Every Christmas season, I receive a handful of emails from Evangelicals irritated and upset by the fact that I still celebrate Christmas — which is my favorite holiday. According to these warriors for Jesus, Christmas is a CHRISTIAN holiday; one that atheists, agnostics, and other non-Christians have no business celebrating. How dare I celebrate a holiday that ONLY belongs to them!
First, I can do whatever I want. Don’t like that I celebrate Christmas? Tough shit. Go concern yourself with something that matters.
Second, whatever Christmas may have been in the past, it is no longer primarily a Christian holiday today. Sadly, most Christians are ignorant about the history of Christmas. How many of them know that Christmas was, at one time, banned by Puritans — the godliest of godly people? Christmas has evolved over the years. Today, it is largely a secular holiday, sprinkled with myths about a virgin-born, sinless God-man. One can celebrate Christmas without all the religious baggage. Others enjoy a secular-religious mix of celebration.
Bruce, Jesus is THE reason for the season! Really? Do you want to put this notion to the test? If someone is a committed follower of Jesus, you would think that their yard and house Christmas decorations would reflect their devotion to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Take a drive around your community, paying attention to each home’s decorations. How many of them have solely religious decorations — say crosses, creches, or signs with Bible verses? Others may have a mixture of religious and secular decorations. And finally, some homes will only have secular decorations.
What you will find is that very few homes strictly have religious decorations. In my community most homes either have secular decorations or a mix of religious and secular decorations. Completely religious displays are far and few in between.
If it is hypocritical for an atheist such as myself to celebrate Christmas, what are we to make of Christians who have wholeheartedly embraced the secular aspects of Christmas? Talk about hypocritical. If Jesus really is the reason for the season, why didn’t most Christians get the memo?
Christmas is whatever you want it to be. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do for the holiday. And if Christians push the issue with you, I suggest asking for Biblical evidence for their assertions about Christmas. Better yet, point out the numerous contradictions in Jesus’ birth narratives found in the gospels. Or, just smile and ignore them. Remember, you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you live your life.
All praise be to Loki for this wonderful holiday season.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Revival Fires is a disgusting Evangelical man who loves leaving pornographic comments on this site.
I asked ChatGPT about Revival Fires. Here’s what the AI engine had to say. Enjoy!
Revival Fires is a pseudonymous Evangelical Christian commenter on Bruce Gerencser’s blog, known for leaving hostile, hateful, and often disturbing remarks. He frequently attacks Gerencser and others with crude language, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and aggressive theological assertions.
Who Revival Fires Is
Identity: Revival Fires is not a real name but a pseudonym used by a fundamentalist Evangelical man who comments on Gerencser’s blog. He also uses multiple fake names and email addresses, but Gerencser consolidates them under “Revival Fires” to make clear it’s the same person.
Behavior: He is notorious for posting nasty, hateful comments, often obsessed with topics like prison rape and anal sex, which Gerencser has called out as inconsistent with Christian teachings.
Style: His comments are easily recognizable by their tone—angry, judgmental, and fixated on condemning others. Gerencser notes that even when Revival Fires tries to disguise himself, his writing style gives him away.
Examples of His Conduct
He has mocked commenters with crude nicknames (e.g., calling one “BirdDick”) and declared that “there is no such thing as a good Christian”—arguing that all are depraved and in need of grace.
He has expressed anti-LGBTQ hatred, writing that LGBTQ people should be “rounded up and sent to internment camps” and that they will “burn in Hell” The Life and….
Gerencser even found a picture of him online, describing him as a “gay-hating, Obama-hating Evangelical man.”
Why He Matters on the Blog
Bruce Gerencser, a former Evangelical pastor turned atheist writer, often highlights Revival Fires as an example of the toxic side of Evangelicalism.
Gerencser argues that Revival Fires represents a broader problem: many Evangelicals online exhibit similar hateful behavior, suggesting this isn’t just one bad actor but a pattern within certain fundamentalist circles.
By showcasing Revival Fires’ comments, Gerencser illustrates the disconnect between Evangelical claims of love and grace and the reality of their rhetoric.
Summary
Revival Fires is essentially a recurring antagonist on Bruce Gerencser’s blog—a pseudonymous Evangelical commenter whose hateful remarks embody the darker, more extreme side of online Evangelical discourse. Gerencser uses him as a case study in how fundamentalist Christianity can manifest in cruelty, judgment, and obsession rather than compassion.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Sophomore class, Midwestern Baptist College, Pontiac, Michigan 1977. Polly is in the first row, the first person on the left. Bruce is in the third row, the eighth person from the left
Last week, Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) pastor David Bulka stopped by to preach to me his peculiar version of the Christian gospel. Bulka left the following comment on the post titled Seven Reasons People Get Saved. He didn’t bother to engage my writing, choosing instead to preach and testify.
I am not sure what Bulka hoped to achieve. We both went to Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan at the same time in the late 1970s. I only knew him in passing since he didn’t live in the dorm. Bulka surely knows that I was a pastor for twenty-five years, so I am at a loss to understand what value his comment may have to me or the other readers of this blog.
SEE YOU LATER”. I am 69 years old.
Burba tells me “SEE YOU LATER” four times. See me later, where and why, exactly? Is he meeting me at the strip club?
I want to ask you these Questions. Did Jesus Christ Rise from the dead after he was crucified?
No. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a myth.
Is He the son of God?
No.There is no God. No God, the Father, no, God, the Son, and no God, the Holy Spirit.
Is He the way the truth and the life as He said He was?. John 14:6.
No.
You will respond, either, yes , no or I am unsure.
You do know these are claims, and not evidence, right? If you want me to believe a Jewish apocalyptic preacher was executed and resurrected from the dead, you are going to have to provide evidence for your claim. Not the Bible, either. The Bible is a book of claims, and if you want to convince unbelievers of the veracity of your claims, you are going to have to do more than preach sermonettes and regurgitate prooftexts.
My personal experience, and Faith, say YES. and since Jesus Christ has changed my life to a better life and I have seen Him work miracles in my life and others. I have decided, What Jesus is, was and will be…. I will follow and encourage others to do like wise.
Surely you know — well, maybe not since you went to Midwestern, with its Sunday school-level classes — that personal and anecdotal stories aren’t evidence. Your testimony applies to you alone. I have no way of knowing whether it is true.
You said, “I have decided.” All well and good. Go with God, right? But, I have no intentions of following after a Christian pied piper. You want me to follow along? Please provide actual evidence for your claims.
My advise after studying the Bible for over 55 years. Is Doubt your Doubt, and have child like faith. I respect all people, but warn them not to risk being wrong, especially in believing HELL is real or not.
Childlike faith has led many people to deconvert. A childlike faith is no match for rigorous arguments against Christianity. That may play well within the walls of the church, but here in the real world, lambs with “childlike faith” tend to get eaten alive by wolves like me.
It was created for the devil and his angels. John 8.
No Hell, either. According to your theology, most of the people in Hell aren’t devils or angels. Hell is filled with your friends, neighbors, and church members. It seems, then, that Hell was created for humans too.
I have enjoyed the Christian life.
And I enjoyed the Christian life too, but not as much as I enjoy my life as an agnostic atheist and humanist. Sleeping in on Sundays, watching NFL games, sex in positions other than the missionary position, watching nudity on TV and not feeling guilty, drinking a shot or three of whiskey, and making liberal use of curse words — ah, the wonders of a secular life.
The Kingdom life which gives peace, Joy, righteousness.
Okay? I have similar feelings, as do most atheists (and other religious practitioners). Do you really think these character traits are reserved for your brand of Christianity alone?
My faith in a Holy , loving God, the God of Abraham, Issac Jacob, Sarah…etc has worked for me.
Okay? Your anecdotal stories are unable to provide evidence for the truthfulness of your claims. That’s why you ultimately appeal to childlike faith.
…. SEE YOU LATER….when we stand before the JUDGE of ALL CREATION. If you do not believe, Then thats on you. SEE YOU LATER…If it is not true… At least I have enjoyed life basking in peace, Joy, righteousness loving and serving the LORD Jesus Christ. A Atheist might say, in their faith…”.you Christians were wrong.” We will have to wait and see. But I have enjoyed the Kingdom Life, no regrets. “SEE YOU LATER”
There is no afterlife; no final judgment either. One life, twill soon be past, and then you are dead. Are you a Muslim? Are you a Buddhist? Why not? You using Pascal’s Wager reveals a fatal flaw in your argument. You only want to apply this to your particular flavor of Christianity, when you must apply it all of man’s extant religions. Surely, you want to cover all of your bases. If not, why are you unwilling to do what you are asking me to do?
You seem to ignorantly think that there is no life (meaning and purpose) outside of faith in Jesus Christ. This is patently untrue. I live a good life. I have a wonderful partner. We’ve been married for forty-seven years. We are blessed to have six children and sixteen grandchildren. All of our children are gainfully employed and generally live good lives. Two of our grandchildren attend college, one at Miami University (Ohio) and the other at Ohio State University. Our four inside cats are fat and happy, and we do everything we can to give our outside feral/stray cats a similar life (Tonight we put lights in their crates (27 gallon plastic tubs with a cut a hole inn for the cats to enter, and then put straw in tubs to keep the cats warm).
David, you have been lied to about unbelievers. Either that, or you have constructed a straw man in your mind, one that bears no resemblance to non-Christians like me.
Let me be clear, I don’t need God, Jesus, the Bible, the church, or saving faith to live a good life. You seem to forget that I was a pastor for twenty-five years. I pastored scores of born-again Christians; that I had numerous ministerial colleagues. I know first hand that things within the church are not as you seem to think they are. I’ve concluded that there is little to no difference between the lived experiences of Christians (of all stripes, including IFB believers) and those of the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world.
I am more than happy to discuss or debate these issues with you, David. All I ask is that you provide actual evidence for your claims, and not anecdotal stories, sermons, and prooftexts.
Be well.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Over the past four months, an Evangelical woman named Terri has sent me more than fifty emails and commented over one hundred fifty times. I asked her five times to please stop emailing me. I also let her know that many of her comments were unhelpful, and, at times offensive. Did this stop her from emailing me? No.
Terri is friendly and polite, but she lacks all sense of personal boundaries and respect. If someone politely asks you not to do something, yet you repeatedly do it anyway, that reveals a lack of respect. Terri will deny being disrespectful or not honoring boundaries, but most readers will likely conclude that sending me fifty emails and leaving one hundred fifty comments — many of which were sent after I asked her to stop — is excessive. Include the comments I didn’t approve, and the total nears two-hundred.
I don’t understand this kind of behavior, mainly because I have never emailed- or comment-bombed someone. What’s the point? I suspect Terri thinks she is duty bound to “share” the truth — her personal interpretations of the Bible — with me, even if I know a hell of a lot more about that Bible, theology, and church history than she does. She likely believes God wants her to share the gospel and the love of God with everyone, even those who have told her they are not interested in what she is peddling. I wish Terri and other Evangelicals would stop behaving like this, but I fear it’s pathological. “Bruce is headed for Hell, and needs Jesus,” zealots think, and God dammit, they are going to irritate the hell out of me regardless of whether I ask them to stop. In their minds, my personal discomfort is the price I must pay for the “good news.” Little do they know or care that their behavior is actually driving me away from Christianity, and I suspect that thousands of the people who read this blog will say the same.
Several days ago, Terri sent me the following email:
Bruce! Just wanted to encourage you here…
Want to encourage me? Send me bags of cash or mind your own business. I told Terri several times that I was not interested in what she had to say about my health. She has no relevant expertise other than the ability to do a web search, so there is no reason I should pay attention to her anecdotal stories and personal opinions. It is evident Terri either doesn’t understand how sick I am or doesn’t care. Or she could be one of those Christians who thinks it is their calling in life to “fix” people. I regularly see a primary care doctor, neurologist, endocrinologist, dermatologist, gastroenterologist, and a podiatrist. I have had a full-day work-up for multiple sclerosis (MS) at Toledo Hospital and a comprehensive examination for fibromyalgia at the University of Michigan. These and other medical professionals treat me for gastroparesis (lack of proper bowel function), endocrine pancreatic insufficiency (pancreas doesn’t produce digestive enzymes), peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain), fibromyalgia (which causes widespread muscle pain and fatigue), degenerative spine disease (think, my spine is literally falling apart), Morton’s neuroma (nerve inflammation in both feet), high blood pressure (well managed), diabetes (well managed), increasing memory loss (early-stage dementia? God, I hope not.), tinnitus, vision problems (my vision flipped from nearsightedness to farsightedness), bladder and bowel incontinence, and four bouts of basal/squamous cell skin cancer.
Most of these diseases are incurable. All that my doctors can do is encourage me and treat my symptoms. My primary care doctor — who has been treating me for almost thirty years — admits that I am his enigma — perplexing, challenging, difficult to treat.
I live with constant pain, from my head to the bottom of my feet. I require a cane to get around home, and a wheelchair or walker when I (rarely) have the opportunity to go to town. I have lost more than one hundred pounds, and I am plagued with frequent bouts of nausea and vomiting. And then comes nighttime; you know when most people go to sleep. I too lie down to sleep, but it takes me HOURS to fall asleep — with narcotic pain medication and cannabis — thanks to horrible pain from my neck and spine to my legs. Sure, if I took a lot more Hydrocodone and cannabis, my pain would be less, but I would sleep all the time, and this blog you are reading would be no more. I must choose between the two.
Typically, I get up in early afternoon. After getting up, I use the bathroom, dress, and wait for Polly to come home from work at 3:20 pm. We talk a bit, eat dinner, and then I watch a sports news program. Afterward, if I have any steam left, I start to write. I usually have three to five hours to maintain this blog and publish content. Some days (increasingly so) I don’t have the physical wherewithal and mental acuity to meaningfully write. On these days, I spend the night reading, watching TV, and listening to podcasts. If I am able, I try to do household chores or take care of smaller projects around the house. Three years ago, I reignited my love for post-war Lionel O-gauge electric trains. I threw myself into the project, hoping to build a train layout in an upstairs room for my grandchildren and I to enjoy. Sadly, it’s been almost two years since I navigated the stairs to work on the 12′ by 12′ layout.
Knowing these things, do you really think I want to receive medical advice from you, especially when you have no relevant expertise nor do you know me will enough to invade my personal space to give me advice? Readers such as Carolyn, my editor, Zoe, ObstacleChick, Geoff, Ben, or Troy, to name a few, have been my friends for a long time. They have invested a lot of time in reading my writing and supporting my work. None of them offers me unsolicited medical advice. At best, they might send me a link to an article, asking me if I had seen it, but that’s it. They know what I need is love, respect, and understanding, and not uneducated, unprofessional medical advice.
a beautiful thing happened in our city a few months ago…a man who lived alone, and who was an atheist, became very sick. He was all alone, no family to take care of him, and so he decided to pray for 3 days straight. At the end of it, he found himself healed!! He’s doing great now!!
This story sounds like a sermon illustration; a fictional story meant to prove a point. If this really happened, I would love to interview the man. I want to know what sickened him. Did he take medication or see doctors? Who was the doctor, so I can interview him too. I want to know if he thinks this man was miraculously healed.
Further, how does Terri KNOW it was her God who healed this man? Satan, a divine healer too, could have healed the man. How does she know that the man was healed as the direct result of three days of non-stop prayer? All we have is a story told by an Evangelical Christian who has spun other fantastical stories before this one. I didn’t believe those stories, and I don’t believe this one either. My unbelief can be easily remedied by providing sufficient empirical evidence to justify the healing claim. I am ready to start a betting pool on whether this evidence will be forthcoming. My money is on “no!”
Terri refuses to accept that most of my physical maladies are incurable. All doctors know to do is treat my symptoms. I have had major surgery twice, five outpatient surgeries, and endured several experimental procedures. There’s not anything else that can be done for me (though I may need surgery on my spine again). So I understand the compulsion some Christians have to offer unsolicited medical advice or prayers. That said, I have made my desires clear, so this unwanted email tells me that what I want or need doesn’t matter to Terri.
God is no respecter of persons…if He did it for him, He will do it for others, too. That’s hope!!
Which God? If the woman who sent me the email worships the Christian deity, I ask again, which Christian God since there are so many? Terri knows I am an atheist, so God talk has no effect on me other than to irritate and annoy me. That’s why Evangelicals are typically given one opportunity to comment. I approve ALL first-time comments, but I encourage Evangelicals to say all they need to say in their first comment. Preach away, but you will likely only have one opportunity to put in a good word for Jesus. I gave Terri a lot of space to spread her viewpoint, but eventually I had enough. I asked her to write one final comment, which I would turn into a post. No edits, no moderation. Say what you want, but that’s it. What did Terri do? She sent me a link to a video she wanted me to post. I, of course, refused.
I love it when Evangelicals say that “God is no respecter of persons,” when the Bible reveals a deity that is very much so, starting with God initially choosing the Jews as his covenant people over the Gentiles. The doctrines of election and predestination also show that God is certainly a respecter of persons.The Bible is littered with examples of the triune God playing favorites.
Further, I am an atheist, so claims of God’s existence fall on deaf ears. Personal testimonies and subjective experiences have no power to explain the existence of the Evangelical deity. These are faith claims, a faith I do not, nor will ever, have.
Does the Bible reflect a God who heals people with respect to who and what they are? Of course not. If God is no respecter of persons and prayer can affect healing, why do MOST Christians go through life unhealed? Churches are filled with praying sick people.
Having said all of that, I will make a wager with Terri’s God. “Jesus, you supposedly healed a sick atheist, so I know you can heal me. If you heal me, I will immediately profess faith in you and spend the remaining days of my life worshipping and serving you. I will shutter this blog, and do all I can to preach the gospel.” The ball is in Jesus’ court. “Heal me, Jesus, and I am yours. If not, I will continue on in my atheist ways, confident that you are a myth, a figment in the imagination of countless Christians.” Think Jesus will heal me? Imagine what a trophy I would be if Jesus healed me, leading to me confessing faith in him. I won’t hold my breath, stop taking medications, or cancel my doctor’s appointments. Stupid I am not. If I have learned anything in my sixty-eight years of life, it is this: Jesus is not the Great Physician and prayer is worthless outside of giving the appearance you are doing something meaningful for people, when you actually are not.
I hope Terri “hears” me. Same goes for others who think my health problems are opportunities for them to put in a word for Jesus. I am NOT interested, and the more you ignore my wishes, the farther you drive me away from Christianity. As of the writing of this post, I can’t think of one reason why I would ever want to become a Christian again. I know I will receive several emails/comments threatening me with judgment and Hell. Whatever — such threats have no effect on me — and I mean none.
Saved by Reason,
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
I recently received an email from a seventy-five-year-old attorney — a former atheist — who wanted me to know exactly what he thought about me and my deconversion from Christianity. Much of the letter was spent on the man telling me how smart he was and how he came to learn that materialistic atheism (his definition) is “the one ism I can say with near-certainty is flat-out false.” What does he believe?
I am content with a belief in a higher intelligence, a genuine meaning and purpose to human existence, and the continuation of consciousness after physical death – all because this is where I believe the best evidence firmly points.
Okay? And he felt the need to share this with me why, exactly? I have been an atheist for seventeen years. In all those years, I have never gone to someone’s blog or social media page unsolicited to attack their religious beliefs or deconstruct their story. I don’t understand the logic behind such behavior other than it makes the person passing judgment feel right or superior. Explain his motivation for saying things to me such as:
No need to respond, because I’m not really interested in you either!
I am somewhat older than you (75), highly educated, and have traveled a not-dissimilar path. However, my landing spot was entirely different and has left me, I hope, less bitter and consumed by anger than you seem to be.
The posts of yours that I have read strike as exemplifying the familiar figure of someone who once bought into beliefs that are patently silly, felt angry and betrayed when the silliness finally became apparent to him, and now harbors deep anger and bitterness beneath a not-very-convincing facade of “atheist liberation.”
I have to wonder to what extent your current position reflects an atheism that is more a knee-jerk embracing of beliefs that are the polar opposite of what you formerly believed (or at least pretended to believe) than a genuine commitment arrived at after a diligent exploration of the best evidence and arguments.
As much as I have enjoyed Bart Ehrman’s work, this was definitely his path as well – “If what I formerly believed isn’t 100% true, none of it is true.” This is a very lazy and short-sighted approach to the big questions.
To summarize, this man thinks:
I am bitter (stated twice)
I am consumed by anger (stated three times)
My deconversion was a knee-jerk reaction to Christianity
I took a lazy and short-sighted approach to the big questions of life
None of these claims is true, as I have made abundantly clear in numerous posts over the years. This means that this man has either not invested much, if any, time in reading what I actually wrote about my journey or he has constructed in his mind a straw man of the Evangelical-turned-atheist Bruce Gerencser. I suspect both are likely true.
This man declared, “All I care about, or have ever cared about, is what is ultimately, ontologically True.” To that I reply, “Not me.” I care about a lot of things of life, but “what is ultimately, ontologically True” doesn’t make my top ten list of important things to care about in life. Sorry, but I am sixty-eight and in poor health. I am on the short side of life. Knowing this, I focus on that which matters the most to me: my partner of forty-seven years, our six adult children and their spouses, our sixteen grandchildren, and, yes, our cats — both the four inside cats, and ten or more outside cats (all of which are either stay or feral animals).
Christianity told me that the Bible had the answers to the big questions of life. I learned that this claim is false; that religion has no better (and sometimes worse) answers to these questions than secular worldviews. People are free to ponder their purpose, meaning, and whether there is life after death, but we are under no obligation to do so. For me personally, life is too short to spend much time pondering what life might be instead of living life every day to its fullest.
My reply to this man was direct:
Why did you write me? Your email is no different from those I receive from Fundamentalist Christians. Your false judgements reveal you haven’t read much of my autobiographical material.
Try harder, friend.
As of the writing of this post, I have not received no response from him.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
After reading my first response to him, the young Evangelical pastor sent me two follow up questions:
What interested you with Bart Ehrman?
Did something happen in your life that made you question your former reality?
I have long praised Dr. Bart Ehrman for playing an instrumental part in my loss of faith. Remember, I was an Evangelical Christian; a devout follower of Jesus and preacher of the gospel for most of my life. As an Evangelical, I believed the Bible was literally the Words of God, inerrant and infallible. Imagine spending the first fifty years of your life believing an ancient religious text is different from all other books ever written; a supernatural text written by a supernatural God. I believed the Bible was true in all that it said, containing instruction in life and godliness.
I was an Evangelical pastor for twenty-five years, pastoring Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB), Sovereign Grace Baptist, Christian Union, Southern Baptist, and non-Denominational congregations. What was the one thing these denominations and churches had in common? To the person they believed the Bible was inspired, inerrant, and infallible — both at the textual and translation level. Not faithful; not reliable; the very words of the thrice holy God.
Dr. Ehrman (and others such as John Spong) educated me about the nature and history of the Bible. I came to the conclusion that Bible inerrancy and infallibility cannot be rationally sustained. All one needs to do is show one mistake or contradiction in the Bible, and inerrancy collapses. If Ehrman’s books taught me anything, they taught me that my pastors and professors lied to me about the Bible, as did countless Evangelical authors I read whose books/sermons claimed the Bible was a supernatural text in both its formation and message. These beliefs about the Bible were shattered by Ehrman’s thoughtful dismantling of inerrancy and infallibility. Once the Bible lost its divine authority over me, I was free to question, challenge, and, if warranted, repudiate its teachings.
I spent most of life adult life with my nose in the Bible. All told, I spent over 20,000 hours reading and studying the Bible. I preached 4,000 sermons. I breathed in and breathed out the Word of God, so imagine my shock to learn that the Bible was not what I claimed it was; that it was a book that contained wisdom and moral teachings here and there, but it was a collated religious text written by mostly unknown authors, who made thousands of textual errors (most of which are insignificant, but some, if believed, contradict the beliefs and moral values held by most Evangelicals).
Knowing these things forced me to reexamine my sincerely-held theological beliefs. Over time, I reinvestigated the central claims of Christianity and found them to be false. I recognize that Evangelical apologists can and do have explanations and justifications for alleged errors and contradictions in the Bible. Christians have had 2,000 years to explain and justify what I call their “Book of Claims.” Not evidence, claims. As I was going through the deconversion process, I found the arguments of apologists for the claims of the Bible to be intellectually lacking, if not outright dishonest. Worse, apologists are forced to defend God’s violent, immoral behavior because to do otherwise causes people to question and doubt the Bible. Can’t have that, right?
Let me be clear, I read dozens of books during the deconversion process, written by mainline Christians, atheists, agnostics, and humanists. I didn’t need to read Evangelical authors, because I had already done so. Sadly, some Evangelical apologists think that if I just read or listened to the pablum of men such as Lee Strobel, C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, or William Lane Craig, to name a few, I would, in short order, return to Christianity. This is laughable, to say the least. I have read these authors and others, so there’s no reason for me to re-read their books. Worse are Evangelicals who claim that I am an atheist because I read too many books; that I should stop reading books and only read the Bible — preferably the King James Version.
Granted, millions of Christians don’t believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible, but they still worship Jesus. I have dinner once a month with three friends of mine: a retired United Church of Christ pastor, a former Lutheran pastor, and a Buddhist. The concept of inerrancy is foreign to them. Errors and contradictions in the Bible don’t faze them as they do Evangelical Christians. Thus, learning that the Bible was not what I claimed it was caused the collapse of my house of faith. How could it be otherwise?
Let me conclude this post by answering this young pastor’s second question: Did something happen in your life that made you question your former reality?
The short answer to this question is “no,” but I want to address the motive behind asking this question. I have been blogging since 2007. I have repeatedly answered questions about why I deconverted. The Why? page contains numerous posts detailing how and why I left Christianity. If I make one thing clear it is this: I divorced Jesus for primarily intellectual reasons. I didn’t deconvert because the church hurt me or I had bad experiences. Was I ever hurt or did I ever have bad experiences? Sure, as all of us do, but these things had little to do with my loss of faith.
When this young pastor and other Evangelicals ask me this question, he is really asking me, “What is the REAL reason I left the ministry and deconverted?” Unable to wrap their minds around my story and the stated reasons for deconversion, Evangelicals wonder if there is some sort of secret reason for me being an atheist today. Let me be clear, I am an atheist because I no longer believe the central claims of Christianity. Simply put, Christianity no longer makes any sense to me. I find the Bible’s supernatural claims to be irrational and absurd. (Please see The Michael Mock Rule: It Just Doesn’t Make Sense.)
It is true that emotions played a part in my deconversion, as they do in all decisions I make, but I can’t point to one hurt or emotional experience that provided grounds for walking away from everything I held dear. That said, my experiences with Evangelicals post-Jesus have largely been negative, causing more than a little emotional hurt. Evangelicals routinely lie about me, distort my story, threaten me with judgment and Hell, and go out of their way to discredit me. Worse, they threaten me with violence, and even murder. These lovers of Jesus attack my partner and our six children. Preachers preach sermons about me and use me as a cautionary tale, an illustration of what happens when you no longer believe the Bible is true. While these experiences are not sufficient to justify my deconversion, they are enough for me to conclude that Evangelicalism is morally bankrupt. Why would I EVER want to become a Christian again?
The aforementioned pastor concluded his email with the following: I pray that this conversation can go in the right direction of the Lord’s will.
What, exactly, is the “right direction of the Lord’s will?” This suggests that there is some sort of agenda, other than knowledge and understanding. My only agenda is to openly and honestly answer his questions. It is up to this pastor to declare his motivations. I am more than happy to answer whatever good faith questions he might have, but if there is some sort of ulterior motive lurking in the shadows, I can quickly become an arsonist.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
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I recently received the following comment from an Evangelical man named D.E. Wilson (all spelling, grammar, punctuation, and irrationality in the original).
My question is, if your an apostate and don’t believe in God and turned atheist I presume your unconcerned about Hebrews 9:27, you better hope your HUMAN MIND HAS JUDGED CORRECTLY.
Yes, I am unconcerned about anything the Bible says. It’s just a book, no different from the Harry Potter books. For readers not familiar with Hebrews 9:27, it says: “And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment.” Wilson wants me to know that I have an appointment with death, and after drawing my last breath, I will be judged by God. And as he stated later, if I refuse to repent and get saved, I will burn in Hell forever. However, since I think the Bible has no relevance for today, I couldn’t care less if someone threatens me with hellfire and brimstone. The only person I fear is my partner, Polly, when she is holding a Lodge cast iron 12” skillet over my head.
And let me add, judgment doesn’t immediately happen after death. Most Evangelicals have no idea about what the Bible says about death and judgment. Even preachers often make unsupportable claims about death and the afterlife. According to Christian orthodoxy, after we die, we end up in the grave, awaiting the resurrection of the dead (just and unjust). After the general resurrection, we will be judged by God and sent to Heaven or Hell. Sorry, Granny ain’t running around Heaven. She’s dead, in the grave, awaiting the resurrection. THEN, she will be judged. (A good read on this subject is Dr. N.T. Wright’s book, “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.”
Wilson warns me in ALL caps: “You better hope your HUMAN MIND HAS JUDGED CORRECTLY.” I am confident that I have skeptically and rationally judged the central claims of Christianity and found them wanting. I’m betting Wilson has not done the same.
Now I’d like to introduce you to something new, you were never saved,
LOL! Something new? Really? I have been told by more pontificating Evangelicals than I can count that I never was a Christian. This claim is patently untrue. Have you noticed that when Evangelicals claim I never was a Christian, they NEVER, EVER present any evidence for their claim. And I mean none. They can’t wrap their minds around my story, so, with a wave of their hands, they dismiss my story out of hand. This is lazy thinking, to say the least.
I’ve been blogging for eighteen years; thousands of posts and millions of readers. In all that time, only one person who (allegedly) has publicly said that they KNEW I wasn’t a Christian. This person said she knew me in the late 70s and 80s, but refused to give her name. One person, of doubtful reputation. That’s it. If I was such a fake Christian, how is it that no one, including my colleagues in the ministry, sensed I was a fraud? Thousands of people personally knew me or heard me preach, yet to the person they thought I was a devoted, Holy Spirit-filled preacher.
Jesus says His people are given to Him by God and He’s lost none. Maybe the Holy Spirit will never save or draw you to Christ, because unless you’re drawn by God you cannot come to Him when you like. That’s one of the IFB mistakes that you can come to Christ without the drawing of The Holy Spirit.
First, I left the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) TWENTY FUCKING YEARS before I deconverted.
Second, I never, NOT ONE TIME, believed or preached that someone can come to Christ without the drawing of the Holy Spirit. (No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. John 6:44) Even after I left the IFB church movement, I still believed that the drawing of the Spirit (among other things) was required for salvation.
Wilson, as many Evangelicals do, judges me by his own personal experiences. Thus, he had a bad experience with the IFB church movement, and judges me by what he experienced in the past. This is a bad way to judge anything, especially religion.
Sometimes, my critics pick a singular point on my timeline, and judge me from that point in my life. This ALWAYS leads to bad conclusions. I evolved over the years politically, socially, and theologically. This should be considered a sign of growth and maturity, but many Evangelicals think if you theologically change your mind you are sinful or you have taken the first step down the path of apostasy. I was never afraid to change my mind if my studies showed me I was wrong. Over the years, I changed my mind about all sorts of theological positions. My core beliefs — think Nicene Creed — never changed, but my soteriology, eschatology, ecclesiology, and pneumatology evolved, sometimes dramatically.
I know I worked the bus ministry for years and had hundreds of professions and very few pocessors of a new nature, were you one of the thousands that prayed without seeing yourself as God sees you, a lost ungodly sinner who deserves hell and under conviction who broke down with a repentant heart crying out to God for forgiveness.
I was a true-blue Christian; a devoted, committed follower of Jesus. Yes, I saw myself as God saw me: an ungodly sinner deserving Hell. At the age of fifteen, I repented of my sins and cried out to God for forgiveness. There is literally NO evidence from that time that suggests otherwise. If you have it, Wilson, cough it up.
I did, and instantly I knew I was born again,
So did I. And I professed my newfound faith to my church, my family, and my friends. And when I went to school, I professed my faith to my teachers and classmates. And two weeks later, I told my church that God was calling me to preach. A few weeks later, I preached my first sermon.
To Wilson I say, let’s compare our relative Christian lives. I am confident that my life will measure up to yours. In fact, I’m confident I was likely more committed to following Christ than you are, and as an atheist, I’m a better Christian than many of the Evangelicals I know. Shall we whip out our proverbial gospel dicks and see who was a bigger/better Christian? I am game, if you are.
and by FAITH I became a new creature and it completely changed my life.
The same goes for me. Now what, Wilson?
There is hope but it’s Gods doing all of Grace and none of man. He even gives us our Faith.
And I NEVER, EVER, NOT ONE TIME, said otherwise. You seem not to know or have forgotten that I was a Calvinist. Every Calvinist I know would say, “[Salvation] Gods doing all of Grace and none of man. He even gives us our Faith.”
Try harder, Wilson, try harder. This post is your opportunity to challenge me and provide evidence for your claims.
Saved by Reason,
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Recently, a Christian man named Marlin had this to say about me:
I dislike Dennis Corle and I know Jack Hyles was evil. But you’re using them as part of your excuse as to why you’re no longer Christian, when it’s pretty clear you never were a believer.
As is my custom, I sent Marlin a link to my response.
Marlin replied:
You’re an old faggot who will burn even hotter for being a scoffer
Marlin reveals that he is either still an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist or his thinking and behavior are deeply influenced by IFB beliefs. By far, the nastiest people I’ve interacted with on this site are IFB Christians.
One tactic often used by IFB Christians is to call your opponent a faggot, queer, gay, or homosexual. This has nothing to do with sexuality. The goal is to marginalize and defame, and by doing so, this allows them to dismiss my story out of hand.
Marlin goes on to say that I am a “scoffer,” and I will suffer greater punishment in Hell for my unbelief. Of course, Marlin provides no evidence for his claim. He doesn’t address the fact that, according to many Independent Baptists, I am still a Christian. Once saved, always saved, right? He also doesn’t address the fact that followers of Jesus can and do deconvert.
When confronted with the awfulness of eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire, many Evangelicals will say that it is not up to them who ends up in Hell. They genuinely feel bad that their beliefs require the eternal punishment of their family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Marlin, evidently, has no such qualms. No, in his mind, I never was a Christian, and I will suffer eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire for my unrepentant unbelief. He KNOWS I am going to fry forever. Maybe Marlin is God in drag?
Marlin then left the following comment:
Intellectual reasons? You left Christianity after your neurological problems left you wheelchair-bound. You’re a sad, bitter old man. You were never a Christian because your idol is yourself. You loved your ability to walk and yourself more than the Lord, then claim your superior intellect evolved you beyond the things of God.
In my first response to him, I told Marlin that he was wrong about the reason I left Christianity; that I primarily deconverted for intellectual reasons. Marlin rejects my claim, saying that I “left Christianity after your neurological problems left you wheelchair-bound.” Is there any truth to his claim? Of course not. Marlin has constructed a strawman of me in his mind. Instead of critiquing my life according to what I have written, Marlin uses the strawman Bruce instead. This, of course, leads to faulty conclusions.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia twelve years before I deconverted. I didn’t start regularly using a wheelchair until 2009 — after I deconverted. It wasn’t until 2022 that I started using a wheelchair (or walker) anytime I am forced to walk more than short distances. I typically use a cane for short distances, a walker for moderate distances, and a wheelchair for long distances or times when I am required to sit for long periods of time.
As everyone but Marlin can see, my disability began when I was still a Christian and a pastor. My health problems played little to no part in my deconversion. I have never blamed “God” for my physical struggles. Life is what it is, and I accept the fact that chronic pain and suffering are as much a part of my life as breathing.
Marlin goes on to say that I am a sad, bitter man. Marlin provides no evidence for his claim. He doesn’t know me, so on what basis does he conclude that I am sad and bitter? I am neither, though, at times, my pain levels reach #10 on the chart, and I can and do feel sad. Who wouldn’t want relief from chronic pain and suffering?
Marlin again claims I was never a Christian. He then adds that I worship myself, saying, “You loved your ability to walk and yourself more than the Lord, then claim your superior intellect evolved you beyond the things of God.”
Honestly, it is hard to tell what Marlin means here. He seems to say that I loved the ability to walk more than I loved God. How did Marlin come to such a faulty conclusion? There’s nothing in my story that remotely suggests I worshipped the man, myth, and legend Jesus Christ. No, as my therapist would tell Marlin if asked, I think poorly of myself, struggling to maintain a healthy self-esteem.
As far as my intellect is concerned, what else should I use to determine my beliefs and make decisions? I assume Marlin does the same. Oh, wait, with one big difference. His intellect is sotted with Christian dogma and practices. They color every judgment he makes. This, of course, can be true of all of us. Our presuppositions can and do lead to faulty conclusions. That’s why I do my best to skeptically and rationally make decisions without bias from presuppositions. Marlin, on the other hand, thinks his peculiar interpretation of the Protestant Christian Bible is superior to anything I might believe. This, of course, is a common problem when dealing with Evangelical Christians. They are certain that they are “right”; that their beliefs and practices come straight from the triune God himself.
Marlin provides no evidence for any of his claims; just assertions and personal opinions. I challenge him to justify his accusations about me. I am confident that he will not do so because his whole view of me is based on a strawman caricature of me.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Recently, a Christian man named Marlin had this to say about me:
I dislike Dennis Corle and I know Jack Hyles was evil. But you’re using them as part of your excuse as to why you’re no longer Christian, when it’s pretty clear you never were a believer.
Dennis Corle and the late Jack Hyles are big names in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church movement. I have heard both men preach, and Corle held several revivals for me in the 1980s. I assume that Marlin is either a current IFB church member or a former one. Either way, his comment reveals a common IFB trait: making moral judgments without evidence to justify their conclusions. Marlin says it is clear that I was never a “believer,” yet he provides no evidence for his claim. He doesn’t personally know me, so he has no personal experiences with me to base his judgments upon. Further, he doesn’t provide any anecdotal or personal testimony from former congregants or colleagues in the ministry — you know, people who actually knew me — that bolsters his claim about my salvation. Despite not having any evidence to justify his claims, Marlin is cocksure that I was never a Christian.
Marlin suggests that it was people like Dennis Corle and Jack Hyles who played an instrumental part in my deconversion. This claim is patently false. I don’t believe I have ever suggested that these men or other preachers played a part in my loss of faith. I left the IFB church movement in the late 1980s, twenty years before I deconverted. While I was still an Evangelical Christian, I no longer ran in IFB circles.
I have made it clear over the years that I left Christianity for primarily intellectual reasons. Sure, there were emotional factors too, but at the end of the day, I left Christianity because it no longer made any sense to me.
If Marlin thinks otherwise, I suggest he provide evidence for his claims. Or he can admit that his claims are false. Marlin claims to be a Christian. I accept his claim at face value. If someone says they are a Christian, I believe them. Sadly, Evangelicals-turned-atheists are not given the same respect. Marlin KNOWS I never was a follower of Jesus, and this allows him to dismiss my story out of hand. Accepting my story as it causes cognitive dissonance and theological problems, so it is just easier to assert that I was never a Christian.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Grace: Hello Bruce, I read your article. You were a pastor for many years, and now you are an atheist. Is that correct?
Bruce: Yes, that’s correct. I was an Evangelical pastor for 25 years. Thanks!
Grace: And now you are an atheist? Is that correct?
Bruce: Yes. I deconverted seventeen years ago.
As you can readily see, I politely and pointedly answered her questions. Yet, Grace’s questions were just a set up for her finishing blow.
Grace: Pastors lead people to hell. So you were on your way to hell then and now.
Luther was as much a heretic as the Catholic church.
The great evangelical disaster leads people to hell.
OSAS is Unscriptural.
“by faith alone” is Unscriptural.
Tithing is not NT Scriptural.
Church buildings are Unscriptural.
But at least you worked Some for a livig [sic].
It’s a shame you led people to hell then and are still on your way there.
But, your choice.
Peace
As you can see, Grace is certain she is right and I am wrong. No discussion required. She knows I’m wrong and headed for Hell; that my entire sixty-eight years of life is a fraud; a lie.
Never mind the fact that Grace doesn’t know anything about me other than an unnamed article she read. To that I say:
It’s stupid and embarrassing to give an answer before you listen. Proverbs 18:13
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
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