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The High Cost of Fundamentalist Christianity

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self denial

“Being a Christian will cost you everything,” Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) preachers often say. Even Jesus himself said:

  • Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)
  • If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple . . . So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26,27,33)

As I heard my pastors preach on these verses and read them myself, I took the words of Jesus to heart. From the moment I was saved at age fifteen, my heart was set on following Jesus wherever he led me. When Jesus called me to preach, I never doubted his calling. When my IFB parents divorced and left the church, never to return, I stayed. In John 6, we find Jesus teaching a large group of disciples:

Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? . . . From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Peter, of course, would later deny Jesus, but as a young Christian, my mind and heart were set on following Jesus and the teachings of the Bible. Where else could I turn? It was Jesus alone who had the “words of eternal life.”

I was a true-blue believer for the next thirty-five years. Oh, I had times when my love for God waned and I even sinned against him, but the bent of my life was toward holiness (without which no man shall see the Lord). One of the most common criticisms hurled my way since my deconversion is that I wasn’t a true Christian; that I was a deceiver, a false prophet; that I was in the ministry for the money; that I had a “secret” life. When asked for evidence to prove their claims, none is forthcoming. Ask anyone who knew me at the time I was a Christian and a pastor, and they will tell anyone that I was a committed follower of Jesus; that I took the Bible seriously and patterned my life after its teachings.

Actually believing and practicing the Bible cost me dearly. I believed that this life was preparation for the life to come. I was willing to pay whatever was required of me, knowing that Jesus would welcome me after death into the joy of the Lord as a good and faithful servant.

Fast forward to 2008 — fifteen years ago. My unshakeable faith came tumbling down. What I once believed turned into fool’s gold. At age fifty, I knew that I had wasted my life chasing after a mirage. Bitterness and regret whisper in my ear, “Boy, were you an idiot.” Some of the readers of this blog know exactly what I am talking about. Having followed similar paths, we all lament the great price we paid for a lie.

While I certainly learned much from my experiences as a Christian, nothing can help me regain that which was lost. There are no do-overs in life, and all I can do is embrace life as it is and move forward. That is easier said and done. When you have sacrificed the prime of your life to delusion, it’s hard not to have a lot of regrets. It’s not that I am sitting here wallowing in what I lost, but I refuse to ignore the huge price I paid to follow Jesus. My physical health, my family, my finances, and my mental health all suffered as I devoted myself to the Bible and its teachings. I not only hurt myself, but I also hurt others — wounds that can never be healed.

Last Sunday, Polly and I went to Sweetwater Pavillion in Fort Wayne to hear Samantha Fish/Jesse Dayton and Eric Johanson — jazz, blues, rock– in concert. (Music I once believed was from the pit of Hell.) We had a wonderful time. A high-energy show with a capacity crowd. We have been going to a lot of concerts over the past eighteen months, as often as our finances will allow. Why? For the first fifty years of our lives, we NEVER attended a non-Christian concert. Further, my health is at a place where I may soon not be able to go to concerts. As it stands now, I must use a wheelchair, but there’s coming a day when that will no longer work for me. I take extra narcotic pain medications, hoping that will cut my pain enough that I can enjoy the music. By the end of last night, I was contorted in my chair just so I could sit without excruciating pain. Afterward, I came home and collapsed.

I find it hard not to think about all the bands and music I missed in my pursuit of holiness. I have similar thoughts about other things I missed out of devotion to Jesus. All I know to do is make the most of what time I have left. I will use my writing to warn people about the high cost of Fundamentalist Christianity. Anyone or anything that demands total obedience and devotion is a cult and you should run. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured.

On my About page, I give the following advice:

You have one life. There is no heaven or hell. There is no afterlife. You have one life, it’s yours, and what you do with it is what matters most. Love and forgive those who matter to you and ignore those who add nothing to your life. Life is too short to spend time trying to make nice with those who will never make nice with you. Determine who are the people in your life that matter and give your time and devotion to them. Live each and every day to its fullest. You never know when death might come calling. Don’t waste time trying to be a jack of all trades, master of none. Find one or two things you like to do and do them well. Too many people spend way too much time doing things they will never be good at.

Here’s the conclusion of the matter. It’s your life and you best get to living it. Someday, sooner than you think, it will be over. Don’t let your dying days be ones of regret over what might have been.

I wish someone had told me this as a young man. Instead, all I heard was “Let Bruce deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Jesus.” Is it too late to ask for a refund?

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Does Jesus Really Love All the Little Children of the World?

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jesus loves the little children

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world

Jesus died for all the children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus died for all the children of the world

— Lyrics to the song Jesus Loves the Little Children

Evangelicals typically believe that Jesus loves all the children in the world, especially zygotes and fetuses. Church children are taught songs such as the one above, impressing upon them that Jesus loves them bunches and bunches and bunches. Granted, Calvinists don’t believe Jesus loves all the children in the world; just the elect. Outside of Calvinists, Evangelicals generally promote the idea that Jesus — who is God — really, really, really loves children.

Jesus is presented to children as their BFF, an ever-present, personal friend. This idea is reinforced in sermons, Sunday school lessons, and junior church programs. Countless Evangelical children have sung the song Jesus Loves Me:

Jesus loves me!
This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak but He is strong.

Jesus loves me!
Loves me still,
Tho I’m very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free,
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me!
He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me!
He will stay
Close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me;
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Chorus
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Evangelical children enter adolescence wholeheartedly believing Jesus really loves them. However, as they face and experience the pressures of growing into adulthood, they often begin to question whether Jesus really does love them. Doubts and questions creep in, and by the time they graduate from college, many Evangelical children wonder if Jesus really loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives. Life brings challenges and realities that cause them to question whether Jesus is their BFF. When teens bring their doubts and questions to their parents, pastors, and teachers, they are encouraged to faith-it; just because Jesus seems distant, indifferent, or nonexistent doesn’t mean he is.

For many of these students, post-high school, they will drift away from church, no longer believing what their elders are selling. As these young adults examine the world they were brought into, they wonder, “Does Jesus really love all the children of the world?” The evidence suggests he doesn’t; that, at best, he is an indifferent, uncaring, impersonal God. They see war, violence, sickness, disease, and starvation, wondering, “Where is the Jesus who loves all the children of the world?”

When they turn their eyes to their Republican/Libertarian parents, pastors, and teachers what do they see? Do they see Evangelical Christians who love all the children of the world?” No, they see policies that seem to focus on the unborn, but are negligent and hostile towards the born. Most Evangelical Republicans/Libertarians oppose the social safety net; policies and programs such as free student lunches, summer lunch programs, food stamps, Medicaid, and Section 8 housing. Most of them are pro-war, knowing that innocent civilians, especially women and children suffer horrifically and often die as men and women fight to the death over real estate. Few seem to have a problem with draconian border policies in Texas that place concertina wire in border rivers that could severely injure and kill undocumented children trying to cross the river.

Many Evangelical young adults conclude that the “love” they had been taught is a lie; that whoever Jesus might be, he is not a man who loves all the children of the world. They see in their parents, pastors, and teachers, people who say one thing but do another. Droves of young Evangelicals are exiting the church stage left, never to return. The reasons for this exodus are many, but one reason is the disconnect between what is said and reality.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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 End of the Road: Twenty Years Ago, I Pastored My Last Church

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white birch clare michigan 2003-001
House we rented in White Birch, a wooded, gated community north of Farwell, Michigan for $750 a month. At the time, I was pastoring Victory Baptist Church, Clare Michigan 2003

In July 2002, I resigned from Our Father’s House in West Unity, Ohio, thinking I had pastored my last church. Five years previously, I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The disease was manageable as long as paced myself and managed to regularly rest. Polly and I decided to seek out a church to join, one we could help with our money and skills. Eight months later, we were thoroughly discouraged, wondering if there was a church anywhere that took seriously the teachings of Christ. By then, much like an athlete who retires, I started feeling “God” wanted me to pastor again. Of course, “God” was Bruce. The ministry was so much a part of who I was, that it was silly for me to think that I could ever stop preaching and doing the work of the ministry.

In March 2003, I sent my resume to several Southern Baptist area missionaries in Ohio and Michigan. These men quickly circulated my resume among churches looking for a pastor, and overnight my phone began to ring. The first church to call was a small church in Clare, Michigan, Victory Baptist Church. The Sunday before Easter, I went to Clare to preach for them. We were well received by the 40 or so people who were in attendance. Bruce, the entrepreneur saw potential, but I wondered what dysfunction lurked below the surface that was not readily apparent. Churches always hide their dirty laundry from prospective pastors, especially if they really want a certain man to become their next pastor. In retrospect, I should have demanded the congregation empty their proverbial closets so I could ascertain the true condition of the church. Alas, I did not. Bruce, the preacher just wanted to get back to preaching. How bad could things be, right?

Two weeks later, I went back to Clare and preached for the church again. Later the following week, the church unanimously voted to call me as their next pastor. Soon after, we packed up our belongings and moved to Clare, leaving behind our three oldest children.

By late October 2003, Polly and I and our three youngest children returned to northwest Ohio. While we accomplished much while at Victory Baptist — major building remodel, new church sign, increased attendance, refinancing the church’s mortgage, implementation of proper financial controls, and cleaning up church membership roll — institutional dysfunction and conflict with several long-time members, led to me resigning.

I called for a business meeting, hoping to resolve our disagreements. I had warned the church that I would not fight with them. I was at a place in life where I had no interest in conflict. I was naive in thinking I could pastor a BAPTIST church without conflict.

One week before the meeting, a church member asked if she could put some outdoor toys in the nursery for the children to use. I took a look at the toys and told her that they were not safe for use in a nursery with younger children. There is too much risk of injury, I told her, thinking that would be the end of it. A day later, I came to the church and found the toys in the nursery anyway. Angry, I removed them, telling the woman — who saw herself as a preacher, an apologist — that the toys could not be used in the nursery; that they were not safe for young children. She replied we will see about that.

A big crowd awaited me when I arrived at the church for the business meeting. What should have been a discussion about the future of the church turned into a debate about nursery toys. I told the church that someone had to make the final decision on the toys, and that someone was me. Some congregants wanted to have a vote on the toys, which I rebuffed, saying, the toys are not safe for young children. I thought that would put an end to the toys issue, but several members were intent on defending the honor of the offended member. One of the deacons spoke up and said, you are the best preacher I have heard in fifty years, but we can’t allow this to happen. I knew, at that moment, my time at Victory Baptist Church was over. Another member — the church treasurer who hadn’t balanced the church books in five years — let me know that my vision for the church had never been theirs. Her words cut me to the quick. I had been spending 30-40 hours a week on the church remodeling project, spending that $10,000 that the church treasurer didn’t know the church had because she couldn’t be bothered to balance the books. My sons came up several times to help with the project — a new church platform, new carpet and lighting in the auditorium, three new classrooms, new nursery, and repairs and paint throughout. I spent countless hours hanging drywall, wiring lights, and hanging doors. The only extra help I had was a retired church member who had extensive construction experience — a real lifesaver and a great guy — Polly and the kids, when she wasn’t working, and the Tero family that came from Georgia to help with the project. Not one other member meaningfully helped with the months-long project. I should have known then that my vision was not theirs.

I reminded the church that I had told them that I would not fight with them. Since it was evident that the church and I were on different pages, I resigned. Afterward, not one church member contacted us. On the day we moved, we were all alone. Our oldest children came to help us move, a reminder when it comes right down to it, all you have is family. Even the church family of twelve who literally lived right across the street from us — people with whom we were very close — left early in the morning on the day we moved, not saying a word to us. It was as if we didn’t exist.

In retrospect, I never should have pastored Victory Baptist Church. Quite frankly, they didn’t deserve to have me as their pastor. We sacrificed greatly to come to Clare. Polly left her well-paying job at Sauder Woodworking, taking a job at a local laundromat that paid a pittance compared to what she made at Sauder’s. My salary? $250 a week, with no insurance benefits. (We received Medicaid insurance and food stamps while we lived in Clare.) We got by, but it wasn’t easy. Polly and I, along with our children, are survivors. Not one time did anyone ask how we were doing.

Sadly, there are thousands of thousands of Victory Baptist churches in the United States; congregations that chew up and spit out pastor after pastor, believing that these men are the problem, not them. Rarely will they look in the mirror and see that their incestuous dysfunction and tribalism are the problem, not the pastor. (And don’t get me wrong, pastors can be a problem too.)

I never should have pastored this church. As a church planter, I saw Victory Baptist as an opportunity for Bruce to work his magic as he had done several times before. I loved the challenge. I misread the true nature of this church, and for that, I take full responsibility.

As Polly and I drove out of Clare in our U-Haul truck, we decided to drive by the church one last time. As we did, there was the toy lady standing on a ladder with a razor scraper, scraping my name off the sign. And just like that, I never existed. Not long after, several families left the church — including several large tithers — and the church closed its doors.

I would try once again to pastor in 2005 — candidating at two Southern Baptist churches in West Virginia — but my heart wasn’t in it. My preaching days were officially over.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Dr. David Tee’s Heretical Gospel

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david thiessen
David Thiessen is the tall man in the back

I genuinely feel sorry for Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen. A former college-trained Christian Missionary and Alliance preacher, Thiessen has constructed for himself a Christian gospel that bears no resemblance to the gospel found in the Bible or that which is believed by Evangelical Christians everywhere. Thiessen finally declaring his heretical gospel helps me understand his thinking and some of the bizarre things he has said in the past. Many of the readers of this blog are former Evangelicals. As you read Thiessen’s gospel, ask yourself, does this resemble anything you heard in church or preached as a pastor? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Thiessen writes:

Anyone, thieves, murderers, children, adults, LGBTQ members, atheists, and more people are all welcome to accept Christ as their savior. The only aspect of human life NOT invited or included in this plan or paradise is sin.

Every person who wants to go to God’s paradise has to give up their sin and practice it no more. Sin is not allowed in God’s home. The knowledge of sin is clearly defined and well documented as well as proclaimed.

Everyone knows God’s definition of what is sin and what is holy behavior. There is no secret and everyone has access to the Bible. They can read it for themselves if no one does it for them. [The Bible says the natural man CANNOT understand the things of God.] Those definitions do not change and humans cannot change it or add to them.

The definitions are clear and understandable so that no one has an excuse if they do not give up sin and live by God’s rules.

….

People look to get away from God through these false ideologies like diversity and inclusiveness yet those false ideologies only remind people that like God there are always rules and not everyone is going to like them.

….

If people want to go to God’s home and paradise, they must abide by God’s rules. There is no way around this fact. Only God can change those rules and he won’t as he remains the same. The rules are the rules and you need to accept that if you want a chance to live for eternity and avoid hell.

No matter how nice a person you think you are, you still need to accept Jesus as your savior and give up all sins and the practice of it to make it o heaven. There will be many famous people who have lived good and moral lives but they won’t make it to heaven.

The reason for that is the rule for salvation. Being good and moral is not the criteria to make it to heaven. [Isn’t stopping all sin being good and moral?] The rule to make it to heaven is to accept Christ as your savior and live by his rules. As Jesus said, why do you call me lord yet do not do the things I say (quoted from memory). [Jesus also said “there is none that doeth good, no not none.”]

The Bible also says that obedience is better than sacrifice. While those good and moral people may sacrifice sin and unethical behavior, they did not obey the rule for salvation. Thus they cannot expect to make it to heaven.

This is fair and just as the rules for salvation apply to everyone and that is very inclusive and diverse.

I am sure that Thiessen will say I misrepresented him, but the aforementioned words are his, not mine. What I read is a works-based gospel that is antithetical to salvation by grace. If perfection — the forsaking of all sin — is required for salvation and entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God, Heaven will be void of human life. No Christian, including Thiessen, will make it. I encourage David to really rethink what he believes, especially in light of his own sinful behavior. He better hope salvation is by grace. If not, he’s going to be burning in Hell with the very people he routinely condemns for behavior he deems sinful.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Short Stories: The Perry County Jail, the Baptist Preacher, and Beavis and Butt-Head

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bruce gerencser 2002
Bruce Gerencser, 2002

From 1983 to 1994, I pastored Somerset Baptist Church in Mt. Perry, Ohio. A growing Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church in the Appalachian region of southeast Ohio, it was here that I learned what it meant to be a pastor; to minister to the least of these. The church grew to 200 in attendance and then suffered a decline in the early 1990s. By then I had started Somerset Baptist Academy — a tuition-free school for church children.

In the mid-1980s, I started a prison ministry, weekly visiting inmates at the Perry County Jail, along with visiting inmates at several state prisons. (Another IFB preacher later ministered with me at the jail. I don’t remember why he stopped doing so.) Every Tuesday I would go to the jail to talk with anyone who wanted to talk with me. I never pushed the gospel or tried to evangelize them. My goal was to befriend these men with no strings attached.

I vividly remember my first time at the jail. The jailer took me to an open place outside where the men were congregated, saying other churches stood there and “preached” to the inmates. (I thought, at the time, you mean preach AT the inmates.) I told the jailer that I would like to visit the men on their side of the bars. The jailer, with a worried look on his face, said, “Are you sure, preacher? What if something happens?” I told him that I would be fine; that I was a big man, and if someone attacked me, I would defend myself. And with that, each week that I came to the jail, the jailer would lock me in with the men, saying, “Bang on the bars when you are ready to go.” Not one time did an inmate threaten me with physical harm. In time, they came to see me as their friend and looked forward to my visits.

I learned about the human condition while ministering to the men at the Perry County Jail. I learned that poverty and substance abuse were never far from these men. Two young men were charged with murder after they, high on drugs, robbed an elderly woman’s home and slit her throat. Another young man was charged with murder after getting into an argument with his best friend over a pizza. Enraged, he killed him with a shotgun. Others were incarcerated for drug crimes, robbery, theft, and domestic violence. Everyone had a story to tell, and I was there to listen, and if asked, pray for them. I tried to help their families on the outside if I could. Not one inmate ever visited the church I pastored, but I took comfort in knowing that I did as Jesus commanded me to do in Matthew 25. Whether I helped effect change in these men is for them to say. I do know, however, that I was a changed man after getting to know them and hearing their stories. What I learned at the Perry County Jail stayed with me even to this day.

I am sure you are wondering about Beavis and Butt-Head. What do they have to do with my work at the Perry County Jail? Beavis and Butt-Head were on the TV every Tuesday. The men loved this show. I never asked them to turn off the TV. While I personally found Beavis and Butt-Head offensive, I was a guest in their home. I learned to tune out the noise as I talked with the men. I never wanted to be THAT preacher; you know the pushy, arrogant pastor who takes offense at everything. The men quickly learned that they could swear around me. I was just one of the guys, albeit without a criminal record. I understood their poverty, having grown up in a dirt-poor home with a drug-addicted mentally-ill mother and a father who paid little to no attention to me. I knew what it was to do without; to move from house to house and school to school.

In the late 80s, a new, cocky sheriff came to town. He threatened me with arrest several times for street preaching. I dared him to do so, knowing the law was on my side. He revoked my jail privileges, and my ministry at the Perry County Jail came to an end. I often wonder what happened to many of those men. The murderers likely were paroled. What became of them? What lives did they live post-prison? I can only hope that I, in a moment of time, was some small help to them; a friendly man who never judged and was ever content to listen.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Jim Denison Says Millions of Christians Committed Adultery Watching Oppenheimer Movie, Now Headed for Hell

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oppenheimer

Warning! This post contains snark, swear words, and sexual references. Easily offended Evangelicals should steer clear of this post lest God opens up a can of whoop-ass on you for not doing so! Abstain from the very appearance of e-v-i-l.

Jim Denison, a Southern Baptist-trained Evangelical preacher spends his days fighting the culture wars, making social commentary, and turning news into clicks. Denison has turned his warfare into a multi-employee business that reaches millions of people. One thing I know for sure, “red meat” sells among Evangelicals, so Denison regularly butchers aspects of American culture he disagrees with. (I don’t criticize him for doing so. Tis the nature of the Internet. Freedom of speech, right?)

Denison recently wrote a post titled Why I refuse to see “Oppenheimer”—and you should, too. Not content to not see the movie himself, he wants his Evangelical readers to not see it either? Why? The movie portrays sex and nudity — normal, everyday human behavior that is demonized by Evangelical moral gatekeepers. Denison seems to have no opinion about nuclear weapons themselves and the United States’ use of them in 1945 to vaporize hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians or the early death sentences given to both American and Japanese citizens who were exposed to high levels of radiation. No, Denison is all worked up and bothered by boobs and asses. I haven’t seen the movie, and neither has Denison. I plan to see the movie. Boobs and asses? OMG! Must see! Or maybe I want to see how accurately Christopher Nolan portrays Oppenheimer and the development/use of the atomic bomb. Maybe some of us can see nudity without getting a boner or being stirred in our netherworlds.

IMDB has this to say about the nudity/sexuality in Oppenheimer:

Sex scenes with female bare breasts & buttocks nudity including extended sequences of female breast nudity. A man’s recurring infidelity is a common theme depicted explicitly.

The film has heavy discussions about a man’s sexual affairs & his cheating as it was part of Oppenheimer’s history.

If boobs and butts offend Denison’s sensibilities, then, by all means, he shouldn’t watch Oppenheimer. However, he is a Baptist preacher, so he feels duty-bound to shame other Christians into not watching it either.

Denison writes:

I wish I could see Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan movie that collected $80.5 million in its opening weekend. Its theme is fascinating: one of the most pivotal moments in history is brought to life through outstanding performances by superb actors.

….

Then I discovered that the movie includes scenes with explicit sex and nudity. The director explained that he wanted to show that the depicted romance transcended politics. But there is no moral way to justify immorality.

And make no mistake: the scenes keeping me from seeing Oppenheimer are immoral.

Jesus was clear: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). The same is true for women who look lustfully at men. According to Jesus, Oppenheimer caused millions of people to commit adultery over the weekend.

Once again, scientific research substantiates his point. Studies conclusively show that viewing pornography (which is what the sex scenes in Oppenheimer constitute) changes our brains in damaging ways, quickly leads to stress, addiction, and escalating behavior, fuels mental illness, and negatively impacts love, marriage, and intimacy.

In addition to the psychological effects of pornography, consider the spiritual: lust, like all sin, grieves and stifles the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). This means that viewing the nudity in Oppenheimer not only damages us—it keeps the Spirit from working positively in and through our lives. We suffer both the harm of lust and the lost opportunity of holiness.

And there is the matter of our public witness. What will those who watch Christians watching the sex scenes in Oppenheimer think about the sincerity of our faith? What about those who watch us enter or leave the theater or who otherwise learn that we saw the movie? This is one reason we are commanded to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Damn, that sure went from zero to sixty in five seconds. Denison thinks watching ANY nudity or sex scene on TV or on the big screen is akin to watching Debbie does Dallas on YouPorn. I wonder if Denison has actually ever viewed porn? Trust me, the nudity in the Oppenheimer film is mild compared to what can be viewed on porn sites. I’m sure Denison will make the slippery slope argument, to which I reply, stop using so much K-Y jelly.

Denison says that people who watched Oppenheimer with both eyes open committed adultery. That’s right, they committed adultery. Imagine a married couple watching the movie. Both of them were committing adultery while they sat there. I sure hope the theater owners clean the seats afterward.

Denison appeals to the Bible as justification for his Fundamentalist moralizing. Fine, then I must take Denison’s Bible proof-texting to its logical conclusion. The Apostle Paul says that adulterers will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God. This means that everyone who viewed the boobs, asses, and sex scenes while watching Oppenheimer is now headed for the Lake of Fire. You can’t say watching it is lust/adultery and not also conclude that those who watched with eyes wide open will be forever punished in Hell for their immorality.

Imagine the following in Hell someday:

Hello, my name is Adolph Hitler.

Nice to meet you. My name is Pastor Billy Bob.

Why are you here Adolph?

I murdered millions of Jews, gypsies, and developmentally disabled people. I also started two world wars, killing millions more.

And you, Billy Bob, why are you in Hell?

Well, Adolph, I went to the movie theater one Friday night and saw the movie Oppenheimer. You remember the atomic bombs that ended World War II? Oh wait, you had already committed suicide. No wonder you are in Hell. You committed the unpardonable sin. Anyway, there were some nudity and sex scenes in the movie, and because I didn’t leave the movie in protest, I lusted and committed adultery in my heart. I am now in Hell because of five minutes out of a three-hour movie.

Welcome to the world of Fundamentalist Christianity. Denison didn’t actually say that these adulterous Christians are headed for Hell. All I did was connect the dots for him. If people are lustful adulterers, then, based on the inspired, inerrant, infallible Words of God, these porn watchers are headed for Hell. Unlike many Christians, this atheist believes all of the Bible. 🙂

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

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You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Bruce’s Ten Hot Takes for July 27, 2023

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hot takes

Joe Biden knows more than he’s letting on about his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings.

If Joe Biden suddenly froze during a press conference, the right-wing media would scream about his fitness for office.

The left-wing media goes out of their way to minimize President Biden’s physical decline, much like Republicans did with Ronald Reagan 40 years ago.

Ozempic (semaglutide) is now causing gastroparesis (stomach paralysis) in some people. Welcome to my world. You will now lose weight without taking a drug. I call it the vomit, nausea, lack of appetite diet.

Most weight loss programs don’t work, yet Americans spend billions of dollars trying to be slimmer, trimmer people.

Ohio students now attend public school 182 days a year, yet baby boomers only needed 154 days a year to get a similar education. I suspect the reasons for this are nonessential classes and parental work schedules.

If Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is hurt and can’t play, their season is over.

Ukraine (and NATO) is obfuscating and minimizing the carnage and death in its conflict with Russia.

Memo to MSNBC talking head Nicole Wallace: you need to rethink your use of the phrase “historic day of news” every day on your program. Someone associated with Donald Trump getting indicted is not “historic.” It’s just another say in the USA.

2,000 Americans under the age of 25 suffer cardiac arrest every year. This was happening long before COVID-19 vaccines.

Bonus: The only absolute right seems to be the freedom of religion.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Was Jesus the Ultimate Salesperson?

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jesus salesman

According to Dave Brown, the founding partner of Southwestern Consulting of Nashville and author of the book, Servant Selling, says Jesus was the ultimate salesperson who ever lived. He was also the best ever at recruiting people:

Jesus was the ultimate salesperson who ever lived. Think about this: Jesus sold people on a revolutionary new way of thinking. He convinced followers to join him in going against the cultural norms of the time; He preached love and forgiveness, ate with the sinners, and challenged the status quo. He also treated people with respect and integrity and was always a servant.

Jesus was also the best-ever at recruiting. People followed Him despite risking imprisonment and death, yet they followed Him. Even to this day, over 2,000 years later, He is still recruiting people. And those He recruited are also still recruiting others.

Deb Brown Maher adds:

After extensive field research and years of firsthand experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that sales professionals and business owners who sell need a clear, compelling example from which to draw inspiration and ideas. And the best example for successful selling comes from a global leader who set foot on earth 2,000 years ago: Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, we are proud to announce the launch of Sell Like Jesus.

Sell like Jesus uncovers the essence behind communication strategies that Jesus used 2,000 years ago: What they are, why they worked, and how they can be applied in a sales setting today to improve your results. What is clear is that Jesus was a consummate listener, observer and leader — who quite literally changed minds and hearts, and motivated people to act. In other words, he was a spectacularly successful sales professional.

The best salesperson ever? The best recruiter of all time? What evidence do we have for Brown’s and Maher’s claims? None, absolutely none. Charles Manson and Jim Jones recruited far more people in their lifetimes than Jesus. How many followers of Jesus were in an Upper Room in Jerusalem after his death? One hundred and twenty. Thousands may have heard Jesus preach, but few of them followed after him. The growth of Christianity in the first three centuries was quite slow, and this growth was not due to the most amazing salesperson ever, Jesus. It was the Apostle Paul who took his traveling medicine show to the Gentiles; and if anyone should be praised for the growth of Christianity, it is Constantine — the man who institutionalized Christianity and gave state sanction to the sect.

Whatever Jesus was selling 2,000 years ago, it bears little resemblance to what Evangelicals sell today. I doubt Jesus would be pleased with being used as an illustration for good sales and recruiting techniques. I doubt he wanted his words and actions turned into slick, generic sales programs and training exercises.

As far as Jesus being the best-ever recruiter, his recruitment numbers suggest otherwise. By all accounts, Jesus was a failure. In fact, according to the Bible, Jesus knew he would be a failure; that following him was a narrow gate and a straight road, and few people would walk this path. Brown might point to recruitment numbers in the modern era, but are these cultural Christians remotely following after the Jesus who said, let a man deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me? I think not. Denial doesn’t sell, but comfortable buildings, professional bands, shallow boyfriend-girlfriend songs, and felt-needs sermons sure do; sermons that rarely, if ever, call on hearers to deny their materialism and minister to the people the Bible calls “the least of these.”

Much like other Evangelicals, Brown and Maher are making money off of Jesus by manipulating and twisting his teachings and testimony to promote capitalism. Jesus can’t speak for himself — he’s dead — but I can. I may be an atheist, but I can spot bastardized Christianity from a mile away.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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 Defiance, Ohio Coyote

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ohio coyote

Off in the distance on Hopkins Street, a resident of Defiance, Ohio “sees” a coyote. Did she really see a coyote? Could the animal have been a dog that looks like a coyote? There’s no time for proper identification. The public must be immediately warned about this looming threat, so the woman reports her alarming find on a local Facebook group known for exaggeration and hysteria:

Coyote spotted on Hopkins! Pretty sure it got a poor kitty 🥺 Please get your cats inside if at all possible!

Did the coyote kill a cat? “Pretty sure,” doesn’t sound like evidence of a “crime.” If the woman saw a dead cat, it could have been killed by a redtail hawk, a dog, or a human. Should we not know for sure whether the coyote killed the cat, especially since modern-day Puritans are now calling for the “witch” to be executed; his only crime him being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Oh, wait, we humans execute wildlife just because we can. Christianity taught us that we have dominion over the earth and all its inhabitants. If we want to indiscriminately kill a curious, roaming coyote, that’s our right.

One woman suggests that someone shoot the coyote (in town) lest it eat someone’s baby. According to her, people who disagree with her are “soft”; people who care more about coyotes than babies. Think of the babies! Never mind the fact that no baby is in danger. It’s Facebook, the place where anything is possible, including coyotes eating infants.

Yours truly, the village atheist, rationalist, and skeptic decides to respond. Polly rolls her eyes, knowing that the forthcoming discussion will not change minds. But, she also knows her passionate animal-loving husband will not let this pass. He just can’t help himself. His therapist has come to a similar conclusion.

TV: This is why they need to let people hunt in city limits. Kids are going to get hurt.

Numerous locals objected to her statement, thinking she was kidding.

TV: I most certainly am not kidding. I see all kinds of kids at the park across the street and I would do anything to protect a child from a wild animal my child’s or not. I’m not saying it to be mean. I love animals too. But a person’s life is more important than an animal that can potentially kill.

TV: And that’s why I say people are soft. They would rather save the animals but it comes back to what you are saying. And eventually, people will get hurt. There has to be a solution. Until then I guess the cat population will become less. [Keep in mind, there was no evidence for the coyote killing a cat.]

TV: I saw a video on the news about a toddler attacked by a coyote. I have friends in Manhattan, New York City, Chicago. Coyotes are pretty much everywhere. Hopefully they’ll have a professional coyote cull. Hope they find a solution, with climate getting hotter and building in more rural areas and our wooded areas disappearing, plus lack of predators, they’ll continue to multiply.

BG: People soft? Really? How about responsible pet ownership and keeping cats where they belong — inside. We coexist with wildlife. In most instances, wildlife-human interactions are enjoyable. Problematic interactions can usually be addressed without killing the animals. Killing them is an easy way out. If being thoughtful and having compassion for ALL life makes one “soft,” I’m definitely soft. I prefer to live in a world where killing/bloodshed/violence aren’t the first things we turn to when solving problems.

TV: And that’s your opinion. So it’s ok for the coyote to kill because that’s the circle of life. But humans are frowned on for killing? What did we eat before vegetarians and “vegans’ [started eating] meat? That involves killing animals as well. Move along. I don’t judge your opinion you don’t have to judge mine.

BG: No, I’m not moving along. This is a public forum. No cats outside, no kitty nuggets for the coyote. Common wildlife control practice? Remove food source.

TV: IF THE FOOD SOURCE IS GONE THEN POSSIBLY A CHILD. It’s adorable people think they will leave town if all the cats are inside…. What else is out there for them to chew on? I’m not trying to be a bitch. We all have to look at the bigger picture here. Your opinion won’t change just like mine won’t.

BG: Please do your homework on children being killed by coyotes. I did, and it’s extremely rare. If your goal is to save children, or cats for that matter, there’s a host of more important, pressing issues that should be addressed. You are positing a false assumption when you suggest the coyote(s) are hungry. Do you have actual evidence that backs up your claim? Just because an animal wanders into a yard doesn’t mean he is hungry. Thanks for the discussion. The last word is yours. ❤️ [I lied.] 🙂

TV: I just had an opinion sir and everyone is quick to judge my opinion. Quick to judge people for having outside cats. Quick to judge everyone. All I’m saying is One day it could be a human or possibly a child. I guess if someone gets attacked somehow it would be the human’s fault… killing a child is rare. Ha. So let’s risk it and not do anything about it.

BG: Life is filled with risk. All we can do is rationally examine the risk, and act accordingly. It is far more likely that children will be killed by trampolines, automobiles, their parents, or people shooting guns at coyotes within city limits. Yet, we tend to focus on things that rarely, if ever, happen. I could find no record of anyone ever being killed by a coyote in Ohio.

This is a public forum, so pushing back on your claims is not “judging.”

As far as outside cats, my wife and I feed a dozen outside cats every day. We’ve taken in numerous stay cats over the years. So, yes, I have a strong opinion about people who allow their cats to indiscriminately roam the neighborhoods, killing countless birds and procreating at will. Cats should be treated the same way dogs are: licensed and properly sheltered.

I reject the notion (primarily taught by Western Christianity) that humans have dominion over the earth. We have a symbiotic relationship with the biological world around us, including animals. I try my best not to kill other animals, including spiders, snakes, and other animals deemed annoyances.

Humans are just a puzzle piece in the grand picture of life, not the picture itself.

— end of discussion —

The Humane Society has this to say about coyote-human interaction:

An encounter with a coyote in the urban and suburban landscape is a rare event, even where coyotes are found in large numbers.

These animals are generally nocturnal and seldom seen. You may catch a glimpse of a coyote, however, as they move from one part of their territory to another in search of prey (usually small mammals such as mice or voles).

Observing a coyote in this manner (even during the daytime) does not mean that the coyote is sick or aggressive. If the coyote is scared away by your presence, they are exhibiting natural behavior and this should not be cause for concern.

A coyote who does not run away when encountering humans has, most likely, become accustomed or habituated to people. This generally occurs when a coyote has been fed (in the form of handouts, pet food left outside, or unsecured garbage).

Coyotes who come to depend on these sources of food may begin to approach humans looking for a handout and may begin to exhibit what’s perceived as “too tame” or aggressive behavior.

When coyotes become habituated, hazing can reinstill the natural fear of humans. Hazing entails using a variety of scare techniques to teach a coyote to regard people as threatening and stay away from them.

Coyote attacks on people are very rare. More people are killed by errant golf balls and flying champagne corks each year than are bitten by coyotes.

Often, coyote attacks are preventable by modifying human behavior and educating people about ways to prevent habituation. In many human attack incidents, it turns out that the offending coyote was being fed by people. In many other instances, people were bitten while trying to rescue their free-roaming pet from a coyote attack. Less often, people are bitten by cornered coyotes, or even more rarely, rabid coyotes.

There have only been two recorded incidences in the United States and Canada of humans being killed by coyotes. One involved a child in Southern California in the 1980s and the other a 19-year-old woman in Nova Scotia in 2009. These events, rare as they are, are serious and warrant serious response.

A coyote who has bitten a person will have to be specifically targeted and removed from the population. Most health departments will mandate testing for rabies, which requires that the offending coyote be killed. Under no circumstances does an attack by an individual coyote warrant killing at large, in an effort to reduce the population or simply ring up the bill on coyotes as an act of retribution.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Overcoming Obstacles

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guest post

Guest post by ObstacleChick

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 (KJV)

Many who spent a significant amount of time in evangelicalism will be familiar with this verse. Personally, I questioned the wording, thinking that it should be “I can do all things through Christ WHO strengtheneth me” but that was not how the wording appeared in KJV. As someone whose brain can overanalyze anything, I wondered whether it was Christ who strengthens me or the IDEA that I can do all things through Christ that is supposed to strengthen me. That is, does Christ himself strengthen me, or does the knowledge that if I work with and believe in Christ I can do all things? These are different concepts, and I heard different interpretations. 

Regardless, in the athletic world, I see this verse quite frequently printed on race shirts, tattooed, or written in ink on the bodies of athletes. I wonder how these folks interpret this verse. However they interpret it, obviously these athletes view the verse as a mantra to keep their mental game strong.

There is considerable research into the effects of one’s use of psychological tools on one’s physical athletic performance. An example of a recent review of research from the National Library of Medicine is noted below:

Mental toughness is the ability to handle pressure, adversity, and stress by overcoming failures. It is also the state of persisting without refusing to quit, with the possession of superiority in mental skills. This review aimed to describe the effect of mental toughness on the performance of athletes and also to have an insight into the various interventions to improve mental toughness. For this, PubMed was searched using the appropriate keywords till December 2021 and a narrative synthesis was performed. Mental tightness was evident to be correlated with many important aspects such as better performance, goal progress, withholding stress, coping, optimism, and self-reflection. It also helps in a better level of confidence, constancy, control, positive cognition, visualization, and challenges than the opponent team. Many interventional strategies have been adopted in previous years which mainly focused on personalized programs including psychological skills training, coping and optimism training, mindfulness, yoga, general relaxation, imagery, and a combination of both, and many more other aspects were observed to be effective in improving mental toughness. However, physical training alone did not observe to be beneficial. The current evidence indicates the important role of mental toughness on the sports performance of athletics and the role of various interventional strategies focusing on mindfulness and psychological interventions in improving mental toughness. All these interventional strategies need to be implemented in the actual practice.

When I was in college, I learned that a regular and consistent exercise regimen could be beneficial to my health. There were few people in my family who were active; instead, I had many relatives who suffered from a variety of illnesses, and the messaging I received from my relatives was this: “you’re female, and in our family, your destiny is to get fat — but don’t let yourself get fat.” There was no messaging on how I was supposed to handle this issue, so I started paying attention to fitness and nutritional advice. In my early 20s, I started exercising, and I continued to do so through 2 pregnancies, my 30s, my 40s, and now into my 50s. Along the way, I picked up road running 5Ks through marathon distance, and a coworker introduced me to the sport in which I currently specialize, obstacle course racing (OCR). OCR is basically running distances from 100 m to 24-hour events with a variety of obstacles that demand that one goes over, under, through, or carry heavy objects. OCR requires full body strength, skill, and running ability. Participants run the gamut of first-timers looking to challenge themselves to professional athletes. When I completed my first race in 2012, I was a fit first-timer who became hooked on the sport to become a fairly proficient age group competitor.

In 2019, I started to exhibit some success in my age group, sometimes snagging a top-3 finish. Focused training has helped with my skills, and I have improved in races. However, there are instances during races I suffer from imposter syndrome, and sometimes my focus and mental game slip during the course of the race, especially if I am struggling with an obstacle. Sometimes, I’ll give up and stop pushing hard, only to beat myself up during the car drive home. I regret the number of times I watched a 3rd place finish slip through my fingers because I neglected my mental game.  When I retain my focus, refuse to give in to negative thoughts, and determine to persevere, I can do quite well. 

obstaclechick

The Spartan obstacle in this photo is called Bender. It’s a ladder that starts about 6 feet off the ground and leans toward you as you approach it. Racers need to climb over the top of it. It requires some upper body strength, some skill, confidence, and overcoming fear of heights for those of us who fear heights. It’s an obstacle I have struggled with, not for lack of strength but for lack of trust in my own strength. My body is capable, but sometimes my mind goes in a negative direction. There are times that I have succumbed to negative thoughts and given up. 

For the past few months I have been struggling with the normal perimenopause changes my body is going through. There are days when I feel like I am living in someone else’s body. Hot flashes, sleep disruption, body composition changes, slower recovery, and where is my motivation? But I will not give up. A 20-minute workout is better than none. One round of exercises is better than none. And usually, once I get started, even if I feel like I am sluggish or weak, I will feel better after 10-15 minutes.

This weekend I went for my weekly long run and did not feel motivated or enthusiastic. I felt slow and sluggish, but after about 30 minutes, I felt good. After 60 minutes, still good; 90 minutes, good; 120 minutes, good. A woman ran up beside me and commented that I was running at a good pace and asked how many miles I had done. She was surprised that I had run 12 miles and had a couple more miles to go. She asked questions about my training, saying she was 42 and wants to run a marathon in 2024. I encouraged her to keep training and let her know that I am 53 and just completed a 50k a few weeks ago. She thanked me and told me that I was inspiring.  

Sometimes we inspire people when we are doubting ourselves. We need to just keep doing what we’re doing and stop critiquing ourselves so much. For some people, a mantra like Philippians 4:13 can help them with their mental toughness. Granted, it’s an appeal to an outside force rather than focusing on one’s own strength. Those of us who are atheists know that no amount of prayer will make up for the lack of proper training. As former evangelicals, we were taught that we should NOT rely on ourselves but should rely on God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. As an atheist, I can ONLY rely on myself – my training, my mental fortitude, my preparation. Honestly, it is a privilege to be able to complete the training and races, and I am thankful that this body allows me to do so. I do not take that for granted.

Have you found yourself in a position where you have needed to shift your mindset from trusting in an outside source (a deity) to trusting yourself? What were some challenges you have faced to make that happen?

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.