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Category: Things Christians Say

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Stop That Fornicating Girls, It Will Make You Sterile

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

i would rather be fornicatingWe live in a highly sexualized culture. Not many young people are virgins when they marry, even those within the Church. Years ago, Ken and I mentored young couples who were engaged. The leaders of this program, who have been in charge of this ministry for 30 years, told us that when they began this ministry most of the engaged couples had not had sex before marriage but nowadays, it was difficult to find any young couples seeking premarital counseling who were still virgins. [I call bullshit because I can do math. Thirty years in the ministry takes us back to 1988. Those getting married came of age in the 1960s and 1970s — you know the FREE LOVE era. I read a British study (which I can no longer find) that looked through eighteenth century marriage and birth records (which were kept by churches). They found that the majority of women were pregnant when they got married. This should not be surprising for those of us who live in the real world — the one where it is natural for young adults to have sex. Young adults have always been having sex before marriage. Duh, right? And they are not likely to confess their fornicating to an Evangelical inquisitor. I had more than a few couples lie to me during counseling.]

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There are many more verses related to fornication in the Bible.[How often has a Bible verse stopped someone from having sex. My guess, not very often.] It is a serious offense in God’s eyes. He wants us to be chaste and pure before marriage and become one flesh with one man. God’s commands are for our good.[Telling young adults with raging hormones NOT to have sex is most certainly not good for them.] The spread of sexually transmitted diseases is at an all time high. Yes, the sin of fornication has some serious ramifications. [And it doesn’t have to if proper precautions are taken.] It breaks the covenant of the one flesh marriage (even prior to marriage) and it is a sin against one’s one body.

Is there hope for those who have committed fornication? [Lori makes it sound like having premarital sex is some sort of serious crime. Sorry, but it’s not.] Of course, but they will deal with the regret and possibly the scars (infertility and/or disease) from it all of their days [Most people survive their unmarried years just fine. Lori is a fearmonger, plain and simple.] but there is forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ. “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

— Lori Alexander, The Transformed Wife, Fornication is a Sin Against Your Own Body, August 2, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Pastor Dan Miller Admits You Can’t Understand the Bible Using Reason

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment

god said it

Unless you reason outside the box of human reason, you can forget about understanding the Jesus of the Bible. Only those willing and able to break the constraints of common experience and human rationalism can hope to make any sense of Jesus’ life and ministry. [In other words, the Biblical narrative of the life of Jesus is irrational.]

The birth narrative of Jesus demands that we think outside the box. We have no conceptual or experiential category for a woman conceiving a child without sperm from a man. But the biblical authors announce that Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin named Mary by a direct act of God. We are to understand that although fully human, Jesus had no earthly, biological father—a reality Mary found no easier to grasp than we do.

— Pastor Dan Miller, Sharper Iron, Reasoning Outside the Box of Human Reason, July 27, 2018

About Dan Miller

Dan Miller is the pastor of Eden Baptist Church in Burnsville, Minnesota.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Reading Atheist Blogs is Like Looking at Porn

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

science antidote to religion

In addition to avoiding gazing at people no one really wants to see naked anyway, one of the things I believe I absolutely have to do in my quest for godly obedience is to give up my bad habit of occasionally scanning atheist blogs just to see what the pseudo-intellectual blowhards are up to and, as rare as the instances are these days, I need to stop interacting with them.

In my opinion, their drivel is not much better than looking at porn. Yes, there are distinctions between the two but they have a huge common denominator in the sense that they are both poison to your mind.

Atheists believe that everything in life has a purely material basis. They completely deny the existence of anything spiritual. They believe that all our thoughts, dreams, passions, loves, hates, hopes, ambitions, virtues, sins, and sufferings are driven solely by atomic activity. They believe that all our philosophies, politics, cultures, art, literature, music, history, as well as our deepest desire for eternal life and all that is transcendent in the world—that is, the good, the true, and the beautiful—that all of this is purely the result of biochemical reactions and the random movement of molecules in an empty and lifeless ether. This is not science—it’s faith.

What’s more, it’s an irrational faith that serves as the foundation for all superstition. Indeed, atheism is a whole system of beliefs—a system that has its own philosophy (materialism), morality (relativism), politics (social Darwinism), and culture (secularism). It even has its own sacraments (abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia). And this system of beliefs has been responsible for more death, carnage, persecution, and misery than any system of beliefs the world has ever known.

Face it folks, atheism is horrible thinking. No matter how logical it may appear, when it is stripped of its pompous proclamations and arrogant allegations, its naked soul is seen for what it really is: weak, illogical, unscientific, and worthless.

Like a train wreck, I understand that it’s hard to look away sometimes but, exposing yourself to it too often is a dangerous and, for lack of a better word, stupid practice.

Atheists who read this, and there are some who troll this blog just to use what they read here as fodder for their own blog posts and in their conversations, will see my admission that atheism is dangerous and to be avoided as a win for their side and a lame cop out from me.

They will say I can’t handle the truth of their claims or hold a candle to their their extensive intellects, educations, or life experiences.

They will say I’m afraid of admitting I’m wrong about faith because doing so will virtually ensure that I will be shunned by my church, community, employer, or something.

Or they will claim I am warning the “duped and gullible” to stay clear of the “forbidden fruit” atheists offer because just one taste and the walls any sensible person’s faith will immediately begin to crumble.

Nonsense, all of it! [ this Christian doth protest too much, methinks.]

— Isaiah 53:5, The Isaiah 53:5 Project, Naked and Afraid of Atheists, July 27, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Men Want Debt-Free, Tattoo-Free Virgins

Bruce Gerencser 20 Comments

lori alexander

Do you know how much more attractive debt-free virgins (without tattoos) are to young men? Unfortunately, there are so few of these types of young women anymore because of the high costs of college (debt) and sexual promiscuity even within those in the church. As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to live in a way that is pleasing to Him because His ways are the best. He calls debt a burden and urges us to live lives of sexual purity.

There are many more reasons why Christian young women should carefully consider whether or not they go to college, especially if they want to be wives and mothers someday. Secular universities teach against the God of the Bible and His ways. It’s far from what God calls women to be and do: it teaches them to be independent, loud, and immodest instead of having meek and quiet spirits.

— lori Alexander, The Transformed Wife, Men Prefer Debt-Free Virgins Without Tattoos, July 16, 2018

A supporter of Alexander’s had this to say:

“Men don’t want to marry a women with debt. Most of this debt comes from college. They would also prefer a woman who still lives at her parent’s house that has not had other relationships. Do those two things and you will be highly sought after.”

“If they go to college, they are unlikely to stay home raising their children to pay off the debt and use the degree they spent years on.”

“The husband will need to take years teaching his wife the correct way to act, think, and live since college taught them every possible way that is wrong.”

“They will start having babies later in life. That is if they can still conceive naturally.”

“They lost a handful of years of experience learning to cook large meals and learning how to work in the garden. College kids don’t cook. If they do, it’s typically for themselves.”

“The list goes on. Churches don’t talk about it. They support the college kids (really adults) and the ‘working’ mothers.”

“It’s very rare to find an 18 year old woman that continues to work and live at her parent’s house until she meets her husband. It’s pretty much a joke to all who do that.”

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Lori Alexander Advocates Making Children Fearful by Beating Them

Bruce Gerencser 14 Comments

There is a huge mistake going on among many parents today. They don’t want to say “no” to their children. They don’t want to correct them. They don’t want to discipline them or use the rod on their bottoms for disobedience. They don’t want to link sin and pain together. They want to be their children’s friend instead of their parent. They want their children to have “freedom of expression.” This is not raising children in wisdom; for God’s Word tells us to raise our children opposite of this foolish way.

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We are still allowed to use a “rod” on children anywhere in America as long as it does not physically injure the child. I pray this never changes since this is biblical! Spanking must bring short-term pain to a child in order to accomplish long-term gain.

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I have personally witnessed parents who do not spank and discipline their children. Their children grow up to have little to no self-control and live a life of destruction. They don’t fear sin because they weren’t taught to fear it as a child. Most of them have grown old with many regrets.Yes, it’s usually the mother who doesn’t want to “harm” the child because women are more sensitive and emotional. I have also seen women interfere with their husbands’ discipline of the children and this is devastating for the children’s future. We must never be led by our feelings or emotions but live by the truth of God’s Word. The Lord knows that children need a rod when they misbehave because He knows the seriousness and the destructiveness of sin. The sooner parents nip this in the bud, the better for all.

— Lori Alexander, The Transformed Wife, Making Raising Children a Delight, July 6, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: The King James Bible is Inerrant Says Shelton Smith

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

Tking james biblehis Book that I have in my hands, I read each day. When I stand to preach, I preach this Book – this is the Bible!

It is the Word of God. It is a Book so spe­cial that we treat it with the utmost respect. We hold it dear and precious to our hearts.

It is not a Book like any other books which men have written. This Book came to us in a unique way. God Himself gave it to us. When I read its message, it is not the mere musings of a sage, a prophet or an apostle. It is instead the revealed Word of God.

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It [the Bible] is not the words of men but the Word of the Almighty God, who is the Creator of the world. The human penmen were employed of God to write His very words.

When we say it was given by inspira­tion of God, we mean that God Himself gave us His own words. That is why we use the terms verbal and plenary to describe what it is. Verbal has to do with His actual words. It is not just His ideas or concepts, but His words. When we say plenary, we mean inspired fully. It is not somewhat of God with the rest of it being man-made. It is in every sense a God-made Book.

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Is the King James Bible the Word of God? Absolutely! Let us stop the quibbling. Either you have the Word of God or you do not. If your Bible is the Word of God, then you have something totally unique and very, very special.

What is your problem? Why do you feel the necessity to dismember, dissect and dilute the text? Why can you not just say, “My Bible is the Word of God; I believe it, I trust it and I honor it to the fullest?”

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God has preserved His inspired Word for us. It is preserved in the Hebrew Masoretic text and in the Greek Textus Receptus. It is also preserved for us in the English in the King James Bible. What He at first inspired, the Lord God has now preserved. Therefore, when I hold the King James Bible in my hand, I hold the inspired text. It was inspired and now that inspired Word has been protected, preserved and provided for us!

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What Is It That God Preserved? It is His Word, nothing more and noth­ing less! Remember Psalm 12:6-7 says, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, puri­fied seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shall preserve them from this generation for ever.”

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Is the King James Text Reliable and Trustworthy? It is indeed! About your King James Bible you can say it is authentic, accurate and authoritative. It is God’s Word preserved for us in English. It is true and trustworthy. The inspired text has been preserved for us; therefore, it is inerrant and infallible.

— Shelton Smith, Independent Baptist, Why I Only Use The King James Bible

Smith is the editor of the Sword of the Lord — an IFB newspaper.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Fundamentalist Woman Proud of Her Ignorance

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

bible thumper 4

What follows is an excerpt from a blog post written by a Fundamentalist Christian woman named Sue Botchie. Botchie has no interest in intellectual pursuit outside of reading the inspired, inerrant, infallible King James Bible.  Botchie takes great pride in her ignorance about the text and historicity of the Bible. I remember thinking this way back in my Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) days. I considered the Bible to be a flawless, perfect book. Anything that didn’t square with my peculiar interpretation of the Bible was wrong. Of course, when people challenged my assumptions and assertions, I responded, hey your argument is with God, not me.  I later learned that the God and me in this story were one and the same.

Here’s Botchie words in all their wondrous kindergarten glory:

Well, help yerself! And yeah, i know you [Bart Ehrman] went to big-time colleges, and published numerous thick books…i get that! Still, i also get the fact that, throughout the ages, smart men (men, smarter than you, who wrote volumes with quill pen AND by candle-light…) [a common false assumption that the men who translated the King James Version of the Bible were more educated and smarter than scholars today. This is patently untrue.] stayed the faith. Ya’ know, they didn’t have so much as a manual typewriter.

And yeah, reading the Scriptures does often leave a person with more questions than answers. Oh, but could it be, because the Lord is ultimate smart, and we’re all wetards! I.e., His ways, as compared to our ways…yeah, that’s one bitter horse-pill to swallow! Anyway, to go on claiming that the Lord’s Book is erroneous, is [factual, according to the information at hand, a rational conclusion reached by using critical thinking skills] to defame His character. Not smart! [How does Botchie knows Ehrman has defamed the character of her version of the Christian God? Did he tell her? Send her a text or an email?]

Call me a typical fundie moron [self reflection is good]. Have at it, fella. Frankly, i don’t give a flying royal rip what you think. In conclusion, i have ZERO respect for high-end professors who intellectually-bully  20 year-olds. My age talking, but 20 year-olds are kids.

–– Sue Botchie, NoWonderPeopleWalk, Hey Bart! So ya’ think the Bible is one big error-factory, June 22, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: George Zeller Equates Sin to Auto Defects

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

recallMany cars are being recalled today because of manufacturing defects. Here is another recall: The Maker of all humanity is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the central component of the heart (Jeremiah 17:9). The defect is known as S-I-N and this defect will eventually ruin every unit that is not repaired (James 1:15). The original unit was extremely well-made (Genesis 1:31). The serious defect is due to a later malfunction in the original prototype, code name: Adam. This resulted in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units (Romans 5:12). [Following Zeller’s analogy, this means that the manufacturer, God, is responsible for the defect, S-I-N.]

The defect is not limited to only one part of the unit; the problem has affected every part (Isaiah 1:6).  Some of the symptoms include loss of direction, uncontrollable acceleration to do evil, and foul vocal emissions (Mark 7:21-23). Even though the Manufacturer did not cause the problem [Yes, he did. He did, after all, manufacture the car. Your product Ford-Lincoln-Mecury God, so you are to blame for its defects.] He has offered a repair for every single unit (Luke 19:10). And this factory-authorized repair is provided absolutely free of charge (Isaiah 55:1), and is guaranteed to correct the defect. The Repair Technician has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. He didn’t pay in cash, nor with silver or gold, but with His own precious life blood (1 Peter 1:18).

The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be consigned to a furnace and suffer eternal consequences (Matt. 13:42). The S-I-N defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven in order to prevent contamination of that facility (Rev. 21:27). [This means, then, that there will be no Christians in Heaven. I don’t know of one auto that has been totally repaired. If complete and total repair is required to enter God’s garage in the sky, it’s going to be mighty empty. Come join us in Hell, Evangelicals. The weather is grand, and junkers are welcome.]

— George Zeller, Dispensational Publishing, Auto Recalls and the Creator’s Recall, June 25, 2018

Zeller is the assistant pastor of Middletown Bible Church, Middletown, Connecticut

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Baby Boomers to Blame for Immorality Says Lori Alexander

Bruce Gerencser 6 Comments

woodstock

What follows is a typical example of how many Evangelicals view history and the world.

“Baby boomers are the generation that inherited a prosperous country and leave behind a country bankrupted and drowning in debt. They inherited strong nuclear families and leave behind a long, sad trail of divorce and broken homes. They inherited relatively strong churches and leave behind decaying and empty ones. They decimated our political and social institutions, and now, in their final act, will try to place the blame on the generation they failed to raise.” (Matt Walsh)

I am from the baby boom generation. My parents were the last decent generation. Most of them grew up in intact families, the majority of people worked hard (they had to or they would starve) and only bought what they could afford, mothers were full-time homemakers, and everyone knew what was right and what was wrong.

Then came the sexual revolution in the 60s. Monogamy was boring, women needed to become like men and get away from their homes and children, government “owed” them free stuff, and if one wasn’t happy in the marriage, then divorce and sadly, all of these things have infiltrated the churches. It was a poison (sin) that has continued to grow stronger, more evil, and more pervasive.

My parents had no clue what the “parties” were like when I was in high school. The kids were sleeping around, smoking pot, and getting drunk. Sure there were people in my parent’s generation that did these things but not on a massive scale like in my generation and every generation since then and everyone in my parent’s generation knew these things were wrong.

So our country is now like Sodom and Gomorrah. Many of us are like Lot: “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (tormented) his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Peter 2:8). I was watching the playoff basketball game the other night for a few minutes and saw two wicked commercials during the game. One promoted gay marriage and had two women kissing and the other one promoted the women’s basketball league by showing pictures of the Women’s March, gay pride, and sponsored by Planned Parenthood. This torments my righteous soul (and yes, I am righteous because I am clothed in Jesus Christ).

I am grieved when I see a show (This is Us) that many Christians “love” that began with a scene of a man’s naked behind, a threesome going on in a bed, and some women standing around in bras and underwear. I quickly decided it was not the show for me since we are to dwell on the pure and lovely and “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Do you abstain from ALL appearance of evil or are you entertained by it?

How bad is it going to get before Christians get rid of their televisions? How bad are public schools going to have to get before Christians pull their children out? If your children are in public schools, they are being influenced by the children around them and what these children are seeing on screens. Men kissing men will be completely normal behavior for them and so will men wanting to be women and vice versa.

— Lori Alexander, The Transformed Wife, The Baby Boom Generation Started the Depravity, June 12, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Evangelical Pastor Michael Orten Defends Allowing Rapist to Work at His Church

Bruce Gerencser 7 Comments

blood of jesus

Thomas Hopper was convicted in the 1990s of raping and sodomizing a thirteen-year-old girl while holding a razor knife to her throat. He spent ten years in prison for his crimes.  Hopper was also convicted of criminal confinement, battery, and trespassing in the early 2000s. He was also arrested for stalking a high school student. Today, Hopper, a convicted sex offender, is a volunteer worker at Truth Apostolic Church in Madisonville, Kentucky. According to news reports, Hopper leads the church’s care ministry, and is responsible for its nursing home and bus ministry.

When asked about Hopper working at Truth Apostolic, Michael Orten, the church’s pastor, replied:

… this is a situation, if that girl chooses…it takes two to tango, okay?  So if that girl chooses to sleep with him, she’s just as guilty as he is.

Orten later stated:

He was mad and angry, both of them were on drugs. Yeah, that’s still his past. It ain’t like we don’t know nothing about this. Like I said, the media and people are ignorant when they want to turn around and dramatize or hurt somebody.

Orten said that Hopper’s past has been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. The past is in the past, and since Hopper is now a new creation in Christ Jesus:

So what you’re saying is, is the church is no good for forgiveness? Jesus Christ can’t save you? So if you steal a piece of candy from a store because you were young and stupid. And make stupid mistakes. You’re still a thief even though now you’re 40-years-old?

When asked by a reporter, Well, I think stealing candy is a little bit different than rape, Orten replied:

No, it’s not. No, it’s not. No, it’s not. It’s still sin. And if you get caught, there are consequences and you will pay.

Dear Pastor Orten, Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

The church’s website currently returns a 404-page not found error message.

Bruce Gerencser