JD Vance is out and about preaching up his version of Christianity. Vance, a Roman Catholic, calls for a restoration of Western Civilization; alleging that liberals, humanists, socialists, and atheists want to destroy America. This is patently untrue. The issue at stake is a radical difference between worldviews.
Vance promotes not Christianity itself, but Christendom. Christendom vs. Christianity — the former all about restoring Western Civilization to what Vance considers its glory days.
Christendom is about power, not piety. The goal is coercion, not salvation. Christendom gave us imperialism, colonialism, empire, and war. Millions have died as the result of the West’s lust for world domination. Trump, Vance, Rubio, and Hegseth all think that the Christian deity and the United States are best buds; that this God gave his approval for America’s immoral wars. Or so we’re told.
Vance’s promotion of Christendom explains why he says there’s no such thing as the separation of church and state. In Vance’s view of the world, the United States is an explicitly Christian nation, divinely chosen and blessed by the triune Christian God, not just a nation of mainly people who self- identify as Christians.
Various streams of Christian nationalism all want one thing: a Christian nation governed by the laws of the Bible. This is nothing more than the Christian version of Muslim Sharia Law. Calling pluralism and multiculturalism evil, Christian nationalists want religious purity; or at the very least a culture dominated by Christianity and a society where unbelievers are grudgingly tolerated as long as they know their place.
I recently began my seventieth year of life. For the first time in my life, I no longer feel welcome in my own country. I’ve been told there’s no place for people like me: an unbelieving atheist, socialist, and pacifist. How dare I live according to my values and beliefs. Vance and his fellow Christians want a religious monoculture, one where everyone thinks, believes, and behaves the same way.
Vance’s wife is a Hindu. You would think he would respect his wife’s religious beliefs, but he does not. Before converting to Catholicism, Vance was an Evangelical — and it shows. Vance has publicly called on his wife to convert to Christianity. This is a reminder that Vance’s goal is restore Western Christianity to its former greatness. How much blood he is willing to shed to advance his cause remains to be seen.
Bruce Gerencser
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.
Evangelicals love to call themselves “people of the book.” The first church I worked for had an advertising sign that said, “The Blood, The Book, The Blessed Hope.” We believed, as Evangelicals do today, that the Bible was inerrant and infallible — without error and true in all it teaches. Yet, for all their talk about the Bible, most Evangelicals don’t read and study the Bible. Oh, they might read it from time to time, but as far as diligently reading and studying the Bible? No time for that, even though they demand unbelievers obey the Bible, not bothering to read it from cover to cover themselves. If this is not the case, why do Evangelical preachers repeatedly “encourage” congregants to read the Bible, warning them about what God will do to them if they don’t. Some pastors throw in the towel and try to at least get church members to read devotional materials such as “Our Daily Bread.” Every day, Christians read a couple of Bible verses and the devotional commentary for said verses, delusionally thinking that they are “studying” the Bible.
Evangelicals claim the Bible was written by God himself; that it is the most important book (actually collection of books) in human history. Supposedly, the Bible contains everything necessary for life and godliness. This supernatural book tells us how the universe was created and reveals to us the nature of God. Its pages reveal God’s redemptive plan for humanity (or the elect), along with how to have a successful marriage and a happy family. What a book of wisdom and knowledge, right? Yet, most Evangelicals never read the Bible through one time. What’s up with this disconnect? Why do Evangelicals demand the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world read the Bible when they, themselves, can’t bother to do it?
Here’s what I learned pastoring Evangelical churches for twenty-five years:
First, most Evangelicals want to do what is “right.” They want to read and study the Bible, pleasing both God and the maniac who chastises them every week from the pulpit for not being the bestest (and the most giving and obedient) Christians ever.
Second, life often gets in the way of obey God. Sorry, but that’s just how it is. I was about ten years into my ministerial career before I finally figured out what was going on. Most of the people I pastored were kind, loving, thoughtful people. Sure, I pastored more than a few assholes, but most congregants loved God, loved the church, loved the Bible, and loved me as their preacher. They wanted to read and study the Bible, but after working 40-60 hours a week and taking care of domestic obligations, no time was left for them to devote themselves to the Word of God. Did this make them bad Christians? Of course not. They were tired Christians, not backslidden as I alleged. I was paid to read, study, and preach the Bible. I can’t remember a day as a pastor that I didn’t read the Bible. It was, after all, the most important book in my life. I wanted the Bible to be the most important book in the lives of congregants too, but there were not enough hours in the day for them to do so.
Polly spent much of her life as a pastor’s wife feeling guilty over her lack of Bible reading, study, and prayer. It didn’t help the matter that her preacher husband kept reminding her to be a “good example.” Eventually, I stopped badgering Polly, realizing that she, too, only had so much time to devote to the Bible every day. She wanted to read and study the Bible as her preacher husband did, but after raising six kids in a 12×60 foot trailer, cooking meals for them, washing loads of shitty cloth diapers every day, doing ALL the domestic chores (because her soulwinning husband was rarely home), entertaining church members almost every weekend, being her husband’s secretary (she was happy when computers delivered her from this task), and happily putting out when her husband asked, there was no time left for Bible reading.
For five years, both Polly and I taught in our church’s private school. Polly taught church children how to read, spell, and do basic grammar. Our younger students have fond memories of Miss Polly putting them on her lap and helping them read. These same students have different memories of the man they called “Preacher.” I not only taught in the school, I was the principal. Remember, we were Independent Fundamentalist Baptists, at the time. I was the school disciplinarian. No one wanted to be sent to my office.
Based on what I have already shared, when, exactly, did my partner have time to give anything more than a passing glance at the pages of the Bible? Did this make her a bad Christian? Of course not, even though she felt guilty for not being a sold-out follower of Jesus. Six kids, loads of poopy diapers, cooking countless meals, caring for a 720 square foot hillbilly mansion, and devotedly loving a demanding, driven husband dominated her waking hours. Both of us spent years only getting five to seven hours of sleep a night. In retrospect, it’s a wonder either of us made it out alive.
As a pastor, I came to understand that the only Bible knowledge most church members had was what they gained from my sermons three times a week. I accepted that no amount of preaching was going to add more hours in their days. No amount of cajoling Polly was going to make her devote time she didn’t have to leisurely reading the Bible. I eventually stopped nagging people about reading and studying the Bible. I figured if God wanted them to read more of the Bible he could tell them himself. Overnight, preacher and congregants alike took a sigh of relief, leaving the matter to God.
How often did you read the Bible? Did you feel guilty over not reading the Bible as you felt you should (or as your pastor felt you should)? Did you read the Bible from cover-to-cover? 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.
Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of another person, animal, or fictional character. Developing empathy is crucial for establishing relationships and behaving compassionately. It involves experiencing another person’s point of view, rather than just one’s own, and enables prosocial or helping behaviors that come from within, rather than being forced.
It seems to me, and I suspect to you that empathy is a good thing; that empathy is essential to the progress of the human race. The Bible itself says that empathy (loving your neighbor as yourself) is essential to Christian faith. Empathy leads to and promotes goodness, kindness, and common decency. What’s not to like, right?
I am a child of the Evangelical church, but more than that I grew up in poverty. I experienced firsthand doing without. My upbringing afforded me the opportunity to learn a lot things about life, particularly within the church. I quickly learned that the church cared for its own, but not so much for anyone else. And some churches didn’t even care for their own. What mattered was saving souls, not feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and meeting the needs of widows and orphans. What I saw was an incestuous church only concerned with its own wellbeing — increased attendance, increased souls saved, and increased income. Today, megachurches — shrines to Evangelical wealth and power — dot the American landscape, testimonies to a religion far removed from the teachings of Jesus. Empathy is no longer emphasized or encouraged. It should be no surprise, then, that some Evangelical preachers are now condemning empathy. Granted, they are a minority within Evangelicalism, but their influence over the sect is larger than life. And now that the MAGA movement and its prophet Donald Trump have co-opted Evangelicalism, rabid capitalism and right-wing extremism have infested the church, resulting in indifference (apathy, unconcern, hardheartedness) towards suffering and poverty.
Theologically, I was a card-carrying Evangelical, but socially I rejected the church’s indifference towards “the least of these.” My children will tell you that I stressed the importance of being empathic towards the needs of others. Church members will tell you the same. I believed that empathy, compassion, and kindness were central to being a follower a Jesus. Years ago, my mother-in-law, a devout Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, got upset at me over an act of charity I had done for someone else; one that cost me a good bit of money. Mom said to me, “You would give someone the shirt off your back,” as if that was an awful thing to do. (Mom was raised in a family where care and concern rarely, if ever, extended beyond family.) And then, understanding the awful import of her criticism, Mom said, “Well, not that that would be a bad thing to do.”
I am sure Polly and the kids could share stories about how empathy worked out in my day-to-day life. My mantra was simple, “If you see a need and can help, do.” No one is expected to help beyond their abilities. I encouraged people to have a watchful eye for opportunities to be blessings to others.
Did I ever get taken advantage of? Yep, but over time I develop skills that helped me sniff out con-artists. Take the preacher and his son who stopped by our church to get help to make it home from their travels. I quickly discerned this was a scam. How did I know? The old preacher was carrying a $4.99 Dollar General Bible. No preacher carries a cheap-ass Bible. Sorry, I’ve never seen it. The Bible is a tool of the trade for a preacher. No home builder uses a $3 hammer. Quality and durability matter, and so it is for preachers and their Bibles. For the record, my favorite Bible was the calf-skin Oxford KJV. I used to give homeless people money until I found out they were drinking it up at the bar. Going forward, I paid for meals and other needs instead of giving them money. But, even here empathy ruled. My obligation was to follow Jesus and the teachings of the Bible. What people did with the money I gave them was on them, not me. Wisdom is important, but far too often ‘wisdom” gets in the way of help others, and could be used a polite excuse for indifference and bigotry.
Think I am being too harsh on Evangelicals? Consider what is going on in Washington D.C. Evangelicals twice voted Donald Trump into office. Trump quickly rewarded them by appointing largely unqualified Evangelicals (and conservative Catholics and Mormons) to cabinet positions and administrative roles. The no-empathy crowd now dominates our government. Whatever compassion the Obama and Biden administrations may have had (and they were lacking too), it is now gone. Ruthlessness, violence, and indifference are now the norm. Empathy is for the weak, not for them. All that matters is advancing the Project 2025 blueprint. Well that and increasing the net worth of Trump, his family, and his lackeys.
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.
The fool’s decision to say in his heart that there is no God, then, is an act of the will, not the intellect. Derek Kidner states, “The assertion, There is no God, is in fact treated in Scripture not as a sincere if misguided conviction, but as an irresponsible gesture of defiance.” Fools say there is no God because “they are corrupt” (Ps. 14:1).
This is a critical point with regard to atheism. Atheism is a moral choice of the will. James Spiegel states it well: “Atheism is not at all a consequence of intellectual doubt. Such doubts are mere symptoms of the root cause—moral rebellion. For the atheist, the missing ingredient is not evidence but obedience.”
….
The presence of this general revelation of God in His creation explains why there is no reasoned, philosophical refutation of atheism in Scripture. The evidence is such that unbelief is inexcusable. Indeed, only a fool would reject this evidence.
….
As Spiegel explains, “The ‘wickedness’ of the unbeliever works to ‘suppress’ what is manifest in nature.
….
Every person is a created being who lives in a divinely created world, and that creation—both physical and in terms of the imago dei—makes it abundantly clear that a Creator exists. To reject the existence of God is to suppress the truth that is inherently known by every person as created in God’s image.
….
Atheism is not the result of objective assessment of evidence, but of stubborn disobedience; it does not arise from the careful application of reason but from willful rebellion. Atheism is the suppression of truth by wickedness, the cognitive consequence of immorality. In short, it is sin that is the mother of unbelief.
Atheism is a denial of what atheists—and all persons—know is true. It is essentially an attempt at self-deception. Some, no doubt, have been more successful than others at deceiving themselves, but this is the biblical assessment of their atheism.
What are we to make, then, of the many philosophical, psychological, scientific, and historical arguments atheists consistently present to back their assertion that there is no God? The biblical perspective would suggest that the “skeptical objections are the atheists’ façade, a scholarly veneer masking the real causes of their unbelief—causes that are moral and psychological in nature.”17
So, here is the path to atheism. A person engages in immorality of one sort or another. He realizes by way of conscience or exposure to biblical truth that such conduct is morally wrong and an offense to the true God.
When confronted with the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and his written Word, a sinner can fall before God in repentance and faith or remain unrepentant and continue in rebellion against the Creator. The atheist not only has chosen the latter but also has chosen to justify his choice by proclaiming that God does not exist.
The intellectual arguments denying God’s existence, then, are simply the justification for the moral choice to reject God and live free of moral restraints. E. Michael Jones says it succinctly:
“Those who commit evil will be troubled by its pangs, and in their trouble they have only two alternatives: they can either conform their actions to the moral law or conform the moral law to their actions. The former case calls for repentance, the latter rationalization.”
But is this pattern stated too simplistically? After all, can we really point in every case to some particular immoral act that led the atheist to rejection of God? In other words, does the Bible’s description match reality? First, there may not be any one specific moral failure that leads a person to atheism. It could be an accumulation of failures or simply a growing desire to be free to live immorally or at least without the restraints, disapproval, and threatened judgment of a living, holy God. Such thoughts and desires, of course, cannot be easily detected, but they are still immoral.
Second, while most atheists present their decision to reject belief in God in terms of intellect and reasoning, some are quite forthright and explicit in confirming that their journey began with immorality. For example, former Church of Christ minister John Loftus admits his turn to atheism began with an adulterous affair. Aldous Huxley stated, “We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”
Regardless of what can be clearly observed in life, the Bible offers the only sure explanation for atheism. It is sin, disobedience, rebellion.
Sigh, I know. Same shit, new day. Everything said above can be summarized with two lies: Atheists suppress the truth in unrighteousness and desire to commit (sexual) immorality. Neither of these claims is true. Besides, as the Black Collar Crime Series clearly shows, the very clerics pontificating about atheist immorality have their own problems, not only with sexual immorality, but with sex crimes.
Shepherds Theological Seminary claims:
The Christian church has felt the attacks and the need to respond to atheists’ philosophical arguments. The church also has felt the heartache of formerly professing Christians renouncing the faith and proudly embracing atheism.
Who are examples of professing Christians who have renounced the faith and PROUDLY embraced atheism?
Just to name a few: Bart Compolo, son of Tony Compolo, prominent sociologist and representative of the evangelical left; Abraham Piper, son of the popular pastor-theologian John Piper; Ken Daniels, formerly a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators; Bruce Gerencser, a former pastor in the Baptist Bible Fellowship; and John Loftus, former pastor in the Church of Christ and graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In addition to these are many others who have renounced Christianity but would fit better into the category of agnostic—one who says he or she does not or cannot know if there is a God. Much of what is said in this article will relate to agnostics as well.
No, I was never a pastor in the Baptist Bible Fellowship. Not sure where they got that from. Outside of that, I am pleased to be named with Bart Campolo, Abraham Piper, Ken Daniels, and John Loftus. Talk about a rogues’ gallery.
The author of this article lives in deliberate denial of why people, especially pastors and other church professionals, are deconstructing, and often leaving Evangelical Christianity altogether. Contrary to the aforementioned article, there are a plethora of reasons followers of Jesus embrace atheism/agnosticism. Rarely do people deconvert just so they can commit immorality. It is, at best, an exception to the rule. I know a lot of Evangelical-preachers-turned-atheists. Most of them left Christianity for intellectual reasons. This is a fact, as any cursory research will show. The folks as Shepherds Theological Seminary can’t bear to abide by such a thought, so they lie about why people actually deconvert. They can’t fathom someone leaving Evangelicalism for intellectual reasons, so they make up stories about why people deconvert. Perhaps those liars-for-Jesus might want to read what the Bible says about liars. They go where, exactly? The Lake of Fire. The same place the hypocrites at Shepherds Theological Seminary have consigned atheists. And as far as immorality is concerned, either the moralizers at Shepherds Theological Seminary aren’t paying attention to the rampant sexual sin in Evangelicalism or they have their own “secret” sins they are trying to hide by besmirching atheists. Classic “whataboutism,” I’d say. Look over there at those evil immoral atheists, all the while Evangelical preachers are fucking their secretaries, screwing church members, molesting children, and committing the very same immoral behaviors they say atheists are doing.
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.
Evangelicals make all sorts of claims about God, Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible. Most often, these utterances of certainty are little more than regurgitations of what church members hear from their pastors on Sundays. Unsurprisingly, most Evangelicals don’t regularly read or study the Bible. That’s why, week after week, pastors encourage congregants to read the Bible; to invest time in knowing and understanding the Word of God. Sometimes church members are warned about neglecting the Bible, but these warning often fall on deaf ears. Whatever “Bible” congregants will learn, they will learn it during regularly scheduled church services. Their theology becomes whatever their pastors believe and preach.
Pastors make all sorts of pronouncements from the pulpit, often speaking authoritatively when they have no grounds to do so. Congregants carry these authoritative utterances into the wild, repeating them as if they were gospel. Yesterday, I listened to a young, uneducated Evangelical woman as she claimed that “Jesus is the most attested person in human history.” I laughed as I heard this, knowing she was likely repeating a claim made by her pastor or an apologist. This claim, of course, is a big, fat whopper. While I certainly think Jesus was a historical figure, we know very little about his life. Jesus didn’t leave behind any writings. The gospels were written by unknown authors, decades after the death of Jesus. These gospels tell conflicting stories about the life of Jesus. Outside of the Bible, we have a handful of historical references to Jesus. That’s it. So, to say that Jesus was the most attested person in human history is absurd.
Compare the life of Jesus to that of mine. We know very little about the first thirty years of his life. Most of what we know about Jesus takes place in the last three years of his life. And what we do know often is contradictory. We don’t even know when Jesus was born, whereas the historical record reveals exactly when I was born: date, time, place, attending physician. My life is well attested in oral, written, and photographical form. I am the main subject of this blog, and I have been mentioned in countless books, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and social media sites. When someone does a search on “Bruce Gerencser,” they receive pages and pages of links. It is clear, at least to me, that my life is more attested in human history than that of Jesus. And I suspect the same can be said for many of us. We live in the twenty-first century. We have owned computers and had Internet access for almost 40 years. Data about all of us continues to accumulate, especially for those of us who are public figures. Jesus? We haven’t heard a word from him in two thousand years. All we know about him is recorded in the gospels and a handful of extra-Biblical texts. The most attested person in human history he is not, contrary to what over-confident preachers utter on Sundays.
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.
Richard decided to go the extra mile to get me to join his religious club by sending me yet another email. My response follows. (All spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original.)
Greetings Bruce:
God is not intimidated by His human creation at all. An all-powerful being could impose His will on us and cause us to be automatons that fell into lockstep with His every whim. That never was His intent. He wants us to follow Him because we love Him and choose to believe He has our highest good as His primary goal. He likewise gives us the choice to have nothing to do with Him.
It’s evident you have not actually read all of the Bible if you think it teaches libertarianfreewill. I’m more than happy to debate this issue with you, but youmust use the comment section to do so. I’m not interested in carrying on a private discussion with you. By commenting, you will give other readers the opportunity to interact with you too.
If you are unwilling to do so, I will give you one opportunity to say whatever you want to say in a post. I will publish your “sermon” unedited. After that, we’re done. We’re not friends, nor would I want to be based on your insufferable behavior.
Your last e-mail seemed to express disappointment that I did not ask you any questions. God asks Job lots of questions about a whole variety of subjects in Job 38-41. If you really want to answer questions, go ahead and answer those questions. It is obvious that Job suddenly realized how out of his depth he really was when God started to ask him about things that only God had the answers to.
First, the invitation was for readers to ask me questions. All you did is preach, as you currently do in this email.
Second, you make claims for which you provide no evidence. You speak of a deity you assume everyone believes exists. I don’t, so quoting Bible verses ain’t going do much in providing me evidence for the existence of the Christian deity.
Let me address an area that bothered you.I appealed to his sense of propriety and decency, but Richard was having none of that. Instead, he callously said, “Bruce, we all are sick and all of us are suffering from a terminal illness for which we will one day die.” No compassion, respect, or common courtesy. All that matters in Richard’s mind is where I will go after I die.”
As someone who has several chronic health conditions which undoubtedly cause distress and discomfort, you have come to the conclusion that I am hard-hearted and callous by my lack of sympathy.The conditions you currently face may very well someday converge to the point where your death occurs sooner rather than later. I am mindful of this, but you were spot on in that last sentence when you stated “All that matters in Richard’s mind is where I will go after I die. Eternity has no end.It goes on forever.I am very much concerned about that part of you that continues to live on after your sojourn on this planet is concluded.
Claims, claims, claims, Richard, for which you provide no evidence.
You are concerned about my soul; I don’t have one. Do you have evidence that suggests otherwise? Of course not.
Jesus once said, ” For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26 KJV
You have no idea if Jesus actually said this. Do you have evidence that says otherwise? Of course not.
Bruce, it is very easy to major on the minor instead of minor on what is major.
All of us have our own wants, needs, and desires. Who are you to tell me what is important or not important in my life?
[Masturbatory Bible quotes deleted]
In closing, let me touch on one final theme that you take exception to. You claim that Jesus is dead. If that is the case, how come nobody has been able to produce the body? That would totally destroy the claims that Jesus rose from the dead.
Richard, surely you are not this stupid. Right? Come on, Dude, think. Billions of people have lived and died on our planet. The overwhelming majority of their bodies are nowhere to be found. Why would it be any different for a Jewish criminal named Jesus H. Christ? If the basic Bible account is true, Jesus was executed with two other criminals. After death, Jesus ended up the same place as they did: an unmarked pit grave, never to be seen again.
[Deleted Evangelical lies about most of the apostles being martyred for Christ. This claim is patently untrue. Either Richard knows this and is lying, or he lacks a basic understanding of Christian church history.]
Bruce, I do not write you to put you on the spot in front of an audience. I have a genuine concern for you. Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. May God continue to lead and guide your steps aright!
I’m not concerned with that at all.
I don’t plan to further respond to you. There’s an offer on the table for you to write a post on a subject of your choosing, Feel free to preach away, knowing that this will be the last thing written by you published on this site.
Let’s see if you are respectful enough to honor my wishes. One and done, Richard. I can’t be clearer.
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.
Here in the sunset years of my life, I have decided to embark on a world-changing endeavor; one that could transform our planet. I am starting a new, yet unnamed, religion; a religion for people who don’t like religion. Yes, sir, a religion for the billions of earthlings who have no interest in the religions cooked up by humans over the past 4,000 or so years. This new religion will be different: a human endeavor meant to make life better for all of us, even Evangelical Christians.
This project is a humorous, snarky — and slightly serious — attempt to show the world a better way. Here’s what I know so far about this earth-shattering, world-redefining religion. First, this will be a no-deity religion. Second, it will be (generally) built upon a foundation of secular humanism — the basic rules of the road for humanity. I have no doubt that some “Bruce” will creep in. I have plenty of thoughts about this project, and I am sure my beliefs will influence this project. The good news is that anyone can start their own religion. The Apostle Paul did, why can’t you? Joseph Smith did, creating Mormonism, the first American-made religion. Surely you can do the same if you don’t like the religion I’m starting. That is what is great about religion. It’s a paint-by-number painting without numbers. Paint away . . .
Here’s what I need from you: what would you like to see in a new religion? I will use data collected from readers to help shape this religion using AI. I have already performed a trial run on this project. Hilarious to say the least. Want to have some fun? Your input — serious or not — is appreciated. This is your opportunity to make a difference, or, at the very least, have some fun with likeminded people.
If you are anti-AI, please don’t. AI is a tool, and that’s how I plan to use it. If you think differently, fine, but I have spent countless hours trying to better understand artificial intelligence (AI) and how to ethically use it. I have lots of opinions on the matter, but I have no interest in having AI wars on my blog. When I one day receive the “mark of the beast,” you can tell me you were right. 🙂 Until then, spirited discussion is welcome. Anti-AI sermonizing is not.
This will be a longterm project; one which I hope to publish to its own website.
I look forward to reading your suggestions.
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.
Decades ago, I took a philosophy course which dealt with logic. My professor was the son of a pastor, however, he had long since rejected the faith of his father and became a diehard atheist. He somehow knew that I was a Christian and used to love to mock my faith in his class because he was convinced he was the “Enlightened One”! He had a PhD in Philosophy and I had no degree.
The video clip below reveals the superficiality of the atheistic worldview and exposes why it is the weakest of all worldviews! Enjoy!
Talk about a nothing burger. Richard wants me to know that he took a logic course in college. Okay? Not to be too unkind, but, “so what?” If Richard has a working knowledge of logic or philosophy, he doesn’t show it in his emails to me. Instead, he sends me a YouTube video link to a Fundamentalist Christian preacher’s “destruction of the atheistic worldview.” Does Richard seriously believe such superficial pablum will have any effect on me or the readers of this site? I doubt it, though he could be that delusional.
I briefly responded:
And your continued emails continue to reveal the superficiality of the Christian worldview and exposes why it is the weakest of all worldviews!
Checkmate, Christians. See how easy that was, Richard and Frances?
Do better, starting with commenting on my blog instead of sending me unwanted, unsolicited emails. You know I’m sick, so why do you continue to send me unwanted email? Do you really think anything you send me will lead me to faith in the dead Jesus?
Bruce
I know, a bit snarky. 🙂
Richard opined further:
Bruce, the last time I looked at your blog, you indicated that you would finally welcome questions, any questions. The
last line of that blog before you signed your name said:
Quote I look forward to receiving your thoughtful comments and answering them Unquote
I sent you that video in the hope that it would show you the untenable state of the atheistic viewpoint.
Dr. Calvin Smith came up with a better argument for God than any atheist I have ever heard who fails to believe in God. Although my philosophy professor loved to mock me, I did not resent it. I genuinely felt sorry for him.
Bruce, we all are sick and all of us are suffering from a terminal illness for which we will one day die. Matter of fact, the college professor with the PhD I referenced in my e-mail is no longer with us. I prayed for him for many years and I hope that he returned to the faith of his father before he died.
The Jesus I know is alive Bruce. Matthew 7:7-8 is true. Put God to the test and be open to hearing from Him!
Sincerely,
Richard J.
Richard says that his email to me was justified because I asked for questions. He quotes me saying, “look forward to receiving your thoughtful comments and answering them.” See Bruce, you asked for it. What? Was my skirt too short? Never mind the context of the questions post. Richard took this as an opportunity to put a good word in for Jesus while irritating an atheist. Richard, of course, is lying about his motivations. How do I know this? Did you notice how many questions Richard asked me? Count them up. It won’t take long. Richard didn’t ask me any questions. All I see is Sunday school level preaching.
Does Richard really believe that an apologetics video from a young earth creationist ministry would show me the error of my atheistic ways and bring me to faith in Jesus Christ? Really? I am not low-hanging fruit. I am more than capable of turning away Evangelical arguments for Christianity and against atheism, which I would do if Richard bothered to make one. He doesn’t Richard, an Evangelical, confuses preaching and proof-texting with intellectual discussion. I know, I know, Richard has the Holy Ghost, and I don’t, but I think I can handle anything Richard throws my way.
Richard says that atheism is a “worldview.” It is not. Atheism is and shall always be a statement about the lack of evidence for the existence of God (s). It is secular humanism that informs the worldviews of many agnostics and atheists, not atheism itself.
Richard felt sorry for his logic professor from yesteryear. I suspect he feels the same for me. Richard feels sorry for anyone who doesn’t worship his dead Jesus. Again, so what? Someone I don’t know feels “sorry” for me.” OMG! Life as I know it is over!
I tried to ward off Richard by telling him, “You know I’m sick, so why do you continue to send me unwanted email?” I appealed to his sense of propriety and decency, but Richard was having none of that. Instead, he callously said, “Bruce, we all are sick and all of us are suffering from a terminal illness for which we will one day die.” No compassion, respect, or common courtesy. All that matters in Richard’s mind is where I will go after I die. Heaven or Hell? Richard doesn’t care about how his preaching might be received. Richard is doing it for Jesus AND that fancy mansion in Heaven he thinks he will receive after death. Richard goes on to passively-aggressively remind me that the professor with a Ph.D. is now dead . . .hint, hint, where to you think he is now, Bruce? Geez, another day, another threat of eternal damnation. What will I ever do? What time is the game on? 🙂
Richard says he knows his personal vending machine Jesus is A-L-I-V-E! He knows this how, exactly? Richard provides no evidence for this claim, yet he expects me to take his word for it. Sure, buddy.
Every time a Christian tells me to seek God, pray, or “test” him, I immediately do so — without success. Richard suggests that if I will put Jesus to the “test” — whatever the Hell the “test” is — he might save my soul. God is all-powerful and all-knowing. Doesn’t he know exactly what it will take to save me? I don’t need to “test” Jesus. My ears and eyes are wide open. If God doesn’t know what to do, I suggest he contact Richard. He knows what it will take to bring me into the fold.
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.
Over the past twenty years, Evangelicals have spent vast amounts of time and energy trying to divine whether I was ever a Christian or I if am still a Christian. Their conclusions typically flow from their peculiar theological beliefs. Saved? Lost? Once saved, now lost? So many opinions about the state of my soul. You would think God would make sure these zealots and apologists are on the same page.
In this post, I want to address the claims made by those who believe once a person is saved they can never lose their salvation. God saved me at the age of fifteen at Trinity Baptist Church in Findlay, Ohio, and since that day I have been a born-again Christian — even if I don’t want to be. I’m in a no-divorce-for-any-reason marriage. No matter what I do or what God does, we are forever married. Even death cannot sever our marital bond. No matter what I say or do, I am still a Christian headed for Heaven after I die. While I find such claims absurd and downright stupid, many Evangelicals think otherwise, believing I will one day return to the fold or God will kill me early and take me to the Trump Hotel in the sky as some sort of punishment for being a “bad” Christian in this life.
Evangelicals tend to point to one or more of the following “proofs” for my continued salvation.
I capitalize God, Bible, Evangelical, Satan, etc., in my writing, and this is a subconscious sign that I am still a Christian.
The capitalization of these words is the result of fifty years in the Evangelical church, not because I am currently a Christian. In the case of the word “Evangelical” I capitalize it because it is, in my writing, anyway, a proper noun used to identify certain religious sects and believers, and not a generic word.
Even in my speech, when I say “I am” or “I’m,” I am showing that I still believe in the “I AM” — the God of the Christian Bible.
This claim is so absurd that I have nothing to say in response.
Even in my swearing, I profess that God is real.
God Dammit, Jesus H. Christ, J-E-S-U-S C-H-R-I-S-T. Hell, and other base utterances are proof that I still believe in God. Really? I mean, really? A better explanation is that I couldn’t swear for most of life. Under threats of God’s judgement, I refrained from swearing, choosing to use Baptist bywords instead. These days, instead of drinking the Bud Light of swearing, I choose to drink real, high alcohol content beer. No more crap, darn, freaking, or other bywords from me.
I talk about God all the time, and this shows I still think about and believe in the Christian deity.
I hate to break it to Evangelicals, but the only time God crosses my mind is when I am writing something for this site or giving an interview. Outside of that, God doesn’t enter my thoughts. I am more focused on living one more day; sometimes one more hour. The list of what matters to me continues to be pared down to what’s important: Polly, our six adult children and their significant others, our sixteen awesome grandchildren, and the friendships I have made over the years post-Jesus. While this blog deeply matters to me, I am aware that it is secondary to my family.
I was part of the Evangelical church for fifty of my almost sixty-nine years of life. How can I not write about that which played such a prominent part of my life? The difference is, of course, is that talking about God, Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible are intellectual exercises for me. That’s it. Sorry, but I am not “enlightened” when I read and study the Bible. I only use the Bible to advance the objective of this site: helping those who have questions and doubts about Christianity or who have already deconverted.
Silly stuff, right? This is what happens when Evangelicals refuse to accept my story at face value. Desperate to explain my storyline, they cook up stupid “proofs” for my continued salvation.
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.
What changes have you seen, if any, to the types of comment you receive to your posts over the many years you’ve been going? There’s been a huge advance in the quality of comment on dedicated atheist websites, where it’s more about taking the arguments and the evidence to apologists, but this is not really one of those sites, being more about the practical implications of being a nonbeliever living in a religious culture. Obviously there are the silly commenters like Revival Fires, but what about more general comments?
Blog comments have always been an important part of this site. Since December 2014, 53,000 comments have been left by readers. The stated goal of The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser has been to provide help to those who have questions and doubts about Christianity and those who have already left Christianity. While some posts are outliers to this goal, for the most part, I have stayed true to my goal: helping others navigate having questions about or leaving primarily Evangelical Christianity.
Over the years, millions of people have stopped by this site. People come and go, often without a word about why. Most readers never comment or send me an email, so I am uncertain as to how my writing has been received by them. As far as commenters are concerned, I do wonder why certain people stop commenting. Did I piss them off? Maybe. I suspect that the real reason is they may have found my writing not as helpful as it once was, or they disagree with my progressive, liberal, socialist, pacifist politics. Nothing I can do about that. I’m not going to change my beliefs for the sake of readership numbers. While the Orange Menace, President Donald Trump, has certainly amped up my political writing in recent years, I don’t think anyone would say this is a political blog.
This blog was a deconstruction/ex-evangelical site long before these words came into popular, everyday use. The other day, I stumbled upon a three-year-old social media post about me. The writer, a Christian, wanted to know if anyone had heard of an atheist named Bruce Gerencser. He wondered why I wasn’t part of the atheist mainstream, suggesting I must have done something “bad” to be marginalized by atheists.
I have contented myself to stay in my lane. I am not a big self-promoter, so I am not going to contact an atheist (or Christian) site or podcast to sell myself to them. I’ve been blogging since 2007, first as a barely-hanging-on liberal-leaning Evangelical Christian, and then, after deconverting in 2008, as an atheist. Over the years, I have been interviewed by blogs, websites, magazines, newspapers, and appeared on numerous podcasts, which you can access here. From time to time, journalists contact me for information about Evangelicalism in general, and the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. In all of this, I have not promoted myself one time. I rely on word of mouth and personal recommendations to spread the good news that “Bruce Gerencser Saves.” S&H Green Stamps (for older readers)? No, but I have helped “save” countless people from the clutches of Evangelical Christianity and other Fundamentalist religions. I know this because I hear from people thanking me for helping them deconstruct, deconvert, or move on to kinder, gentler forms of religious faith.
I have also been labeled a follower of Satan; an enemy of Christianity. Thousands of comments have been left by Evangelicals upset over something I wrote. The attacks, at times, have been brutal, so much so that I stopped blogging several times years ago. I have been blogging continuously now for almost thirteen years. On this iteration of my blog, I have written over 6,000 posts.
In the early days of this site, the comment section was flooded with comments from butthurt IFB adherents, including pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. These folks have largely stopped commenting, leading me to claim victory! 🙂 Not really. I suspect they either became bored, or, unable to successfully challenge my claims, moved on to easier targets for their sermons, proof-texts, and shallow, contradictory apologetics.
Geoff mentioned the evolving and improved content and comments on some atheist sites, and I agree with him. The online atheist community is changing. Out goes the old guard, and in comes a new batch of atheists to hopefully lead the community forward. Shows such as The Atheist Experience and Talk Heathen are mere shadows of what they once were; other sites such as Almost Ian, the DZ Debates (Justin), The Bible Guy, Mythvision, Harmonic Atheist, Jon Cohen, and the various shows on Jimmy Snow’s network, The Line, to name a few. Whether these content creators have long-term success remains to be seen.
I continue to wonder why so many atheist readers come and go. Do they get what they need from me and move on, or do they find my writing boring? I don’t know, outside of the fact that I know some atheists stopped frequenting this site because of what they perceived from me was an unwarranted friendliness towards religion. Some atheists have even suggested that I am a “secret Christian.” None of these claims is true, as the vitriol dumped on my head by God’s chosen ones surely shows.
I am not sure what more I can do to attract more commenters. Typically, the people who comment are regular, long-term readers, with a few new readers’ comments sprinkled in. Gone are the long running arguments and debates over this or that religious belief or practice. Why this is no longer the case remains unclear to me. The comment section has a friendlier tone these days, more like friends getting together on a Friday night at the local pub.Usually it’s bottom feeders such as Dr. David Tee, Revival Fires, and others who provide entertainment, but none of them is up to the task of cogently defending the “faith once delivered to the saints.” These folks are little more than monkeys who fling shit at those they disagree with. No real arguments or defenses of Christianity. Instead, they resort to personal attacks and character assassination. Such people are the price you pay for having a public blog.
Over the years, the comment policy has changed, moving from a wild, wild west format to more of a controlled environment where every commenter is given at least one opportunity to say whatever they want to me. Whether they get a second comment depends on how well they play with others. I am much more likely to ban or block someone today than I was years ago. After you have heard the same Bible nonsense and personal attacks over and over and over again, it’s easy to say to yourself “I don’t want to hear this drivel any more.”
Recently, I have thought about loosening up the comment policy, but I fear that doing so might run off commenters who prefer the walled garden approach I currently use. I know I can’t please everyone, but your thoughts on this matter would be helpful.
Here’s the comment policy that has been in effect for the past four years:
All commenters are expected to use a functioning email address. The use of a fake or non-functioning email address will result in your comment being deleted.
Pseudonyms are permitted. Please use the same pseudonym with every comment.
All first-time comments and comments with more than one HTML link are moderated.
Before commenting, please read the ABOUT page to acquaint yourself with my background. You might also want to read the Dear Evangelical page.
Evangelical commenters will be given one opportunity to say whatever they want. One, not two, three, or ten. Just one. Quote the Bible. Preach the sermon God has laid upon your heart. Put in a good word for Jesus. Deconstruct my life. Call me names, attack my family. You have one opportunity to impress readers with your John Holmes-like Bible prowess. After that, the following rules apply:
The following type of comments will not be approved after your first comment:
Any comment that is not on point with what the post is about
Any comment that denigrates or marginalizes abuse victims
Any comment that attacks LGBTQ people
Unsolicited medical advice of any kind (and I mean ANY)
Any comment that disparages my wife, children, or grandchildren
Please be advised that personal threats of violence or stalking will be reported to your service provider and law enforcement.
I write about issues that might not be child-friendly. Please be aware of this. I also use profanity from time to time, and I allow the use of profanity in the comment section. Any butt-hurt comment about language will be ignored, and if warranted, ridiculed.
The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser is not a democracy where anyone has a right to say whatever they want. This is my personal blog and I reserve the right to approve or not approve any comment. When a comment or a commenter is abusive towards the community of people who read this blog, I reserve the right to ban the commenter.
If you can be respectful, decent, and thoughtful, your comment will always be approved. Unfortunately, there are many people — Evangelical/Fundamentalist Christians in particular — who have a hard time playing well with others. They often use a passive-aggressive approach towards me and the non-Christian people who frequent this blog. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and will result in a permanent ban.
This blog is also not a place for hardcore atheists to preach the gospel of atheism. While I am an atheist, many of the people who read this blog are not. Frank, honest, open, and passionate discussion about religion, Christianity, and Evangelicalism is encouraged and welcome. However, I do expect atheists not to attack, badger, or denigrate people who still believe in God. If you are respectful, decent, and thoughtful, you will be fine.
My writing is direct and pointed and so is my response to comments. Please do not confuse my directness and pointedness with me attacking you or your religion. This is a grown-up blog, so crying that I offended you or “attacked” your religion will fall on deaf ears.
If you can play by these rules, I hope you will become a part of our community and join the discussion.
— end of comment policy
Do you see something in the comment policy that you think should be changed or done away with? Or is there something you would like to see added to policy? Please share your ideas with me in comment section.
In closing, I can’t help but note how my declining health has affected this site. I was once known as a prodigious blogger, writing several posts a day. Sadly, I can no longer put out like I once did — yes, there’s a sex joke lurking in that line. I have really struggled with this issue, wondering if it is time for me to stop writing. My friends, acquaintances, and family continue to encourage me to keep writing, but when you have multiple days when you can’t even get out of bed, it’s hard to find the energy and stamina to write a text message, let alone a blog post. That said, I still try. I still push myself, even when I want to curl up on the couch and be left alone My sleep is so disturbed these days, that I sleep when I can, usually in short one- to two-hour blocks. Yesterday, I never made it out of bed, spending the day fitfully sleeping while family gathered at our home to celebrate the best mother ever. I had slept for six hours straight, but that was due to only getting a total of five hours sleep over the previous three days. This, of course, has severely messed up my schedule, forcing me to live in the moment instead of on a schedule. I can’t say I have adapted well to my new reality. I’m too old for this shit, but no one asked me, so I take every day as it comes.
Suggestions are welcome. You know what to do!
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.
This cookie is set by X to identify and track the website visitor. Registers if a users is signed in the X platform and collects information about ad preferences.
2 years
personalization_id
Unique value with which users can be identified by X. Collected information is used to be personalize X services, including X trends, stories, ads and suggestions.
2 years
external_referer
Our Website uses X buttons to allow our visitors to follow our promotional X feeds, and sometimes embed feeds on our Website.
