, Evangelicals are often warned to not read Ehrman’s books, lest in doing so, they have doubts about their faith. What pastors are afraid of is that the people in the pew will learn that what they have been telling them from the pulpit about the Bible is not true. Just stick to reading apologetical books written by Evangelical men of God, pastors say. These authors will never lead you astray. Bart Ehrman is an atheist, he can’t be trusted to tell the truth. In taking this approach, pastors teach congregants that if you don’t agree with or like the messenger you can safely ignore his or her message.
I was considered by my ministerial colleagues to be well-read, especially once I moved away from the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. Month by month, my library continued to grow. On more than one occasion, church members came into my office and asked me, Have you really read all these books? I would chuckle a bit and say, yes, I have actually read all of them. While most of the books in my library reinforced my beliefs, as I got older, I began to read authors that were considered heterodox or liberal. Several of my former pastor friends and congregants have said to me that my voracious reading habit was the reason for my loss of faith. One woman told me that what I needed to do was get rid of all my books and just read the Bible. She thought, I’m sure, that the words of the Bible, once read, would have some sort of magical effect on me. Evidently, knowledge was my problem, and if I would just return to the ignorance of faith, all would be well.
Over the years, I met pastors who prided themselves in being men of one book. One man, a Church of the Nazarene pastor, was proud of the fact that his entire library fit on two four-foot shelves. His library consisted of a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, several books of illustrations, and a smattering of easy-to-read, pabulum-level books. These kinds of pastors believe that they can just read the Bible and understand exactly what the text says and means. After all, the Holy Spirit lives inside of them. He is their teacher and guide. When they stand in front of their congregations to preach the Word of God, they believe they are doing so as a spirit-filled man of God. Some of the most atrocious sermons I’ve ever heard were preached by men who thought this way.
From 1997-2002, I pastored Our Father’s House in West Unity Ohio. One Sunday evening, three families who knew each other decided to visit our church. After the service, one of the visitors asked me about some of the things I said in my sermon. I told him that I would be glad to loan him several books that I thought would help answer his questions. He replied, I don’t need to read any books, I have the Bible. In his mind, all he needed to understand the text of the Bible was the Bible itself. I wish I could say that his astounding ignorance was rare, but over the years I met countless sincere Christians who had no interest in reading religious books. Some of them rarely read the Bible, let alone anything else. The fact that daily devotional books such as Our Daily Bread are used by churches to encourage congregants to read the Bible speaks volumes. For readers who are not familiar with such materials, let me explain what they are. Our Daily Bread, for example, has a devotional reading for each day of the year. The reading usually contains several Bible verses and an inspirational sermonette, all fitting on a small page. They are like SparkNotes for the Bible. For many Christians, this is the only Bible they will read.
I have known more than a few Evangelicals who, once they have used their Bible during Sunday services, store it under the front seat of their car, in the back window, or the trunk. This way, they will know exactly where their Bible is come next Sunday. One of the reasons pastors repeatedly preach and teach the same basic sermons — four thousand titles for two sermons — is that Bible literacy is quite low among church members. I spent my entire twenty-five years in the ministry trying to get congregants to take Bible reading and study seriously. I can say with great confidence that I failed miserably. This does not mean that these people weren’t good Christians or that they weren’t serious about their faith. Often, thanks to long hours at work or domestic responsibilities, church members had very little time to devote to studying the unsearchable riches of Christ. I, on the other hand, was paid to read and study the Bible. I had hours every day that I could spend pouring over the biblical text and reading dense theological tomes. I used to nag church members about their lack of consistent Bible reading (and praying), but I quit doing so after I realized that the problem was a matter of time, not desire or faith.
Some pastors think that they are so full of the Holy Ghost that they don’t need to study for their sermons. Evangelist Dennis Corle told me that my time could be better spent soulwinning than studying for my sermons. He believed, as many preachers do, that spending time studying was a waste. There are souls to save, these preachers think. I’m just going to trust God, through the Holy Spirit, to tell me what to say. Such preachers reveal for all to see that the Holy Spirit is illiterate. Unlike many of my colleagues, I chose to devote significant time to preparing my sermons. It was not uncommon for me to spend twenty hours a week reading and studying for the sermons I would preach on Sunday. I like to think that my preparation showed in my sermon delivery and knowledge of the biblical text.
As you can see, theological and biblical ignorance is widespread within the Evangelical community. Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli pull no punches when they say: “Americans revere the Bible — but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.” Many Christians can’t name the four Gospels or more than two or three of the disciples. The same can be said for the Ten Commandments. Some of the ignorance can be attributed to the fact that many Evangelical pastors preach what is commonly called “felt needs” sermons; people who gather on Sunday to worship God want to hear uplifting sermons that inspire them to live for Jesus. These overworked, stressed-out children of God want to be told that their lives matter and that God has a purpose and plan for them. They want to hear sermons based on the Bible stories of men and women who were greatly used by God or who wrought great victories in his name. Theological sermons are often met with restlessness and yawns. What congregants want is a Jesus fix, not a seminary lecture.
Many atheists actually know more about the Bible than the people who say they believe that the Good Book is the inspired, inerrant, infallible words of God. One of the reasons that these atheists left Christianity was that they decided to find out exactly what the Bible said. And once they did, they were appalled by what they found. As long as widespread Biblical ignorance continues to infect Christianity, pastors have no need to worry about congregants finding out the truth; the truth being, that what pastors say about the Bible is not true; that the Bible is not in any way a supernatural text; that the Bible is not inerrant, but instead is littered with scores of contradictions and errors. Once Evangelicals realize that they have been duped, they often leave their churches. Many of them remain people of faith, but they no longer trust religious institutions. I have met many disaffected Evangelicals over the past seventeen years. I’ve noticed, given enough time, that they often slowly move towards indifference, agnosticism, atheism, or some sort of generic spirituality. Evangelical leaders are alarmed by the number of Millennials and Generation Z young people who no longer check the “Christian” box on religious surveys. Much has been made about the rise of the Nones. More than a few atheists have wrongly interpreted this rise to mean that some sort of atheist revival is going on. While it is certainly true that atheism in America has grown dramatically over the past twenty-five years, that doesn’t mean that all of the Nones are atheists. Most Nones, in fact, are indifferent towards religion, and if atheists want to win them over to their side, then they are going to have to preach the humanistic gospel. Disaffected young adults are looking for an ethical and moral framework that best represents their beliefs and understandings of the world. Humanism can and does provide such a framework.
I’m optimistic that better days lie ahead for atheism and humanism — that is if Donald Trump doesn’t destroy the world first. Those of us who are humanists need to make the case that humanism provides a rich and full way to live one’s life. We know that the Bible has little to offer our modern society, but with the abandoning of the Bible comes a moral and ethical vacuüm. It’s our duty (and privilege) to present humanism as the way forward, not only for the United States, but the people of the world.
For those who may not know about what I call the humanistic ideal, let me conclude this post with the Humanist Manifesto:
Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
The lifestance of Humanism—guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience—encourages us to live life well and fully. It evolved through the ages and continues to develop through the efforts of thoughtful people who recognize that values and ideals, however carefully wrought, are subject to change as our knowledge and understandings advance.
This document is part of an ongoing effort to manifest in clear and positive terms the conceptual boundaries of Humanism, not what we must believe but a consensus of what we do believe. It is in this sense that we affirm the following:
Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis. Humanists find that science is the best method for determining this knowledge as well as for solving problems and developing beneficial technologies. We also recognize the value of new departures in thought, the arts, and inner experience—each subject to analysis by critical intelligence.
Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.
Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.
Life’s fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals. We aim for our fullest possible development and animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose, finding wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies, and even in the inevitability and finality of death. Humanists rely on the rich heritage of human culture and the lifestance of Humanism to provide comfort in times of want and encouragement in times of plenty.
Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships. Humanists long for and strive toward a world of mutual care and concern, free of cruelty and its consequences, where differences are resolved cooperatively without resorting to violence. The joining of individuality with interdependence enriches our lives, encourages us to enrich the lives of others, and inspires hope of attaining peace, justice, and opportunity for all.
Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness. Progressive cultures have worked to free humanity from the brutalities of mere survival and to reduce suffering, improve society, and develop global community. We seek to minimize the inequities of circumstance and ability, and we support a just distribution of nature’s resources and the fruits of human effort so that as many as possible can enjoy a good life.
Humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views. We work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature’s integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner.
Thus engaged in the flow of life, we aspire to this vision with the informed conviction that humanity has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals. The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone.
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.
Rodney Locklear, pastor of now-closed Victory Church in Ruckersville, Virginia, stands accused of aggravated sexual battery of a minor, abduction with intent to defile a minor, indecent acts with a minor, and other charges alleged by a teenage victim. Locklear pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
A Ruckersville pastor charged with child sex crimes pleaded not guilty in Greene County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Rodney Martin Locklear, 48, was arrested Feb. 1 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of aggravated sexual battery of a minor, abduction with intent to defile a minor, indecent acts with a minor, and other charges alleged by a teenage victim. The alleged sexual assaults occurred May 5 of last year at Locklear’s residence as well as the now-closed Victory Church, where he was pastor.
The assaults occurred over multiple hours during a Cinco de Mayo celebration held at Victory Church, the victim alleges. The party began at church near the intersection of state Routes 29 and 33 in Ruckersville. But Locklear and multiple teenagers later left the church for his residence, where the first alleged assault occurred.
Locklear reportedly approached the young girl in his house, pushed her against the kitchen counter and inappropriately touched her against her wishes. Even though she protested and told him to stop, Locklear continued touching her without her consent while she repeatedly told him to stop, according to court documents.
The assault continued until Locklear heard someone coming up the stairs, the victim alleges.
The youth group and Locklear returned to the church later in the day to continue the Cinco de Mayo party. The alleged victim and others from the group planned to go together to a Wendy’s fast food restaurant, across the parking lot from the church.
“She [the victim] went back inside to get her wallet. While alone in the church, she went to the bathroom and she heard someone’s keys lock the door,” according to court documents.
Alone together again, Locklear proceeded to assault the young girl again a second time, she alleges.
“Locklear pushed her against the wall and began touching her. She refused again and told him to stop,” according to court documents.
Locklear had been ministering in the Greene County area for more than a decade prior to his February arrest. He served as pastor at Victory Church for six years before his arrest and the church’s closure. Before that, he attended and preached at Solid Rock Full Gospel Church in Barboursville, 5 miles away from Victory Church. He and his wife, Becky Morris Locklear, also founded Abundant Life Pentecostal Outreach Church in Ruckersville in 2012.
Solid Rock and Victory churches both still have sermons and material credited to Rodney Locklear on their social media.
Locklear and his wife also served in the gospel singing group Restoration, which toured in the 2000s throughout Central Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia.
Restoration won Group of the Year 2008 at the Music City Gospel Showcase Convention and Awards Show in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Larry Morris, pastor of Solid Rock Full Gospel Church, was also in the Southern gospel group.
Locklear’s trial begins March 17 of next year in Greene County Circuit Court.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
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.
Charles Bellinger, a professor at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
Law enforcement authorities have arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography a man who was a Brite Divinity School professor and theological librarian when police allege he obtained illicit images. Charles Bellinger, 62, was taken into custody on Oct. 2 after Fort Worth police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit detectives, TCU police officers, and United States Secret Service special agents served a search warrant at Bellinger’s house in Arlington and at his office on the TCU campus.
Bellinger was a professor of theology and ethics. References to Bellinger on the divinity school’s web pages appear to have been removed, but the pages are archived. TCU and the Divinity School share resources but are separate institutions.
The Rev. Stephen Cady, Brite Divinity School’s president, wrote in an Oct. 3 statement that the alleged behavior is repugnant.
“When Brite administration was made aware of this situation, we immediately initiated our own investigation, cooperated with law enforcement, shut down his access to school technology, personnel, and facilities, and placed him on immediate administrative leave before terminating his employment shortly thereafter,” Cady wrote. “He did not teach a single class after we learned of the concern.” “I am mindful of the ways that some faith institutions have failed in the wake of these situations and am determined that Brite handle this situation consistent with our values and be a part of a more faithful narrative,” Cady wrote. “We will, as a community, get through this difficult moment as we have difficult ones in the past, prayerfully and together. Please do be in prayer for Brite.”
….
According to the school’s website, “Although Brite Divinity School and Texas Christian University are independent institutions, they have a rich historical relationship and enjoy a shared heritage, affiliation, traditions, and values with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).” According to Bellinger’s biography from the divinity school’s website, he obtained a master’s degree from TCU in 2013, and also earned degrees from the University of Illinois, the University of Virginia, Pacific School of Religion and Portland State University.
….
“During my years in graduate school I studied both theology and ethics because the concept of narrow disciplinary boundaries separating the two fields never made sense to me,” Bellinger wrote in the biography. “I also developed a strong interest in reflecting on human psychology from a theological point of view. … My major theme over the years since college has been reflecting on violence psychologically and ethically.” Bellinger remained at the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday. A bond has not been set. It is unclear whether a defense attorney has been appointed or retained in the case.
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.
Gabriel “Gabe” Mills, guest experience pastor at Journey Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, stands accused of capturing an intimate representation without consent.
A Kenosha pastor has been charged with two felonies after, prosecutors say, he used a man’s cellphone during a group meeting to send himself nude photographs of the man’s wife.
Gabriel E. Mills, a 41-year-old former pastor at Journey Church in Kenosha, was charged Wednesday with two counts of capturing an intimate representation.
The Kenosha Police Department issued a statement Wednesday announcing that Mills made his initial appearance in court that same day where bail was set at $7,500.
According to a criminal complaint, a detective met with a married couple on Sept. 28 regarding Mills, who they accuse of using the husband’s cellphone and sending himself nude or partially nude photos of the man’s wife without her consent during a life group meeting the night of Sept. 22.
The husband said Mills had his phone because he needed help downloading an audio book. An analysis of the phone found that the texting and AirDrop apps were used while Mills had the phone, according to the complaint, and police found two photos of the man’s wife on Mills’ phone when they executed a search warrant on the device.
Mills was listed as a “Guest Experience Pastor” on the Journey Church website but has since been removed, the complaint states. He was terminated on Sept. 29 and arrested on Sept. 30.
As a condition of his bail, Mills cannot contact Journey Church or its staff members, the couple and cannot posses a device of others.
Pastor Kevin Taylor with Journey Church, whose Kenosha campus is located at 10700 75th St., issued a statement.
“This news has come as a great shock to our church and school community,” he said. “We hold our leaders to the highest standards of moral conduct, and any violation of these values is deeply troubling. We terminated Gabe’s employment upon learning of the allegations that led to his arrest.
“Our hearts go out to anyone who may have been impacted by this situation. We are offering counseling and pastoral care to those affected. We ask that you respect their privacy during this time.
“We are committed to transparency and accountability throughout this process and will await further information from the authorities.”
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.
In the 1980s and 1990s, I pastored Somerset Baptist Church in Mt. Perry, Ohio. Wanting to keep my congregation unspotted from the world and aware of the heresy and heterodoxy surrounding them, I was ever aware of those deemed “liberal” within Evangelicalism, in general, and the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement, in particular. Naming names was a part of my preaching for too many years than I care to admit. Rooting out heresy and naming those who weren’t orthodox was labeled “discernment.” Discernment ministries popped up everywhere, with some practitioners saying that their ability to discern truth and error was a gift from God.
Wanting to accurately know what these heretical and heterodox preachers believed and practiced, I read books from discernment ministries, passing on the relevant information to church members in my sermons and classes. Cult “expert” Walter Martin — who believed every religion but his own was a cult — was a discernment minister, as were men such as Rick Miesel and David Cloud. This was before the Internet, so you either got discernment news from books or newsletters and sermons. Meisel operated the Bible Discernment Ministry (which is now operated by John Beardsley). Meisel put together a binder of men and women he deemed heretical and offered it for sale. I bought a binder from Miesel. Periodically, he would send out updates and addendums to the binder. Cloud operated Way of Life Literature, a ministry focused on Baptists in general, and the IFB church movement specifically. The Sword of the Lord and The Biblical Evangelist were two newspaper rags that frequently published articles calling out heresy, demanding that offending preachers, churches, and institutions repent and return to IFB orthodoxy. Countless other papers were published during this time. For several years, I published The Sovereign Grace Reporter, a monthly newsletter that called on Baptists to embrace their Calvinistic roots.
The Internet changed everything, including discernment ministries. For a few dollars a month, a discernment ministry could set up a website reaching more people than they could ever reach with printed materials or audio tapes.
Today, there are scores of discernment ministries, each with its take on heresy and who should be excommunicated from the ranks of orthodoxy. In 2007, I showed up on the radar of heresy hunters such as Ken Sliva and Preacher Boy. Silva is now deceased, and Preacher Boy is no longer in the ministry. I was able to find one discussion I had online with Ken Silva in 2008. Here’s the relevant text. Keep in mind, I was still a Christian — barely — at this point (spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original):
Now as a heterosexual man completely comfortable within my own sexuality I will now remind you of a prior AM piece It’s Time To Rethink The Issue Of Homosexuality. Within it, I have already shared that as a former professional musician once living in Los Angeles, I have personally known many homosexual people. As a matter of fact I also mentioned a friend of mine, whom I also worked for, happened to be quite open about his homosexuality. I, on the other hand, was also quite open about my Christianity. And, the Lord be praised, one day he even said as a compliment to me, “You act like a Christian is supposed to act.”
With this as necessary background let me point out that in a post called Rob Bell and his stance on homosexuality I am taken to task for my writings concerning Bell by Erica Martino who, as I pointed out previously, happens to be the wife of Rob’s friend Joe. Being criticized all goes with the turf I play on so I’ve no problem with Erica including me with, “These men and women [who] are like Dogs returning to their vomit.” I also discussed in the aforementioned FTCJ post an exchange I had with Bruce Gerencser, with whom I have waged war spiritually before, in the combox of Erica’s post.
Gerencser tells us at his blog Bruce Droppings that he’s “a retired minister, having spent almost 30 years in the ministry.” He made the choice to open our discussion at Erica’s blog with the following ad hominem:
“Here’s the deal guys…….Ken is gay. Those who become obsessed with the sexuality of others often have skeletons in their own closet. So Ken, I question your heterosexuality. I think you are hiding your true gayness. Come out from among Him saith the Lord!! … Quite frankly I would rather be in hell with Rob than in heaven with Ken.
Bruce”
This would lead to the following, which now goes to the central point of this particular article and also provides a perfect example of how Christ-followers hostile to Sola Scriptura are attempting to make it appear as if there is some difference between God the Father of the Old Testament and God the Son in the New Testament. And if you wish to defend the Gospel and the Bible from this malicious attack on God’s Word and the attempt to use Jesus to make it appear that He approves of the practice of homosexuality then you’ll need to be ready for this:
“You ask if Jesus says homosexuality is a sin? Of course not. Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. I’ll wait for you to find a proof text. Make sure it is in red.”
By telling me to “make sure it is in red” Gerenscer is revealing he knows very well Jesus is not recorded in the Gospels as speaking directly to the issue of homosexuality. Now I attempted to leave any further discussion alone by simply pointing Gerencser to Apprising Ministries: Shocking New Evidence Jesus Condemned The Practice Of Homosexuality but unfortunately he replied:
“Ken,
I won’t play the game. I don’t read your site. Every time I try and go there my browser crashes. Thank God for providence. So real simple give me the verses in the NT where Jesus directly spoke about homosexuality. NO song and dance. NO shuck and jive. Put up or shut up.
Straight up asking for your proof, from the infallible, inerrant Word of God. (KJV is even OK with me) Remember no “inference” or “God talking and we know Jesus was God” ………Just the verses where Jesus spoke or taught on the issue of homosexuality. You are the one who has made this foolish claim.
I agree the Bible addresses homosexuality but Jesus never addressed the issue. You are the one speaking in Jesus’ name (I am just speaking in Bruce’s name, maybe you’ve seen the movie) so please show me the verses. Thank you in advance.”
And for one who claims to have been a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the following from Gerencser from his next two responses to me is very sad indeed:
“Ken,
Nice dodge. As I thought no verses. You said Jesus spoke about homosexuality. He did not. You “assume” information that is not in the text. I do not base the condemnation of millions to the Lake of Fire on “inference.” God better be clear on this one…….and it seems Ken is much clearer than God, especially Jesus.
Ok just one more little point. Ken, I challenged your “Jesus said” position. I never said the Bible did not speak to the issue of homosexuality. Jesus didn’t………..and that’s just the facts.”
Since our interest here is attempting to gain some further insight into Rob Bell’s own position on homosexuality I’ll simply place below a quick composite of my answer to Gerenscer’s foolish statements:
“Wrong. I’ll make this very simple. You are correct for a change: “the infallible, inerrant Word of God… [The] Bible addresses homosexuality.” Since you admit that the Bible is God’s Word; then you will agree it teaches that Jesus is God. In the Bible God already addressed the issue of homosexuality in the OT. Therefore whatever God says concerning homosexuality in the OT Jesus, the Creator, also says concerning homosexuality in the OT.”
“In the NT Christ tells us God the Holy Spirit would speak for Him. God does not change; and Jesus Christ does not change. The teachings concerning homosexuality spoken by the Vicar of Christ, God the Holy Spirit, in the NT are in complete agreement with the OT. No way around it for one who holds to the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God and the Deity of Christ. God has spoken in both the OT and the NT condemning the practice of homosexuality as sin.”
“There’s your straight up asking for proof, from the infallible, inerrant Word of God. You cannot separate God the Father and God the Son on this issue. Jesus did address sexual immorality, which includes honosexuality, and He most likely felt that as God He didn’t stutter the first time so His view is clear enough.The Bible is God’s Word; Jesus is God, therefore, whatever the Bible says on homosexuality, Jesus says on homosexuality.”
As this discussion with Gerenscer was going on without my knowledge Dave Marriott, a friend of mine, attempted to help Rob Bell’s friends take a closer look at their conduct, which is a reflection on MHBC and Bell himself as their friend and teaching pastor:
“Joe and Erika,
I’m shocked at your posture in this thread. I cannot believe that those who claim to attend a church where all are loved and accepted, where individuals can find a haven of rest —- that these individuals would sit back and watch Bruce denigrate the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures and call a married Christian man a homosexual. Way to take the high ground guys.”
The reason I introduce this into evidence is because it’s possible that in Joe Martino’s response to Marriott we might catch a glimpse of his friend Bell’s own position concerning the practice of homosexuality. Note Martino echoes Gerenscer’s attempt to pit Jesus against the crystal clear teaching of the Old Testament that the practice of homosexuality is sin. In fact, at that time it was actually a capital offense and one was to be painfully executed if caught:
Hi Dave,
First of all, there is no K in Erica.
Secondly, have you ever heard of Ted Haggard? He was exactly what you claim for Ken. A “married Christian man” who guess what? You remember, turns out he had gay lovers. I think that makes him gay. For all I know, the same could be true of Ken. I mean, the man cannot answer a question without doing dances that would make the produces of “Dancing with the Stars” proud. There seems to be many parrallells between Ken’s “ministry” and Haggard’s. I applaud Bruce, for throwing these thoughts out there.
Bruce is a grown man, who can speak for himself. He makes a valid point that we have no record of the God/Man Jesus Christ saying anything about Homosexuality in the Scriptures. Does the Bible speak about it? Yes, but I don’t see Jesus talking about it while He was on earth. Probably because those moral, upstanding Romans weren’t involved in it. Besides, what do you want us to do? Maybe we should spank Bruce? Maybe we should take his computer away? He’s in 50’s for crying out loud.
You’ve chosen to align yourself with Ken and attack Rob. That is your choice, but don’t come here and play all cutsie about Mars. Erica wasn’t mean to Ken in the OP. It’s not even just about Ken. It is about what God is doing in and through Mars. You and Ken and all your little posts can’t stop that.
Perhaps what we see in the bold type above will be the same dodge Bell himself uses as to why he has not gone on the record concerning where he personally stands on the practice of homosexuality. Frankly, with Bell’s reputation of leading MHBC, “a city within the city,” which “lives for Jesus”, and with so much praise being heaped upon him as a Bible teacher, the Body of Christ has every right to expect that pastor-teacher Rob Bell will finally tell us: Does Jesus consider the practice of homosexuality sinful, or not?
Because for the regenerated Christian the answer really is clear: What God says; Jesus says. So why then can’t/won’t Rob Bell answer this simple question? And as we get set to close this, for now, while those dialogues above were progressing Rob Bell’s friend Erica went on to write A follow up post on Rob Bell and homosexuals from which I derive the title of this AM article. Sadly, as sincerely impassioned as it is, it’s filled with red herrings and straw men such as:
“We have this mentality as a church that one sin is greater then the other. This is what the endless chatter is all about… When was the last time you heard endless chatter about lying, gossiping, malicious slander…for some reason we have it in our head that one sin is great then others…
I know a homosexual. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She is tore up in side… How could she be a Christian and be a lesbian? … The lesbian I once new would not have been welcomended in most churches, the abortionist would not be welcome in most church, nor the murder, the sex offender, the rapist. Because as Christians we beleive we are better then them… “
Let me tell you honestly that I do believe Erica is sincere, and, there is also truth in what she just said. However, all of that actually has nothing at all to do with the question I have raised; and so, I’ll share below what I said to Joe and Erica Martino, friends of Rob Bell and members of his city within the city, so prayerfully it will help us all focus on the heart of the matter:
Hopefully you will be able to grasp the actual issue here. ALL sinners are welcome to attend Christian churches, and should be encouraged to do so. The issue is: Does Rob Bell, unlike others in the Emerging Church he is associated with, believe Jesus says the practice of homosexuality is a sin.
That Christ’s blood was shed for sin is patently obvious to anyone who is regenerated. But, does Bell believe the practice of the homosexual lifestyle, monogomous or not, is a sin?
To the person, the people who operate these sites are “heresy hunters.” Sussing out heretics wherever they may be found, these so-called followers of Jesus believe that they are spiritually purer and more mature than other Christians. These defenders of the one true faith even go so far as to say who is and isn’t a real Christian. Most of them are hardcore Fundamentalists who believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible. Their goal is to purify the church and keep it on the straight and narrow. By all accounts, discernment ministries are failing in their mission, or, even worse, suffer from mission creep, now going after fellow Fundamentalists with their exposés. These days, there are near-constant internecine wars between discerners and those they are exposing. I find these battles quite entertaining, with each side pissing in a hurricane while the world goes to hell. As long as I don’t get splattered, I am content to buy a pop and some popcorn and watch Evangelicals devour one another. There’s a place for pointing out heresy and heterodoxy, but the longer heresy hunters are in the game, the more shrill and divisive they become in their judgments. Throw Trump, MAGA, racism, xenophobia, and misogyny into the mix and you have a variety show like you have never seen before.
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.
