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Quote of the Day: Why Evangelicals Are Such Bad Christians

quote of the day

Yesterday, I read an article about vertical and horizontal morality; that most Evangelicals practice vertical morality. I found this to be the best explanation for the bad behavior we see from Evangelicals. How do we explain their overwhelming support of Donald Trump? How do we explain trolls such as Revival Fires, Dr David Tee, Jaisen, and John, to name a few? These under overpass dwellers have all the right beliefs, but treat people they disagree with like shit. Why? They have vertical morality. The problem, of course, is that Jesus primarily taught his followers horizontal morality.

Caroline Bologna writes:

For many Americans, the gap between Christian teachings and MAGA politics is baffling. How can people profess faith in Jesus ― who preached love, mercy and care for the oppressed ― while supporting policies that punish immigrants, demonize LGBTQ people and glorify cruelty?

The key to understanding this apparent contradiction might lie in something called “vertical morality.”

This ethical framework measures righteousness not by goodness to others, but by something more simplistic. Below, Christian advocates and former fundamentalists break down what vertical morality means and how it explains our political landscape today.

….

“Vertical morality teaches that authority, power and a moral code of right and wrong, or acceptable and unacceptable, come from ‘above’ ― an external superior who designates rules, systems and tenets that must be obeyed by those beneath,” said Tia Levings, a former Christian fundamentalist and author of “A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy.”

In the context of religion, the superior is God. In politics, it might be an authoritarian dictator. In a cult, it would be the controlling leader. Whatever the circumstances, the idea is that behaviors are only right or wrong based on what the figure in power says.

“Vertical morality in Christianity is the idea that our ethics and behaviors have a duty to please God alone. We get our morals from God and we must obey him, furthering the will of God no matter the cost,” said April Ajoy, author of “Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith.”

….

“Vertical morality is just how I describe what’s called ‘divine command theory’ in metaethics,” she said. “I’m a teacher, so I’m always looking for ways to make complicated concepts a little more simple. It’s basically the idea that morality comes from authority above, which is what I was taught when I was raised within conservative Christianity.” [Rachel Klinger King]

Vertical morality stands in contrast to the concept of horizontal morality, another term Klinger Cain has broken down in her videos. 

“Horizontal morality prioritizes the well-being of our neighbors, communities and personal relationships,” Ajoy explained. “We act in ways that cause the least amount of harm to those around us, regardless of beliefs. Someone with vertical morality may help someone in need because they believe that’s what God wants them to do, versus someone with horizontal morality may help that same person for the benefit of the person that needs help.”

Rather than unquestioning obedience and superficial optics, this approach focuses on genuine empathy, compassion, and love toward others, recognizing the actual effects our actions have on people.

….

In Matthew 25, Jesus describes people who fed and clothed those in need, who welcomed the stranger, who took care of the sick and visited those in prison,” she noted. “He then says, ‘What you did for the least of these, you did for me.’ He equates loving our neighbors (horizontal morality) with loving Christ (vertical morality).” [April Ajoy]

….

“Evangelicals are taught that all morality comes from God and therefore true goodness can only be spread by obeying God, even if it harms people around us,” Ajoy said. “This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if pleasing God manifests by following the teachings of Jesus ― loving our neighbors, loving our enemies, promoting peace and taking care of the poor, the widow, the immigrant and standing up for the marginalized. It becomes dangerous when Christians weaponize this vertical morality for power, which is exactly what we’re seeing with the Christian nationalism in the Trump administration.” [April Ajoy]

“What’s interesting is that Jesus taught a compassionate, flexible, grace-filled view of what it means to live a life loving God,” Levings noted. “But today’s conservative Christianity is less influenced by Jesus and more by the Old Testament and Paul.”

She pointed to theonomy, the belief that Old Testament laws should be applied to modern society, as an influence on Christian nationalist politics.

ummarizing the role of vertical morality in the Old Testament, Klinger Cain highlighted the story of Abraham, who was commended for his willingness to obey God’s command to sacrifice his son Isaac, despite the act’s inherent immorality.

“What should happen if you have a horizontal moral system is, you should go, ‘I’m not murdering someone, even if an authority figure has told me to do that,’” she said. “But under vertical morality, that would be a sin because you’re disobeying God.”

Drawing from the most violent and extreme chapters of Biblical history, this approach frames unquestioning obedience as the highest virtue, even when it demands actions that defy compassion or common sense. And what might’ve once been a religious debate has now become a broader cultural conflict thanks to the role of conservative Christians in writing Project 2025 and otherwise shaping public policy.

“The problem with MAGA Christians is that they promote policies that often go against the teachings of Jesus,” Ajoy said. “They justify it by promoting a view of God that is vengeful. They demonize all immigrants as criminals, all queer people as predators, all leftists as violent and all Democrats as satanic ― with no evidence to back these claims. And because they believe in a literal hell and a God-ordained calling to make the nation Christian, they justify cruelty in the name of ‘tough love.’”

Under a vertical moral system, the worst thing you can do is disobey God’s laws, and this perspective has bled into politics as well. Klinger Cain offered the example of the rather callous response to “Alligator Alcatraz” and the extremely punitive treatment of immigrant detainees from MAGA Christians.

“On one side, we’re looking at people who are undocumented, so yes, they’ve broken a rule. But for the most part, there are no victims ― so why is our government being so harsh?” she said. “But the other side, with this fundamental Christian worldview, sees every broken rule as deserving a super harsh punishment. You don’t have to be a murderer or a rapist to go to hell. Every broken rule leads to hell ― even just taking a bite of an apple cursed all of humanity.”

This religious viewpoint desensitizes people, so inhumane immigrant detention feels fine and deserved. Klinger Cain added that, for people with this perspective, the only way to escape the fate of hell is not through good actions but simply by being on the right God-ordained MAGA team.

“Vertical morality has caused white conservative, MAGA-aligned Christianity to completely abandon the core of Christ’s teachings because their focus is on self-interest and perceived moral purity,” Hale said. “To them, they are Christians and haven’t abandoned the faith at all, but their framework measures righteousness in a way that can excuse behaviors that the general public knows and sees aren’t Christlike at all.”

This system also demonizes empathy. Some conservative authors have even written books describing empathy as sinful or “toxic.”

“If Abraham had empathized too much with his son and chosen not to kill him, then that empathy would have been a sin,” Klinger Cain said. “We’ve seen this concept play out in Christianity with pastors telling parents not to allow their children to be gay, even if it hurts them. The idea is don’t allow your empathy to support sin in this way.”

….

“Vertical morality feels safe in chaotic times, when ‘figuring things out’ or ‘learning from past mistakes’ feels daunting,” Levings said. “It’s also easier to comply with when the bottom-dwelling citizens feel like they have little power or agency to resist an authoritarian system. Sometimes, compliance is a matter of survival, and agreeing with it is a necessary means of getting along and staying safe.”

Hale agreed that vertical morality feels easier and less complicated than actually confronting systemic issues and the complexities of social justice. 

“It’s easy to measure your faith by private devotion or rules that you think are in the bible, rather than by how you show up in the world,” she said. “The unfortunate part is that it can blind people to injustice and sometimes cause them to justify harmful behavior. When your focus is on individual righteousness rather than collective responsibility, you don’t learn how to show up for others ― you only care about your own journey.”

As a result, Hale added, you risk fostering a society where people aren’t held accountable for harmful actions and can be cruel and exclusionary, as long as they are “good Christians.” Rather than social responsibility, it’s all about personal salvation.

“We’re seeing vertical morality weaponized today in the Trump administration,” Ajoy said. “If they can convince people that they are ‘of God,’ then it doesn’t matter who they hurt in the process. They say Christian things. They quote scripture. But they are wreaking havoc on the very people Jesus calls us to love and care for. It reminds me of another verse in Matthew 15 that says, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”

“Vertical morality can’t take into consideration modern advancements or needs, evidence of failures, new research and information and human progress in civilization,” she explained. “Those with a vertical structure aren’t inclusive or accepting of other worldviews. Diversity can’t exist because it threatens the high contrast right-wrong rigidity found in fundamentalist authoritarianism.”

— End of Quote —

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.

The Bible is a Book of Claims, Not Evidence

bible literalism

Evangelicals often confuse evidence with claims. When pressed on this or that belief, Evangelicals often respond by saying “the Bible says.” However, the Bible is a book of claims, not evidence. When skeptics ask for evidence for a particular assertion, Evangelicals often quote Bible verses, thinking that, in doing so, they have provided evidence for their claims. They have done no such thing.

Here is some of the claims Evangelicals make;

  • The Bible is the very words of God
  • The Bible is without error
  • The Bible is infallible
  • God is a triune being
  • Jesus is the eternal Son of God
  • Jesus was born of a virgin
  • Jesus worked miracles, including raising the dead and turning water into wine.
  • Jesus resurrected from the dead
  • Jesus ascended to Heaven
  • Christianity is true, and all other religions are false

All of these statements are claims, not evidence. Just because Evangelicals can “prove” their assertions with prooftexts, this is not the same as supporting a claim with evidence. Certainly, the Bible can be used as a historical source when warranted, but what the Bible says alone is not sufficient to justify Evangelical claims. Just because the Bible says Jesus was born of a virgin doesn’t mean he was. The same goes for every claim made with prooftexts. For skeptics, words from a book are not sufficient evidence for supernatural claims. If I said Harry Potter is a real person and he can fly, people would rightly ask me for evidence for my claim. If I said, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban proves Harry is a real person and he can fly, would you believe me? Of course not. So it is with supernatural claims. Unfortunately, many Evangelicals confuse claims with evidence. If Evangelical apologists can’t provide sufficient evidence for their claims, there’s no reason to listen to them.

I am sure some Evangelical commenters will appeal to faith as justification for their claims. That’s fine, but faith will not fly with me and many of the readers of this blog. Faith is the last refuge for believers. It is a safe place where reason, rationality, and evidence are optional. It is the last refuge for believers hiding from the evil philosophies of the world. With faith, anything is possible.

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.

Did God Lie to Us About the Age of the Earth?

creationism ken ham

According to the Bible, God created the universe and everything in it. From this basic premise, Christian thinking goes off in all sorts of directions. Generally speaking, Christians believe one of the following about the creation of the universe:

  • Young Earth Creationism: God created the universe in six literal twenty-four-hour days, 6,028 years ago.
  • Theistic Evolution: God created the universe by and through the process of evolution, leaving room for God to personally intervene in human history when needed.
  • Old Earth Creationism: God created the universe with the appearance of old age.

Yesterday, I listened to a podcast featuring an old-earth creationist trying to defend his beliefs. Things did not go well for him. Science aside, old-earth creationism posits that God deliberately deceived humanity by creating the universe with the appearance of age. Thus, they can accept what science says about the age of the universe while at the same time claiming God created everything.

In other words, God lied to us. The Earth “looks” old, but it’s not. God is just playing a trick on us. If the Earth is 6,028 years old, why do various testing methods say differently? Simple, God is playing a game with us. He’s a trickster, telling us a painting is thousands of years old, when it is, in fact, two years old.

Why would God do this? What is his endgame? Why would he lie to us? You would think that God would want us to have accurate information about creation and the age of the earth/universe. When science says the universe is billions of years old, this is a factual claim, old-earth creationists say, but — with a wink — they confidently say, “God created the universe with apparent age.” This, of course, is a faith claim.

Evangelicalism has nothing to offer when it comes to science. Their core beliefs about the universe are directly contrary to what science says about the matter. Even the theistic evolutionist is inserting God where none is needed. Science doesn’t have all the answers, but it is superior to the manic rants of preachers about the literal interpretation of Genesis 1-3.

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.

Is Jesus Coming to Earth Again?

rapture

Jesus told a whopper of a lie when he said there were people alive who would see him return to earth after his execution, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven. This, of course, did not happen. Everyone who lived in the first century eventually died, all without Jesus returning to earth. Since then, twenty centuries have come and gone without Jesus splitting the eastern sky. False prophet after false prophet has said that Jesus was coming back on such and such a date, without success. According to the Bible, these lying prophets should be executed for their false prophecies. Imagine if this sort of punishment actually happened? Why, the predictions would stop overnight. As it stands now, there’s no punishment for lying about the second coming of Christ.

Since the nation of Israel was established in 1948, countless Evangelical preachers have predicted certain dates and times for the Lord’s return. Passions are stirred, books are sold, prophets get rich, all without Jesus’s return to earth. And no matter how many times these prophets fail, gullible believers will give them more chances to lie, thinking that someday they will hit the winning numbers.

Just because Jesus lied and these false prophets lied, apologists say, doesn’t mean that Jesus is coming back to earth again. True, but after being told over and over and over again that the rapture is “imminent,” it’s not our fault if we think these preachers are frauds. The burden of proof rests on the shoulders of the apologists who say Jesus will soon return to earth. If a friend of mine repeatedly told me that he was coming to visit me and never showed up, I would be justified in concluding that he is a liar. So it is with every preacher who has falsely claimed the rapture was nigh. And if they are willing to lie about this, why should we believe anything they say?

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.

Dear Dr. David Tee, No Apology Will be Forthcoming From Me — Ever

david thiessen
David Tee/Derrick Thomas Thiessen is the tall man in the back

Dr. David Tee, an Evangelical preacher whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, thinks my friend Ben Berwick (MM) and I owe him an apology for some sort of offense that resides only in the dark, empty depths of his mind.

Thiessen recently wrote:

We are still waiting for both MM and BG to apologize and take responsibility for the foul things they have said about and to us. They won’t do it because in their minds, they think they are doing what is right.

I think I speak for Ben when I say that we haven’t done anything worthy of an apology, so one will not be coming anytime soon. Both of us work very hard not to cause unnecessary offense, but when it comes to Thiessen, to speak the truth about him means causing him to “feel” offense. Thiessen speaks in the plural, saying “we are still waiting” for you to apologize. Who is the other person or persons we allegedly offended? Or is this feigned offense all about a butthurt preacher getting upset by something we may have written that he disagrees with?

Memo to Derrick Thiessen: No apology will be forthcoming. Do I regret a few things I have said about you over the years? Sure, but on most accounts, I have written about you truthfully and honestly. You have been given ample opportunity to set the record straight or defend your beliefs, but you choose not to do so, painting yourself as a martyr who is being wrongly “attacked” by atheists and agnostics. You typically write several posts about Ben and me every week. Never charitable, never honest, you choose to paint both of us in a negative light. That’s fine. Such is the nature of the Internet, right? Yet, shouldn’t we expect better behavior from one of God’s chosen ones? Especially, a so-called man of God? What would Jesus do (WWJD), Derrick? Not write two posts a week about two bloggers who, according to you, no one reads (another lie you repeatedly tell).

These days, I rarely respond to the basement-dwelling Thiessen. This post is my reminder to him that he should not expect an apology from me. I sent Derrick a 20″x30″ glossy photo of me pole dancing in the nude. I thought that would satiate his call for apologies and other desires he may have, but alas, Bruce Gerencser swinging in all his glory didn’t do it. Oh well, I tried. (In case Derrick has a hard time with sarcasm and satire, this last paragraph was both.)

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.

Local News: Campbell Soup in Napoleon, Ohio Pollutes Local Waterway with Industrial Discharges

lake erie waterkeeper

WTOL-11 reports:

Campbell Soup Supply Co. has admitted to thousands of violations of the federal Clean Water Act at its canning plant in Napoleon, Ohio.

In a court filing released Monday, the company acknowledged its part in years of illegal discharges into the Maumee River, which feeds into Lake Erie.

In the filing, which listed the plaintiffs as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental groups Environment Ohio and Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Campbell conceded it is legally liable for at least 5,400 violations between April 2018 and December 2024. The wastewater contained phosphorus, ammonia, E. coli bacteria, oil and grease, suspended solids, and other pollutants.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed in March 2024 by environmental advocates, who alleged the factory’s discharges were fueling toxic algae blooms in western Lake Erie. Blooms that could threaten drinking water supplies and harm wildlife.

“Campbell’s admission that it committed these violations will speed this case toward a trial that will decide what steps the company must take to curb its pollution and how large a civil penalty should be imposed,” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Program director for Environment Ohio. “That’s great news for the people who live along the Maumee River and Lake Erie.”

Lake Erie Waterkeeper Sandy Bihn said the outcome could mark a turning point in efforts to restore the watershed. 

“Bringing an end to Campbell’s violations will help water quality in the river and Lake Erie, and demonstrates the power citizen enforcement suits have to drive meaningful environmental progress,” Bihn stated.

Under federal law, citizens can sue to enforce the Clean Water Act when polluters fail to comply. In this case, Campbell agreed not to contest liability and acknowledged that residents suffered harm from the violations.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio will now move toward a trial, expected next year, to determine penalties and remediation measures.

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.

Knocking on Doors for Jesus

knock on door

Most of us are familiar with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Independent Fundamentalist Baptists (IFB) knocking on our doors, hoping to share their version of the Christian gospel with us. If you are anything like me, you find such intrusions into your privacy to be irritating. These God-bothers mean well — thoroughly convinced that they are right. “Hell is real, death is certain,” their thinking goes. I knocked on countless doors in nondescript rural communities as an IFB pastor. I hated the practice, but I was taught by my pastors and college professors that it was essential for me to knock on every door where I pastored. And so I did, for years, taking a handful of loyal church members with me. Spring, summer, winter, and fall, we knocked on doors, hoping to share the gospel with sinners. I taught classes on soulwinning, teaching congregants the most effective way to knock on doors and evangelize people. I even had “specialists” come in to teach church members tricks they could use to reach people with the gospel. Year after year, we knocked on doors, without success. Oh, people would listen to us, and even get “saved,” but few of these converts ever walked through the doors of the church, and those who did rarely stayed.

Fortunately, I eventually outgrew Baptist Fundamentalism and its evangelism practices. In the late 1980s, I became a Calvinist. This change in theology delivered me from the need to bother people with my version of the Christian gospel. “God is sovereign, and he alone saves,” I believed. While I still preached on the street (please see My Life as a Street Preacher — Part One, My Life as a Street Preacher — Part Two, My Life as a Street Preacher — Part Three, and Bruce, the Street Preacher), my focus was on the message instead of evangelism techniques. While there were still people “saved” as a result of my preaching, my focus had changed. I saw that it was my duty to preach the Word and let God do the “saving.”

Did you knock on doors as an Evangelical Christian? 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.

If Evangelicals Really Believed What They Preach

the rapture 3

According to most Evangelicals, the Bible is the inspired (God breathed) Word of God, inerrant and infallible in all that it says. “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me,” Evangelicals often say. “We are people of the book!” Supposedly, Evangelicals are True Christians, people who take seriously the teachings of Christ. Yet, when careful attention is paid to how Evangelicals live, we find that most believers preach one thing and practice another

Some Evangelicals believe Jesus is coming again on September 23, 2025. Yet, if you look at their lives, you see little difference between them and the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world. If I believed Jesus was returning tomorrow, I would be doing all I could to win my family, friends, and neighbors to Christ. Instead, most Evangelicals live as if Jesus is NEVER coming back, even though they believe his return is imminent.

Thirty-seven years ago, Edgar Whisenant predicted Jesus would return between September 11 and September 13, 1988. Whisenant wrote a small book titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Five million copies of the book were sold and distributed. At the time, I pastored the Somerset Baptist Church in Mt. Perry, Ohio. I still remember the big crowd we had at church on September 11. Most church families had read Whisenant’s book, frightened, yet excited, that the rapture was about to happen. As their pastor, I felt it my duty to minister to them, telling them what I believed the truth to be about the rapture. The title of my sermon was oh-so catchy: Why Jesus Won’t Return in 1988. My sermon relieved some and angered others. As you know, Jesus did not return in 1988.

Now we have yet another prediction of Christ’s return:

South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela predicted the Rapture, or Second Coming of Jesus, will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, or Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Mhlakela’s claims, which have gone #RaptureTok viral on TikTok and social media, state that the revelations came to him in a dream, with Jesus telling him he will “come to take my church.”

….

The dates of Sept. 23, 2025, or Sept. 24, 2025, that Mhlakela has marked the “Rapture” coincide with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, which many Christians associate with the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy.

….

TikToker with over 1 million followers said people are selling their cars and houses, leaving items behind for those who “don’t get Raptured.” Tiktoker Sonja (@sonj779) has shared multiple videos on “Rapture Trip Tips,” which have garnered tens of thousands of views. Her posts have led to confusion over whether it’s satire or truth: Among her tips, she urges people to buy new underwear before the Rapture, suggesting that the last impression of you” should not be your old underwear.”

Sigh. (Please see Why I Use the Word “Sigh.”)

As with past predictions, scores of believers will really believe Jesus is coming to earth, and come Wednesday, they will be sorely disappointed. No rapture, and all the stupid decisions they made thinking Jesus was coming again now come due. Most Evangelicals, however, will continue living their lives just as they always have — giving lip service to the teachings of the Bible. Imagine if you were an Evangelical Christian and you KNEW the rapture was happening tomorrow. How would you respond? Everywhere I look, I see Evangelicals acting more like the people talked about in Matthew 24:

Who, then, is the faithful and wise slave whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly, I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51 NRSV)

Here’s what I know: watch how people live, and they will reveal what they really believe. Most of the people I pastored were good people. However, their lives were so filled with the present — jobs, family, church — that they had little time to ponder the imminent return of Christ. It was no different for me, as their pastor. Between ministry and family obligations, I had little time to think about the return of Christ. I thought that if I were busy working in God’s vineyard when Jesus returned, all would be well. Whether my thinking was justified or not, one thing was certain then and is still certain today: Jesus is not coming back to earth. Why? Jesus is dead. That’s why, 2,000 years after Jesus was executed by the Roman government, he remains buried somewhere in an unknown grave.

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.