Another day, another email from one of God’s chosen ones informing me that they have plumbed the depths of my life and determined that I am either saved, but backslidden, never saved, or once saved, and now lost. Several years ago, Grant Hodges, retired pastor of Grace Baptist Church (now Grace Church) in Lebanon, Indiana, sent me an email. Hodges pastored Grace for thirty years. According to Hodges, I am still a Christian, and because of my wayward ways, I am under the judgment of God.
Here’s his email:
Text of Email:
Name: Grant Hodges
Email:
Comment: Sorry you’re sick.
I’ve known at least one other evangelical pastor who denied the faith. He really surprised me (a colleague). I’m a retired Baptist pastor and so know the challenges of the pastorate.
I also know as do you, that once a person accepts Christ, they belong to Christ. I figure you accepted Christ.
So you also know that lapsed Christians are promised a tough row to hoe in this life, although NOT in the next. š This explains your present status.
This question in your life is not one that concerns me. We will see who is right. And when I see you in heaven I will be changed, and won’t feel the slightest bit snarky about it. We will both rejoice.
God’s Best to you, Grant Hodges
Time: July 14, 2016 at 10:45 pm IP Address: 199.168.78.71 Sent by an unverified visitor to your site.
I always love it when people assume that I am sick because I am in some sort of backslidden state or in rebellion against God. Never mind the fact that my health problems started almost twenty years before I left the ministry and Christianity, As is often the case with Fundamentalists, Hodges spent very little time attempting to understand my story.
I have stopped trying to explain myself to the Hodges of the world. I know “why” I am sick (and dying) and “God” has nothing to do with it.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Yesterday, an Evangelical woman named Jessie Castleberry, stopped by to leave five comments on the post titled Southern Gospel Singer Kenny Bishop is Now a Gay United Church of Christ Pastor. This is the only post she read on this site. It is also clear that she either didn’t read or ignored the comment policy. Evidently, the only thing that mattered to Castleberry was putting a word in for her peculiar version of God.
What follows is the text of Castleberry’s comment. All spelling and grammar in the original.
Comment One
Bruce God donāt have to show up. He is every where and He has givin us his word to live by. I commend Bobby [a fellow Evangelical homophobe] for telling all these things that God has said about homosexuality and unclean living. God loves us each and everyone. He will open the gates of heāll and all these that.defile themselves with this harlot into it. Heāll is very real and he is trying to get all that live this worldly life to except his word, the only real truth.
Comment Two
Dear sage I really real for you. Even though you spew out hatred for God and his people he still loves you and He commands all Christians to love you. I donāt know what or who has turned you from God so terribly bad but I pray before you leave this world that you will see Gods light and decide his love is so real. Us Christians are not perfect but we are forgiven be cause we have believed and we have asked God for forgiveness and professed.our sins to him. Like the their on the cross beside Jesus who ask Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his kingdom. Jesus told him today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Comment Three
Sage, could you for just a moment please try and realize we only appeal to you as Jesus did to see his truth. He is the one that sends us to you thru his love to try and convince you that he loves you. We can do nothing of and in our selves. Only he can change you and only if you believe in him. He does love you so much. Jesus gave his on life for that you might believe and receive him. He would rather you believe and except him so you might live with him in eternity but he wonāt force you to. It hurts him and us to see people deny him and go to heāll for eternity.
Comment Four
Zoe, we donāt have to worry about that. We know his word and his word is truth.
Comment Five
Cyndi, youāre reacting the wrong way. You donāt have to throw away his tapes. That doesnāt show him love. You do have to pray for him though.
Castleberry defended and supported comments by two fellow Evangelicals, Bobby and Pamela.
Bobby said:
1 Cor 6:9,10 states, āOr do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.ā
Gal 5:19 says, āNow the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.ā
Rev 21:8 says, āBut as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfurā¦ā
Your issue [Bruce], as well as Kennyās is not with Evangelicals, but rather with God! I am praying for the both of you right now.
Pamela added:
your comments cut me to the boneā¦ how far people have strayed from God Almightyā¦ all i can say is to be GAY is wrong.. to be proud of being an atheist , how low can one be .. it just hurts.. my prayers will always be for myself as a christian who sins daily but knows forgiveness is just a prayer away..and i strive to be betterā¦ my prayers are for the gays and atheists alsoā¦one day WE ALL WILL BOW before Godā¦ and answer for our sins..
There’s much I could say about Castleberry’s comments, but I want to focus on a comment left by Sage and Castleberry’s response.
Sage wrote:
All you have to do is go live your life and leave us to live ours. I donāt care if you are a christian and believe in god and you should not care who or what I am. Christians always want to change me, but all I want to do is coexist. Why is that so hard for you? Why does everyone have to live by your rules.
Is it really so hard to live your life and let others live theirs??
Sage has spent much of her life being judged, harassed, and ridiculed by Evangelicals. Her comment reflects her desire to just be left alone. You would think Evangelicals could respect Sage’s wish and leave her alone. How hard could that be? Kenny Bishop wishes the same for him and his husband. Why can’t Evangelicals do their thing and leave atheists, LGBTQ people, and non-Evangelicals to do theirs? Why are Evangelicals insistent on getting up in the grills of anyone and everyone different from them — earning them the label as one of the most hated religions in the United States?
Let’s take a look at Castleberry’s tone-deaf response to Sage:
Sage, could you for just a moment please try and realize we only appeal to you as Jesus did to see his truth. He is the one that sends us to you thru his love to try and convince you that he loves you. We can do nothing of and in our selves. Only he can change you and only if you believe in him. He does love you so much. Jesus gave his on life for that you might believe and receive him. He would rather you believe and except him so you might live with him in eternity but he wonāt force you to. It hurts him and us to see people deny him and go to heāll for eternity.
First, Castleberry is theologically and Biblically ignorant — as many Evangelicals are. Her theology is incoherent and reveals a lack of understanding about the nature and history of the Bible. How does she know what Jesus said about anything? All we know is what the anonymous authors of the gospels said Jesus said — maybe. We have no evidence that the words attributed to Jesus were uttered by him. Further, Jesus left no writings, and the red-letter words in the Bible don’t mention LBGTQ people one time. For all we know, Jesus himself was gay. After all, he traveled around Palestine with twelve men, most of whom were unmarried. Maybe J-zee and his merry band were a traveling group of LGBTQ magicians. Look at all the tricks they did: walking on water, “healing” blindness with spit and dirt, walking through walls, turning water into wine, making lame people walk, deaf people hear, and blind people see — just like Oral Roberts, Jesse Duplantis, and Leroy Jenkins would do centuries later.
Second, Castleberry thinks she is acting just like Jesus. Really? Where, in the Bible, do we find anything that says Jesus went on the Internet, searched for dirt on Southern Gospel singer Kenny Bishop or Ray Boltz (Evangelicals and the Gay Closet: Is Ray Boltz Still a Christian?), and told them to repent of their deviant, evil sexual perversion?
Third, Castleberry believes Jesus sent her to this site to share the “truth” with us. Bullshit. Castleberry was looking for dirt on Kenny Bishop (one of my favorite southern gospel singers). She consulted God (Google) and came upon this site. Unable to live and let live, Castleberry decided to expose her homophobia for all to see.
Fourth, Jesus is dead, so I doubt Sage’s sexual orientation hurts Jesus in any way. No, it’s Castleberry that is “hurt.” You see, Castleberry finds gay and lesbian sex repugnant. She thinks a man and a man or a woman and another woman or a non-binary person having sex with a man and a woman is icky. And because she thinks it’s “icky,” Castleberry uses her Bible-based moral code as a cudgel towards anyone who fucks differently from the way she does.
Castleberry concludes her comment with a threat: Sage, you are going to burn in Hell forever if you don’t repent of your sins and let Jesus feel you up. I’m sure Sage sarcastically thought, “wow, an Evangelical Christian threatening me with Hell. That’s a first.” I don’t know about Sage, but I am immune to such threats. Hell? Hell is being anywhere near Castleberry and her fellow homophobes. Why would I ever want to spend eternity in Heaven with the likes of her?
I hope Castleberry will reconsider her boorish behavior. I know, I know, not going to happen. But, sometimes it does. I once was a homophobe, and now I am not. What changed? I saw LGBTQ people as fellow humans with the same wants, needs, and desires I have. I came to see that LGBTQ people should have the same freedoms and equal protection under the law as I had. And most of all, I became friends, neighbors, and acquaintances with LGBTQ people. Castleberry sees LGBTQ people as prospects for Heaven, targets for her evangelistic efforts. Until she sees them as fellow citizens, worthy of her kindness, love, and respect, she will continue to be just another Asshole for Jesus.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Yesterday, I received the following email from an Evangelical man named Ansen (who read all of three posts):
Hi dear brother. My name is Ansen. I’m nothing important. I’ve been under spiritual attack by alot of evil in the world. I’ve been given a gift by God to see a small glimpse of spiritual things.
I was reading your blog and I was inspired [he read one of my posts on street preaching] until I read the part of you becoming an atheist.
I thought to myself that a man who pastored churches for 25 years gives all of that up for worldly pleasures. I thought this is insane.
You being a pastor for 25 years should have understood that we are at war with principalities and powers.
Dear brother. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back soon.
I can’t impart the things I’ve seen to be given to you. I can’t physically let you see the things I can see because I don’t know how.
In any case. I wouldn’t want you to experience the pain that I have.
But I can tell you that Jesus is definitely real. There is indeed a devil that is trying to take us away from God.
I want you to do a spiritual test with yourself.
Ask yourself what would happen if you tried to believe in Jesus again?
Then try and attempt to believe in Jesus.
If you can’t bring yourself to believing in Jesus it’s because something Evil(The Antichrist) is trying to stop you.
Spend at least 5 minutes trying to believe in Jesus.
If you’ve found difficulty doing it. Then you need to keep doing it.
There is something trying to stop you Bruce.
Carolyn, my esteemed editor and friend, sent Ansen the following response:
Mr. Hatcher,
I write on behalf of Bruce Gerencser. I sometimes answer his emails when he is behind on them. That said . . .
Regarding your importance or lack thereof, it is your god who makes you feel unimportant, like a worm, like a sin-filled creature. Bruce is no longer having any of that.
I wonder how the evil in the world attacks you. I don’t think Bruce believes in the personification of evil. That is, people are evil, but there is no evil force outside of people that can attack other people. Bruce doesn’t believe in gods – not yours, not anyone else’s – so he has no belief in your “gift” or your “small glimpse of spiritual things”; especially where they involve Bruce himself.
Bruce did not give up his faith for “worldly pleasures.” Indeed, about the only “worldly pleasure” he indulges in is occasional strong spirits. He gave up his faith because he sought a church where the congregants served Jesus, and could find no such church after attending more than 100 churches of various denominations. Discouraged, he began to read the bible again (for the 5th or 6th time, at least) and saw the multiple gods of Genesis, the two separate creation stories, the fallacy of Adam and Eve being the first people on earth (where did Cain’s wife come from? Cain “builded a city” – who populated the city?). He saw the malignancy of a god who caused his people to destroy armies, then kill the men and take the women as their own. He saw the dastardliness of a god who caused men, women, innocent children and even unborn babies to be drowned in his flood. The logistics of Noah taking two of every living creature aboard a huge boat are insurmountable, and there is no physical historical evidence for such a great flood.
He continued into the new testament, and saw the conflicting narratives of the gospels regarding the birth of Jesus. He realized that he could no longer believe in a virgin birth, a man who walked on water, walked through walls, or who died and came back to life.
I am not sure who would be at war with “principalities and powers.” Bruce is not your dear brother.
The promise of the return of someone named Jesus has been passed on for more than 2,000 years. It will go on as an empty promise until such time as Christianity dies out.
Bruce has no belief in your dreams, visions, or hallucinations, so it does not matter that you cannot “impart the things” you’ve seen to be given to him.
Bruce has experienced far greater pain than have you. Bruce lives with fibromyalgia, raging osteoarthritis, gastroparesis, and peripheral neuropathy, the combination of which makes him hurt from the crown of his head to the bottom of his feet. He has no pain-free days, just manageable-pain days. Bruce would not want you or anyone else to experience the pain he has. And your pain is . . . what??
Bruce can no more believe in Jesus than he can believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, leprechauns, or any of the myriad other mythical creatures out there in the world.Ā When you can show some hard, tangible evidence of the existence of a god, then Bruce might be willing to expend some effort examining the evidence to determine whether he believes the evidence is real. Only then would he consider belief in such a god. Until that time, Jesus is just a man who may or may not have lived a long time ago, but is not alive today and is not worthy of worship.
Bruce put himself through spiritual testing every day as he began to lose his faith. He did not want to lose his faith, but the more he examined, the more he realized he could not believe. There is no point in any such spiritual test at this point.
Now fuck off.
Carolyn Patrick, editor for Bruce Gerencser
Well said, Carolyn, well said. Except that “now fuck off” line. I would never say such a thing to a proselytizing Evangelical Christian. š Well . . . actually I would. You see, I have a statement on my contact page that specifically asks Evangelicals to NOT send me emails such as the one Ansen sent me. Much like Fake Dr. David Tee, Father John, and countless other Evangelical zealots, Ansen has no regard for what I want nor respect for me as a person. In his mind, all that matters is getting a word in for Jesus. That’s why I do not respond kindly to such people. Sometimes, a “fuck off” is warranted. Last week, after an onslaught of emails from the Fake Dr., I emailed him and said:
And I suggest you take a 12 inch dildo and shove it up your ass. Iām sure thereās one in your nightstand. Now fuck off you piece of shit.
After several more back and forths, I said:
Iām not being funny. You are a despicable human being. Fundamentalism has so rotted your mind that you are unable to be a decent person.Ā You are a bully who loves to gaslight people. Not just my opinion either, asshole. Ask around. You will find that my opinion of you is held by many. You have spent years attacking people, getting banned at numerous sites, yet you accept no responsibility for your vile behavior.
You need professional help, David.
I always politely respond to Evangelicals who have sincere, thoughtful questions about my story or something I have written. However, when Evangelicals show no regard for me as a person and are only interested in advancing their agenda, I am going to let them know what I think about their boorish behavior. When necessary, I am quite happy to give proselytizing Evangelicals the Bruce Gerencser TreatmentĀ®.
— Bruce pauses for five minutes to try to [savingly] believe in Jesus —
Nope, it didn’t work . . .
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Michael didn’t like the fact that I said he spent his days raging against atheism, nor did he like the fact that I said he was a whiner. Such touchy feelings Evangelicals have these days. I have read Michael’s blog for years. My words simply reflect how I view his writing. I could have also said he is hilarious (not in a good sense), ill-informed, and deliberately obtuse, but I wouldn’t want him to get the wrong impression about how I view his anti-atheist screeds. š
What I find interesting is how Michael’s band of fellow anti-atheists responded to my post. What follows are some of the comments posted about me on Michael’s post. Enjoy!
Kevin:
It must be a trend among that brand of atheist to have no reading comprehension. And judging by the words he chooses to employ, such as āragingā and āwhiningā, then he is also employing the standard tactics of being dishonest and childish.
Just a typical anti-theistic rant that misses the point. Bruce does not distinguish himself from the rest of the juveniles.
SavedByGrace:
Given the fact that he doesnāt see whatās right in front of him and given that heās already displaying the behavior weāve come to expect from anti-theist activists, it should be no surprise that he resorts to the usual name calling tactics and doesnāt address the points youāve made. How are they going to come across as innocent victims of the terrible judgmental Christians if they acknowledge that most aspects of the world today are indeed geared towards them?
nihilisttochristian:
Ah yes, the village atheist, who thinks that his own experiences living in rural America are somehow representative of the Western world as a whole, and/or who cannot get over negative church experiences from decades ago and still considers them representative of the entire Christian body.
natewinchester:
I see at the bottom of each of his posts:
Bruce Gerencser, 64, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 43 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
One wonders how he got through 6 kids and 13 grandkids without a better sense of humor. Part of me suspects he plays dumb for the āgotcha.ā
Thereās a reason I always treasured the truly honest & good-faith atheists. They were rarer than gold.
Kevin:
If he went from being a pastor to mocking Christians, it sounds like his churches probably sucked, because he does too.
Iāve changed my opinion on numerous things, but I donāt mock those who still hold my old opinion. Because Iām not a jackass, for one thing, but also because I understand where they are coming from even if I no longer agree. If anything I would feel sympathy, not contempt.
Bruce has nothing to offer anyone, based on his online persona.
SavedByGrace:
Iāve heard of this situation sometimes, Pastors who have left the ministry sometimes after many years and become anti-theists. I canāt tell what reasons Bruce left Christ, because I donāt know his heart and it could be for a myriad of reasons. In several of the ministries I watch, theyāve mentioned people leaving the church even as Pastors and arenāt malicious about them whatsoever. Some members have even witnessed to them so that Christ might possibly convict them and bring them back to repentance. They were met with replies of āI donāt need Christ to be happy. Iām financially successful now, I have a loving family. etc.ā By his arguing though, he seems to be sensitive about atheism being criticized at all, somewhat like how Mehta balked at having to turn his anti-Christian vitriol down. Whether or not itās too late for Bruce to be saved, I canāt know. But I continue to pray for him to repent, nonetheless. The lake of fire and sulfur is somewhere we should never want anyone to end up for the absence of time.
Kevin:
He seems to be one of those who suffered some sort of tragedy in his past and could not comprehend why God would allow such a thing. In another post he wants Christians to also lose their hope in order to lose their faith, since apparently losing their faith is his goal regardless of the pain he admits this will cause.
Worse men than Bruce have been called by God and answered that call. Perhaps his mockery is a defense against the pain he feels, as though refusing to admit God is real is easier than understanding why bad things happen under grace. God knows his heart and can work as he wills.
That said, I feel comfortable calling out his behavior for what it is.
Dhay:
Yesterday, Michael, a Christian (Evangelical?) blogger who spends his days raging against atheismā¦
Thereās projection for you.
I see Michael posted ten posts in the month of December 2021, ten in November, eight in October, thatās twenty eight in three months; whereas Bruce Gerencser posted thirty four posts in the mere two weeks of 11 ā 24 January 2022 inclusive: that is, Gerencser has posted more posts in a recent fortnight than Michael has posted in the most recent completed three months.
Indeed, Gerencser recently posted more posts ā nine posts ā on one single day (11 January 2022) than Michael posted in the whole of October.
Thatās good reason to reckon Gerencser thoroughly irrational.
Gerencserās flood of posts is a flood of raging posts; heās an ex-Evangelical Christian blogger who genuinely does himself spend his days raging. The which he accuses Michael of.
Thereās massive projection for you.
Dhay:
Bruce Gerencser seems to detest what he considers to be modern distortions of Jesus and his message. But I observe that theologian NT Wright disagrees with significant aspects of the modern image of Jesus (and Paul) ā albeit without apparent detestation ā so Gerencserās in good company there.
I also see early posts, 2006 and 2008, which indicate Gerencser was socially and theologically intelligent. Iāve not looked at further early posts, or in more detail at recent posts; I see no reason to make doing so any sort of priority.
Kevin:
That post was mainly a complaint that people envision a Jesus who isnāt a modern left-wing activist, so in typical progressive fashion he presents the worst depiction of conservatives and uses it to attack both them and the non-leftist Jesus.
Perhaps I am not sympathetic enough to Bruce. I will reflect on that.
Dhay:
Kevin > Perhaps I am not sympathetic enough to Bruce. I will reflect on that.
You and I should avoid getting overly sympathetic, his current anti-Christian ranting is not socially and theologically intelligent.
Kevin:
his current anti-Christian ranting is not socially and theologically intelligent.
Not even a little intelligent, true. But it also seems he is one of those who got hurt, or someone close to him got hurt, and Godās āfailureā to prevent it has made him angry not only at God but those who are still joyful in their faith. Hence how he wants all believers to begin demanding of God why he allows bad things to happen, so that they too can join him in the loss of all hope.
So he rejects God due to the inane, shallow āreasoningā of New Atheism ā which frankly takes a lot of ignorance (which he doesnāt possess) and/or a lot of hatred to adopt ā and he lashes out at those who still believe with juvenile contempt and scorn. His is not a position of intellectual, but emotion. If my analysis is correct, he is hurting, and hurt people do silly but regrettable things sometimes.
Of course, if my analysis is incorrect and he actually hopped onto the New Atheist bandwagon because he was somehow convinced by their ridiculous propaganda and catch phrases, then I gave him too much credit by far.
— end of comments
There ya go, boys, girls, and non-binary people. I have no idea who they are talking about. š This Bruce they are talking about is stupid, ignorant, irrational, lacking intelligence, socially unintelligent, theologically unintelligent, the village atheist, and a new atheist. This Bruce spends his days and nights raging against True ChristianityĀ®. This Bruce was a terrible pastor, someone who was “hurt” and is in emotional “pain.” I don’t know this Bruce, do you? š
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Russ Wold, a Christian man from Yuma, Arizona, stopped by this blog the other day to peruse my writing. After spending a few minutes reading several posts, Wold was ready to render judgment:
You are an amazing specimen, or perhaps I should say, . . . FOOL. It is incredible that one individual can display as much confusion, bitterness, and discord, as you are revealing you have fallen into and are determined to wallow in . . . like a pig in the mud. You not only followed, . . . but served, the ecclesiastical disaster called CHURCH, which has evolved from the Roman Religion of the Popes, for many years without a clue as to the fact that itā¦IS NOTā¦”the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” but then when you finally saw the hideousness of man’s religious contrivances (sectarian religious clubs), you turned to hate instead of to The Lord Jesus Christ whom you had long been pretending to serve. I leave it there! And I leave you and your website with disgust, and with dismay that a human being can even be capable of such blindness, delusion, and confusion. You deceived people for many years in “the church” . . . and now you are deceiving people still.
I wonder what Wold hoped to accomplish with his email? He doesn’t know me, and he made no effort to remedy his ignorance. According to the logs for his IP address, Wold came to this site via a Bing search. He first read the post titled Poking Geri Ungurean, An Evangelical Conspiracy Theorist. Three minutes later, he loaded the front page and, I assume, read one or more posts. (I don’t use post excerpts, so someone accessing the front page can read one to eight posts and it only shows as one post. I do this to make this site easier to read. Fewer clicks, more content.) Thirty minutes later, Wold sent me the aforementioned email. Two minutes after that, he re-sent his Christ-honoring email. Twelve minutes later, Wold read the post titled Why I Hate Jesus. And then, much like the vile snakes before him, Wold slithered off into the night.
Wold made no attempt to engage me in any way. He didn’t comment on any of the posts he read, nor did he mention them in his email. Wold couldn’t be bothered to read any of my autobiographical material, in direct disobedience to the Word of God. Proverbs 18:13 says: Answering before listeningĀ is both stupid and rude.
Wold belongs to a group of Christians who think they have found “true Christianity.” Wold looks at 2,000 years of Christian church history and says “fake news.” I saw this same kind of thinking in the house church movement in the late 1990s. Organized religion was bad, small living room-based churches were good. The early church met in homes, and so should modern twenty-first-century churches. Wold thinks organized Christianity is a false religion, the evil child of Roman Catholicism. In his mind, he and his fellow band of travelers have found the “faith once delivered to the saints.” Everyone else, of course, is worshiping a false God in false churches led by false prophets. According to Wold, I was a false prophet back in my preaching days, and I am still a false prophet today.
Well . . . enough. Time for me to get back to false propheting, back to deceiving you, dear readers. š
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Last week, I received the index card above in my mail from Tommy Steverson, a 70+-year-old Evangelical man who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, I received a six-page single-spaced letter from Steverson, along with a tract and tract-like business card.
The tract-like business card is a lame attempt to prove that no human is a “good person.” Titled “The Good Person Test,” the card says:
Place your left thumb on the gold square and leave it for eight seconds. If you are a GOOD person then the gold square will turn green.
The back of the card says, in part, Did you pass the test? The fact is no one can pass the test.
Well, that’s a lie. I put my left thumb on the gold square and left it for eight seconds. Low and behold, the square turned green! That means I am a good person. I don’t need to be saved from sin because I’m not a sinner. I am not perfect, but I am, indeed, a good person.
Steverson’s letter is titled “Crispy Critters.” The gist of the letter is that I will one day be a “crispy critter” in Hell unless I repent of my sins and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Steverson ends his letter with Revelation 21:8 (NIV):
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liarsāthey will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death
Steverson poses what he calls three salient questions to atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and card-carrying unbelievers (all grammar in the original):
How is it that four different men [the writers of the gospels], and countless eyewittnesses, never recognized or recorded, even “one” instance of pride in Jesus Christ, in three and one half years of his life? How is that possible?
How is it, that four different men, and countless eyewitnesses, never heard of recorded even “one” instance of the words” I’m sorry, I made a mistake or please forgive me, from the lips of Jesus Christ? How is that possible.
How is it, that you probably never recognized any of this yourself? How is that possible?
Let me answer Steverson’s third question. The reason atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and card-carrying unbelievers don’t “recognize your claims” is because they aren’t true. We have no idea who wrote the gospels. They most certainly are not eyewitness accounts. We have no idea what kind of person Jesus was, or if the Jesus of the gospels remotely resemble the Jesus of first-century history. We do know that Jesus was a “man.” Thus it seems reasonable to believe that he had the same passions as the rest of us. The Bible is little more than a fairy tale shaped around a very human first-century man named Jesus.
It’s clear from Steverson’s letter that he is a Fundamentalist Christian who believes the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. This faith claim cannot be intellectually or rationally supported. If Steverson would like to talk about this subject with me, I would be glad to do so. If not, I encourage him to read several of Dr. Bart Ehrman’s books. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar at the University of North Carolina. Author of numerous books on the text and history of the Bible, Ehrman disabuses Evangelicals of the notion that the Bible is in any way an inerrant/infallible book written by a supernatural God.
I won’t bother with the rest of Steverson’s long-winded, incoherent rant. New day, same old shit. If you would like to read the complete text of Steverson’s letter:
Steverson signed off saying, “Have a Nice Eternity.” In other words, “Bruce, I hope you enjoy burning in Hell.”
Sigh . . .
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
I received this message in the mail today from Tommy Steverson, a 70+-year-old man who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Evidently, Steverson thinks I “love” being right. Well, shit, who doesn’t like to be right? I don’t know about you, but I prefer to be right about things as much as possible. Who wants to go through life being “wrong” all the time. That said, I don’t “love” being right. My “love” list is quite small: Polly, our six children, and our thirteen grandchildren. Love, to me anyway, is that which I am willing to die for. I will stand in the way of a bullet for my family — that’s love. But, everything else in my life falls on a scale between like and indifference.
It’s too bad Steverson wasn’t clearer on what prompted him to buy a stamp and sent me a file card in an envelope. All I can do now is say huh? and point out his grammar error: it’s you’re not your.
Of course, it’s possible that Steverson dipped the file card in some sort of toxic nerve agent and I will soon be dead, as will Polly. Ya never know, right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Damn, I love typing the word r-i-g-h-t. š
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Our assessment of BG. We are not going to post this publicly so do not worry about being humiliated or embarrassed.
We have analyzed BG’s behavior and words for some time now and we see a developing identity. He is a person who was a low-level obscure independent Baptist preacher who certainly gets jealous and envious of others.
His Christian work seems to have been motivated by these desires as he used his own will and not Jesus’ in his ministry as well as his being critical of those more successful, popular, and less obscure counterparts.
Instead of humbling himself and correctly following Jesus, he followed his character trait and quit. That is not a sign of a good servant of God. He likes to stand in judgment of others grading their level of spirituality with a subjective ruler judging that those observed were not practicing the faith properly.
What exact standard he used is not known, but it was his own making and not God’s. Then instead of being the example, he walks away and condemns every Christin [sic] and God for failing to meet his ideals.
Now he is just a narcissist who hopes he gains the fame and popularity that escaped him when he was a Christian. he wants to leave a negative legacy behind so that people will think he was a great preacher and now a great blogger.
In reality, he remains obscure, uninfluential , and wants to be the center of attention like he has found something new and wonderful for the world, when he is just another unbeliever in a line filled with billions of unbelievers saying the exact same thing as every other unbeliever has said or is saying.
He is a sad and pathetic figure who needs to broadcast his failure to follow Christ to the end of the world and instead of being great, he makes himself a laughingstock. Someone who could not cut it.
And yes we are still sad that you walked away from your faith.
— end of email —
I will not mention this man by name nor will I link to his website. Long-time readers will know exactly who this small-minded, pathetic man is. He wrongly thinks that his words, if made public, will humiliate and embarrass me. Why? His email tells readers more about him than it does me, and readers will see it for what it is: an email from a man who is jealous that I have found happiness and peace without Jesus and the strictures of Fundamentalist Christianity. He wishes he could have what I have, and because his religion keeps him from entering the Promised Land and enjoying its fruits, he stands outside chucking rocks and hurling epithets at me, much like the playground bully.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
As is my habit, on the first of every year I reset the banned and blocked lists for this site. And as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, those who have been banned and blocked in 2021 try to reprise their banishment in 2022. I have already banned (unable to comment) and blocked (unable to access this blog) three people, including Deacon John.
Deacon John is a “special” type of troll, one who goes out of his way to threaten me with Hell, often in graphic, pornographic detail. Over the years, he has gone by different names and used different tactics to reach me with his vile messages. Yesterday, Deacon John left the following comment:
The sad and short answer to this question is this:
The reason you ādeconvertedā. Is because you were likely never converted to begin with.
Godās Word speaks of a great falling away during the last days. False believers will weed themselves out like this. Sad but true šš¢.
It is highly unlikely that someone could be in the Holy Spirit and the light of Jesus Christ then turn around and run into the demonic darkness known as atheism,anti-Christianity.
Yes you preached you knew the Bible front and back but you obviously trusted in Bruce for salvation and not Jesus.
This world is getting sicker and darker by the minute. ā¹ļø
Evil is being called good. Good is being called evil.
āWoe unto you who call evil good and good evil that put light for darkness and darkness for light ā Isaiah 5:20.
Itās a world where we have women who canāt watch some eat a steak without bawling their eyes out because it was once a baby cow.
Or watch someone eat a BLT because it was once a baby pig.
But WILL NOT SHED ONE TEAR when a baby human is ripped apart limb by limb in its mothers womb. š”
We have men who think cleaning a fish or skinning a deer is gross. But have no problem putting their mouths on another manās butthole š¤¢š¤®.
Because thatās āLOVEā
First an abomination is ignored Then it is legalized Then those are called āHatersā they share the truth that it is an abomination!
Atheism is one of Satanās biggest strategies to keep the USA blind and away from the only one who can save them.
JESUS CHRIST!
āBehold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world ā John 1:29
Now listen up.
Those who have ears let them hear!
One day everyone ever conceived is going to stand before Jesus Christ and will acknowledge him as Lord and King.
Children who died too young to make the decision to accept him or people not mentally make a decision to accept him are covered by his grace and will live eternally with him.
(In case you are wondering or have snide mocking response SIN is the reason for children dying and disease most NOT ALL but most atheists support baby murder pre born infantcide so why would care anyway)
Those who have consciously trusted him for forgiveness and eternal salvation will spend eternity with him rejoicing for their salvation! š
Those who have chosen to reject him will live eternally separated from him in hell in despair and regret for their decision. And it is no party!
It will be torment and fear like you have never known before!
Demonic torment, fire that never goes out, weeping, gnashing of teeth,gnawing your tongue in agony,screaming, a horrendous physical thirst for one uno drop of water! Also a desire for unsaved family to accept Jesus and not go to hell.
And what is even sadder is that the lost and blind atheist thinks that is what soul winning evangelists want for them! NO! Thatās ridiculous.
Thatās why we warn you. We DO NOT want any of you to perish in a Christless hell.
And neither does he.
The Holy Spirit is more powerful than the deceiver.
Admit you have been deceived and you are a sinner.
Believe sincerely that Jesus Christ died and rose again.
Trust and accept him now.
Pray, āLORD GOD I KNOW I AM A SINNER AND I CANNOT SAVE MYSELF I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED AND DIED AND ROSE AGAIN I TRUST AND ACCEPT HIM NOW PLEASE PULL ME FROM THE SEWERS OF ATHEISM INTO NEW LIFE WITH CHRIST IN JESUS NAME AMEN ā
As you can tell, Deacon John is a sick, perverse man, and his screed is a good example of how Fundamentalist Christianity can corrupt every aspect of your life.
ObstacleChick, a friend of mine and an occasional guest writer for this site, decided to respond to Deacon John, giving a brilliant summary of his comment:
Summary of Deacon Johnās Screed, as interpreted by former fundamentalist evangelical turned atheist ObstacleChick:
1) Use of āno true Scotsmanā fallacy
2) Mocking vegetarianism and/or veganism with a seasoning of misogyny included for good measure
3) Gratuitous abortion rant
4) Anti-LGBTQ rant, with fixation on rim-jobs (hmmmmā¦.is this Deacon Johnās Favorite Porn?)
5) Atheism = Satan
6) Age of Accountability used to try to mask the horror of doctrine that children, toddlers, and infants should deserve hell due to Original Sin
7) Another gratuitous abortion rant, with Blame the Bad Things on Humans Because SIN
8) HELL ā the Crown Jewel scare tactic in the evangelicalās arsenal ā itās the Humansā Fault
9) Monologue on the Glory of Eternal Torture aka Torture Porn for Your Tribeās Enemies
10) Wham Bam Thank You Maāam Repeat This Magic Prayer Chant and Voila ā Eternity in HEAVEN!!!!
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.
Today, Donald is back, except his name is now Fred “Uncle Fred” Mullins. Donnie Boy Fred has a grammatical tell, so I knew Donald and Fred are the same person. Further, I suspect Don and Fred is also Tom (please see IFB āLoveā) and John I’ve dealt with in the past.
Fred, an anal sex obsessed coward who hides behind pseudonyms and fake email addresses as he rails against the Evangelical-preacher-turned atheist Bruce Gerencser, has abandoned all pretense of “love” and “concern,” with his latest comments. This time, he not only goes after me, but he also goes after Carolyn, my editor, and ObstacleChick, a friend of mine and a guest writer for this site. Fred, who gets an erection just thinking about atheists being tortured by God in Hell for eternity, must be desperate. Unable to reach me with his perverse “love” and “concern,” he’s now trying to threaten my friends into believing in his hateful, violent, homophobic deity.
Since my writing causes Fred to have erotic fantasies about me and my friends, I have blocked him from accessing this site. I am sure, much like a pervert seeking out porn at any cost, Fred will find a way to avoid my block, but until he does he won’t be able to leave any more comments.
What follows are the comments Donnie Boy Fred has sent me today:
Atrocious grammar and spelling in the original.
Comment One
It is highly obvious that Bruceās heart was never transformed by the Holy Spirit.
A person can preach and profess Christ and still be lost if they are not trusting in him alone.
Iām not his judge but from what I have read it appears bruce was trusting in good morals [ too bad you are not] and his work as a minister. Rather than the shed blood of Jesus Christ through his death,burial and resurrection.
Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
He suffered for you! He had his beard tore out his flesh beaten to shreds and spikes driven through his hands and feet.
He hung on the cross is agony for 6 hrs. Died to pay the penalty for sin and three days later rose again to give you eternal life.
Now the Bible talks about the great falling away in the last days. Does that describe Bruce? I do not know.
Godās Word says he remains faithful to us even if we lose faith in him for he cannot deny himself.
I sincerely hope that Bruce was truly saved and just fell into deep satanic deception and will only lose eternal rewards and not his soul.
TRUTH IS: For the follower of Jesus Christ this cesspool of a sinful world that is getting worse by the day is the only hell we will ever know!
For the lost person (atheist,Anti-Christian,those trapped in false religions, those trying to earn salvation through good works and religion) this sick world is the only heaven they will ever know š
And if you continue with the choice to live and trust in your sinful self and reject the grace of Christ I strongly suggest you had best try to stay healthy and alive for as long as you can!
On the death bed spit,fart ,scream ,rip the sheets tear the pillow , chew the pillow ,etc to do whatever it takes to stay alive in this world! Because once you slip all the way through you will be in torment unimaginable and will wish your parents never did the deed!
Comment Two
Yes buddy boy God does exist.
And those who practice iniquity like faggot loving will be punished like that Agag obstacleagagchick
Comment Three
Hell is REAL! HOT! And VERY TERRIFYING AND FOREVER! And you and little Carolyn and obstaclechick who also never trusted Christ are not going to like it.
Comment Four
Satan (and yes buddy rough he is REAL) now has most of the USA and world convinced that this sick demonic atrocity is āNormal ā. And āloveā. While precious souls lost in homosexuality pour into hell and he and every demon laugh their heads off!! š”š”
However Jesus Christ has saved many out of this trap! Two good friends of mine have been saved out of it. Through Christ using the XXXXXXX ministry.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen 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.