The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

Tag: Evangelicalism

  • Bruce, You Are Suppressing the Truth in Unrighteousness

    truth set you free

    Rom 1:18-21 says:

    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse,  for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

    Engage in discussion and debate with Evangelical apologists long enough, and Romans 1 is sure to come up. The moment an atheist or other unbeliever denies the Evangelical God’s existence, Evangelicals will quote Romans 1, saying that unbelievers KNOW the truth because God has revealed it to them, so they are without excuse.

    According to Evangelical apologists, God revealed himself to all of us several ways:

    • Creation
    • Conscience: the law of God written on our “hearts”
    • Divine revelation:the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God

    The thinking goes is that all any of us need to do is look at the wonders of creation and conclude, “God did it.” Fine, I always say. Which God? Why do apologists assume the creator God is their deity? I have yet to have an Evangelical connect the dots between the God of creation and the triune God of the Christian Bible.

    All of us have a conscience, but there’s a lot we don’t know about it. Evangelicals, on the other hand, are convinced that their deity has written his law on the conscience/heart/mind of every human being. This is how mortals determine right from wrong, Evangelicals say. However, left unanswered is the question, “What law?” The Ten (or nine) Commandments? The law of Moses? Where is this “law” so we can know exactly what God expects of us.

    Evangelicals will confidently state that God supernaturally gave us the Bible so we can know exactly what it is he requires of us. The Bible is the divine blueprint for life, teaching believers everything they need to know about life and godliness. If this is so, why are so many Evangelicals stupid as a brick, showing that they know very little about what the Bible says? You would think Christians would make studying, knowing, and understanding the Bible the most important priority of their lives. But, they don’t. Why is that?

    As an atheist, I am not suppressing anything. I am willing to embrace truth wherever it is found. If Christian apologists can provide compelling evidence for the existence of their God, I’m listening. Whether I would convert remains to be seen, but I would, at the very least, give their evidence a hearing. Unfortunately, I remain unconvinced. I haven’t heard an Evangelical apologist give a compelling argument for the existence of God and the veracity of Christianity in years. Same old arguments over, and over, and over again. Setting aside esoteric philosophical arguments for which I have zero interest, Evangelical apologists use a handful of arguments to justify their beliefs. Some of these defenses of Christianity are “interesting,” but none of them close the deal — at least for me, anyway.

    Maybe Evangelicals should ask themselves whether they are the ones suppressing the truth; that conditioning and indoctrination keep them from hearing any other arguments but their own.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Just Remember, God Gave Your Child Cancer so He Can Go to Heaven After He Dies

    charismatic faith healer

    One common argument used by atheist philosopher Allegedly Ian when he debates Christian apologists goes something like this:

    Ian: If you could cure childhood cancer by hitting a button in front of you, would you do it?

    Christian Apologist: Absolutely.

    Ian: So, it is good to cure cancer?

    Christian Apologist: Yes.

    Ian: If God could cure childhood cancer, would he?

    Christian Apologist: Uh, well, uh, hmm, uh . . .big gulp . . . No!

    Ian: So, God is not good? If it is “good” to cure childhood cancer, then is God not good if he doesn’t do so?

    We know, of course, that God doesn’t cure childhood cancer, because children have cancer, including babies born with it.

    Usually, at this point, Christian apologists realize they are trapped, so they start rolling out the justifications and excuses for God. “No, God doesn’t cure childhood cancer, but he has a reason for not doing so.” “Gods thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not are ways. God’s ways are higher, unknown by mere mortals.” “Yes, God gives cancer to children, but after they die a horrible death, he will take them to Heaven when they die. Ain’t God good?”

    And so it goes, but never forget, God could in a split second cure childhood cancer. That he chooses not to suggests either he doesn’t exist or he doesn’t care about the pain and suffering of his created beings — especially children. Either way, such a deity is not worthy of our worship.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Worship Pastor Matthew McGinley Accused of Sexually Assaulting a Minor

    mcginley-matthew

    The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

    Matthew McGinley, the worship pastor for Ascent Project in Fort Collins, Colorado and a Christian school teacher, stands accused of sexually assaulting a minor.

    CBS reports:

    Fort Collins police have arrested Matthew McGinley, 30, accusing the former worship pastor and teacher of sexual assault of a minor by a person in a position of trust. In police and court records obtained by CBS News Colorado, McGinley is accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student that continued for more than one year. 

    McGinley was a part-time educator at a prominent Northern Colorado Christian school for the 2018-2019 school year, according to the school.

    According to police, that is when McGinley met the victim in one of the classes he helped teach. The student was younger than 18 when they met. 

    Police reported that McGinley, 24 at the time, and the student started off by sending flirtatious late-night texts before the relationship evolved to kissing. Police said the two started having sex at the beginning of 2020. It continued through part of 2020 until the victim cut off communication, according to police. 

    The intimate relationship had allegedly taken place off-campus after McGinley had stopped working at the school.

    McGinley was, and still is, married. 

    McGinley went on to become the worship and marketing pastor for a Fort Collins church known as “Ascent Project.” 

    The relationship went largely unshared until 2025, when McGinley allegedly told a church leader about his affair with the minor. Church leaders reportedly gathered and decided to have a meeting with McGinley, one in which they told police he fully confessed to his actions during. Fort Collins Police filed court documents saying McGinley was fired from his role at Ascent Project immediately by the church leaders and was then taken to the police department to turn himself in. 

    Police obtained an email that McGinley allegedly sent to the victim’s mother. In the email, McGinley wrote an apology for his actions and said they were part of a “quarter-life crisis” he was going through. The email in the court records goes on to suggest McGinley was remorseful for his actions and had repented to God.

    McGinley was charged with felony sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust with a pattern of abuse. He was booked into the Larimer County Jail and has since posted bond as he awaits further steps in the criminal proceedings.

    ….

    On Thursday, Ascent Project, which is pastored by McGinley’s brother, provided a statement to CBS News Colorado regarding his arrest.

    “On September 2, Pastor Josh McGinley and the elders of Ascent Project Church were made aware of serious allegations involving a former staff member, Matthew McGinley. These allegations were unknown to church leadership prior to that date. Upon his confession, he was accompanied to the police station, where he turned himself in, and his employment was terminated the same day. We are deeply grieved by these events and remain committed to the care and well-being of everyone in our church,” said the Ascent Project Church Elder Team.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • The Voices of Atheism: Is the Bible Factually True? by Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou

    Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou

    This is the latest installment in The Voices of Atheism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. Know of a good video that espouses atheism/agnosticism or challenges the claims of the Abrahamic religions? Please email me the name of the video or a link to it. I believe this series will be an excellent addition to The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser.

    Thank you in advance for your help.

    What follows is a video of an interview with Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, a professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The main focus of her research is on the Hebrew Bible, and on Israelite and Judahite history and religion. Her seminal book, God: An Anatomy, is a must read.

    Video Link

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Why I’m Done Supporting the Democratic Party

    government shutdown

    In 2000, I voted for a Democrat for the first time, and since then I have primarily voted for Democratic candidates, even when I had to hold my nose to do so. Neither Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden was my candidates of choice, but I voted for both because I was a loyal party member. Two years ago, I accepted a position on the executive committee of the local Democratic Party. Two weeks ago, I resigned my position, with nary a question from local party officials. No one asked me “why” or made any attempt to preserve the support of someone who has been one of the most vocal Democrats around. From signs in my yard — even for candidates I didn’t care for — to letters to the editor of the local newspaper, I was a loyal Democrat. I endured attacks in the newspaper from incensed, butthurt Republicans, and cleaned for more than a few bottles, cans, and bags of human shit (imagine a Republican taking the time to shit in a baggie just so he can show me his objection to something I said or wrote) from my front yard. I have repeatedly had my political yard signs stolen, and in all of this, not one party official has said to me, “Hey, Bruce, how ya doing?” Hey, but they did send me a card when I had major surgery on my spine fifteen months ago.

    When the local party had a short discussion about Lifewise Academy, I bit my tongue as I heard well-intentioned Democrats wrongly “explain” the Lifewise program and why it should be opposed. They could have asked the expert in the room on Evangelicalism and Lifewise Academy to explain the program, but he went unasked. Outside of one man and his wife — whom are wonderful people I have known for years — not one party member engaged in meaningful discussion with me. I concluded that as a socialist and pacifist, I was too far to the left for the liking of most local Democrats. When I made known I was an atheist, that further alienated me from religious Democrats. I tried to Facebook friend several senior party leaders, without success. I offered to run for local office, and what I got was a polite “Thank you. We will get back with you.” As you might imagine, I am still waiting. It’s hard not to feel not wanted, so both my partner and I decided we would invest our time and money in political endeavors that better reflect our political, religious, moral, and ethical values.

    We are done voting for the lesser of two evils. We are done supporting candidates who ignore rural Americans while pretending that they are the only people looking out for us. We are done with thinking that third parties will NEVER work in our country. We are done with being told that a vote for a third party candidate is a throwaway vote, serving no purpose besides enabling the “enemy.” We are done holding our tongues while self-righteous Democrats shame and castigate us for daring to even consider voting for someone other than a Democrat. “What, do you want to be responsible for reelecting Donald Trump to a fourth term?” To those who want to try this approach with me, let me un-politely tell you to “fuck off.” Polite Polly won’t tell you to do the same, but trust me when I say that my angry, enraged wife — who is more enraged than I have ever seen her in forty-seven years of marriage — approves of this message.

    And let me be clear, our anger is primarily reserved for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and senior elected party officials. Our anger first started percolating when the DNC behind the scenes rigged the primary election for Hillary Clinton, not wanting the better candidate, Bernie Sanders, to be their standard bearer. And yes, I know it can be debated whether Sanders could have won, but the DNC had no business stacking the deck for Clinton — who, in my opinion, was an awful candidate.

    In 2024, the DNC and senior elected officials should have stepped in and stopped Joe Biden from running a second term. Instead, they loyally chose party seniority over the American people, saddling Democrats with a candidate who likely couldn’t win. And when they finally figured this out, it was too late. The Kamala Harris debacle paved the way for Donald Trump’s reelection. Making matters worse were the Republican friendly political ads repeatedly run by Sherrod Brown and Marcy Kaptur on local TV. I wanted to scream every time one of their ads popped up on the screen. I thought these two were pillars of liberalism? Brown lost, and Kaptur won by a thousand or so votes. Both plan to run for office again, but Kaptur’s district has been gerrymandered — making it more Republican friendly (adding two counties that voted 80 percent for Trump) — and Brown no longer has the star power he once had. Will I vote for either of them again? Sure, but I do so out of anti-MAGA sentiment and not because I think Brown or Kaptur will actually represent me in congress.

    Earlier this year, DNC operatives forced David Hogg — a Democratic firebrand and party reformer — out of his position with them, making it clear that coloring outside the lines would not be tolerated. It became clear to us that the DNC was bought and paid for by pro-business, pro-capitalism, centrist Democrats.

    This brings me to the final nail in the proverbial coffin: the Democratic capitulation to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans. The U.S. government has been shut down for forty-one days. Until yesterday, Democrats stood firm on their demands of funding Obamacare subsidies and restoring Medicaid funding to the states. And then, just like that, the shutdown was over (or will be over soon). Eight Democratic senators voted with Republicans to end the shutdown. I should note that two of these feckless, cowardly Democrats are retiring and six others are not up for election. And does anyone seriously think that these eight cowards would have voted with Republicans without the express permission of Senator Chuck Schumer? Schumer, a centrist corporate Democrat, has time and time again feigned support for the needs of the American people while, behind the scenes, burned their houses to the ground.

    What did Democrats get for surrender? The promise of a vote on the subsidies in December. That’s it, boys and girls. Remember, Democrats KNOW that the subsidy funding bill must get sixty votes in the Senate, a majority vote in a Republican held House, and then have Trump sign it. Does anyone who is not high think that this is going to happen? Hell, I’m high as I write this, and I know that this ain’t going to happen — ever. Democratic leaders have lost their will; the willingness to roll up their sleeves and FIGHT for the American people. And by not doing so, they have sided with vile people who have no problem with taking food away from hungry people and taking healthcare away from sick Americans. Democrats sided with a party that literally forced the closure of Head Start programs, national parks, airports, and vast swaths of the federal government, all the while Gestapo agents roam the streets of our major cities looking for “undesirables.” The Democratic Party has lost its way, and I no longer believe it can be saved. So, it is for that reason that I am no longer a Democrat, and neither is my partner.

    We plan to register as Independents. While this will limit our ability to vote for candidates in primary elections, it is one way we can show our disapproval of party politics and the two-party system. It is likely we will continue to vote for Democratic candidates, but we will no longer be bound by party loyalty. We will likely vote third party (unless Democrats rise to the occasion and run true progressive candidates) in primaries, and do what’s best for our country in general elections. We will no longer put Democratic signs in our front yard unless we actually support the candidates. Same goes for political donations.

    I’m not sure where this path leads, but here’s to hoping for a better tomorrow. Our republic is worth saving, though I no longer believe the people running the show want to save it. A warmongering fascist sits in the White House and his court of clowns want to turn our country into an Evangelical theocracy. The courts seem unwilling to rein in the Clown-in-Chief, so the battle is left to congress — who shows no appetite or desire to turn back Trump’s, the Supreme Court’s, and even congress’s support for undemocratic, unconstitutional behaviors, policies, and practices. We are left to wonder if we have crossed a Rubicon of sorts, and it too late for us as a nation. I hope not, and I intend to fight until I can no longer do so.

    Let me conclude with Jon Stewart’s take on the health of the Democratic Party.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Is Dr. Masahide Kanayama Being “Persecuted” Because He’s an Evangelical Christian?

    persecution

    Another day, another Evangelical Christian screaming “persecution” when arrested for breaking the law.

    The New York Times reports:

    One day in March 2015, surveillance cameras at a thousand-year-old Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Tokyo captured a man wearing a hooded windbreaker, a white collared shirt and black shoes, dabbing at wooden pillars with oil on his fingertip.

    Less than an hour later and 17 miles away, Japanese authorities said, a man with a similar build and clothing was caught on video anointing an offerings box at another site, a Shinto shrine founded in 643 B.C. during the reign of Japan’s first emperor.

    The faiths predate Christianity by centuries, and the sites draw 12 million pilgrims and tourists each year. They venerate the Buddha and the Shinto kami, the spirits that the faithful believe animate natural forces and inhabit the land. The smears of oil, as the authorities saw them, despoiled Japan’s religious heritage.

    The authorities found their suspect in New York, roughly 7,000 miles away, and issued arrest warrants for him on two counts of vandalism.

    He is Masahide Kanayama, 63, a single, childless doctor who had devoted his life to helping women bear children; a man whose Christian faith was inseparable from his work. He has practiced in Manhattan for nearly three decades and is an expert in endometriosis, a condition in which cells similar to the uterine lining grow outside the uterus. His patients describe how his surgeries ended years of crippling pain and, in some cases, allowed them to have children.

    “I believe the Holy Spirit works through me by giving me an ability to perform my unique surgical technique,” Dr. Kanayama said. “When guided by faith, medicine becomes a way to serve God by serving others. My goal is to let God’s love be reflected through my actions and services.”

    Now, a decade after the hooded man was seen at the holy sites, that work may soon become impossible. The Japanese authorities say they found YouTube videos from 2012 in which Dr. Kanayama discussed anointing shrines with oil for religious purposes. They are seeking to bring him back to Japan for trial.

    Dr. Kanayama’s lawyers said in a statement that he did not damage any sites, and added that “even if true, his actions damaged nothing.”

    ….

    The charges could bring five years of hard labor in a Japanese prison.

    ….

    One Sunday morning in mid-October, Dr. Kanayama entered the Times Square Church on West 51st Street near Broadway. The nondenominational church, a former theater, welcomes thousands of worshipers in person and online to services that draw on the Pentecostal tradition. There is a live band and gospel singing, and congregants approach the pulpit seeking healing. He closed his eyes as he prayed, sang and swayed to the music.

    ….

    Dr. Kanayama, whose ethnic Korean heritage already makes him an outlier in Japanese society, came to his faith at 17 when his mother took him to an evangelical missionary church in Tokyo. There, he had a spiritual awakening that he says led him to become a Christian and move to the United States.

    “I will show my healing power through your hands,” he said God had told him.

    ….

    Throughout much of the two-hour service that day at the Times Square Church, Dr. Kanayama stood in the packed rows, his left hand gripping a Japanese-language Bible and his right arm raised in the air.

    He often carries that Bible, with its dog-eared pages and underlined verses. “I underline everywhere,” he said.

    ….

    At the ancient Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple in the city of Narita, the Japanese authorities said Dr. Kanayama had left oil on pillars that were part of the main gate used to enter the sanctuary.

    The gate was built in a traditional Japanese architectural style and is itself an object of worship, a temple official said in a declaration filed with the court. The oil had left blackish stains, the official wrote.

    ….

    At the Katori Jingu Shrine in nearby Katori, oily liquid was left on wooden poles on both sides of the front stairs, on the stairs themselves and on the box where worshipers can make donations, a shrine official said in another declaration. The oil left stains, although over time they became almost invisible unless observed up close, the official said

    ….

    Dr. Kanayama said he had been targeted because he was a Christian in a country where members of the faith had suffered repression for hundreds of years and today represent only about 1 percent of the population.

    “This is a religious persecution,” Mr. Kanayama’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said. “Why else would they be so enthusiastic about destroying not only this man’s life, but ending his ability to help thousands of women who suffer from a very serious medical malady?”

    Is Dr. Kanayama being persecuted for his faith? Of course not, Regardless of his intentions, Kanayama broke Japanese law. He damaged public property. Why? Cuz Gawd told him to. Do I think Kanayama should spend five years in prison for his crimes? No, but he should be punished harshly enough to deter delusional — and people who say Gawd talks to them are delusional — Evangelicals from breaking the law. If I “anointed” local Evangelical churches with atheist oil that caused physical harm to their buildings, should I be arrested for property crimes? Absolutely. The law applies to everyone, including Evangelicals who hear voices in their heads.

    Stop with the claims of persecution. When Evangelicals turn every bit of pushback into cries of Satanic persecution, they diminish real persecution that is happening in places like Darfur and Nigeria. Dr. Kanayama is not being persecuted. He’s the latest person to learn the hard way that listening to the Holy Ghost talk to you in your heard and acting upon his direction may lead to prison. Kanayma is just another Evangelical who became convinced that rubbing “holy oil” on shit affects outcomes or brings supernatural intervention. In any other setting, such behavior would earn you a psych evaluation. In American Evangelical churches, however, you will be lauded as a hero, a defender of the one true faith.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Did Jesus Say the Red Words in the Bible?

    red letter bible

    Some Protestant Christian Bibles show the words of Jesus printed in red. Supposedly, these red-letter Bibles let readers know exactly the words uttered by Jesus during his three year ministry in first century Palestine. The problem, of course, is that this claim is not true.

    The gospels were written by unknown authors decades after the death of Jesus. At best, the gospels reflect the oral traditions that were circulating in the first century. Are the words in red actually the words of Jesus? Not likely. At best, they could be an approximation of what Christ said. Jesus never wrote anything down, nor did anyone make written reports of his words. It would have been nice if someone had recorded or videotaped Jesus. That way we would know exactly what he said. Instead, all we have are third party accounts of what a Jewish apocalyptic preacher supposedly said during his public ministry.

    As an Evangelical who believed in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, I thought that Jesus uttered every word printed in red. That said, I didn’t elevate the red words above other words in the Bible. My logic was simple: God wrote every word in the Bible. Jesus is God. Jesus authored (and spoke) every word, and not just the ones recorded in red.

    Some Evangelicals call themselves “Red Letter Christians.” Uncomfortable with the increasing politicization of Evangelicalism, these well-meaning believers focus on Jesus’ words. While I understand their motivations, I find their approach to the Bible to be intellectually lacking.

    Were you ever a Red Letter Christian? Please share your experiences in the comment section.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • Is the Old Testament God Different From the New Testament God?

    santa-and-jesus

    I have long believed that Christians rue the day that they included the Old Testament in its canon of Scripture. By including the thirty-nine books of the old Testament in the canon, Christians ensured that they would spend the next 2,000 years defending its teachings — some of which are outright disgusting and immoral.

    Increasingly sensitive Evangelicals try to distance themselves from the Old Testament — except, of course, for the Ten Commandments (or is it nine?), six day creation, universal flood, and the verses on tithing. Not wanting to be tarred with same brush as hardcore Christian Fundamentalists, these Evangelicals want to be well-liked and well thought of. One way they try to present their faith in a better light is by suggesting that there is an Old Testament God and a New Testament God, incompatible one with another. By doing away with the Old Testament deity, the violent tendencies of God disappear. What’s left is the loving, kind, compassionate God-Jesus of the New Testament. (And let me be clear, there is plenty of God-ordained violence in the New Testament. Many Evangelicals pretend they have reading disabilities when confronted with these verses.)

    It is impossible to separate the God of the New Testament from the God of the Old Testament. If Jesus is God as Evangelicals allege, then he is the God of both the Old and New testaments. Everything attributed to “God” in the Bible must, by necessity, be attributed to Jesus too. Christians would have it a lot easier if the Old Testament God miraculously disappeared, but such a position cannot be rationally sustained.

    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.

    You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

  • The Inevitable End of the Terri Saga

    peanut gallery

    Over the past few months, an Evangelical woman named Terri has repeatedly emailed me and left comments on this site. I asked her to stop emailing me, which she largely ignored, thinking what she had to say was more important than respecting my wishes. You can read my last two responses to Terri here and here.

    Terri’s latest email to me is reproduced below. My response follows.

    You emailed me after banning me from emailing you.

    I emailed you to send you a notification of my post that mentions you. I do this for EVERY person I mention in a post.

    You were not banned from emailing me or commenting on this site. I asked you to voluntarily stop emailing me. You have never been banned from commenting, though I have deleted some of your comments due to duplication or volume. Less is always better, and when a new reader starts leaving a plethora of comments, I am inclined to not post some of their comments. Again, less is better.

    I have just one thing left to say.

    Now, that’s not true. You have never had “one thing left to say” and that is certainly not the case with this email.

    To express my disappointment in the way you brush off extreme violations to human rights, is an understatement.

    Please provide evidence for your claim that I “brush off extreme violations to human rights.” I am confident that no evidence will be forthcoming, and longtime readers know the same. No, the real issue is that you are butthurt that I didn’t take your anecdotal stories at face value. Further, I made a lengthy defense of my position on religious persecution. Let me be clear, I have never denied the existence of religious persecution. What I object to is how Evangelicals (and Catholics) glamorize martyrdom, teaching children and adults alike that they may suffer persecution for the cause of Christ. This has led to millions of believers thinking that inconvenience or prosecution for breaking the law are persecution. They are not, as I made clear in my post. Not only that, I provided quotes from the leading scholar on Christian persecution, Dr. Candida Moss.

    I responded to you dozens of times, including to your assertions about Christian persecution. I asked numerous questions, most of which you ignored. If you are unwilling to answer my questions or provide justification for your claims, forgive me for thinking you are a troll or an ignorant believer. I am not interested in your opinions or rationalizations. The same goes for your penchant for prooftexting. I am not expecting academic arguments from non-academics or uneducated believers, but I do expect Christians to answer the questions I ask them and interact with what I actually wrote.

    I honestly had thought you were better than that. I was shocked and heartbroken 💔 at the glib cartoons you put up about “You are persecuting me!” after I mentioned something as serious as the wholesale slaughter of innocent people. Whether they be Christians, peaceful Muslims, or whatever, human rights are human rights.

    Please see my comment above. The cartoon reflected how I view much of the persecution talk coming from American Christians. Want to change my mind? Engage my arguments. Better yet, buy Dr. Moss’ book, The Myth of Persecution, and give it a careful reading.

    You are attempting to paint me in a bad light, all because I challenged some of your assertions. At no time did I say that religious persecution is not happening in the world.

    But I guess your humanism only conveniently extends to those whose ideologies you agree with. 

    *Sigh* You know this isn’t true so I assume you are just expressing your butthurtedness.

    That was the most tone-deaf response, to reduce it all to a cartoon flippantly depicting very petty “Christians” complaining of “persecution” for nothing. 

    It’s a fucking cartoon. The real issue is that you CHOSE not to respond to or engage my post — and this is not the first time you have done this.

    You KNOW that was not at all what I was talking about. I honestly never thought you would respond in such a callous way. 

    No, I don’t, and that’s why I asked you questions.

    You don’t really know me, so you have no idea how I will or won’t respond to particular readers. Go back and read my posts and emails and see how many times you ignored my questions.

    That’s all I have to say.

    I know that’s not true.

    I wish you well.

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    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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