The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

Tag: Evangelicalism

  • Did Jesus Talk to Himself?

    atheist prayer

    The Trinity poses interpretive problems for Evangelical Christians. Jesus is the second person of the Godhead — fully God, fully man. There was never a moment when Jesus walked upon the face of the earth that he was not God. This fact leads to contradictions and discrepancies when interpreting the gospel accounts recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

    In John 10, we find Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In verse 41-42, Jesus prayed;

    Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.

    In Luke 23, we have the crucifixion of Jesus. In verses 34,46, Jesus prays:

    Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. . . Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

    In the gospel of John, chapter 17, Jesus prays:

    Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,  since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me is from you,  for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them.  And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”

    If God is a triune being, what are we to make of these prayers? If God, the Father, and God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, are one, this necessarily means that Jesus is praying to himself. Outside of providing an example for his followers, there’s no possible reason for Jesus to pray. He’s the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He knows what he is going to pray before he prays and he knows what the answer will be before he utters a word. His earthly birth, life, and death were predetermined before the world began.

    Of course, a better answer might be to say that Jesus was not God; that he was a son of God, a prophet, or itinerant Jewish preacher. As a human being, Jesus didn’t know what would happen in the future, so he was genuinely praying to discern the will of the Father.

    Perhaps the best answer is that Jesus was known as the preacher-who-talks-to-himself. Or maybe people wondered if he was mentally ill or the eccentric son of a carpenter. Regardless, most first century people didn’t buy the notion that he was God incarnate. Jesus spent three years preaching that the kingdom is at hand. For all his preaching and miracles, most people rejected him, including members of his family. For all that Jesus allegedly did, he made very little impact on people during his lifetime.

    When you see someone on a street corner or on a bus talking to themselves, what do you think? Should we view Jesus differently? I suspect that if some of us saw Jesus today “praying,” we would try to help him, as we would a drug addict or a homeless person.

    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.

  • Bruce, God is Going to “Get” You for Leading People Astray

    youtube comment

    Recently, I saw the above comment on a YouTube video. I have read similar comments countless times over the years; that I am leading people astray with my writing and videos and God is going to punish me in the afterlife for leading people, in Pied Piper-like fashion, to Hell.

    According to this commenter, I need to understand that If I speak against the Bible and Jesus, I will not only lose my soul, I will also be eternally punished for leading people astray. This is yet another example of God meting out infinite punishment for finite behaviors. All I have ever done is tell my story and critique Evangelical Christianity. With all the things are going on in the world, you would think God would find better things to do than judge and punish people for things they say.

    Not that I am worried. God is a myth, so I have no fear of being punished for my words and opinions. If you think otherwise, please share your evidence for the existence of God 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.

  • Did You Know Eating Catfish is a Sin?

    close up of a person holding a catfish
    Photo by juliane Monari on Pexels.com

    In the book of Leviticus, we find a dietary code God expects people to obey. Many Christians wrongly think that the law of God found in the Old Testament (Old Covenant) is no longer binding. Calling themselves New Testament Christians or New Covenant believers, these followers of Jesus think the Old Covenant no longer applies to them. Of course, when convenient, Christians will appeal to Old Testament proof texts to justify certain beliefs or moral standards, but most often they ignore or attempt to explain away laws that are, according to Matthew 5, still valid and in force.

    Matthew 5: 17-20 states:

    Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

    Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets. Instead he came to fulfill the law. Jesus goes on to say that not one letter or pen stroke of a letter will pass from the law until ALL is accomplished. Has ALL been accomplished? No. As long as Heaven and earth stand, the law of God is still in force. Those who will one day be called great in the kingdom of Heaven keep the law of God and teach others to do the same.

    With this in mind, let’s look at God’s dietary code for eating fish:

    These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. (Leviticus 11:9-12)

    Based on the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of the triune God, it is a sin to eat fish that don’t have fins or scales. This means that it is a sin to eat fried catfish at the local Cracker Barrel. Polly and I would be bummed out if we were still Christians. We love fried catfish, hushpuppies (or corn bread), and Carolina slaw.

    So, I ask readers who claim they are Bible believers — an oxymoron if there ever was one — do you eat fish without scales? Do you eat catfish? Or any of the other prohibited foods? Do you not fear God chastising you for eating all-you-can-eat catfish at the local fish fry? The Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If you really fear God, I implore you to immediately stop eating catfish lest God choke you to death. 🙂

    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.

  • Sacrilegious Humor: Comedian Josh Johnson Takes to Task Rich Evangelical Preachers Such as Kenneth Copeland

    This is the latest installment in the Sacrilegious Humor series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a comedy bit that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please email me the name of the bit or a link to it.

    Today’s video is a takedown of Evangelical preacher Kenneth Copeland by comedian Josh Johnson.

    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.

  • Trump Dump: Do We Really Need the Separation of Church and State?

    donald trump dump truck

    This series, titled Trump Dump, features outlandish, untrue quotes from Donald Trump, MAGA supporters, and Right Wing media. If you come across a quote for this series, please send it to me with a link to the news story that contains the relevant quote.

    They say separation between church and state … I said, ‘All right, let’s forget about that for one time.

    They said, really there’s separation. I don’t know. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not sure, but whether there’s separation or not, you guys [Evangelical Christians] are in the White House where you should be, and you’re representing our country, and we’re bringing religion back to our country, and it’s a big deal.

    — President Donald Trump, as reported by Politico

    Recent Evangelical prayer meeting at the White House

    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: Baptist Church Treasurer Ernest Reddick Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Defrauding Church

    lisburn baptist church

    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.

    Ernest Reddick, the treasurer of Lisburn Baptist Church in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, was sentenced to one year in prison for stealing £410,000 from the church.

    The BBC reports:

    A 60-year-old man has been jailed for a year after he admitted defrauding a church of £410,000. 

    Ernest Reddick of Diamond Road in Dromore, County Down, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of fraud by false representation and one of false accounting.

    Detectives said donations from the congregation of Lisburn Baptist Church were being used to “prop up” Reddick’s accountancy business.

    At Craigavon Crown Court on Thursday he was given a two-year sentence, half of which will be spent in prison and half on licence.

    Det Insp McCarten said police were contacted by a pastor from the church in November 2021. 

    The pastor said that a member of his congregation had admitted to taking money from the church bank accounts and making false accounts to disguise it.

    The police investigation found Reddick had been acting as a treasurer for the church since 2012 and had used his position of trust to create a “web of false transactions”.

    An earlier hearing heard that Reddick, a director with CMC Accountants in Lisburn, “destroyed, defaced, concealed or falsified” a certain account record which had been “made or required for an accounting purpose”.

    The investigation found that Reddick later paid back the money in full, but Det Insp McCarten said “the impact of his offending on those who put their faith in him” should not be underestimated.

    Reddick committed the offences between 1 January 2012 and 30 November 2021.

    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 Son Vs. The Father: Which “God’s Will” is Right?

    jesus saying I dont want to die

    Evangelicals generally believe that their deity — the trinitarian God of the Bible — created everything. Further, he is sovereign and controls everything that happens. These statements apply to God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Ghost. If this is so, Evangelicals have a big problem on their hands.

    Luke 22: 39-42 says:

    And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

    Is the Father God? Yes. Is Jesus God? Yes. If God is the super-duper, co-equal, three-in-one Christian deity, shouldn’t the Father and the Son have the same wills? Yet, in Luke 22, we see Jesus’ will at odds with the Father’s. Jesus, the co-eternal, co-equal son of God, didn’t want to die on the cross. Which is odd since Jesus knew from before the world began that the Father would one day punish him on a Roman cross, leading to his temporary, forty-eight-hour death. For thousands of years, Jesus knew that at an appointed time he was going to be executed. Being co-equal with the Father, he knew when and how everything would unfold.

    What we clearly see is that Jesus’ will in Luke 22 was different from that of the Father. How can this possibly be? This story seems to suggest that at least two parts of the Godhead were at odds with each other concerning Jesus’ death.

    I can’t wait to see how Evangelical commenters explain the dueling wills between Jesus and the Father

    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.

  • Bruce, Have You Heard the Gospel According to John Calvin?

    peanut gallery

    Yesterday, I received an email from a Calvinistic Evangelical named Bob (all spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original):

    Bruce, I spent 40 years as an Armenian before God saved me and regenerated me. 
    I came off a ventilator after saying my goodbyes. I wasn’t supposed to live.

    My first thought was: What does God want us to know and understand?

    I began listening to doctrine lessons and was converted to Augustin and predestination, Gods sovereignty and Election.

    I’ve been in 4 yrs of doctrine and church history studies.

    I’m a Reformed Baptist 2LBCF confessional covenental believer now.

    It’s a real thing.

    Reconsider my friend!

    For readers unfamiliar with Calvinism, Calvinists adhere to what is broadly called the five points of Calvinism or the doctrines of grace.

    The TULIP acronym represents the five points:

    T= total depravity
    U= unconditional election
    L= limited atonement (particular atonement)
    I= irresistible grace
    P= perseverance of the saints (preservation of saints)

    Calvin’s five points were a response to the claims of Jacob Arminius. Arminians generally believe:

    Classical Arminianism is a protestant theological view that asserts God’s prevenient grace for regeneration is universal and that the grace allowing regeneration and ongoing sanctification is irresistible.

    Calvinism and Arminianism are incompatible with each other, though both theological schools appeal to the Bible as justification for their beliefs. Just remember, the Bible can be used to justify almost anything. Within Calvinism and Arminianism, there are various internecine battles over subtle, minor points of doctrine. Generally, Arminians consider Calvinists as fellow Christians, whereas Calvinists think Arminians believe a false gospel and are unsaved. Years ago, I co-pastored a Calvinistic church in Elmendorf, Texas. Tracts were circulating among the congregation that posited great Evangelical Christian preachers such as D.L. Moody, Charles Finney, and John Wesley were unsaved. I remember one discussion I had with a church member who believed these notable preachers were lost. I asked him, “Are you saying that the five points of Calvinism are the gospel; that someone must believe all five points to be saved?” The church member, with nary a thought, replied, YES! Of course, this position has all sorts of problems that I will perhaps address someday.

    This brings me to Bob’s email. First, Bob seems unaware of the fact that I was a Calvinistic pastor for many years; that I ran in Reformed Baptist, Founder’s Group, and Sovereign Grace circles. I left the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement in the late 1980s, embracing Calvinism and its various theological peculiarities. During this time, an increasing number of IFB and Southern Baptist preachers were embracing Calvinism. This continues to this day. (Please see Why I Became a Calvinist — Part One, Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Two, Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Three, Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Four, Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Five, Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Six. Why I Became a Calvinist — Part Seven.)

    As do many Evangelical Calvinists, Bob believed he was a false Arminian Christian for forty years; that it wasn’t until he heard the “true gospel” and God regenerated him and saved him that he became a True Christian. I remember struggling with whether I was a True Christian. After all, I was saved in an IFB church that thought Calvinism was heretical. Was I a false Christian? Eventually, I made sure I was a True Believer — Calvin-style.

    Bob asks, “What does God want us to know and understand?

    Bob answers this question with anecdotal stories from his own life:

    Bob preaches the gospel of right beliefs. Believe these things and thou shalt live. Calvinism is the straight way and narrow gate that few people find, and Aminianism is the wide gate and broad way that leads most of humanity to eternal damnation. (Matthew 7:13-14)

    Without evidence, Bob claims Calvinism is a real thing — real in the sense that it is the true gospel. Bob asks me to “reconsider.” Reconsider what, exactly? I know the theological claims of Calvinists inside and out. I am one of the few people who have read Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion from cover to cover. To this day, my interpretation of the Bible skews towards Calvinism and reformed theology. That said, I now see how harmful Calvinistic theology can be, especially among Evangelicals. So, Bob shouldn’t expect me to return to Calvinism. Of course, since God’s grace is irresistible, if God wants me to be saved, I will be saved. If I am never saved, it is because I was not one of the elect — those chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world.

    Note that Bob did not share the gospel with me. He doesn’t mention the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus one time. Why is that? Isn’t that the gospel that saves, and not The Gospel According to John Calvin?

    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: IFB Pastor Daniel Champ Accused of Stealing $135,000 From Church

    preachers and money 2

    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.

    Daniel Champ, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bel Air, Maryland, stands accused of stealing $135,000 from the church. First Baptist is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation.

    The Christian Post reports:

    A Maryland pastor has been charged with stealing approximately $135,000 from his church, with him allegedly using the funds on sports betting and food deliveries.

    Daniel Champ, 42, is charged with theft of over $135,000 and embezzlement from First Baptist Church of Harford County, CBS News affiliate WJZ-TV reported last week.

    According to authorities, Champ is slated for a court appearance later this month and has been removed from the church’s account. He has also been ordered to leave his residence on the church’s property.

    One congregant spoke to WJZ under the condition of anonymity, expressing disappointment with a reported lack of transparency on the part of church leadership.

    “I was very disappointed that they didn’t come out honestly and tell us what was happening, why they weren’t forthcoming and honest,” said the church member.

    “Because money goes to that church, that’s the people’s money. And why weren’t they honest? Why didn’t they just tell people? … I think they need to come clean and be honest with the people. I think the people need to know.”

    Champ was charged early last month, according to court documents, with the Maryland resident posting a $15,000 unsecured personal bond on April 11.

    The pastor is accused of having stolen the money from around January 2019 until last October, when church officials noticed that there were dubious bank charges and missing funds.

    According to investigators, Champ used the stolen money for various personal expenses, including sports betting, food deliveries via DoorDash, and PayPal.

    Based on the church’s Facebook page, the last Sunday sermon Champ gave at First Baptist was on Sept. 8, noted The Roys Report, with the church’s website presently being down.

    During his message, Champ preached about 1 Thessalonians 2, which warns against preaching the Gospel with “a cloak of covetousness” or giving an exhortation that is “of deceit.”

    When discussing the biblical passage last September, Champ talked about preachers who are proclaiming the Gospel “for monetary gain, for some kind of gain for ourselves.”

    “They’ll come, and they’ll preach to you, and even though some of what they say is truth, they’re doing it out of the wrong heart,” he said.

    “They’re not doing it sincerely because they care about your soul. They’re doing it because the more people they get on their side, the more money they make.”

    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 You Know Christians Are the Most Persecuted Religious Group in America?

    christian persecution

    William Wolfe, a writer for The Christian Post, had this to say in a post titled The Federal Persecution of Christians Will Stop. Here’s Why. Wolfe stated;

    Christians are, without question, the most persecuted religious group in America.

    During 12 of the last 16 years under the anti-Christian Obama and Biden regimes (with a four-year reprieve during Trump’s first term), Christians were explicitly and relentlessly targeted by the life-crushing power of the government. If it wasn’t the feds, it was hostile blue states like Colorado, Virginia, New York, and others that did the devil’s dirty work. And if it wasn’t the feds or the states, it was universities, corporations, and the media.

    Oh my, poor persecuted Christians. Require them to obey the law, and Evangelicals scream persecution. Evidently, they believe that the laws of the land don’t apply to them, even though the Apostle Paul stated:

    Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (Romans 131-2)

    As a pastor, I taught church members that we were duty-bound to obey man’s law as long as it didn’t conflict with God’s law. In Acts 5, we find Peter and his fellow apostles at odds with the high priest:

    Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

    The High Priest demanded that Peter and the other apostles stop preaching about Jesus. The apostles replied: We ought to obey God rather than men. Sadly, many Evangelicals interpret this verse to mean that if any law, rule, or regulation conflicts with what they think God wants them to do, they should obey God, and not man. This errant thinking has led to all sorts of conflict between church and state. I gladly stand with Christians if and when the government demands they stop preaching the Bible. However, this is rarely why church and state come into conflict. No, these skirmishes come when Evangelicals think the government is getting in the way of them doing whatever they want to do. They wrongly believe that their beliefs supersede man’s law — without exception. Years ago, I was friends with a man who started a church in southeast Ohio. He dragged a modular home onto a plot of land and turned it into a church — complete with alterations. I warned him that he would run afoul of building codes, but he ignored me, saying that he was “following the will of God.” This preacher eventually learned that hearing voices in his head is no match for the law. He refused to comply, leading to the county demolishing his ramshackle church building.

    In 1989, I started a non-chartered, tuition-free, private Christian school for our church’s children. As an unchartered religious school, our school, Somerset Baptist Academy, was not subject to state education laws. One day, an inspector for the Ohio EPA showed up at our school to inform me that our school fell under the regulations for public water supplies. We were required to test our water every three months for contaminants and submit the report to the state. Was the government “persecuting” us? Of course not. There was nothing in the law and its enforcement that hindered our practice of Christianity.

    I was a street preacher for many years. My public ministry on street corners led to frequent conflict with law enforcement and community leaders. I was threatened with arrest more times than I can count. I always stood my ground. Why? The government was trying to stop me from exercising my faith — a clear violation of the First Amendment. I refused to bow a knee to Caesar. Had a police officer demanded I move my car because it was parked illegally, I would have complied. Why? The Bible commanded me to obey the laws of the land.

    I never had a problem differentiating between God’s law and man’s law. Sadly, many Evangelicals think that they are free to disobey man’s law anytime they want. After all, it is easy to come up with a Bible verse to justify illegal behavior. This is especially true with anti-abortionists. Many communities have laws regulating pickets at abortion clinics. Anti-abortionists wrongly think that they don’t have to obey these laws, and when arrested, they scream PERSECUTION! Persecution, my ass. They are free to picket the clinics. All they have to do is stand a certain distance away from the clinics, limiting harassment of clinic users and staff.

    The same applies to Evangelical pharmacists, nurses, and doctors who object to prescribing abortion drugs. They shouldn’t be forced to prescribe these drugs, but since prescribing them is a job requirement, they have a choice: prescribe or quit. It is not persecution to require them to do their job. We see similar skirmishes over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or baking cakes. If religious beliefs keep Evangelicals from doing their job, they need to choose another profession. It is not persecution if you lose your job for refusing to obey the law or follow your employer’s rules.

    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.