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Tag: Demons

Bruce, Do You Believe Satan is Real?

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments

Yes and no. Let me explain.

Satan, as a God-created entity who walks on the face of the earth seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), is a religious construct, a Bible character that billions of people believe exists. Evangelicals, in particular, believe in the existence of a literal Devil, along with demons. When asked for evidence for these claims, Evangelicals will often say that Satan and the hosts of Hell move and work in a spiritual dimension we cannot see. Think Frank Peretti’s novels: This Present Darkness and This Piercing Darkness. In this spiritual dimension, Satan and his demons wage war against God’s angels. Supposedly, this warfare affects Christians and unbelievers alike on planet earth.

Evangelicals point to the “evil” in the world: abortion, same-sex marriage, LGBT people, drunkenness, premarital sex, adultery, pornography, illegal drugs, socialism, humanism, atheism, Democrats, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden as proof of Satan’s existence. However, doesn’t this imply that God and the mighty hosts of Heaven are losing this battle big time? If God is omni-this and omni-that, shouldn’t he be able, with one flick of a finger, to defeat Jesus’ brother (according to Mormonism)? The existence of evil, however it is defined, seems, to me, anyway, to say that there is no God.

Now let me answer why I say, yes, Satan is real. Not the Bible Satan. Not the Satan in the minds of billions of Christians. Not the Satan that is promoted by hellfire-and-brimstone preachers on Sundays. Not of the Satan of popular fiction. The Satan –actually Satans — I am speaking of are flesh and blood human beings who do indeed walk on the face of the earth seeking whom they may devour. While most humans are decent people — even if we disagree with one another on all sorts of issues — there are people amongst us who are evil in thought, word, and deed. I don’t think it is a stretch of the imagination to say that Donald Trump is one such person. That Evangelicals were so easily sucked into Trump’s evil leads me to conclude that he is a false prophet, an antichrist. Trump, for political gain, ignored the COVID-19 crisis, allowing millions of people to become infected, and hundreds of thousands of people die. Trump, for political gain, separated immigrant families, putting their children in cages, and ultimately losing track of the ties between more than 500 children and their parents, such that authorities are unable to reunite the families. Trump is by all accounts a psychopath, a man with no empathy for anyone.

We see similar behavior among dictators, war lords, politicians, and even religious leaders. We cannot ignore the obvious: evil people exist, committing atrocious, vile acts against humans and our planet. Evil doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Evil requires human volition. It seems obvious to me that Donald Trump should never, ever be anywhere near the seat of power or the nuclear codes, yet millions and millions of people, including most of the Republicans in Congress, think Trump is a great man — the best president ever. Most voting white Evangelicals voted for Trump in the recent election, slightly less than the 81% of white Evangelicals who voted for him in 2016. Many of these Jesus-loving voters committed acts of sedition and insurrection on January 6, 2021. Who fomented this rebellion? Donald Jesus Trump.

This isn’t a matter of political differences of opinion. Trump and his fellow racists, bigots, and white supremacists want to destroy our Republic. Instead of using the political process to gain their objective as Democrats did, these people plan to use violence, murder, and destruction to achieve their goals. Congresspeople such as Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Jim Jordan, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, to name a few, are intent on overthrowing the U.S. government and establishing a Christian theocracy. Are such people evil? It’s hard not to conclude that they are. While some Republican congresspeople are just political opportunists — looking at you, Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Kevin McCarthy — there is an evil element within the party.

I have no fear of the Satan of the Bible. I fear this Satan as much as I do Voldemort — not at all. I do, however, fear the Satans who are working to destroy our nation. I fear what they will do if they ever truly gain the power of the state. When religion and state become one, freedoms are lost and people die. Some writers, myself included, have been warning anyone who will listen about the dangers of Evangelical theocratic tendencies and sympathies for years. For the most part, our words were ignored. Things are different now (just take a look at the plethora of mainstream news articles about Christian nationalism, as if journalists just stumbled upon this issue). The baby birthed by the Moral Majority over 40 years ago is now grown. Angry, armed to the teeth, and with minds filled with conspiracy theories, these white followers of Jesus are intent on burning America to the ground, building in its ashes a Christian America. Difficult days lie ahead, and we must be willing to call out evil people in our midst. While electing Joe Biden was certainly a welcome course correction, we haven’t won the battle, let alone the war. We must be cognizant of the Satans in our midst, and do everything in our power to send them back to Hell where they belong. And for God’s sake, someone lock the door.

Bruce Gerencser, 63, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 42 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen awesome 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. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.

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Angels: You Can’t See Them but They are Real

Bruce Gerencser 14 Comments

Sometime before the Christian God created the world, he created angels. Created higher than humans, angels are God’s gofers — doing whatever God commands them to do. Angels are sexless beings, spirits that cannot be seen unless they take on a corporeal (i.e. human) form. The most famous angel in the Bible is Lucifer (Satan, Devil, Beelzebub, Dragon, Serpent, Abaddon, Morningstar). Lucifer, along with one-third of the angels in Heaven, rebelled against God. The rebellion proved to be a failure. God cast Lucifer and his followers out of Heaven. These fallen angels (demons, devils, unclean spirits) made earth their home. According to the book of Job, Lucifer, called the accuser of the brethren (Christians), still has access to Heaven. He’s considered the god of this world, the prince and power of the air. Lucifer walks to and fro on the face of the earth, looking for people whom he may fuck up (devour). Some day, Lucifer will once again wage war against God. This war will fail, just as the last one did. After Lucifer is defeated, and Jesus renovates — what a great show for the Home and Garden TV channel! — the heavens and the earth, Lucifer will be cast into the Lake of Fire — the final home for Lucifer, fallen angels, Christopher Hitchens, Steven Hawking, Steve Gupton, Bruce Gerencser, and all (billions and billions) non-Christians.

I typed the previous paragraph from memory. It’s been fourteen years since I preached my last sermon, but the vestiges of a lifetime of serving Jesus live on in my mind. I can’t remember what I did an hour ago or yesterday, but religious beliefs learned over the first fifty years of my life live on. Some days, I wish I could have a Men in Black mind wipe, erasing all the religious nonsense that clutters my mind. Other days, I am glad I still remember this stuff. Thanks to a lifetime of reading and studying the Bible, I don’t have to spend much time researching Bible verses or Christian theology. I may be an apostate reprobate, but Christianity lives on in my mind.

Ask Evangelicals about what Mormons, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus believe, most of them will tell you that these groups are cults, sects that believe all sorts of crazy nonsense.  When asked if their beliefs are just as crazy, Evangelicals will take offense, saying that their God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is the one true God, and there is nothing bizarre, fantastic, or foolish about Christianity. After reading what I write next, readers are invited to decide whether a room should be booked for Christianity at an insane asylum.

Evangelicals believe that there is a spiritual dimension all around us. We can’t see or hear what goes on in this dimension, but it is as real as the Twilight Zone. How do Christians know this spiritual dimension exists? The Bible, on more than a few occasions, speaks of this dimension. Christians are already used to believing in an imaginary God, so it is not a stretch for them to believe in the existence of a non-corporeal spiritual dimension.

Evangelicals believe that this spiritual dimension is inhabited by Lucifer, fallen angels (demons), and heavenly angels. Day and night, God’s angels and Lucifer’s angels fight one another. Think of it as an endless MMA match. According to the Bible, non-Christians are influenced and controlled by Lucifer and his minions. These fallen angels can and do possess humans, causing them to do all sorts of abominable things — you know, like voting Democrat. Evangelicals are fond of blaming Lucifer and fallen angels for much of the evil we see in the world. Never mind the fact that the book of Job teaches that Lucifer can’t do anything unless God gives him permission to do so. Remember that the next time an NRA-loving Republican senator blames Lucifer and his followers for a mass shooting. Lucifer may have pulled the trigger, but it was God who gave him the order to fire.

Lucifer also tempts, corrupts, influences, and leads Christians astray. While most Evangelicals don’t believe fallen angels (demons) can possess followers of Jesus, they can and do oppress them. In fact, the more godly Evangelicals are, the more likely they are to come under demonic attack. Charismatics, in particular, have wild imaginations when it comes to Lucifer and his influence over Christians and non-Christians alike. Spend an hour or two reading the CHARISMA website and you’ll come away wondering how the whole lot of them haven’t ended up being locked up in padded cells.

I am sure many Evangelicals believe that I am under the influence of Lucifer; that I am more than likely demon-possessed. Maybe I am, but just remember that if I am, it’s Jesus’ fault. He’s the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He holds the world in the palm of his hands. He possesses the keys to life and death. No one, according to Evangelicals, is born or dies before God says so.

Take a moment to stand in your front yard or in the middle of your living room. Glance left, right, forward, back, up, and down. According to Evangelicals, all around you is a spiritual dimension filled with God’s and Lucifer’s angels. Sure would be nice to see these angels and not have to take their word for it. If an angel showed up at my bedside tonight with an authenticated message from God, why I might, for a moment, ponder the existence of spiritual beings. I say “for a moment” because if I do happen to see an angel, it is more than likely that I am either drunk or high on drugs.

Rational, skeptical humans know that there’s no such thing as angels. Believing in the existence of such beings is a hangover from our pre-science past; back in a time when the unexplainable was attributed to God, Satan, or angels. We now know better — well some of us do anyway. Sadly, millions (billions?) of people believe that we are surrounded by invisible angels. They have never seen an angel (and if you say you have seen one, pictures or I don’t believe you) but because of religious indoc . . . as I was typing this, my browser crashed. Was this an angel trying to stop me from making fun of him? Anyway, because of religious indoctrination, Christians believe without seeing. That’s the essence of faith. If people believe in a virgin-born, resurrected-from-the-dead Jesus whom they have never seen, believing we are surrounded by angels is not too much of a stretch for them.

Just remember, with FAITH all things are possible.

What were you taught by your parents and pastors about angels and an unseen spiritual dimension? Did you read books such as  Frank Peretti’s novel, This Present Darkness? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

About Bruce Gerencser

Bruce Gerencser, 62, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 41 years. He and his wife have six grown children and twelve 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. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.

Are you on Social Media? Follow Bruce on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section. If you are a first-time commenter, please read the commenting policy before wowing readers with your words. All first-time comments are moderated. If you would like to contact Bruce directly, please use the contact form to do so.

Donations are always appreciated. Donations on a monthly basis can be made through Patreon. One-time donations can be made through PayPal.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: How Demons Leave People

Bruce Gerencser 11 Comments

kathy degraw

It seems as though deliverance ministers are either welcomed and accepted or shunned and disliked. The church as a whole today does not want to discuss the casting out of demons and have evil spirits cast out in their churches. Furthermore, there are a lot of churches and Christians who don’t believe a Christian can have a demon. The truth is, a demon cannot infiltrate a Christian’s spirit, but it can inflict their soul—their mind, will and emotions—and their physical body and flesh.

….

Demons come out in a variety of ways including, but not limited to:

  • Coughing.
  • Yawning.
  • Vomiting.
  • Breathing.
  • Burping.
  • Crying.
  • Screaming.
  • Seizures.
  • Twitching.
  • Shaking.
  • Stomach movement.
  • Visual movement

— Kathy DeGraw, Charisma News, No, Hollywood, Vomiting Isn’t the Only Way Demons Leave People, February 24, 2019

[Bruce says, Remember, the next time you burp or fart, you might be expelling a Demon.]

Halloween: Ten Reasons Why People Should Never, Ever Carve Pumpkins or Wear Costumes

Bruce Gerencser 8 Comments

evil pumpkin

The following video is produced by woke AWAKEN LA church (affiliated with the Foursquare Gospel sect) in North Hollywood, California. It has a much higher production value than C.H. Fisher’s video, Halloween Helliween, so Fisher might want to take note of how to preach nonsense with pzazz. Bullshit goes down easier with a cool sound tract and flashy graphics.

Video Link

The video narrator gives ten reasons why people should never celebrate Halloween:

  • Halloween is the Devil’s holiday.
  • There are curses that are unleashed when people carve pumpkins. If you put the carved pumpkin on your porch, it brings demons into your house on Halloween.
  • Christians bring a four to five generation curse on their families when they celebrate Halloween.
  • Harvest parties are not a suitable substitution for Halloween. Substituting harvest parties for Halloween brings curses upon children and churches.
  • Wearing costumes changes identities. When Christians put on costumes of something they are not, they open themselves up to demonic attack.
  • Halloween is the opposite of Resurrection Sunday. It is the celebration of death.
  • November 1 is not about the saints. All Saints’ Day is a demonic holiday.
  • Celebrating Halloween is a betrayal to God.
  • Curses become active when Halloween begins.
  • Halloween is a trap set up by the Devil.

Here’s the money quote:

The whole picture of Halloween is to bow down to the Devil. The biggest witchcraft is done on Halloween.

….

Halloween is an abomination to God.

….

Halloween is a poison to believers and non-believers alike. Many people get killed,shot, and go missing on Halloween. Don’t play with fire. If you play with fire, you’ll burn your whole house down. The Devil has a mastermind strategy on how to deceive people. Remember, he is the father of lies. The Devil kills, steals, and destroys through these type of holidays and culturally encouraged traditions. It’s a trap set up. The enemy’s purpose is to keep you away from the cross. The lies and deceptions may appear harmless, good, or cool, [but] these deceptions are the Devil’s way to send you to a place called Hell.

Sadly, Awaken LA’s website features pictures of teenagers and young adults. (Facebook page) I can’t help but think, so many bright, hopeful lives ruined at such a young age. The church is pastored by Alexander Prokopchik.

Fundamentalist Pastor C.H. Fisher Dishes Out the Truth About “Helliween”

Bruce Gerencser 11 Comments

ch fisher

C.H. Fisher is a house church pastor located in Asheboro, North Carolina. He recently published a YouTube video about the evils of Halloween, or what is commonly called in Fundamentalist circles, “Helliween.” Enjoy! That’s sarcasm, by the way. Be prepared to warned of the dangers of Satanism, witches, warlocks, and demons. Did you know there are more witches than Presbyterians in America? Me neither.

Video Link

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Amazon Echo Dots Are Demon Possessed

Bruce Gerencser 2 Comments

echo dot

Big Brother listening devices mandatory for university dorm rooms [Saint Louis University plans to put Amazon Echo Dots in every dorm room]: “students won’t be able to avoid… every student residence hall room and student apartment on campus …can’t opt out” …but don’t worry about a thing student even though you will be forced to have the listening device in your room because it’s usage is “currently anonymous”.

Currently anonymous? The wording of that strongly intimates anonymity as a temporary condition. And forced compliance strongly intimates non-innocuous intentions. It can only go one way. If it is being done in one place without doubt the plan is to take to many others, eventually, all tied into a system…which would be anything but anonymous…obviously.

People interacting with, controlled by in other words, artificial intelligence or “AI”. Biggest problem with this, and there are many [link] – but the life or death dangerous one – is that the “intelligence” people are being prepped to interact with is not artificial at all but is actually very real. Not artificial…but supernatural intelligence.

The so-called Singularity – massive hoax.

Intelligence requires life. Life begets life. Lifeless technology can never become “self aware” or ‘alive’. Supernatural entities i.e. devils [Eph. 6:12] using the lie of “AI” to accomplish their intentions – taking possession of humans – is another story though.

That story is the story “currently” unfolding on the planet. Really now, why do you suppose they want so badly for you to get on board with a talking computer device? And then to become dependent on it?

That’s right. Possess you one day (aka 666).

The AI hoax is no game. As seen though, the push is now becoming a shove. Know all about it.

— Tom M, Another Voice (Rev. 18:4), University Forces Echo Dots In All Dorm Rooms No Opt-Out; And AI Hoax – Not Artificial But Supernatural Intelligence, August 20, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Mike Shoesmith Says Stephen Hawking Was Kept Alive by Demonic Forces

Bruce Gerencser 6 Comments

steven hawking says controlled by demons

[Billy Graham] is a hundred percent devoted. The Lord sees his heart, gives him a tremendous ministry, and who do you think is sitting in the background going, ‘I have to do something about this, this guy is sold out, I have to do something’? Who do you think is sitting in the background doing that? The devil, right?

So, in 1942, that is when Billy Graham’s ministry really takes off, and who do you think was born in 1942? Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking comes from a long line of atheists—his father and all these people—so I believe the devil said, ‘OK, this guy was just born and I’m going to use this guy. This guy is already primed to accept my message that there is no God. He is already primed for it, he is going to be awash, immersed in atheism all his years as a child, I’m going to take over this guy’s life.

I believe Stephen Hawking was kept alive by demonic forces. I believe that it was the demonic realm that kept this man alive as a virtual vegetable his entire life just so he could spread this message that there is no God.

— Mike Shoesmith, Carl Gallups radio show interview, March 16, 2018

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Bert Farias Says Gays Are Demon Possessed

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

bert-farias

Here’s the raw, naked truth: Homosexuality is actually a demon spirit. It is such a putrid smelling demon that other demons don’t even like to hang around it. A genuine prophet of God told me that the Lord allowed him to smell this demon spirit, and he got sick to his stomach. And yet as humans, many embrace this demon. Yes, you heard me right. Being gay is demonic.

There is an account in the Bible where Jesus casts out 2,000 demons out of a man. The demons came out screaming and begged Jesus to send them into the pigs. The pigs didn’t want them, so they ran down a steep hill and were drowned in the sea. Pigs have more sense than some humans. People embrace homosexual demons, but the pigs would rather die than be possessed with demons.

“Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, ‘Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.’ And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea” (Mark 5:11-13).

From a biblical perspective the rise of homosexuality is a sign that a society is in the last stages of decay. And here is another terrible truth: As people continue to reject God, He gives them over to increasingly immoral and self-destructive activities. There are destructive physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences resulting from homosexual behavior.

All human beings know deep in their hearts that God exists, and they all know something of His moral standards. But people’s unrighteousness leads them to suppress the truth and leads them to believe false views of God and the Bible, and they twist the scriptures to their own destruction, because they know that the truth would require them to repent.

Allow me to school you in Basic Sex 101. If being gay was natural, two men or two women could produce a baby, but they can’t. Their sexual reproductive organs do not complement each other therefore making it impossible for them to procreate. It can never be natural for two men or two women to get married and live together. Our culture’s acceptance and celebration of gay behavior will never make it right. Wrong is wrong no matter how many people are for it. And right is right no matter how many people are against it. Homosexuality is not new. It’s been around for thousands of years. It’s as old as the devil himself.

— Bert Farias, CHARISMA News, The Raw, Naked Truth About Homosexuality, July 22, 2014

Bert Farias is the founder of Holy Fire Ministries