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Category: Evangelicalism

Christian Say the Darnedest Things: Public Schools are “Pagan Seminaries” Says IFB Pastor Robert Reed

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pastor robert reed

By Robert Reed, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Coden, Alabama, as published on The Transformed Wife

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

Public schools (kindergarten through high school) have proven to be a Trojan horse for school children in America, and colleges and universities throughout our land.

Public schools are not public, they are controlled almost completely by the state and federal government. These schools are not only brainwashing the children, they are also very expensive. Education ranks with defense and welfare as one of the three major expenditures of government. In 2000, the average amount of dollars spent per pupil was nearly $7,000.00. Nearly every politician runs his campaign on the issue of education because it is big business in our nation. If God is not welcome in the public school system, why on earth would anyone want to send his or her children there? In fact, we send missionaries around the world to convert the heathen and send our children to schools that teach the heathens’ ways. Have we lost our minds?

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The public school system has been flawed from the very beginning. It has never been good, and no, it did not go bad in the 1960’s when prayer was taken out of the schools. Even though there have been good people in the system, the conception of state-controlled education is from hell. Public education claims to be neutral on religion, but there is no such thing as neutrality in religion. What they mean is that biblical Christianity cannot be taught, but humanism, evolution, globalism, etc. can be taught. The public school system is very hostile toward Christianity, in other words, the system hates God. The two principle founders of government schools in America hated God and biblical Christianity (Horace Mann, the father of education in America and of the Unitarian Faith and John Dewey, the father of progressive education, and the co-author of The Human Manifesto I). John Dewey was an atheist. In Colossians 2:8, we are told to take warning lest we be spoiled (robbed) through philosophy. Philosophy is simply the love of wisdom apart from God. Many philosophers are admired, quoted, and followed in the public school. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were mentally deranged, hated God, and yet their teaching is prevalent in education.

Plato’s ideal society was to have the government to train the children, eliminating parental authority and influence. The goal of public education is to make loyal state citizens, taking the children from their parents.

Karl Marx called for the abolition of the family, desiring to stop the exploitation of children by their parents.

In Europe, the Prussian monarchs adopted government education as a way of producing children of the state, and other European nations followed suit.

In Germany, Hitler used education and the authority and power of the state to accomplish his agenda.

As one writer so plainly said, “State controlled education is a blueprint for tyranny.” Hitler’s youth became loyal followers of the state and marched to the drumbeat of Nazi ideals. This was seen in the oaths and pledges of the youth in Germany at that time. Hitler gained control of the entire nation by gaining control of the education system. Government schools are common among dictatorial nations. When the communist came to power in Russia, government controlled education was one of the first things to be incorporated. Even in ancient times, nations wanted control of the children. Pharaoh wanted the Israelite children (Exodus 10:9-11), and Babylon wanted to control the training of the children taken captive (Daniel 1:3-5). This is not a new tactic.

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The answer is simple; get your children out of the system (II Corinthians 6:14-18). We are not to be conformed to the world (Romans 12:1-2) and evil communication corrupts good manners (I Corinthians 15:33). The system is anti-God, anti-Christian, and anti-family. Every public school should be shut down in America, and this could be done if it was not tax funded. There is a war going on for the souls of our children. The indoctrination of our children goes on for twelve years, seven hours a day, one hundred and eighty days a year. Be obedient to God’s Word and learn not the way of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2).

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Sacrilegious Humor: Religion by Daniel Sloss

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daniel sloss

This is the latest installment in the Sacrilegious Humor series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a comedy bit 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 email me the name of the bit or a link to it.

Today’s video is titled Religion by Daniel Sloss.

Video Link

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Songs of Sacrilege: Hallelujah by Black Veil Brides

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black veil brides

This is the latest installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series, which I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent toward religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.

Today’s Song of Sacrilege is Hallelujah by Black Veil Brides.

Video Link

Lyrics

They worship the screen, the digital shrine
Demanding purity while rotting inside
The saints are all sinners with halos for show
The sins are forgotten the moment you let go
I pray for my failure, I beg for my blood
But heaven stays silent, the gates remain shut

Hallelujah, my soul
Been crucified for letting go
Hallelujah, I know
Some day you’ll praise what you hate
And suffer exemplary

They mark the forgotten, they spit on the weak
Brave new saviors tell you just how to think
They worship a screen, a digital shrine
Demanding purity while rotting inside, but saints always sin

Hallelujah, my soul
Been crucified for letting go
Hallelujah, I know
Some day you’ll praise what you hate
And suffer exemplary

I was the outcast, the ghost of my muse
The artist who’s buried beneath the accused
Now I’m a fire they’ll never contain

Hallelujah for my soul
Hallelujah, just let go
Hallelujah, praise the son
Hallelujah, broken one

Hallelujah, my soul
Been crucified for letting go
Hallelujah, I know
Some day you’ll praise what you hate
And suffer exemplary

Hallelujah for my soul
Hallelujah, just let go
Hallelujah, praise the son
Hallelujah, broken one

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Quote of the Day: The Disconnect Between Jesus and Evangelical Christians

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stephen colbert

If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition … and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.

— Stephen Colbert, as reported by Snopes

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

What IFB Christians Mean When They Say, “I Am Not Being Fed”

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photo of a man in a red shirt feeding a baby
Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

I preached my first sermon at age fifteen. All told, I preached more than 4,000 sermons over the course of thirty-five years. I spent twenty-five years actively pastoring churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. I started out in the ministry preaching primarily topical and textual sermons. In the mid- to late-80s, I began preaching primarily expositional sermons — book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I love preaching expositionally. This approach forced me to be true to the text. For example, in the early 90s, I preached more than one hundred sermons from the book of John. I also preached through much of the New Testament, along with preaching sermons from Genesis, Exodus, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, and the major/minor prophets.

Over the years, thousands of people heard me preach, both at the churches I pastored and at revivals, conferences, and special meetings. There were times when people disagreed with me on this or that theological subject or objected to my Calvinistic beliefs. These folks would grumble and complain to their fellow members, saying they were no longer being “fed.” In time, off they would go, looking for a new pastor to “feed” them. It was not uncommon for me to hear that they missed my preaching or missed our church, but rarely did they return. To do so would mean admitting they were wrong as to the reasons they left.

That’s not to say that people were always wrong for leaving. No church or pastor can be all things to all people. I had certain beliefs that upset people. I completely understand why an Arminian Christian might be offended by my Calvinistic preaching. Calvinism and Arminianism are incompatible with each other, but I pastored more than a few Arminian Christians. They like me as a person or my family, so they ignored my Calvinistic beliefs, while, at the same time, accepting and appreciating my focus on holiness — without which no man shall see the Lord.

One thing I never did was change my preaching to please people. Preaching expositionally kept me from chasing rabbits or letting my feelings dictate what text I would preach from. Congregants knew ahead of time what text I was preaching from. This allowed them to read and study the text beforehand, though, to be honest, I doubt that many members did.

That’s not to say that Christians are never justified in looking for a church that “feeds” them. Some pastors are dreadful preachers, delivering rambling, incoherent, shallow sermons. After hearing such sermons, I don’t blame people for looking for a new church.

Please share your thoughts and 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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

What IFB Christians Mean When They Say, “I Need a Good Church Home”

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somerset baptist church 1989

It is not uncommon to hear Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christians say, “I need a good church home. Any suggestions?” This question is typically used by people who are either disgruntled members or people who are moving to a new community and need a church to attend.

Due to their emphasis on doctrine and social practices, it is not uncommon for IFB congregants to get upset over something their pastors said or did. Church splits are common, with offended members moving on to other IFB congregations. I pastored an IFB church in southeast Ohio for eleven years. The church grew rapidly, exceeding 200 in attendance in the mid-80s. During this time, two nearby IFB churches had splits. Overnight, our attendance increased by 50 people. These folks were committed followers of Jesus. I knew a bit about the splits at their churches, but decided to accept them as members, even though I knew that this was risky for me to do. Why? People coming from church splits typically don’t stay for the long term. And sure enough, two years later, every one of our new members had returned to their previous churches. The very problems they had at their previous churches cropped up at their new church. Disagreements over my preaching and how the church operated arose, leading these people to move on. I did not attempt to keep them, knowing that their previous churches were “home.”

Often, IFB Christians move to a new community. The first thing they do is to look for a church home. It may be a community with 10 churches, but if they aren’t “like-minded” congregations, IFB Christians will not visit them. From their perspective, non-IFB churches are liberal or worldly. When no IFB church is available, it is not uncommon for people to start new churches. In their minds, every community needs a sin-hating-Bible-preaching IFB church. Of course, as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, people who start new churches can/do leave for friendlier confines.

I learned as a pastor that people come and go. I also learned that I couldn’t make everybody happy. And, finally, I learned not to burn the bridges I had built with leaving members. Over the years, numerous congregants left to find a new church home, only to return a few years later. Without exception, I welcomed them back into our church — no strings attached. Sometimes, these folks stayed, but others would, in time, become disgruntled again. Two families came and went three times in eleven years. Something in my preaching would upset them, and off they would go to “friendlier” churches.

Are you a current/former IFB church member? Did your churches have a lot of turnover? 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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Fundamentalist Preacher Says New Telescope Used to Deceive People

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rubin observatory telescope

 We are not sure how long the new telescope has been operating. We [I, Derrick Thiessen] just found out about it last night, and unbelieving scientists are touting it as the miracle of science. [What Tee can’t be bothered to name is the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.]

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Since the universe is not expanding, dark energy most likely does not exist, and we do not think that dark matter exists either. It is just more made-up stuff by unbelieving scientists.

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Unbelieving scientists continue to chase the wrong things using the wrong tools and going down the wrong path. Then, while dismissing this telescope is easy, Christians need to be more on guard.

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The telescope may be an amazing piece of human construction and technology, but its main goal, whether stated or unstated, is to continue to deceive Christians and unbelievers.

It cannot find evidence for things that never existed. It can only capture what God did at creation. Anything else is read into the images by unbelieving scientists. Why do we find evidence for God everywhere? It is because God knew that humans would be exploring the heavens, the earth, and the oceans.

He made sure they were without excuse at the final judgment. God has let Himself, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit be known easily.

— Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, Don’t Be Fooled

The new telescope has been advertised that it could possibly find the origins of the universe.

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However, finding the origin of the universe is impossible.

The origins are gone, and the only evidence that there was an origin is the fact that the universe and everything in it exists today. The title of that video is misleading, but it also shows how arrogant and unintelligent scientists are.

The arrogance leads them to think they can build a telescope that can see into the past (which the video states it may do). The past is gone, and God is not going to be found repeating what he already did.

This leads to the unintelligent aspect of scientists. They think they can find something that no longer exists. Also, they think they can find a natural origin that never took place and never existed. That is just dumb.

We have the origin of the universe that everyone can read [the Bible], and no one has to spend billions of dollars to find it. All one has to do is buy or borrow a bible, read the first few verses of Genesis one, and they have the origins of the universe.

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No matter what man does and marvels at, God has done it bigger, better, and more glorious. When you watch these videos, keep in mind what we wrote in the previous article on the telescope. It cannot see into the past, it cannot see creation or the origin of the universe, and it is never better than what God did.

— Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, An Impossible Task

Video Link

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Walter Masocha Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Sex Crimes

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walter masocha

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.

Walter Masocha, the pastor of Agape for All Nations Church in Scotland, was convicted of attempted rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault and sentenced to ten years in prison.

The Times reports:

A former Stirling University professor who founded a prominent church has been jailed for ten years for sexually abusing two female congregants.

Walter Masocha, 61, who led The Agape for All Nations Church in Scotland, was convicted of attempted rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault. 

The High Court in Livingston previously heard testimony detailing Masocha’s predatory behaviour, with one married woman recounting how he groped her at his Stirling home, telling her she was a “gift to him from God”. 

She testified that Masocha justified putting his hand in her trousers and touching her private parts by claiming he was “removing demons” and bestowing blessings.

Another victim, who was just 20 when the abuse began described how Masocha — seen as a father figure by many in the church — told her: “God has given you to me to nurture you, look after you and provide for you. He told me to love you in any way you want to be loved. You don’t need a boyfriend.”

She recounted incidents of him grabbing her face and putting his tongue in her mouth, slapping her bottom and placing her hand on his genitals. She also described an attempted rape in his bedroom from which she managed to escape.

Advocate depute Michael McIntosh, for the prosecution, said: “She was looking for prayer and she found herself being preyed upon. Walter Masocha wasn’t just a pastor and a preacher, he was a predator who thought that his power and position rendered him immune from suspicion.”

The conviction follows a trial last month in which Masocha, of Bridge of Allan, denied all charges, asserting that both women had fabricated their stories. However, the jury found him guilty of the charges relating to incidents between January 1, 2006, and July 31, 2012, in the Stirling area.

Judge Susan Craig condemned Masocha’s actions as “appalling”, stating there was no alternative to a lengthy custodial sentence.

Upon his eventual release, he will remain under close social work supervision for four years and will be on the sex offenders register for life. Non-harassment orders have also been imposed, barring him from contacting his victims.

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.