The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

Tag: Evangelicalism

Joel Says No One Can Convince Me That Christianity is True Because I’m Set in My Beliefs

Joel recently commented on the post, The “We Are Just Going to Have to Agree to Disagree” Cop-Out. My response is below.

I don’t believe that it’s because people are admitting defeat when they don’t take the time to counter every single thing you believe and say on here.

Joel doesn’t think that when Evangelicals say “we are just going to have to agree to disagree” that they are admitting defeat; that I can’t expect Evangelicals to counter every single thing I believe or write. I don’t think I have ever demanded believers challenge every belief or post of mine. However, those who can and do should expect me to respond to their pronouncements. Those who know me know me know I rarely leave comments from apologists and zealots unchallenged. People come to this site for different reasons. Evangelicals looking for debate/argument/response will likely get a one from me. Their problem, of course, is that they always get more than they bargained for, mainly because they either don’t know who I am or they marginalize or ignore my ministerial experience. Thus when they pompously roll out this or that argument, they are surprised when I push back; surprised I know the Bible inside and out, often better than they do. Backed into a corner, apologists often surrender, saying, “we are just going to have to agree to disagree.”

I think alot of it has to do with the fact that you seem very set in your beliefs and that even if someone were to point out reasons for believing otherwise (huff, puff, run-on sentence!) in a thousand ways, it would still somehow not be enough.

I am an agnostic atheist. I am open to evidence for the Christian God. I am not set in my ways at all. So far, Evangelicals have repeatedly used lame, worn-out arguments for God, Christianity, and the Bible in their attempts to evangelize me. Or “Philbros” will show up with their fancy philosophical arguments, none of which lead from A GOD to THE GOD — the God of the Protestant Christian Bible.

No, the problem is that I am not “ignorant of their devices.” Evangelicals seem to forget that I was one of them for fifty years; that I was a pastor for twenty-five years. I’m not Joe Blow American who has never read the Bible through one time. I spent the prime of my life reading and studying the Bible, preaching 4,000 sermons. The issue, then, is that I likely know more about the Bible than they do; that I am well versed in EVERY argument used by Evangelicals to proselytize people.

God knows exactly what I need to believe in him, yet all he seems to send me are Evangelicals who think C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, Gary Habermas, and countless other authors who keep regurgitating the same, old apologetical arguments are giants in the faith. Sigh. (Please read Why I Use the Word “Sigh.”)

What I’m saying here, is that it looks like your will is set in one direction, and people honestly don’t have the free time or energy to begin at the very beginning, from start to finish, to go through everything point by point.

Then don’t bother to comment on this site. Don’t start what you can’t finish, my Mom told me a time or two. Granted, I don’t like to give in, but I’m an honorable man, willing to admit my misunderstanding or defeat. I can’t remember the last time I had a debate/discussion/argument with an Evangelical that has led to a satisfactory conclusion. Usually Evangelicals cower under my overwhelming charm, sexual attraction, and knowledge of all things Evangelicals (and I haven’t found conservative Catholics, Muslims, and Mormons to be much better).

Have I ever thrown in the towel? Sure. A writer must know “when to hold ’em (cards) and when to fold ’em.” Years ago, as my long- time readers will remember, I would argue and debate until blood was drawn. I finally realized that I needed to live for another day; hoping that I will have another opportunity to engage a believer sometime in the future.

I have dealt with many brutish, nasty commenters over the years; almost always Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church members and pastors. These folks will not stop until they cause psychological harm. Unable to make cogent arguments for their beliefs, these so-called Christians turn to personal attacks and violence. Typically, I try to end such discussions before they reach this point.

As far as Philbros are concerned, I typically give them a short leash. I have noticed that Philbros don’t like talking about the Bible, so I try to get them to discuss the Bible as soon as I can. Often, they will cut and run when I force them to defend the Bible. If they refuse to move on from philosophical arguments, I typically draw the discussions to an end. No one that I know of has ever been brought to faith in Christ by philosophical arguments. Doesn’t the Bible say in Colossians 2:8, “Watch out that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles of the world, and not according to Christ?” Evidently, Philbros have never read this verse.

Joel has forgotten what the Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15

but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.

Besides, alot of people aren’t into the whole debating thing to death in order to ” be right”, so they just decide to tip their hat politely, and give you your space. Hence, the ” we’ll just have to agree to disagree” and move on.

Wait a minute. Who is it that comments on my site? Evangelicals. Am I forcing them to comment? Of course not. No, the issue here is that Evangelicals are used to being the king of the hill. They are used to dominating theological arguments. However, since the Internet came into being, their arguments are openly challenged and repudiated. Not used to ass-whippings, Evangelical apologists tend to get angry, claim I’m being mean to them, or they run off to social media or their blogs to whine about that evil atheist Bruce Gerencser.

Isn’t that what you say you want? To just be left alone to do your own thing without people arguing with you?

Yet, they don’t leave me alone, Joel. Thousands of comments, emails, and social media messages later, I can tell you that scores of Evangelicals have no intention of leaving me alone or agreeing to disagree.

if I write something, I hope people will read it. And if they read it, I hope they will comment. And . . . if they comment, they should expect people to respond to them. That’s how blogs work.

It’s not admitting defeat at all. People have reasons for believing that go much deeper than emotional experience.

Keep telling yourself that, Joel. You sound a lot like Donald Trump, who still refuses to admit he lost the 2020 election. Rare is the Evangelical who will actually engage my writing or read any of the books I suggest to them. You see, they aren’t interested in discussion or debate. Filled with the Holy Ghost, Evangelicals stop by this site to rebuke, condemn, and evangelize. When I won’t let Evangelicals have their way with me, they typically run to the house of faith, lose their tempers, or serve up the “agree to disagree” excuse.

Personal experiences are not evidence for anything, Joel. Surely, you know this. I have no way of knowing whether someone’s personal experience is true. I live in a world where evidence and facts matter. I want to believe as many true things as possible. When a believer shares his testimony with me, it will not do what he thinks it will. How could I possibly know if he is telling the truth? Anyone who has ever attended an Evangelical testimony meeting knows that lying/exaggeration is expected. I’ve heard countless testimonies over the years, including more than few that were exaggerations or bald-faced lies.

“There are more things in heaven and earth that are dreamt of in one’s imagination.”

Says who? Gawd, I sure hope some of my dreams never come true. I could end up divorced and in prison. 🙂 As far as Heaven is concerned, such a place does not exist. I have seen no compelling evidence for the existence of Heaven (or Hell). My days on this earth are short. I am confident that nothing awaits me after death. Evangelicals talk a great line, but when it comes to the afterlife, I have found their arguments or proof texts sorely lacking. I am content to live in the here and now, knowing that I will one day soon be no more. That’s life. I can’t imagine what Evangelicals could say that would ever convince me to return to the “one true faith.” By all means try, but it’s been years since I have heard a new argument for core Evangelical beliefs and practices. Instead, all I get is warmed-over arguments and proof texts. I enjoy the back and forth with Evangelicals, but they are delusional if they think I will ever return to the fold. Been there, done that . . . I want a refund.

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.

May 5, 2026
Questions: Bruce, It Seems Like You Never Really Left Jesus

Joel asked:

Why have you stayed on the topic of God/Jesus for so long? It seems like you’ve never really fully left Jesus. At least, thats what it seems like.

This seems more like an accusation than it does a question, but I will assume good faith, and answer accordingly.

I have spent my entire life talking and writing about God, Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. In 2007, I started blogging, and the following year I deconverted, walking away from Evangelical Christianity after fifty years.

Joel seems to think I should have stopped talking about Jesus after I left Christianity; that since I am no longer a Christian, I have nothing meaningful to say about the faith once delivered to the saints. Let’s suppose I spent my life as a career military officer. General Bruce, I like the ring of that. After a long career in the Army, I retired. Would anyone expect me not to talk about the military or my service any more? Would I be expected to “move on”? Of course not.

So it is with me. Christianity made a deep, lasting impression on me, especially Evangelicalism and the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. It is what I know. I can’t excise the first fifty years of my life. Sorry, but that’s not how life works.

What I have to share is a lived life, and I suspect that’s what upsets Evangelicals so much. I lived, practiced and believed the teachings of the Bible — fallibly, yet sincerely. There was nothing in my life that suggested I was anything but a committed follower of Jesus. Yet, I did insult to the spirit of grace and trampled under my feet the blood of the covenant. I spit in the face of Jesus, rejecting his atoning work on the cross.

It is this rejection of faith many Evangelicals can’t or won’t understand. How dare I reject he who has made such differences in their lives. How dare I reject that which they devote their lives to. How dare I live without being constrained by the teachings of the Bible. And it is my defiance that pisses off so many Evangelicals, so much so that they turn to violence and character assassination. Just today, a local Evangelical man named Daniel Gray wrote a letter to the editor of the Defiance Crescent-News, saying that I never was a pastor; that he can’t find anyone who says I was a pastor anywhere. (I pastored three local churches in Montpelier, Fayette, and West Unity, respectively.) This, of course, is an unadulterated lie. This same man said several years ago that that I was being investigated by the State of Ohio for performing “illegal” weddings. This, too, was an ugly lie.

Rare is the Evangelical that can accept me on my own terms. Because they can’t make my story fit in their peculiar religious box, they reject what I say out of hand. Yet, millions of readers over the past twenty years have thought differently. They value my writing, though in dark, depressed moments I wonder why. They find encouragement and help from my words, even though they don’t always agree with me. More than a few people thank me for being instrumental in their deconversions.

And this upsets many Evangelicals. Not only did I deconvert, I am leading other people down a path that leads to Hell. Why can’t I just mind my own business, and move on? Of course, lost on these folks is the fact that they, themselves, do not mind their own business. They routinely evangelize and proselytize, whether non-Christians want to hear it or not. Believing they have a mandate from God, Evangelicals fan out across the Internet, putting a word in for Jesus (or Trump) everywhere they go.

And that’s fine. You know, that First Amendment thing. Evangelicals are free to witness and preach, both privately and publicly. Why should it not be the same for non-Christians, especially atheists?

Joel has been reading my blog for some time, yet he fails to understand why I do what I do. That’s not my fault. My motivations are clear to anyone who is paying attention.

Evangelicalism is not neutral. As one of the largest sects in the United States , Evangelicalism has a lot of influence on our culture. None of us can escape this influence. Our current president, arguably the worst ever, was put into office by Evangelical voters. Evangelicals now hold some of the highest, most important political offices in the land. And what are they doing with this power? They are using it to take back America for God. They are using it to enshrine Christianity as the state’s official religion. Worse, they are the people primarily behind Project 2025.

And dare we ignore who has been behind the raging culture wars for the past forty-plus years? Evangelical Christians. As as father of six children and grandfather to sixteen grandchildren, do I not have a vested interest in their future, especially when I see the United States running headlong into fascism, Christian Nationalism, and an Evangelical form of theocracy? Silence is not an option for me, nor is it for many of the people who read this blog.

So, to Joel’s false claim that I have never left Jesus, with a British accent I say, poppycock. There can be no question, except for the deliberately blind, that I am no longer a Christian; that the reason I continue to share my story and critique Evangelical Christianity is because it is a threat to social progress and the future of the United States.

I intend to “stay on the topic of God/Jesus” for as long as Evangelicals drag the dead carcass of Jesus into the public square, touting him as some sort of panacea for the ills of society. I intend to stay the course as long as Evangelicals publicly promote irrational beliefs, especially when demanding everyone believe as they do under threat of eternal fire and brimstone.

When the Joels of the world retire to their houses of worship to incessantly talk about God/Jesus/Bible/Sin/Salvation, I will shutter this blog. Until then, I intend to speak my mind, as is the right of every American—though fascist Donald Trump, with Evangelical approval, is trying to limit the free speech of those who disagree with him.

This is a battle of worldviews; a battle for the soul of our country. As long as Evangelicals demand Christianity be the state’s religion and the Bible the law of the land, they should expect pushback from me.

Unless Joel and his merry band of Evangelicals intends to cede the battlefield, I intend to stand my ground—even when I can no longer physically stand.

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.

April 29, 2026
Does “Baby Christian” Trump Respect God and Pastors?

Warning! This post contains content offensive to easily butt-hurt Evangelical Christians. You have been warned.🤣

For the record, the animals in my graphic above are “Lemmings.” 🙂 A throwback tip of the hat to the 1991 Lemmings DOS/Windows computer game. 🤣

According Landon Schott, pastor of Mercy Culture in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. President Donald “Jesus” Trump is a baby Christian who respects God and pastors. And when he uses the word “God,” he is referring to the Evangelical God of the Bible.

Video Link

In what way is Donald Trump a “baby” Christian? He’s attended Norman Vincent Peale’s church as a young man, and in recent years he has professed a squishy, ignorant, Two-Corinthians faith in the Evangelical Jesus. What IS absent is any outward evidence that he is “a new creation in Christ.” A baby Christian, then, is a person whose life shows that “old things are passed away, and all things become new.” There was a time Evangelicals believed in the importance of church attendance, tithing, prayer, tithing, Bible reading, tithing, and fasting for congregants. Has Trump done any of these things outside of a red-meat-for-Evangelicals photo op? The answer is “No” for those of you desperately seeking for evidence to justify Trump’s decidedly non-Christian beliefs and behavior. Shit, he can’t even follow the two great commands of “loving God” and “loving your fellow man.”

All of us have a front row seat for the Trump Catastrophe — brought to you by politically drunk Evangelicals everywhere. It is alarming how few Evangelicals are willing to speak a word against Trump, a fellow believer. Judge not, right? (Please read Does the Bible Really Say “Thou Shalt Not Judge?”) No one is exempt from judgment (or personal accountability). Why are so many Evangelicals unwilling to give a true, honest accounting of the past decade of Trump’s life? Why have they largely ignored Trump’s prominence in the Epstein Files. Even when he turned himself into “Meme Jesus” or showed himself with “Sexy Gay Jesus,” there was not even a whimper from most of the Evangelicals who voted for Trump three #$W%&^ times. (Translation available for Evangelicals who don’t know Brucean Greek. Text me and I’ll send you the proper translation.) 🤣

Now, let me demolish Schott’s delusional notion that Donald Trump is a “baby Christian” who “respects” God and pastors.

First, Donald Trump respects no one, including himself.

We have overwhelming evidence that says Donald Trump respects two things: power and money (and dick size). I have a draft post in my file about how Trump measures success; how everything in his life can be reduced to a small mushroom dick man craving to be known as “Donnie Big Dick.” I have yet to see Trump respect someone who different from him or who has less than he does. While Trump shows blushing rosy-cheeked respect for autocrats, dictators, thieves, and murderers, it is only because he lusts after their power and wealth. Trump is an American president who actually wants to be king; an iron-fisted ruler over all — not only in this country, but the world. Evangelicals in the 1960s were outraged when the Beatles declared they were “bigger than Jesus.” Oh the anti-Beatles/anti-rock and roll sermons I heard from Evangelical preachers as a child. Yet, Donald Trump recently proclaimed that he is, at least, as big as Jesus or even a modern “Savior” himself. I wonder how many Evangelical preachers condemned Trump from the pulpit last Sunday as their forebears did the Beatles sixty years ago? Not many. Disagree? Cough up the video/printed evidence that shows preachers skinning Trump alive before God and man for his blasphemous mockery of your Master, Savior, Lord, King, and sexy boyfriend Jesus H. Christ. I’ll be waiting . . .

Second, does anyone really believe he is a Christian?

Does anyone really believe that Trump is a Christian? Not even Trump believes he is a Christian, yet millions of Evangelicals are hellbent on saying he is! Why is that? To suggest otherwise requires Evangelicals to admit they were wrong — not one time, not two times, not even three times, since many Evangelicals would, if they could, vote for Trump today. No, they have been captured by the MAGA cult, and the only way out for them is to be deprogrammed and, in time, confess they were wrong.

There was a time in Evangelicalism, when you at least had to attend church on Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas to be considered a Christian. Today, Trump never attends church, yet he is considered a Christian. How can these things be? It is quite the thing to watch the Evangelicalism of my youth voluntarily flush itself down the gold right-wing toilet. Politics were rarely mentioned. Today, Evangelicalism might as well be an official arm of the Republican/Libertarian Party. Right-wing politics became fuel for the latest culture war. Evangelicals came to believe that saving souls and personal piety was not enough. Their new goal is to take back the United States for God and institute a Biblical version of Sharia law.

Third, respect is shown by behavior.

What in Trump’s behavior remotely suggests he respects God? I am not talking about the shameless superficial plays of Trump to fawning Evangelicals who surround him in the oval office to feel up his crotch, offer Evan-fellatio, or attend worship services (rallies) when he is in attendance. Trump, even in his demented Grandpa state, still knows how to work a crowd.

Trump has spent the past ten years showing Evangelicals that he is a pathological liar, a racist, a bigot, an ableist, and a “grab them by the pussy” misogynist. There’s nothing more for them to know about his character, morals, and ethics. He is absent all three, as anyone who is paying attention can see (and hear).

Fourth, Trump is a user, and pastors are useful fools.

Evangelicals make a mockery of their faith when they continue to fawn over and worship Donald Trump. “Oh, it’s not that bad,” Evangelicals say. Really? Have you watched Trump’s rallies and press conferences? Have you seen his speeches at Evangelical conferences? Have you watched his Christian cabinet members slavishly, lavishly, and disgustingly fawn over him? If these very things happened under Obama or Biden, why there would be Evangelicals rioting in the street; and might I say, rightly so.

What happens when a person stops being useful? The moment Trump sees no benefit (money/power/worship) he will attack, ridicule, and abandon them quicker than he did Melania so he could have sex with Stormy Daniels.

Alex Ashley in Rolling Stone recently wrote an excellent article titled, “Trump’s Long, Strange Relationship with Faith.”

Here’s the money quote:

What the FULL record reveals is that Trump has never encountered religion as a source of authority over him. He encountered it first as a tool for success, then as a constituency to be managed, and finally as a competing claim to the kind of absolute authority he believes he holds.

Finally, it is evident that many Evangelicals have forsaken their theological and moral foundation for the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table or a bowl of pottage after selling their souls to the vicar of Lucifer on earth. Preachers such as James Dobson, Richard Jeffress, and Franklin Graham, among others, have become bootlickers, defenders of virtually everything the “baby Christian” Trump writes, says, posts, and does. The lack of criticism from Evangelical big shots after Trump’s blasphemous memes and violent tweets is deafening and nauseating. My God, most of the atheists I know have better morals and ethics than these modern day Elmer Gantrys. These hirelings only care about having the preeminence, which gives them close access to the god of this world’s political power. Evangelicals learned that they could gain wins in the culture war by controlling the three branches of power. New mantra: “Why Pray When You Can Vote?” or “Why Refrain from Fornication When You Control Legislation?”

Is Evangelicalism even salvageable? It’s doubtful. Now that larger churches and megachurches dominate the Evangelical church scene, they have become denominations unto themselves. They have amassed tremendous political and social power, and control. Even in rural areas such as where I live, large Evangelical churches are everywhere, and megachurches are but 30 minutes to an hour away — which Evangelicals will gladly drive if they can have metaphorical sex with their musclebound boyfriend named Jesus.

Rome is burning, but far too many Evangelicals in the safe confines of their religious temples are obsessed with making sweet, sweet love to Jesus. And just think, American taxpayers subsidize their lovemaking, all the while these fine Christians burn 250 years of national secular progress to the ground.

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.

April 22, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Evangelical Silence on Trump is Deafening

Published in the Crescent-News on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Dear Editor,

I keep hoping to read in the Crescent-News a plethora of letters from Evangelicals condemning Donald Trump’s use of Christianity to advance his unholy, violent agenda. Alas, there are no letters to be found. Even publishing a meme showing Trump as Jesus was not enough to dislodge them from the president’s hip. Both Paula White and Pete Hegseth favorably compared Trump’s self-inflicted troubles to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Why the silence from Evangelicals? They are directly responsible for putting Trump in the White House. Three times in the past ten years, almost 80 percent of voting White Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump. By the the 2024 election, every American knew who and what Donald Trump really was. Everyone knew Trump was a violent narcissist who couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it, yet devout people of faith voted for him anyway.

Spare me the explanations about not voting for a “pastor in chief.” I was an Evangelical for 50 years. I listened to preachers excoriate President Bill Clinton over a stained blue dress. Despicable? You bet. And at the time, I eviscerated Clinton from the pulpit, as I would have Trump today if I were still a pastor. If Evangelical pastors can’t see Trump in the same light they viewed Clinton, they have lost their moral authority. They have sold their souls for a bowl of soup.

Worse, an increasing number of Evangelicals have adopted theocratic beliefs, asserting that the separation of church and state is a myth. Both Russ Vought and Hegseth are card carrying theocrats who believe the Evangelical God has called them to re-establish the United States as a Christian nation. Their nefarious dogma will lead to violence and death on our streets, as is currently happening in Iran and the greater Middle East.

The Pope recently condemned Trump’s offensive war against Iran. More than a few Evangelical talking heads told the Pope to “shut up and mind your own business.” J.D. Vance — allegedly a Catholic — lectured the Pope on “just war theory.” What is going on in Iran is anything but “just.” The United States is waging an immoral war against [the newspaper’s editor removed “the people of” from my letter] the people of Iran. And Cuba is next, if Trump gets his way.

Several letter writers have suggested than I am morally lacking. Maybe, but I’m moral enough to know it’s evil to wage offensive wars and murder innocent people.

Bruce Gerencser

Ney, Ohio

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.

April 19, 2026
Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Christopher Willett Sentenced to Thirty Years in Prison for Statutory Rape

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.

Christopher Willett, pastor of pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, was charged in March 2025 with statutory rape, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse, computer luring of a person, and child pornography, according to ByFaith magazine. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Ministry Watch reports:

Christopher Willett, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, was charged in March 2025 with statutory rape, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse, computer luring of a person, and child pornography, according to reporting by ByFaith, the PCA Magazine.

Willett was initially arrested after a 19-year-old woman came to the Crystal Springs Police Department to report she had been molested by Willett beginning when she was 15 years old. The criminal activity took place between September 2020 and December 2021

The police began its investigation the morning after the victim came forward and executed search warrants on laptops, cell phones, automobiles, and Willett’s home.

Willett was arrested under the pretense of asking him to come to city hall to discuss other matters, Police Chief Robert Thomas told the Clarion Ledger, a technique used for safety because of Willett’s known possession of firearms in his home.

According to Thomas, Willett did not put up a struggle during his arrest, but refused to talk once he was in the interrogation room.

Thomas said after a lengthy interview with the victim on Monday, March 10, 2025, he felt the evidence against Willett was “pretty substantial,” but emphasized that Willett had not been found guilty.

Willett was ordained in 2016 and served at First Presbyterian Church in Crystal Springs starting in 2020.

….

Earlier this month, on March 13, Willett entered a plea agreement with prosecutors in Copiah County, Miss., agreeing to charges of statutory rape, sexual battery, and incest. The maximum sentence if tried could have been life in prison. However, the plea agreement limited it to a maximum sentence of 30 years.

The judge sentenced Willett to the 30-year maximum with five years of supervised release. He will also be registered as a sex offender.

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.

April 7, 2026
Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor David DeMenge Accused of Sexually Assaulting Church Minor

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.

David DeMenge, pastor of Dominion Church in Little Falls, Minnesota, stands accused of sexually assaulting a church minor.

KARE-11 reports:

A pastor, who had been serving at a church in northwestern Minnesota, is facing seven charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child under 13.

In new court documents, a McLeod County prosecutor says David DeMenge is accused of criminal sexual conduct and is being summoned to show up for his first court appearance on May 4, 2026.

DeMenge used to be a pastor at the Dominion Church in Little Falls, which is about 100 miles outside of Minneapolis, but the sign out front still bears his name.

KARE 11 Reporter Jennifer Hoff spoke to DeMenge on the phone Tuesday and he denied all the charges.

“They absolutely are severe and lucky for me, I’m innocent,” said DeMenge, who also says he’s no longer affiliated with the church. He then referred Hoff to his lawyer.

He and his wife came to Little Falls from Hutchinson to serve as a pastor in September of 2025. There are social media posts that show them being installed in the church when the two other longtime leaders retired. DeMenge didn’t say when he was last affiliated with the church.

McLeod County prosecutors say the alleged abuse started in 2013 and was being investigated by the Hutchinson Police Department. Those court documents say DeMenge watched the victim take a shower and “would touch her after.” The documents also allege DeMenge “started saying sexual jokes.”

The victim’s family was willing to share their story and KARE 11 agreed to keep the victim and the family anonymous to further protect everyone’s identity.

“She went from wanting to dance and hang out with friends and be in public spaces to just being so closed off,” said the victim’s family member.

The documents allege the abuse continued for five years until 2018.

“Pastors are supposed to be people you look up to, they’re supposed to be role models,” said the victim’s family member. “They’re not supposed to be people who hurt you.”

It’s unclear if there are other victims, but the impacted family in this case says DeMenge also worked at a charter school and as a hockey coach.

The Roys Report adds:

A Church of God pastor from Minnesota who has left the state faces seven felony charges for abusing a child over a five-year period.

David Kenneth DeMenge, 33, is formerly with Dominion Church in Little Falls, about 100 miles northwest of Minneapolis. He is also an evangelist with Ripples Revival Ministries International, a ministry based in Minnesota with work in Peru.

DeMenge, a licensed pilot, uses the moniker, Davis Domingez on social media sites for both his aviation and ministry postings.

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.

April 7, 2026
Black Collar Crime: IFB Pastor Doug McDaris Accused of Molesting a Juvenile

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.

Doug McDaris, pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Six Mile, South Carolina, and former pastor of Oakview Baptist Church, stands accused of two counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Livingston Parish News reports:

A South Carolina pastor with past ties to Livingston Parish is being held without bond at the Livingston Parish Detention Center on two counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Doug McDaris, 74, was arrested in Pickens County, S.C., after the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant. He was extradited to Louisiana and booked March 27, according to the parish jail roster.

McDaris served as pastor at Oakview Baptist Church in Livingston Parish from May 2005 to May 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile. He later became pastor at New Beginnings Baptist Church in Six Mile, S.C., where he was serving at the time of his arrest.

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.

April 7, 2026
Christians Say the Darnedest Things: God Would Edit the Bible if It Was Wrong About Creationism

By Dr. David Tee, World Renowned Young Earth Creationist

The first 10 seconds of this video, I Am Willing to Cause Division in the Church over This, show a ‘Christian’ leader denouncing Young Earth Creationists. We are not sure who the speaker is, but we have heard of him. [The video was produced by Ken Ham.]

….

The man is dead wrong, of course, because anything but Young Earth Creation is wrong and telling everyone God lied not once but several times throughout the Bible. People may argue that God cannot change the biblical content, yet that is a mistaken idea.

God can change his word if it were wrong, and if you have noticed, God has not changed the Bible in over 2000 years. If YEC were wrong, do you not think that God would have raised up someone to make the corrections in time so that everyone had the truth?

But as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Silver Scrolls, and other ancient archaeological biblical discoveries have proven, God did not do that. YEC has remained in the Bible ever since God had man put his words to paper.

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.

April 7, 2026
The “We Are Just Going to Have to Agree to Disagree” Cop-Out

I started blogging in 2007 — almost twenty years ago. Since then, I have engaged countless Evangelicals in discussions, debates, arguments, and intellectual fist fights over their beliefs and my disagreements with them. On occasion, genuine progress is made, but more often than not, my interlocutors refuse to budge, regardless of my argumentation and evidence. This should not be surprising. No one is argued into faith or persuaded by evidence alone. Think of your own past salvation experience. Did you catch the operative word: experience? You see, religious conversions are fundamentally emotional experiences. People rarely, if ever, profess faith in Jesus because someone shared with them the five points of Calvinism or the transcendental arguments for the existence of God. I know it took years for me to admit that my deconversion had an emotional component. Not the primary motivator, but certainly a factor. I didn’t want the motivation for my loss of faith to be dismissed as nothing more than me being emotional. Eventually, I came to understand that our emotions are never far from our decision-making. That said, I desire to the best of my ability to use sound reasoning skills to make decisions about what to do or believe.

Instead of trying to argue people out of faith in Jesus, I try to challenge their sincerely held beliefs. I know if I can poke a hole in one of their cherished dogmas, they might be willing to ask themselves what else they are possibly wrong about. The first chink in my Evangelical armor came when I determined the Bible was not inerrant and infallible. I asked myself, “If I am wrong about the nature and history of the Bible,” what else I am wrong about?” As I learned, virtually every theological belief I had as an Evangelical pastor was intellectually lacking or not as theologically certain as my pastors and professors led me to believe. Did these men of God lie to me? Probably not. Like me, they were products of the religious environment and culture they grew up in. You can only teach and preach what you think you know, and that was likely the case for these men.

Sadly, many Evangelicals I interact with will not be moved off their Fundamentalist beliefs. They know in whom they have believed; they know what they know, end of discussion. Unfortunately, few of them seem to understand what they don’t know.

Have you ever had an Evangelical tell you, “We are just going to have to agree to disagree?” I have, more times than I can count. This is their way ending conversations; a dodge as they prepare to claim victory while actually suffering defeat.

Last week, a local Evangelical man in his thirties posted a meme that said, “Jesus is King” on a few Facebook groups I follow. I typically ignore religious voyeurism, but on this post, I decided to click the laughing emoji; my passive-aggressive way of saying your comment is bullshit.

As you might have guessed, I infuriated the poster. How dare I attack him and criticize his beliefs. He got all this from a laughing emoji? Amazing discernment, right? I took a few moments to explain the difference to him between respecting people and respecting beliefs. He ignored me. I generally respect people regardless of their religious and political beliefs. I do make exceptions for Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Franklin Graham, James Dobson, and others of their vile, disgusting ilk. Outside of these degenerates, I generally respect other people. I do not, however, respect their beliefs. If you drag your beliefs into the public square or try to evangelize me for your cause, I am going to push back.

I don’t let people off the hook with the “We are going to have to agree to disagree” cop-out. Beliefs matter. Beliefs have consequences. The beliefs of others can negatively affect my life and the lives of those I love. So, no, I am not going to treat your beliefs with undeserved respect. And when you tell me, “We are going to have to agree to disagree, ” I will take that as you admitting defeat. Running to the house of faith is what people do when they lack evidence and argumentation for their beliefs. I won’t follow them into their “safe space,” but I will be waiting for them when they return to the battlefield.

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.

April 6, 2026
How Sad is It That Evangelicals Only Have Purpose, Meaning, and Happiness Through Jesus?

Most people would agree that they desire purpose, meaning, and happiness in their lives. While these terms can and are defined and used in various ways, I think it is safe to say that most of us want to live a good life while on this mortal coil.

Sadly, millions of Evangelicals believe that only Jesus gives them meaning, purpose, and happiness in their lives. Without Jesus, their lives have no value. Without Jesus, they are but brute sinners deserving eternal punishment and suffering in a lake filled with fire and brimstone. This is what they are told by Evangelical preachers, anyway. Congregants are reminded that their existence depends on Jesus — the second person in the Godhead. They are reminded that most humans are headed for a Christless Hell; that atheists, agnostics, humanists, Buddhists, Muslims, pagans, and others live aimless, helpless, hopeless lives on their slog towards eternity. Never mind the fact that how these people live their lives are repudiations of Evangelical lies about them. Evidence suggests that unbelievers can and do have happy, fulfilling lives without Jesus. Making their own purpose and meaning in life, non-Evangelicals live life on their own terms, often understanding that the journey is far more important than the destination. When gaining Heaven or avoiding Hell is no longer the grand objective, it’s amazing how much more satisfying life can become.

As a certified atheist and humanist, I struggle greatly every day of my life. There’s no escaping pain, suffering, and death, so while I am among the living, I intend to live life to its fullest, even if “fullest” means some days brushing my teeth, eating a bit, and resting. Every day I hope to write, but all the hope in the world doesn’t change the suffering that often keeps my pen in the proverbial inkwell. Thus, living life to its fullest, for me, is on any given day, is doing what I can. Anyone who struggles with chronic pain and suffering understands where I am coming from. To loosely quote the Bible, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Years ago, my Independent Fundamentalist Baptist mother-in-law would tell me that I just needed to put mind over matter. I would bristle when she said such nonsense. My partner eventually got her mother to understand that when I said things like “I can’t” or “I need to rest” or “my pain is off the charts today” or “I’m too nauseous to eat” I was stating the fact of the matter. When I can’t, I can’t. That should be enough for people, but sometimes the people closest to you think if they just cheer you up or encourage you to do more, that you will suddenly arise from near death and clear your to-do list. This, of course, is fanciful, and, at times, hurtful thinking.

At whatever point I find myself in life, I try to live a meaningful life. I recognize and understand that I am on the short side of life. Death stalks me, reminding me that before I know it, I will be his. I long ago determined that I would not quietly go into the dark night. I will do what I can, write what I can, trying to be the best possible person I can possibly be. It matters how we die, so I want to die openly and honestly. cherishing every moment until that day comes. To suggest that my life has no meaning, purpose, or happiness is not only absurd, it’s offensive. I have never said such a thing to a person. If you need Jesus, religion, or the church to make it through life, fine. I don’t give a shit. Just leave me alone. I don’t need Jesus, your religion, and or your club. Why is it that Evangelicals rarely, if ever, grant me the same space to freely live my life? Instead, they feel obligated to tell me how worthless I am or how I will soon spend eternity being tortured by God.To what end, I ask? I know all I need to know about Evangelical Christianity. I know what the Bible says about me. I don’t need believers to remind me of these things. Few Evangelicals seem willing to live and let people live, content to let non-Christians live their lives on their own terms. Surely, this is not too much to ask.

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.

April 6, 2026