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Category: Evangelicalism

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Evangelical Military Chaplain Tells Christian Soldiers Christ Comes Before US Constitution

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sonny hernandez

Christians in the Armed Forces will have their faith tested on many occasions. This is important—since Christians are commanded to examine themselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5) to see if their professing Christianity is true, or false and vitiated.

True Christianity produces a love for God, a hunger for His Word, fervent prayer, devotion to a local, Bible-believing church, and not a military chapel. The imputed righteousness of Christ that is credited to those who come to Him by faith alone, will enable believers to hate the things that God hates, and love the things that God loves. This does not happen because merit and favor can be earned with God, but only because of the active and passive obedience of Christ.

Counterfeit Christians in the Armed forces will appeal to the Constitution, and not Christ, and they have no local church home—which means they have no accountability for their souls (Heb. 13:17). This is why so many professing Christian service members will say: “We ‘support everyone’s right’ to practice their faith regardless if they worship a god different from ours because the Constitution protects this right.”

Christian service members who openly profess and support the rights of Muslims, Buddhists, and all other anti-Christian worldviews to practice their religions—because the language in the Constitution permits—are grossly in error, and deceived. This article will explain a few reasons why:

First, where in the Bible do the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, or Christ Himself, support or accommodate anti-Christians to give adulation to their false gods or to yield and obey anyone except the One true and living God? There is no exegetical support, and no moral justification for any Christian service member to openly profess or support the alleged rights of anti-Christians. Christian service members must share the Gospel with unbelievers so they can be saved, not support unbelievers to worship their false gods that will lead them to hell.

Second, professing Christian service members must answer this important question: “Do you appeal to the Holy Scripture, or the US Constitution as an ultimate standard to measure your conduct?”

The answer to this question will determine how the service member will conduct themselves, and what is truly the authority for their faith and practice.

If a professing Christian service member appeals to the Bible, all their thoughts, words, and deeds are to be examined and resolved with the Holy Scripture that points to Christ—not the Constitution. Why is it wrong for a professing “Christian” service member to appeal to the Constitution for their faith and practice? If the professing Christian service member appeals to the Constitution and not the Holy Scripture as their ultimate standard—they have no business calling themselves a Christian—since they would have nothing to measure their Christianity upon without the Bible.

Also, appealing to anything except the Bible as an ultimate authority would not only be anti-Christian, it would also nullify their previous argument of professing to be a Christian—since an ultimate authority does not appeal to anything except itself. It is impossible to submit to both the Bible and the Constitution as an ultimate authority—because the Laws of Logic would prohibit this—since two propositions cannot both be right and wrong at the same time. Christ made this clear in Matthew 12:30.

Third, the First Amendment of the US Constitution states that the free-exercise of religion is for all Americans to practice their faith, but does that mean a Christian service member should accommodate or support things that are contrary to their faith? Absolutely not!

Also, is it wrong for a professing Christian service member to say, “I support the rights of all Americans to practice their faith since the Constitution protects their rights?” Absolutely!

— Sonny Hernandez, director for Reforming America Ministries, US Air Force Reserves Chaplain, Christian Service Members: Avoid Supporting or Accommodating Evil!

Note

Hernandez sports a doctorate from Tennessee Temple University — A Fundamentalist Baptist institution founded by the late Lee Roberson, pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2015, Tennessee Temple University merged with Piedmont University.

 

 

 

Songs of Sacrilege: Joel Osteen by Roy Zimmerman

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roy zimmerman

This is the one hundred and fiftieth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards 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 Joel Osteen by Roy Zimmerman.

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Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Luther Feltus-Curry Sentenced to 23-Year Prison Term for Defrauding Church Members

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jail

Luther Feltus-Curry, pastor of Revival Center Ministries in Vallejo, California was sentenced to prison yesterday after being found guilty of defrauding several church members.

The Daily Republic reports:

A former church pastor convicted of 29 felonies relating to fleecing several members of his flock of more than $1 million was sentenced Thursday to 23 years and eight months in prison.

Luther Feltus-Curry, 69, former pastor with the Revival Center Ministries in Vallejo, was found guilty in January of multiple charges of grand theft and scheming to defraud others by using false information to pedal promissory notes in their investment companies.

A partner in the scheme, Alma L. Perez, 56, was found guilty of 11 felonies. She was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison.

….

Earlier this year, the Daily Republic reported:

A former Vallejo church pastor was found guilty Monday of 29 felonies related to fleecing several members of his flock of more than $1 million between 2008 and 2010.

Luther Feltus-Curry, 68, former pastor with the Revival Center Ministries, taught financial management and debt relief classes to his fellow church members starting in 2004, according to lawyers for Feltus-Curry and co-defendant Alma L. Perez.

Perez, 56, was found guilty of 11 felonies. Both defendants faced multiple charges of grand theft and scheming to defraud others by using false information to pedal promissory notes in their investment companies.

Judge John B. Ellis ordered Feltus-Curry and Perez to be locked up as they await sentencing, which is set for March 8. They had been out of custody since charges were filed against them in 2014.

Feltus-Curry in 2008 started promising annual returns of between 5 and 18 percent for church members who invested in the companies set up and operated by Perez. Some church members invested their entire life savings, in one case more than $300,000. Altogether, at least nine church members entrusted Feltus-Curry with more than $1 million, according to prosecutors in the complex jury trial that spanned nearly a month.

Lawyers for Feltus-Curry and Perez built their defense case largely around claims that their clients were also victims of fraud. They claimed Feltus-Curry and Perez were duped because they took the money handed over to them by churchgoers and invested it with other companies that promised even high rates of return in just months and that turned out to be just as bogus.

The Pointe Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana Uses AC/DC Song ‘Money Talks’ During Worship Service

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ac dc

Lest anyone doubt how far some Evangelical churches will go to attract and maintain a crowd, I give you a recent video of The Point Church worship team singing and playing AC/DC’s song, Money Talks — much to the delight of those in attendance. I’m an atheist, but I wonder — shouldn’t music sung during church services at least be about Jesus being your boyfriend or best friend? AC/DC? I never thought I’d see the day. Something tells me my guitar-strumming sons would love playing in the Pointe’s worship band.(According to one article I read, some of the people associated with Sweetwater Sound attend the church. I suspect the Pointe has awesome AV equipment. A former friend of mine is the senior vice president — sales at Sweetwater.)

Video Link

The Pointe Church, located in nearby Fort Wayne, Indiana is a generic, seen-one-seen-them-all, ain’t-we-unique-and-relevant Evangelical church. Such churches are scattered all over the Fort Wayne area, heaven-bent on attracting and pilfering Christians from other churches, people who endlessly seek the latest and the greatest.

According to The Point Church website, the church strives to be:

  • Real
  • Relevant
  • Relational
  • Reliant
  • Risk-Taking
  • Reproducing
  • Redemptive

The seven R’s of modern Evangelical church planting. Woo Hoo! right?

Led by Ray Harris, several other pastors, and a passel of “directors,” The Pointe Church attracts a thousand people a week to their three Sunday services. By the end of 2020, the church hopes to have:

  • 50 Young Adult Leaders Developed
  • 600 Students Won to Christ
  • 1000 Kids Attending Weekly
  • 125% Of Our Worship Attendance participating in Small Groups
  • 1000 Churches Using our Artistry
  • 5000 Attending Worship Services
  • 1,000,000 To Find & Follow Jesus

Several years ago, I wrote a post about another Fort Wayne church — Elevate City Church. What I wrote then applies to The Pointe Church today. In a post titled, The Elevate City Church Con Job, I wrote:

The dirty little secret of Evangelical church planting is that the vast majority of people who attend a new church plant come from other churches. Few people are new converts. Why? Because almost every American, especially here in the Midwest, has already heard the good news of the gospel. It is not a lack of information that keeps people out of churches. Americans are increasingly rejecting Christianity and turning to spirituality, eastern religions, or atheism/agnosticism/humanism. Why?

Evangelical Christianity is slowly dying. Instead of trying to strengthen that which remains, hip, relevant church planters start new churches. They poach the members of old, established churches and this “growth” hides the fact that the disinterested are still disinterested and they haven’t flocked to the new church. The truth is, more and more Americans think Evangelical Christianity is irrelevant. Evangelicals have a huge PR problem, and as long as their beliefs, practices, and lifestyle are tethered to an inspired, inerrant, infallible ancient book, Evangelicals should not expect the disinterested to rush to their churches on Sunday. Playing rock and praise and worship music, dressing down, getting rid of pews, and acting all hip and cool, hides the fact that the message is still the same; repent and believe the gospel or you are going to be tortured by God in hell for all eternity.

I have no objection to Evangelicals starting as many clubhouses as they want. This is America, and corporate, capitalistic, libertarian thinking dominates the Evangelical church-planting scene. They just need to understand that some of us see through the smokescreen. By all means, plant another church, convince yourself that “God” is leading you to do so, but the facts on the ground remain the same. Planting a new church will not fix what ails America. Americans no longer are buying what Evangelicals are selling. Perhaps it is time to follow the command of Jesus: go sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Perhaps when Americans see THAT kind of Christianity, they might take an interest in it. Even though I am an atheist, I can, from a distance, admire a church and a pastor which take seriously the teachings of Jesus. All I see right now is the same incestuous, irrelevant church, with a new name. It is time to burn the institutional church to the ground and start over. Or so says this atheist.

Elevate City and The Pointe are separated by ten miles of Fort Wayne interstate. Between these two churches are numerous other churches preaching their brand and version of Evangelicalism. Much like driving along one of the many restaurant rows found in Fort Wayne, cruising the streets there discloses that local Evangelicals have every type of church at their disposal. Want Wendy’s? Burger King? McDonald’s? Rally’s? or Five Guys? Local Evangelical churches are manning their grills, ready to serve up their brand of hamburger. Perhaps these churches should become IN-N-Out Burger joints — reflective of the constant stream of people in and out of their doors.

What do you think, readers? To my atheist readers I ask, if you were still a Christian, would you attend a church that played AC/DC during Sunday worship? Do you think there are lines that can’t or shouldn’t be crossed? If you are still a Christian, would you be okay with the worship team playing songs by AC/DC, KISS, or other patently anti-Christian groups? What say ye?

Note

2006 news article featuring Pastor Harris and The Pointe Church. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Eventually, he said, those churches do move into traditional church buildings.

The Pointe Church is still an exception, because its organizers don’t plan on making it a megachurch. Ray Harris, the church’s lead pastor, said he plans to keep his church in a non-traditional building and train other pastors to start similar churches in other locations that would be affiliated with The Pointe.

‘”New Testament’ churches met in public spaces,” said Harris. “We’re in the real world on Sunday mornings, in a movie theater. Even though Fort Wayne is the ‘City of Churches,’ many people who come (to The Pointe) have never been in church but have been in movie theaters. There’s familiarity.”

Formerly pastor to students at The Chapel, a Fort Wayne megachurch, Harris said typically more than 33 percent of a church’s finances go toward maintaining a building.

“We wanted to focus on meeting people’s needs, not putting money in the bank or paying people to clean the church,” Harris said.

Although it pays rent to the Rave, the church doesn’t have to worry about the cost of heating bills or hiring someone to shovel snow, Harris said. Instead, the church already has helped some people who were struggling to find jobs and/or finance a house payment.

“It’s an economic decision for the Rave, too, because no one comes to watch movies there on Sunday mornings,” said Harris. “We fill seats when they can’t.”

In addition to the economic reasons for having a church in the Rave, Harris said the church’s goal is to help people get to the next step spiritually.

….

Ten years later? The Pointe Church has its own building located at 5335 Bass Road. So much for “New Testament’ churches met in public spaces. We’re in the real world on Sunday mornings, in a movie theater. Even though Fort Wayne is the ‘City of Churches,’ many people who come (to The Pointe) have never been in church but have been in movie theaters. There’s familiarity….We wanted to focus on meeting people’s needs, not putting money in the bank or paying people to clean the church.”

The Pointe Church has a YELP page.

Church’s Facebook page

The Pointe Church operates a three-location daycare business — Care Pointe Academy.

Black Collar Crime: Jane Doe Files Civil Suit Against Temple Baptist Church and Pastor Mike Holloway

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pastor mike holloway

Please read previous posts on this scandal: Black Collar Crime: Woman Claims Evangelical Pastor Mike Holloway Knew She Had Been Sexually Abused and Did Nothing and Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Mike Holloway Denies He Knew Anything About Woman’s Sex Abuse Claim, Black Collar Crime: Another Victim Comes Forward in Temple Baptist Church of Kokomo Sex Abuse Scandal, Black Collar Crime: The Temple Baptist Church of Kokomo Sex Abuse Scandal Continues, Black Collar Crime: Alleged Victim Count Up to Ten in Temple Baptist Church of Kokomo Sexual Abuse Scandal, and Black Collar Crime: The Cover-up Continues at Temple Baptist Church in Kokomo, Indiana.

Today, The Kokomo Perspective released another episode in their ongoing coverage of the Temple Baptist Church sex scandal. Devin Zimmerman writes:

A lawsuit filed by a local woman claims she was sexually abused by a member of Temple Baptist Church and that she was placed under the care of this individual by the church’s pastor even after his tendencies were made known to the church leadership.

The Howard County resident, going as Jane Doe, leveled a civil suit against Temple Baptist Church, Pastor Mike Holloway, and Donald Croddy and his wife, Elfriede, seeking damages for alleged child abuse she endured at the age of 5.

Doe claims Holloway, as the pastor of Temple Baptist Church, suggested she stay with Croddy on the weekends in the early ‘90s, during which time she allegedly was sexually assaulted by Croddy. The plaintiff in the case claims the living situation was suggested even after the pastor knew about Croddy sexually abusing his own daughter.

he suit hit Howard County Superior Court 2 last week, and in it the suit cites Croddy’s alleged abuse of his adoptive daughter, named D.P. in the suit, as a catalyst for the claim.

According to the suit, Croddy began molesting his daughter in or around 1977. Then, in 1989, the Indiana Department of Public Welfare investigated a molestation accusation concerning Croddy, during which time he was investigated and he “admitted to the allegations and stated that he had fondled his daughter approximately 10 years ago, but nothing has occurred since.” Even though the abuse was substantiated, criminal charges weren’t brought against Croddy.

Then in 1991, ahead of her wedding, D.P. told her fiancée of her abuse, which resulted in a confrontation between the fiancée and Croddy. The suit claims that “at the invitation of Holloway, D.P., her fiancée and Croddy met to discuss the issue and Holloway was advised by D.P. of the molestation by Croddy, which Croddy admitted to.”

In her suit, Doe claims to have begun attending Temple Baptist Church via its bus ministry, where church agents drove a bus throughout the community to pick up children and adults to transport them to the church. The suit claims “children were often enticed to get on the bus with candy.”

While attending Temple Baptist Church, Doe claims to have been coerced into attending the church’s school, Temple Christian School, and also participating in as many church and school events as possible. But due to Doe’s circumstances, attendance was difficult.

Because of this difficulty, the suit claims that in 1992 Holloway and Croddy visited with Doe and her family, at which time Holloway suggested the young girl begin to spend weekends at Croddy’s home so she could attend more church and school events.

It’s during this period Doe claims to have been sexually abused by Croddy.

….

As part of the suit, Doe claims Temple Baptist Church is “vicariously liable … for any and all negligence that may be attributable to the Defendant, Mike Holloway.” Croddy’s wife, Elfriede, also is named in the suit, where it claims she had “knowledge of Donald Croddy’s pedophilia and failed to take actions to protect” Doe.

In response to the suit, Temple Baptist Church’s leadership issued the following statement:

“We believe it is inappropriate for either party to comment specifically on pending litigation. However, Temple Baptist Church plans a vigorous defense of these misguided claims. As always, we remain committed to our faith and the Bible-based principles that guide us every day. As such, we sympathize with all those involved and continue to pray that the truth will prevail.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Temple Baptist Church Abuse Survivors Facebook Page

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Daniel Little Charged With Multiple Sex Crimes Against Children

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pastor daniel little

Daniel Little, pastor of Yadkin College Baptist Church in Lexington, North Carolina has been charged with numerous sex crimes against children.

The Dispatch reports:

A 40-year old former pastor charged with sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl has been additionally charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse and rape involving the 10-year-old and three additional children, all under the age of 12 years old.

Daniel Gene Little, 40, of 1563 Jerusalem Road, has been charged with 13 counts of felony sexual offense with a child, 11 counts felony child abuse by committing a sexual act, two counts of felony rape of a child, two counts felony incest with a child younger than 13 and indecent liberties with a child.’

Little is the former pastor of Yadkin College Baptist Church in Lexington. In May, he was charged with felony first-degree sex offense sexually assaulting a female juvenile under the age of 17.

At that time, Little was placed in the Davidson County Detention Center under a $150,000 secured bond. Since then, Little had posted bond and was out awaiting trial.

According to information provided by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, on Sept. 5 the sheriff’s office was contacted by the Davidson County Department of Social Services and made aware that three additional juveniles, two males and one female, had come forward and alleged that they were also sexually assaulted by Little.

The three juveniles attended a forensic interview at The Dragonfly House Children’s Advocacy Center where they disclosed being repeatedly sexually assaulted by Little between the years of 2010 and 2015.

Reports state that Little engaged in a sexual acts including, anal, vaginal and oral sex, with two male children, between the ages of 11 and 4, and two female children, between the ages of 4 and 12.

Little was taken before the Davidson County magistrate and given a $6.5 million secured bond and a court date of Oct. 23.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Paul Burress Accused of Inappropriately Touching Women

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paul burress

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.

Paul Burress, senior pastor at Victory Church in Rochester, New York and operator of Fight Church, stands accused of forcibly touching two women.

Steve Orr, a reporter for Democrat & Chronicle, writes:

Paul Burress, a charismatic, in-your-face pastor who gained fame for operating a fight club in his Henrietta house of worship, has been accused of forcibly touching two women.

Burress was for years a pastor at Victory Church, a large nondenominational Christian church. The Victory website does not list Burress as being among its leadership team, and the telephone went unanswered there Monday morning.

Burress, 43, is a mixed-martial arts fighter as well as a minister, and received a great deal of publicity when he was featured in Fight Church, a 2014 documentary.

On Friday morning, however, he was arrested by Monroe County sheriff’s deputies on two counts of forcible touching, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. John Helfer. Helfer verified the person arrested was the minister noted for his “Fight Church” activities.

The charges arose from separate incidents in February, Helfer said. The complainants are adult females.

The offense in question, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail, is defined in the state penal law as forcibly touching “the sexual or other intimate parts of another person.”

….

The Henrietta pastor has been dogged by accusations of sexual misconduct for several years. Several blogs and news websites featured such claims three years ago, when Burress came to public attention because of his fighting-in-church approach.

But none of those accusations were proved and there is no record of any previous arrest.

Tina Wright, a former member of Victory Church who asserts she has a long personal history with Burress, said she had spoken to one of the women who filed charges.

Wright, who now lives in South Carolina, said she encouraged that woman and others who may have been harmed by the minister to come forward.

“I know beyond the shadow of a doubt there are more victims. There’s a lot of us here,” Wright said. “We need to end the silence so we can stop the cycle of abuse, especially in the church.”

Asked her reaction to reports of his arrest, Wright said, “I’m still in shock, to be honest. I’m relieved that the voices of the victims are finally being heard and they’ll have the opportunity to tell their stories.”

Video Link

In May 2014, Raw Story reported:

A former member claims “Fight Church” pastor Paul Burress abused his power and tried to entice others into the swinger lifestyle, the Christian Post reported Tuesday.

The pastor’s Victory Church was featured in a new documentary about the hundreds of American churches that attract new members and build their communities around mixed martial arts fights between “fight ministry” religious leaders.

Burress defended the fights, which he said were “not hateful or destructive,” but instead taught participants to “control our most violent impulses through strength, discipline and perseverance — none of which are at odds with Christianity.”

But the Bloody Elbow blog reported that an unidentified former member told the leadership team at Victory Church that Burress had tried to entice him into a sexual relationship with the pastor’s wife.

The man said Burress asked him to perform a sensual back rub on his wife, Jill Burress, who had removed her shirt and bra, while at the couple’s home twice in 2009.

“Paul made sure that my hand made contact with the side of a breast by moving it there with his own hand,” the man said. “Paul also made sure that I touched her bare bottom.”

The man, who said he was 21 years old and single at the time, said Burress also showed him nude photos of his wife and a video of the couple having sex.

“This weighed on me for years, until I couldn’t take it anymore and eventually left Victory because of it,” the man said. “A person should be able to trust his pastor. I could not. 1 Cor 4:2 says it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.”

The man said Burress made sexual advances in 2012 to two female church members in their 20s at his home, where they were going to have their “backs worked on.”

He said the pastor later tried to seduce one of them at a coffee shop after confessing he had been a swinger while previously married to another woman.

“The girls were asked to remove their shirts and bras because the straps got in the way,” the man said. “They both left Victory, and won’t return, because they were frightened and disturbed by the sexual advances of the pastor.”

A former exchange student who was 16 years old when she stayed with Burress and his family in 2009 also sent a letter to church leadership last year, claiming the pastor had molested her.

Victory Church’s executive pastor sent church leaders an email the following day characterizing the woman’s claims as “the latest vindictive email attack against” Burress and the church.

“The timing is suspect as she hasn’t said a word for all these years until these other people started up,” said Al Ogden, who also serves as the church’s director of counseling. “And last year when she came to visit she came back to Victory. So it apparently didn’t bother her much then.”

Ogden also said in the email that her claims may have been coached because they so closely resembled other allegations against Burress, and the official questioned where the woman had gotten the deacon’s email list.

The man said he was concerned about the apparent pattern in the pastor’s life, noting that Burress had been a swinger while married in Missouri and then divorced after an affair with another woman at his Fusion church in Rochester.

….

Update:

USA Today reports that Burress has been charged with additional counts of forcible touching:

Two more forcible-touching charges were filed Friday against Paul Burress, the New York pastor known for running a fight club in his church.

The two new charges involve an adult female who said Burress touched her in a sexual way in one incident this year and another one in 2016, said Corporal John Helfer, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Two other women made similar accusations against Burress last week.

….

You can read court documents related to Burress’ case here.

A March 15, 2018 report states that Burress pleased guilty and received probation. WHAM reports:

A former Henrietta pastor has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse. Paul Burress pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the third degree. Burress will be sentenced to one year of probation. No-contact orders of protection were filed for all the complainants in the case. Three women accused Burress of sexual abuse. The incidents took place at different times in a hot tub at Burress’ house. Burress was a pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Henrietta until last June.

….

How Many Prayers Does it Take to Stop a Hurricane?

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hurricane irma prayer 4

Evangelicals fall into three camps when it comes to the recent spate of hurricanes, tropical storms, and flooding. One camp says these weather events are retribution from God over homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, or _________________ (fill in blank with latest “sin” Evangelicals are offended by). The second camp sees these events as tests of their faith; that God is ready and willing to perform miraculous works if they will but storm the throne room of Heaven with their prayers. A smattering of Evangelicals, deeply immersed in the teachings of John Calvin, believe that God is the divine weatherman; that recent weather events are manufactured and controlled by God — according to his sovereign — often secret —  purpose and plan. I recently wrote a post on this third camp titled, Hurricane Harvey: Where is God When the Flood Waters Rise?.

Today, I want to write about the second camp: Evangelicals who see hurricanes, flooding, and other cataclysmic events as tests of their faith; that God desires to hear and answer their prayers, if and when enough Christians, in one accord, pray for him to come to their rescue. Presently, social media is flooded with hurricane levels of praying. Some of these praying Evangelicals believe that since Hurricane Irma was not as bad as weathermen thought it would be, this is proof that God heard and answered their prayers.

Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist, recently wrote a post titled These People Think Their Prayers Had an Impact on Hurricane Irma. Hemant shared social media screen shots to illustrate his post:

hurricane irma prayer 5 hurricane irma prayer 6 hurricane irma prayer 7 hurricane irma prayer 7 hurricane irma prayer 9 hurricane irma prayer hurricane irma prayer 2 hurricane irma prayer 3

These Christians, along with countless other praying believers, think that their prayers reached a certain numerical threshold upon which God answered their prayers; that if they will only keep praying and encourage other people to pray, the sheer number of their prayers will reach the “stop hurricane in its tracks” level. Evidently, God is a busy man. If Christians want him to stop what he is doing and answer their prayers, there better be a lot of praying going on. This is the Evangelical version of the government petition website established by President Barack Obama. If a petition reached a signature threshold, the government would respond to the petition. So it is with God and prayers.

The number of prayers required for God to answer must be quite high. I am certain that tens of millions of devout, Jesus-loving, church-going, sin-hating Evangelicals prayed for God to turn aside hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Based on damage reports coming out of Texas, it is evident that Evangelicals must not have prayed enough prayers for God to stop his vacation early and deliver Houstonians and other Texans from Harvey’s murderous rampage. However, according to the aforementioned praying Christians, the “you are a winner” level was met and God reduced Irma from a category 5 storm to a category 2. Evidently, not enough Christians prayed, so God refused to stop Irma in her tracks. God did — thanks to his tender mercies, love, and kindness —  however, turn down the wind, lessening the carnage wrought upon Florida. Or so Christians say, anyway.

A friend of mine on Facebook by the name of Bonnie has several Christian friends who resolutely and infallibly believe that the prayers of God’s chosen ones led to a better storm outcome in Florida than in Texas. Trying to point out the absurdity of their comments falls on deaf ears. No amount of skepticism, reason, and science moves them. These prayer warriors know what they know, and facts will not move them off the notion that prayer can and does change things. They are certain that God not only listens to their prayers, but he also, when so inclined, answers them.

I learned long ago that people who believe in supernatural magic — a God-man who lives in heaven and is capable of hearing millions of prayers at the same time, will, on rare occasions answer Christian prayers — cannot be reached with reason, facts, and logic. Convinced that they can manipulate the material world though uttering words to the ceiling or saying silent words in their minds, these worshipers of the one true God are impervious to arguments and data that challenge their worldview. These believers in the prayer-answering God will continue to pray because it is the only way they can make sense of the world. They want to and must believe that their lives have meaning and purpose; that the Christian God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives; that this God is their Father and he is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Using the recent carnage in Texas and Florida as a focal point, ask yourselves, is God acting like a loving, caring Father? Is God acting in ways that would lead people to think that he is your BFF? Some readers might ask, How can we know what God can and can’t do or what God did or didn’t do during the recent weather events? This question, from an Evangelical perspective, is quite easy to answer. God is the Creator, the first-cause of EVERYTHING. The Christian God is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He is the sovereign Lord over the heavens and the earth. Nothing happens that is not according to his divine purpose and plan. Whether he actively decrees things or passively allows them to happen, God is in full control of what happens. He has the absolute power to stop or change events such as hurricanes Harvey and Irma. If people are maimed and killed, it is because God commanded it or allowed it to happen. The thoughts and ways of this God — Jesus is his name — are above ours, and as the Apostle Paul stated in the book of Romans, we are not to question what he does or doesn’t do. In other words, God is always right, regardless whether a hurricane kills zero people or three thousand. Simply put, God is God, shut the hell up.

I am grateful that Irma turned out not to be as deadly and destructive as it could have been. The weather is an unpredictable beast. Weathermen trained in meteorological science and predictive methodology do what they can to warn us when bad weather is headed our way. Sometimes, they miss the mark; other times they are spot on. Either way, prudent people pay attention to weather reports. I am always amused at Evangelical hypocrisy when it comes to “trusting” God during severe weather events. If God is as caring and powerful as Christians say he is, then why don’t praying believers hunker down and pray out the storm? Surely the God who promised to never leave or forsake Christians would be right there with them as the winds blow and the flood water rise. While a handful of Evangelicals will foolishly put their God to the test, most of them wisely and prudently flee to safer and higher ground. Their behavior in times of calamity reveals that Evangelicals talk and pray a good line, but when push comes to hurricane, they will do all they can to keep from being killed. When forced to ride out severe weather, many Christians will make sure their pantries are stocked, water bottles are filled, and that they have the necessary supplies to successfully weather whatever comes their way. Again, why not trust God to meet their every need — as Elijah did at Brook Cherith when God sent ravens daily to bring the prophet bread and meat (I Kings 17)?

Try as they might to paint themselves as benighted beings who live on some sort of supernatural plane of existence, Christians are, in every way, quite human. Much like the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines they condemn and deem sinful vermin, Evangelicals like houses, lands, and property, love their families, and they want, to quote the venerable Spock, to Live Long and Prosper. Doing so requires, not prayer, but human decision and action. Nothing fails like prayer, and all the anecdotal stories in the world won’t change this fact. Prayers might provide comfort to those inclined to believe that God exists, but I suspect, for many Christians, praying is an exercise they know is futile and changes nothing. They pray because the Bible commands them to and their upbringing demands it, but deep down they doubt the value and efficacy of praying.

Black Collar Crime: Pastor Micah Dexter Convicted of Forgery

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pastor micah dexter

Micah Dexter, pastor of The Salem Church in Syracuse, New York, was convicted of forgery and sentenced to 1-3 years in prison.

Douglass Dowty, a reporter for Syracuse.com, writes:

A Syracuse minister gave a sermon-length plea for mercy today after being found guilty of forging documents to steal a South Side house.

The Rev. Micah Dexter cast blame on the mayor, police chief and the assistant prosecutor for what amounted to a political witch hunt.

He suggested that his unfair treatment showed “why this country is divided between Hillary and Donald Trump.”

He even claimed that state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti reneged on a promise not to send him to state prison.

When Dexter was done, Brunetti said that the monetary and non-monetary damage that Dexter did by stealing a man’s house “is almost incalculable.”

The judge said he wished he could order Dexter to pay restitution, too.

“There is more fraud in this case than I have ever seen,” Brunetti said.

The judge said that he never made the promise that Dexter claimed. And he said that Dexter continued his fraud in court today.

With that, the judge sent Dexter to prison for 1 to 3 years. Dexter, who was free on bail and came to court in a suit, was handcuffed and led away.

Dexter was convicted of forging a signature page of a deed that gave him the property from its rightful owner, James Greene, of South Carolina.

Greene had grown up in the residence, prosecutor Lindsey Luczka said today.

Dexter’s actions caused a four-year ordeal for Greene. His house was finally returned to him recently, she said.

Luczka noted that Dexter, even after being convicted, was back in another court over a dispute involving another house he lived in. He claimed to own that one, too, she said.

Dexter clearly hadn’t learned his lesson, she said.

A probation department report concluded that Dexter “has a confusing relationship with the truth.” The report noted that Dexter presents himself as a religious and civil rights leader, “but he doesn’t live that way,” according to an excerpt read in court.

Ultimately, probation said, Dexter was “not a candidate for rehabilitation” and should be incarcerated.

Dexter has refused to accept responsibility and claimed his conviction would be overturned on appeal, Luczka added, from the report.

This was “calculated theivery, not a momentary lack of judgment,” she said, noting that Dexter had been accused of a similar scam in Florida.

Dexter’s lawyer, Graeme Spicer, objected to the characterization that Dexter was taking advantage of his religious role for personal gain.

….

The Sounds of Fundamentalism: Huckster Bob Larson Hawks Lifeline Telephone Service

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bob larson

This is the one hundred and fifty-ninth installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section.  Let’s have some fun!

Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a video clip of Bob Larson in the 1990s hawking Lifeline telephone service as an answer to children calling 1-900 sex lines. Produced by Everything is Terrible.

Video Link