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Tag: Discernment

God, Satan, or Self?: Hearing the Still Small Voice of the Evangelical God

Bruce Gerencser 8 Comments
still small voice

Evangelicals are taught that God speaks to them in a still small voice. In 1 Kings 18, the great Independent Baptist preacher Elijah participated in a God Duel between Jehovah and Baal that was meant to prove once and for all that his God was the one true and living God. After Elijah’s God rained fire down from Heaven, proving that he alone was God, Elijah had Baal’s false prophets — liberals, Democrats, atheists, Muslims, Catholics, and the like — slaughtered.

In I Kings 19, we find King Ahab telling Hillary Clinton — also known as Jezebel — “of all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword.” Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message:

So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

In other words, Jezebel told Elijah: I’m coming for you hotshot, and when I find you, I am going to slit your throat from ear to ear. Elijah, being the tough Baptist preacher that he was, stood up to Jezebel and said, Bring it on, bitch. Me and my God will whip your ass, and that will be the end of you! Not really. Baptist preachers are tough guys when surrounded by fawning, adoring crowds on Sundays, but Elijah was all alone, so he did the only thing he could do — run! In fact, Elijah, the greatest Baptist pulpiteer of the ninth century BCE, was so depressed that he pleaded with God to kill him (1 Kings 19:4). After Elijah had spent 40 days in the wilderness, the Lord — one of the Christian Gods — questioned Elijah’s commitment to the one true faith. Elijah replied:

I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

Poor Elijah. In his mind, he was the only Fundamentalist preacher (think Steven Anderson) in the known world preaching the truth; standing for the faith once to delivered to the first Baptist, John the Baptist, and his cousin Jesus.

1 Kings 19: 8-14 says:

And he [Elijah] arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

The Lord decided to appear to Elijah, not in an outwardly physical way, but as a still small voice. It is unclear whether Elijah heard this voice out loud or not. For the sake of this erudite exposition of the inerrant, infallible Word of God, I’m going with Elijah hearing the voice in his head. And this, by the way, is how Evangelicals are taught to “hear” God’s voice. God doesn’t speak to them out loud or send them emails. God, in the personage of the Holy Ghost — who lives somewhere in the head of every Christian — speaks to them with a barely audible voice. In fact, you have to listen really, really, really close to even hear this voice.

When Evangelical preachers talk about God speaking to Christians, they are talking about this still small voice. On Sundays, these preachers deliver sermons they hope will “speak” to congregants and non-Christians alike. For non-Christians, it is expected they will hear in their minds God saying, “I am real. The Bible is true. What the preacher is saying is true. Repent of your sins and put your faith and trust in Jesus. This is a limited-time offer and can be rescinded at any time. Get saved today!” Of course, many non-Christians hear this, instead: “Damn, I wish this long-winded blowhard would shut up. The game starts at 1:00 pm, and I don’t want to miss the kickoff!” Evangelicals, on the other hand, are expected to hear God’s still small voice applying the sermon to their lives: exposing sin, challenging their commitment to JESUS, and making them feel guilty over not witnessing, not giving more money to the church, or dutifully, happily doing all of the endless right-with-God behaviors expected of them as church members.

Hang out with Evangelicals for very long and you will learn that God talks to them quite frequently. Never out loud, of course, that would be scary. Just with a still small voice, much like that referred to in the Christian classic, In the Garden:

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The son of God discloses.

And he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.

He speaks and the sound of his voice is so sweet
The birds hush their singing
And the melody that he gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

And he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.

I’d stay in the garden with him
Though the night around me is falling
But He bids me go through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling…

Video Link

Can’t get those words out of your head now, can you? Sorry about that.

C. Austin Miles, the author of the song, described how he came to write it this way:

One day in April 1912, I was seated in the dark room where I kept my photographic equipment, and also my organ. I drew my Bible toward me and it opened at my favorite book and chapter, John chapter twenty. I don’t know if this was by chance or by the work of the Holy Spirit. I will let you the reader decide. That story of Jesus and Mary in John 20 had lost none of its power and charm.

It was though I was in a trance, as I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, “Rabboni”. I rested my hands on the open Bible, as I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches. A woman in white, with head, bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came unto the tomb, upon which she placed her hand, she bent over to look in and ran away.

John, in a flowing robe, appeared looking at the tomb. Then came Peter, who entered the tomb, followed slowly by John. As they departed, Mary reappeared leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing there, so did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched, and looking into His face cried, “Rabboni”.

I awakened in sunlight, gripping my Bible with my muscles tense, and nerves vibrating, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the lyrics exactly as it is sung today. That same evening, I wrote the tune.

In other words, the Holy Spirit, with a still small voice, told Miles what to write. Or so he says, anyway. As with all such anecdotal stories, there is no evidence to prove the veracity of the claim.

And therein is my point. Evangelicals are certain that the Holy Ghost converses with them in their minds. There’s no evidence for this claim, none whatsoever. In fact, if Evangelicals are honest, they will admit that the voices they hear could be Satan or self. That’s right; Evangelicals believe that Satan can also speak to them with a still small voice. The following Homer Simpson cartoon best illustrates the dueling voices in Evangelical minds:

homer simpson devil god

Of course, when the voice Evangelicals hear leads them to doubt and question the teachings of the Bible or Christianity in general, the still small voice is always Satan. God’s voice always confirms, affirms, and reinforces the inscrutable teachings of the Bible, leading to increased and deepened faith. Skepticism, on the other hand, leads believers away from the truth, thus the voice Evangelicals hear can’t be God’s.

The Bible speaks of there being One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. Evangelicals believe that the inward voice of God always speaks truthfully about the essential nature of Christianity and its beliefs. Why, then, do Evangelicals fight among themselves over everything from salvation and baptism to which behaviors are sins and the existence of a literal Hell. Spend a few hours traversing the Internet reading Evangelical blogs, websites, forums, and social media pages, and you will quickly conclude that Evangelicals bicker with each other over the smallest of things, right down to whether men should have “long” hair or women wear doilies on their heads as an act of submission to Jesus and their husbands. No belief is too trivial for Evangelicals to wage internecine wars with one another. Discernment ministries such as Protestia, The Dissenter, Lighthouse Trails Research, The Transformed Wife, Michelle Lesley, Herescope, Way of Life, and Christian Research Network endlessly judge, critique, and condemn Evangelical churches, pastors, and parachurch groups who run afoul of their peculiar interpretations of the Protestant Bible or their tribal/cultural standards. Jesus purportedly said in John 13:34:

A new commandment I [Jesus] give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Evangelicals are commanded by the man, the myth, the legend — Jesus — to love one another as he loved them. And we know how much Jesus loved them, right? (Spread your arms wide, and with an agonizing, tortured look say THIS MUCH!) Yet, their internecine wars and endless bickering reveal that Evangelicals haven’t even got this basic Biblical command down pat, let alone hundreds and hundreds of laws, rules, and commands found from Table of Contents to Concordance.  One might conclude that the still small voice Evangelicals supposedly hear comes not from the Holy Ghost, but their Bible-sotted minds.

As an atheist, of course, I think that the only voice any of us hears is our own. I don’t have the time or education to write about the nature of the voices we hear in our minds, I just know we all hear them from time to time. Three thousand or so years ago, a Baptist preacher named Elijah had an internal battle with a voice in his head. He thought that voice was his God. However, it was actually his own voice. Evangelicals complicate their lives by believing God speaks to them, and the voice they hear banging from neuron to neuron is that of the Holy Ghost. Or is it Satan? After all, Satan is an angel of light, a masterful liar and deceiver. How can any Christian be sure that the voice he or she is hearing is God’s? Wouldn’t it better to just admit that the internal mental “voices” we hear are quite human, a tool of sorts we use to sort through the day-to-day machinations of life?

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 Truth About Discernment Ministries

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments
discernment

In the 1980s and 1990s, I pastored Somerset Baptist Church in Mt. Perry, Ohio. Wanting to keep my congregation unspotted from the world and aware of the heresy and heterodoxy surrounding them, I was ever aware of those deemed “liberal” within Evangelicalism, in general, and the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement, in particular. Naming names was a part of my preaching for too many years than I care to admit. Rooting out heresy and naming those who weren’t orthodox was labeled “discernment.” Discernment ministries popped up everywhere, with some practitioners saying that their ability to discern truth and error was a gift from God.

Wanting to accurately know what these heretical and heterodox preachers believed and practiced, I read books from discernment ministries, passing on the relevant information to church members in my sermons and classes. Cult “expert” Walter Martin — who believed every religion but his own was a cult — was a discernment minister, as were men such as Rick Miesel and David Cloud. This was before the Internet, so you either got discernment news from books or newsletters and sermons. Meisel operated the Bible Discernment Ministry (which is now operated by John Beardsley). Meisel put together a binder of men and women he deemed heretical and offered it for sale. I bought a binder from Miesel. Periodically, he would send out updates and addendums to the binder. Cloud operated Way of Life Literature, a ministry focused on Baptists in general, and the IFB church movement specifically. The Sword of the Lord and The Biblical Evangelist were two newspaper rags that frequently published articles calling out heresy, demanding that offending preachers, churches, and institutions repent and return to IFB orthodoxy. Countless other papers were published during this time. For several years, I published The Sovereign Grace Reporter, a monthly newsletter that called on Baptists to embrace their Calvinistic roots.

The Internet changed everything, including discernment ministries. For a few dollars a month, a discernment ministry could set up a website reaching more people than they could ever reach with printed materials or audio tapes.

Today, there are scores of discernment ministries, each with its take on heresy and who should be excommunicated from the ranks of orthodoxy. In 2007, I showed up on the radar of heresy hunters such as Ken Sliva and Preacher Boy. Silva is now deceased, and Preacher Boy is no longer in the ministry. I was able to find one discussion I had online with Ken Silva in 2008. Here’s the relevant text. Keep in mind, I was still a Christian — barely — at this point (spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original):

Now as a heterosexual man completely comfortable within my own sexuality I will now remind you of a prior AM piece It’s Time To Rethink The Issue Of Homosexuality. Within it, I have already shared that as a former professional musician once living in Los Angeles, I have personally known many homosexual people. As a matter of fact I also mentioned a friend of mine, whom I also worked for, happened to be quite open about his homosexuality. I, on the other hand, was also quite open about my Christianity. And, the Lord be praised, one day he even said as a compliment to me, “You act like a Christian is supposed to act.”

With this as necessary background let me point out that in a post called Rob Bell and his stance on homosexuality I am taken to task for my writings concerning Bell by Erica Martino who, as I pointed out previously, happens to be the wife of Rob’s friend Joe. Being criticized all goes with the turf I play on so I’ve no problem with Erica including me with, “These men and women [who] are like Dogs returning to their vomit.” I also discussed in the aforementioned FTCJ post an exchange I had with Bruce Gerencser, with whom I have waged war spiritually before, in the combox of Erica’s post.

Gerencser tells us at his blog Bruce Droppings that he’s “a retired minister, having spent almost 30 years in the ministry.” He made the choice to open our discussion at Erica’s blog with the following ad hominem:

“Here’s the deal guys…….Ken is gay. Those who become obsessed with the sexuality of others often have skeletons in their own closet. So Ken, I question your heterosexuality. I think you are hiding your true gayness. Come out from among Him saith the Lord!! … Quite frankly I would rather be in hell with Rob than in heaven with Ken.

Bruce”

This would lead to the following, which now goes to the central point of this particular article and also provides a perfect example of how Christ-followers hostile to Sola Scriptura are attempting to make it appear as if there is some difference between God the Father of the Old Testament and God the Son in the New Testament. And if you wish to defend the Gospel and the Bible from this malicious attack on God’s Word and the attempt to use Jesus to make it appear that He approves of the practice of homosexuality then you’ll need to be ready for this:

“You ask if Jesus says homosexuality is a sin? Of course not. Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. I’ll wait for you to find a proof text. Make sure it is in red.”

By telling me to “make sure it is in red” Gerenscer is revealing he knows very well Jesus is not recorded in the Gospels as speaking directly to the issue of homosexuality. Now I attempted to leave any further discussion alone by simply pointing Gerencser to Apprising Ministries: Shocking New Evidence Jesus Condemned The Practice Of Homosexuality but unfortunately he replied:

“Ken,

I won’t play the game. I don’t read your site. Every time I try and go there my browser crashes. Thank God for providence. So real simple give me the verses in the NT where Jesus directly spoke about homosexuality. NO song and dance. NO shuck and jive. Put up or shut up.

Straight up asking for your proof, from the infallible, inerrant Word of God. (KJV is even OK with me) Remember no “inference” or “God talking and we know Jesus was God” ………Just the verses where Jesus spoke or taught on the issue of homosexuality. You are the one who has made this foolish claim.

I agree the Bible addresses homosexuality but Jesus never addressed the issue. You are the one speaking in Jesus’ name (I am just speaking in Bruce’s name, maybe you’ve seen the movie) so please show me the verses. Thank you in advance.”

And for one who claims to have been a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the following from Gerencser from his next two responses to me is very sad indeed:

“Ken,

Nice dodge. As I thought no verses. You said Jesus spoke about homosexuality. He did not. You “assume” information that is not in the text. I do not base the condemnation of millions to the Lake of Fire on “inference.” God better be clear on this one…….and it seems Ken is much clearer than God, especially Jesus.

Ok just one more little point. Ken, I challenged your “Jesus said” position. I never said the Bible did not speak to the issue of homosexuality. Jesus didn’t………..and that’s just the facts.”

Since our interest here is attempting to gain some further insight into Rob Bell’s own position on homosexuality I’ll simply place below a quick composite of my answer to Gerenscer’s foolish statements:

“Wrong. I’ll make this very simple. You are correct for a change: “the infallible, inerrant Word of God… [The] Bible addresses homosexuality.” Since you admit that the Bible is God’s Word; then you will agree it teaches that Jesus is God. In the Bible God already addressed the issue of homosexuality in the OT. Therefore whatever God says concerning homosexuality in the OT Jesus, the Creator, also says concerning homosexuality in the OT.”

“In the NT Christ tells us God the Holy Spirit would speak for Him. God does not change; and Jesus Christ does not change. The teachings concerning homosexuality spoken by the Vicar of Christ, God the Holy Spirit, in the NT are in complete agreement with the OT. No way around it for one who holds to the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God and the Deity of Christ. God has spoken in both the OT and the NT condemning the practice of homosexuality as sin.”

“There’s your straight up asking for proof, from the infallible, inerrant Word of God. You cannot separate God the Father and God the Son on this issue. Jesus did address sexual immorality, which includes honosexuality, and He most likely felt that as God He didn’t stutter the first time so His view is clear enough.The Bible is God’s Word; Jesus is God, therefore, whatever the Bible says on homosexuality, Jesus says on homosexuality.”

As this discussion with Gerenscer was going on without my knowledge Dave Marriott, a friend of mine, attempted to help Rob Bell’s friends take a closer look at their conduct, which is a reflection on MHBC and Bell himself as their friend and teaching pastor:

“Joe and Erika,

I’m shocked at your posture in this thread. I cannot believe that those who claim to attend a church where all are loved and accepted, where individuals can find a haven of rest —- that these individuals would sit back and watch Bruce denigrate the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures and call a married Christian man a homosexual. Way to take the high ground guys.”

The reason I introduce this into evidence is because it’s possible that in Joe Martino’s response to Marriott we might catch a glimpse of his friend Bell’s own position concerning the practice of homosexuality. Note Martino echoes Gerenscer’s attempt to pit Jesus against the crystal clear teaching of the Old Testament that the practice of homosexuality is sin. In fact, at that time it was actually a capital offense and one was to be painfully executed if caught:

Hi Dave,

First of all, there is no K in Erica.

Secondly, have you ever heard of Ted Haggard? He was exactly what you claim for Ken. A “married Christian man” who guess what? You remember, turns out he had gay lovers. I think that makes him gay. For all I know, the same could be true of Ken. I mean, the man cannot answer a question without doing dances that would make the produces of “Dancing with the Stars” proud. There seems to be many parrallells between Ken’s “ministry” and Haggard’s. I applaud Bruce, for throwing these thoughts out there.

Bruce is a grown man, who can speak for himself. He makes a valid point that we have no record of the God/Man Jesus Christ saying anything about Homosexuality in the Scriptures. Does the Bible speak about it? Yes, but I don’t see Jesus talking about it while He was on earth. Probably because those moral, upstanding Romans weren’t involved in it. Besides, what do you want us to do? Maybe we should spank Bruce? Maybe we should take his computer away? He’s in 50’s for crying out loud.

You’ve chosen to align yourself with Ken and attack Rob. That is your choice, but don’t come here and play all cutsie about Mars. Erica wasn’t mean to Ken in the OP. It’s not even just about Ken. It is about what God is doing in and through Mars. You and Ken and all your little posts can’t stop that. 

Perhaps what we see in the bold type above will be the same dodge Bell himself uses as to why he has not gone on the record concerning where he personally stands on the practice of homosexuality. Frankly, with Bell’s reputation of leading MHBC, “a city within the city,” which “lives for Jesus”, and with so much praise being heaped upon him as a Bible teacher, the Body of Christ has every right to expect that pastor-teacher Rob Bell will finally tell us: Does Jesus consider the practice of homosexuality sinful, or not?

Because for the regenerated Christian the answer really is clear: What God says; Jesus says. So why then can’t/won’t Rob Bell answer this simple question? And as we get set to close this, for now, while those dialogues above were progressing Rob Bell’s friend Erica went on to write A follow up post on Rob Bell and homosexuals from which I derive the title of this AM article. Sadly, as sincerely impassioned as it is, it’s filled with red herrings and straw men such as:

“We have this mentality as a church that one sin is greater then the other. This is what the endless chatter is all about… When was the last time you heard endless chatter about lying, gossiping, malicious slander…for some reason we have it in our head that one sin is great then others…

I know a homosexual. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She is tore up in side… How could she be a Christian and be a lesbian? …  The lesbian I once new would not have been welcomended in most churches, the abortionist would not be welcome in most church, nor the murder, the sex offender, the rapist. Because as Christians we beleive we are better then them… “

Let me tell you honestly that I do believe Erica is sincere, and, there is also truth in what she just said. However, all of that actually has nothing at all to do with the question I have raised; and so, I’ll share below what I said to Joe and Erica Martino, friends of Rob Bell and members of his city within the city, so prayerfully it will help us all focus on the heart of the matter:

Hopefully you will be able to grasp the actual issue here. ALL sinners are welcome to attend Christian churches, and should be encouraged to do so. The issue is: Does Rob Bell, unlike others in the Emerging Church he is associated with, believe Jesus says the practice of homosexuality is a sin.

That Christ’s blood was shed for sin is patently obvious to anyone who is regenerated. But, does Bell believe the practice of the homosexual lifestyle, monogomous or not, is a sin?

Search long and wide on the Internet and you will find other discernment articles that mention me. Such is the nature of the Internet. Dr. David Tee, in particular, is the epitome of a discernment minister. Protestia is another prominent discern ministry, as are Berean Call (Dave Hunt), Trails Research, Michelle Lesley, Herescope, Berean Research, Church Watch Central, Evangelical Dark Web, Midwest Christian Outreach, Shadow to Light, Spiritual Minefield, The End Time, The Truth Shall Set You Free, The Transformed Wife, and Absolute Truth From the Word of God — to name a few.

To the person, the people who operate these sites are “heresy hunters.” Sussing out heretics wherever they may be found, these so-called followers of Jesus believe that they are spiritually purer and more mature than other Christians. These defenders of the one true faith even go so far as to say who is and isn’t a real Christian. Most of them are hardcore Fundamentalists who believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible. Their goal is to purify the church and keep it on the straight and narrow. By all accounts, discernment ministries are failing in their mission, or, even worse, suffer from mission creep, now going after fellow Fundamentalists with their exposés. These days, there are near-constant internecine wars between discerners and those they are exposing. I find these battles quite entertaining, with each side pissing in a hurricane while the world goes to hell. As long as I don’t get splattered, I am content to buy a pop and some popcorn and watch Evangelicals devour one another. There’s a place for pointing out heresy and heterodoxy, but the longer heresy hunters are in the game, the more shrill and divisive they become in their judgments. Throw Trump, MAGA, racism, xenophobia, and misogyny into the mix and you have a variety show like you have never seen before.

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.

Evangelical Christians Aren’t as “Discerning” as They Think They Are

Bruce Gerencser 19 Comments
spiderman

Evangelical Christians love to think that they have — thanks to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit — some sort of supernatural discernment power that allows them to ferret out the true spiritual condition of everyone with whom they come in contact. Evangelicals, in particular, believe they have some sort of God-given radar that locks on unknown believers and lets them know that they are fellow believers. This radar is a spiritual paternity test of sorts, letting Evangelicals know when one of their family is in the vicinity. I heard countless preachers say that the “spirits” of two or more believers recognize each other when they come in contact with each other. Woo hoo! God’s children are in the house, baby!

Several years ago, a Christian who commented about unbelieving clergy still pastoring churches illustrated this point:

I also can’t help but think that living and walking out a lie every day is going to eventually take a psychological/emotional toll on anyone. I think it would also work against the pastor really being vulnerable or drawing close to his/her congregation for fear of letting something slip. Eventually people who are closer to the pastor will be able to discern that something just isn’t quite right here.

According to this Christian, she gets Spiderman-like tingly feelings that would let her know if a pastor is faking it. The idea behind her feelings is the notion that Christians can know a pastor well enough that any lying or dishonesty would peg their lie-meter, exposing the hypocrite for all to see. The problem with this thinking is that in real life that’s not how it works. Lying and deception are all too common, and even the most aware among us can be deceived. Believing that there is some sort of spiritual power that gives you laser-like discernment has no grounding in reality. Countless churches — from Liberal Christian to Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) — have passionate, devoted teachers and preachers of the Word of God who are, without question, unbelievers. Some of them I know personally. A few unbelieving pastors have been using fake-it-’til-you-make-it (to retirement) for years. These men genuinely love their congregations, even though they think the Christian God is a work of fiction.

I hate to break it to Christians, but there is no such thing as a spirit of discernment. The reason, of course, is that we humans don’t have a spirit/soul. We are flesh and blood. Certainly, we develop psychological skills that allow us to read people, and we often have gut feelings about them. That Spiderman-like tingly feeling we have is the result of evolution and environmental/social conditioning, and not some sort of divine gift given only to Christians. In fact, the belief that God gives you discernment skills tends to lessen your ability to see things as they are. Why? Because Evangelicals, in particular, develop complex ways of dealing with human behavior. Evangelicals talk of sin, forgiveness, and grace. They speak of accountability partners and allowing the Holy Spirit to perform its perfect work. Instead of seeing things as they are, Evangelicals allow theological nonsense to cloud their judgment.

This is why it’s no surprise that Evangelical churches have sexual abuse scandals, clergy misconduct, and all sorts of bad behavior that is washed away by the blood of Jesus and forgiven by the prayer-answering God. Instead of seeing that the youth pastor is way too friendly with several of his charges, loving, blind Christians see this behavior as him “ministering” to these girls. And when his “ministry” turns to rape, sexual assault, and other sex crimes, what then? As long as the predator still says he’s a Christian, forgiveness awaits. (Please see the Black Collar Crime Series.)

Evolution-driven discernment cares not one whit for the offender’s religious inclinations. What matters is that an older man, a man with authority, took advantage of those he was supposed to love, care for, and respect. What mattered to him was his dick, not their welfare. The youth pastor, then, should never be permitted to be around youths again. Yet, as sure as the sun rises in the East, the youth pastor, once he pays for his crimes, will be forgiven and given another opportunity to serve God. Why, some of his fellow Christians will testify on his behalf during his sentencing hearing, showering the judge with stories of how awesome the youth pastor is. There’s no divine discernment going on here. Just ignorance and a refusal to see things as they are.

It is time for Christians to stop pretending they have some special power that allows them to see things non-believers can’t see. It’s 2022. Time to put the intellect to work, making rational, thoughtful decisions. Unless Christians are willing to do so, they can expect to be hoodwinked and taken advantage of. Just remember, it’s discerning Evangelicals who put Donald Trump, the “Christian,” in the White House, voted for him again in 2020, and continue to rabidly support him to this day. Need I say more?

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.