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Why It Upsets Me When Evangelicals Say “I’m Praying for You”

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prayer

Why do I get upset when Evangelicals (and other Christians) say, “I’m praying for you?”

First, Evangelicals who say this to me deliberately violate the clear teaching of the Bible. Did Jesus not say:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6 NRSV)

These verses seem clear, without ambiguity. Jesus commanded his followers to give and pray in secret. Why, then, do so many Evangelicals think it important for them to tell me that they are praying for me?

Second, I ask Evangelical readers in the comment guidelines to not leave “I’m praying for you” comments. Unlike some readers of this blog, I find no value or purpose in telling people you are praying for them. God is a myth, and so is “answered” prayer. I view prayer in the same light as I do God — a waste of time. It’s fine if Christians think differently, but understand that telling me that you are beseeching the God of the Bible on my behalf does little more than irritate me. Why do something that you KNOW will irritate the hell out of me? Especially since my knowing that someone is praying for me plays no part in whether God answers said prayer.

Third, praying for me is literally the least you can do for me, no different than politicians who offer up “thoughts and prayers” when there is another mass casualty shooting. Countless Christian prayers will be offered up for the dead. Why? They are dead. Instead of prayers, how about actually doing something that will make a meaningful difference?

Thousands of people have allegedly prayed for me. I say allegedly because I know Evangelicals are famous for lying about praying for others, or they briefly pray one time and move on. Instead of doing something that will tangibly improve my life, Evangelicals choose the one thing — prayer — that does nothing for me.

I have been blogging for seventeen years. I can count on two fingers the number of Evangelicals who have done something material for me; something that would make a difference in my life. The two people I have in mind sent me money to help with my needs. Is this not the essence of loving your neighbor as yourself? I am known for being a big tipper when we go out to eat. During the holidays, it is not uncommon for me to leave a tip equal to the bill total. I do this for one reason; to be a blessing and help to others — no strings attached. I should add that these two people — both preachers — have left Christianity. Beware of giving money to Bruce Gerencser. It could cause you to lose your faith. 🙂

One of my biggest beefs with Evangelical churches is that they rarely, of ever, do anything just to be a help to others. Years ago, an Evangelical preacher named Iggy left a comment detailing all the things he and his church did to be a blessing to others. I dared to question the motivations behind these acts of love. Boy, did we have a digital fight. 🙂 I concluded that the goal was not helping others as much as it was advertising the church’s and pastor’s name.

Will this post keep Evangelicals from saying they are praying for me? Silly boy, of course not. Evangelicals gonna do what Evangelicals do.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Quote of the Day: Representative Jasmine Crockett Shows Why Trump is a Racist

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President Trump recently said:

I mean, when you have low IQ people like Crockett, I wonder if she’s any relationship to the late, great Davy Crockett, who was a great, great, a great gentleman. But you have this woman, Crockett. Very low IQ person. Somebody said the other day she’s one of the leaders of the party. I said, you’ve got to be kidding.

Representative Crockett replied:

He just knows how to throw that insult. But it’s a common insult when it comes to people of color. He just threw the same insult at Charlamagne tha God, and so I want people to see him and understand who he is. This is a person that has a problem with people of color, period. I don’t care how many Black MAGA are out there with their hats.

When we look at who it is that he’s kicking out of this country, it is people of color. When we look at who he always disrespects and says are low IQ, even though, when you look at his cabinet, this has to be the most incompetent cabinet we have ever had in the history of this country.

We’re talking about people that literally have the ability to drop bombs or order that bombs be dropped, or make recommendations that bombs be dropped, and they literally don’t know how to get the Signal chat. Right? So we’re talking about low IQ individuals, but so long as they say that this guy is their guy, and usually if they work for a certain news network, that’s the only qualification that’s necessary.

— As reported by Vibe

By the way, Crockett has more education than Trump. She is a lawyer.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Men Should Wear Neckties to Show Their Opposition to American Culture

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francis slobodnik

By Francis Slobodnik, first published on Return to Order

One article of men’s clothing that is sadly on the decline is the necktie.

This abandonment reflects a refusal to accept any restrictions, discipline or discomfort in clothing or presentation. Many want to feel comfortable at any cost, even if undignified. Comfort and informality are today’s fashion gods. People will go to great expense to wear torn and ragged fashions with designer labels to worship at the altars of these gods.

The necktie is one major casualty of the war on good taste and formality. Some still wear it, but it is sadly disappearing and only visible on rare occasions. A person wearing a necktie stands out in a crowd today.

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In today’s world, t-shirts, blue jeans, tennis shoes and an occasional blazer have invaded every part of life. The open collar conveys a sense that nothing is really important. The individual’s self-interest and comfort reign supreme.

People fail to realize that how they present themselves externally reflects the interior aspects of their souls. Elevated dress encourages good and elegant behavior. Slovenly dress encourages an attitude that reflects laziness and a lack of self-respect and discipline.

Wearing a tie in a tieless world requires courage and personality. Such a man does not go along with the fads and fashions of the world. He knows how to assert himself.

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Thus, while the tie may seem restrictive, it promotes a dignified, professional and polished appearance that uplifts the soul. It reflects a desire to please others by appearing and acting like a gentleman. Over time, a man learns to feel comfortable in a tie, just as he learns to accustom himself and sense the delights of self-discipline.

The tie was a small detail in a Christian civilization. Those seeking to do something to oppose the destruction of good customs would do well to get a tie and learn how to tie it. Stand out from the crowd. Be part of that restoration of a Christian order that is sacral, austere, anti-egalitarian and anti-liberal.

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.

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

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pastor robert reed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Sacrilegious Humor: Religion by Daniel Sloss

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daniel sloss

This is the latest installment in the Sacrilegious Humor series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a comedy bit that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please email me the name of the bit or a link to it.

Today’s video is titled Religion by Daniel Sloss.

Video Link

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Songs of Sacrilege: Hallelujah by Black Veil Brides

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

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

Video Link

Lyrics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Trump Dump: Dirty Old Man Says Sydney Sweeney is Hot, and Taylor Swift is Not

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donald trump dump truck

Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the “HOTTEST” ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are “flying off the shelves.” Go get ’em Sydney! On the other side of the ledger, Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER! The CEO just resigned in disgrace, and the company is in absolute turmoil. Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad. Shouldn’t they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke and essentially destroyed, in a short campaign, the Company. The market cap destruction has been unprecedented, with BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SO FOOLISHLY LOST. Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT. The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

— Donald Trump, as reported by The Mirror

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.

Trump Dump: Trump Claims Latest Job Numbers are Rigged

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donald trump dump truck

Last week’s Job’s Report was RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged. That’s why, in both cases, there was massive, record setting revisions, in favor of the Radical Left Democrats.

Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!! I will pick an exceptional replacement. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!

— Donald Trump, as reported by The New Republic

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Quote of the Day: Trump’s Illegal Use of Fraudulent Emergency Declarations

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quote of the day

By Michael Brock, Notes from the Circus

As the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues apace, and MAGA grapples with the gaslit reality they live in, the Trumpr Administration continues to negotiate so-called trade deals, which are negotiated and implemented using pure executive fiat, under emergency powers, under an emergency declaration which has no rational basis, while everyone pretends this isn’t an example of a constitutional coup. It’s actually an exercise in sedition, if one were to avoid putting a finer point on it.

The mechanism is breathtakingly brazen: declare a fake national emergency, invoke emergency trade powers designed for genuine crises, bypass Congress entirely, and conduct billions of dollars in international agreements through personal presidential decree. When Japan agrees to invest $550 billion based on Trump’s “Strategic Trade Agreement,” they’re being asked to legitimize constitutional fraud that exists only through Trump’s personal authority rather than constitutional process.

Our allies aren’t stupid. They understand perfectly that what Trump is doing is illegal. The Constitution explicitly grants Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations”—not the president. Foreign governments have constitutional lawyers who can read Article I, Section 8 as clearly as anyone. They know there is no emergency, no “unusual and extraordinary threat” that justifies bypassing Congress to negotiate trade policy through executive decree. They must be horrified by how few Americans seem to care that their government operates through systematic constitutional violation.

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Congress could terminate these fraudulent emergencies at any time under the National Emergencies Act. Instead, Republican leaders have chosen to become active accomplices in constitutional destruction. They literally suspended the flow of time itself—declaring that calendar days would not constitute calendar days—to avoid voting on Trump’s fake emergency tariffs. When that proved insufficient, Speaker Mike Johnson simply shut down the People’s House entirely to prevent oversight votes. Senator Markwayne Mullin confessed the conspiracy on the House floor: “What we’re simply trying to do here is give President Trump cover.”

This demonstrates what a fundamentally unserious country we’ve become, with a political economy increasingly designed toward the maintenance of Trump’s personal power rather than constitutional governance. These vulgar arsonists in Congress have voluntarily transformed from co-equal branch into presidential protection service, abandoning their constitutional duties to serve one man’s authority. Every avoided vote, every suspended timeline, every shutdown of democratic process serves the same seditious purpose: eliminating constitutional constraints on executive power.

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Every trade deal negotiated through fake emergency powers establishes irreversible precedent that the presidency can operate beyond constitutional constraint by simply declaring emergencies. Trump has converted emergency powers designed to protect the republic into tools for dismantling republican government itself, while Congress provides the accelerant and courts provide the legal cover.

This is sedition: the systematic subversion of constitutional government by those sworn to preserve it. The American republic is being destroyed by constitutional arsonists who have discovered that the most effective way to eliminate democratic constraints is to declare them emergencies that require bypassing democracy itself. Our allies watch in horror as we demonstrate the complete transformation of American governance from constitutional republic to personal rule.

You can read the entire article here

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.