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Tag: Inerrancy of the Bible

We Know God Did It Because He (The Bible) Says He Did

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god did it

An Evangelical preacher recently said:

Evidence for the Bible is everywhere, including outer space. We just have to be willing to look for it in a credible manner that brings glory to God. He does not lie, and the presence of water in Space shows us that God does not lie about biblical events. We know God did it because he told us he did it, and the evidence comes to shore up Christian faith when the time is right. As Christians, we do not need physical evidence. We just need to believe God because he does not lie.

And this is why having a discussion or debate with an Evangelical Christian is usually a waste of time. Discuss and debate if you must, but you won’t win. Why? When shown their beliefs and practices are false, what do Evangelicals do? Do they admit they are wrong? Do they admit you are right? Do they deconvert? Do they admit to having serious questions and doubts about their faith? Of course not, silly boy. When cornered, Evangelicals run to the safety of the house of faith and the inerrancy/infallibility of the Bible. Within the house of faith, all is ordered and well, and the Bible is true. Everything is right in this house. Of course, toking marijuana gives the same result — in my professional opinion. 🙂 It is only when Evangelicals venture outside the house of faith that change is possible. For it is in the world that they will find their beliefs and practices questioned, challenged, and overcome. Over the years, many devout Evangelicals and IFB Christians have stumbled upon this site, only to crawl away beaten and bruised, with more questions than answers.

Is my goal to evangelize for atheism? Nope. I don’t do it — ever. I am just one man with a story to tell. If my writing troubles someone or causes them to question or doubt, that’s on them. If they contact me, I will help them any way I can. I’m content to answer sincere questions and suggest books for people to read. Whatever they do with what they learn is up to them. Do some of them deconvert or move on to what I call “kinder, gentler Christianity?” You bet, and I am glad they did. Some sects of Christianity are more harmful than others. Evangelicalism, the IFB church movement, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Catholicism come to mind. These sects might be “right” about religion, but they sure cause a lot of harm, both physically and psychologically.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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 One Thing Many Evangelicals Do I’ll Never Understand

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santa in the bible

According to Evangelicals, the Bible is the most important book ever written. The Bible, unlike all other books ever written, is a supernatural book written by a supernatural God through human instrumentation. Every word is true, without error or contradiction. The Bible is God’s blueprint for our lives, a roadmap that leads to life eternal. You would think, then, that Evangelicals would read and study the Bible every day, increasing in knowledge and understanding.

Think about it. If there was one book out of the 150,000,000 million or so ever written that told you everything you needed to know about this life and the life to come, you would likely read and study it every day. Nothing would be more important than what God said, right? Why, then, do most Christians rarely, if ever, read the Bible? Evangelicals talk a good line about God, Jesus, and salvation, yet most of them have never read the Bible through once. Most Evangelicals rely solely on what their pastors say from the pulpit or what they read in an apologetics book to define their beliefs.

As a committed follower of Jesus, I read and studied the Bible every day. I read both the Old and New Testaments through from the table of contents to the index many times. I thought it important for a born-again Christian to read, study, and understand the Bible. Yet, most of the Christians I knew, including some pastors, weren’t diligent Bible readers. They knew they ought to, but life got in the way.

I finally concluded that most believers sincerely wanted to read and study the Bible as their pastors did, but they simply didn’t have the time and energy to do so. Long hours of work and domestic obligations severely limited the time they had to devote to the “Word.” I was paid to pray and read the Bible, so, of course, I could leisurely devote myself to reading the Bible. The people I pastored didn’t have the freedom I did. They had to make time in their limited schedules to read the Bible. Sometimes, “life” got in the way of doing so. I know that my partner, Polly, had six children to raise and educate, and a busy husband to care for. When did she have time to read and study the Bible? She tried, but failed, and felt guilty for years over his lack of Bible reading. Years ago, I apologized to her for the blame and guilt I laid at her feet. Polly loves to read, but back in the day, she didn’t have the time to do so, and, quite frankly, she didn’t find the Good Book all that interesting — as I am sure many of you can attest.

That said, we show what we value by what we do. Based on their behavior, it is clear that most Evangelicals really don’t value the teachings of the Bible. They are content to live their lives according to the beliefs and pronouncements of parents, preachers, and teachers. They have what I call “borrowed beliefs/theology.” Rare is the Christian who devotes himself to reading, studying, and understanding the sixty-six books of the Christian Bible.

Are you are former Evangelical? What were your Bible reading habits? Did you read the Bible every day? Every week? Sporadically, if ever? Did you read the Bible from cover to cover at least once? Did you feel guilty when you didn’t read the Bible? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.

Verses That Aren’t in Most Evangelical Bibles

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holy bible

Evangelicals love to claim that they are people of the book; that God said it, they believe it …. end of discussion. However, get into a discussion, debate, or argument with an Evangelical and you will quickly learn that he has all sorts of ways to avoid the clear meaning of the Bible.

Colossians 3:12-15 says:

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. . . And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Who is the Apostle Paul talking to in Colossians 3? God’s chosen ones, those who are holy and beloved. Most scholars agree that Paul is speaking to Christians. Paul sets forth clear commands for followers of Christ:

  • Clothe yourself with compassion
  • Clothe yourself with kindness
  • Clothe yourself with humility
  • Clothe yourself with meekness
  • Clothe yourself with patience
  • Bear with one another
  • Forgive one another (you must forgive as Christ has forgiven you)
  • Above everything, clothe yourself with love (which binds everything together)
  • Let the peace of God rule your heart

Do these verses reflect how Evangelicals behave on this site? I think not. The Bible commands Christians to judge people by the fruit they produce. Based on my experiences with Evangelicals, all I see are rotting, worm-filled apples, with a few edible apples at the bottom of the bushel basket. And as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, Evangelical zealots will object to my exegesis. Fine, then by all means tell me how I am reading and understanding this text incorrectly. I will be waiting for your response, but I won’t hold my breath. Instead of raging against an Evangelical-pastor-turned-atheist, perhaps you should buy some clothing. You are naked, man.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.

What’s the Most Dangerous Thing An Evangelical Christian Can Do?

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not in the bible

Most Evangelicals claim to be “people of the book.” The first church I worked for in the late 70s had an advertising sign located at a member’s home on Route 15 that said, “The Blood, the Book, and the Blessed Hope.” Park in front of a local Catholic church or a mainline congregation and observe how few members carry their Bibles to church. Do the same at a local Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) and you will see that MOST members, including children, bring their (KJV) Bibles to church. Granted, after church, many of those Bibles will be returned to the front dash, back window, or underneath the seats of their automobiles. Some members “store” their Bibles in their car trunks — safe and secure, ready for the next Sunday.

What most members DON’T do is regularly read/study the Bible. In fact, most Evangelicals haven’t read the Bible through once, yet they are “people of the Book?” Sure, buddy, sure. Imagine if I said I was a follower and worshipper of Harry Potter, the greatest wizard of all time, yet when asked if I had read all seven books in the Harry Potter series, I reply, “I only read book one and book four.” How could I be a follower and worshipper of Harry Potter and not read all seven books? Yet, hundreds of millions of people claim to be Christians without ever reading the Bible from cover to cover. If the Bible is THE book above all other books, and different from them in every possible way as the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, why do most Christians rarely read the Bible, and fewer still read from table of contents through concordance? The Bible commands Christians to judge others by their fruit (good works). Based on countless surveys and studies, Evangelicals may claim to be “people of the Book, but they are largely ignorant of what it says. And that includes more than a few preachers who do little, if any, Bible reading/study outside of preparation for their sermons. Worse, some preachers don’t read or study the Bible for their sermons either. Instead, they buy books of sermons or rip off sermons preached by big-name preachers. There’s no time for the Word of God when you have golf matches to play, hunting trips to take, and conferences and meetings to attend.

As a former Evangelical preacher, I worked my ass off ministering to church members and community residents. But, I never sacrificed my reading and study of the Bible, typically spending twenty hours a week preparing my sermons and reading devotionally. I was always troubled by colleagues in the ministry who were lazy, indifferent to the needs of others, and spent more time on entertainment and “family time” than they did on the actual, God-ordained work of the ministry.

Here’s the most dangerous thing Evangelicals can do: READ THE BIBLE FROM COVER TO COVER. Take every book of the Bible as written. The Bible is not a univocal text. Careful readers of the Bible will quickly learn that it contradicts itself, justifies immoral behavior, and is littered with mistakes and errors. BY all means, consult interlinears, concordances, and other text tools, but avoid books written by Evangelical authors. Their goal is to indoctrinate and condition, rather than impart knowledge and understanding.

If Evangelicals truly become “people of the book,” it is likely they will stop being Evangelicals after reading and studying ALL OF THE BIBLE. Many of the Evangelicals-turned-atheists I know deconverted after reading the Bible. I encourage every Evangelical to read the Bible. Every book, every chapter, every verse, and every word. Don’t listen to your pastor. Remember, he has a job and salary to protect. Don’t rely on Evangelical apologists or devotional books. Use your mind, pondering what the text actually says. You will find that many Evangelical preachers play loose with the Biblical text, using it as proof for peculiar beliefs and dogmas. Have you ever heard your pastor claim that there are numerous prophecies about Jesus (the Messiah)? Most church members give a shout-out to Jesus without ever investigating whether their pastor’s claims are true. They aren’t.

To my Evangelical readers, I say, please read the Bible. All of it. I guarantee you that if you will do this, your life will dramatically change. Granted, you may become an agnostic or an atheist, but you will, at the very least, have truth on your side. You will no longer govern your lives based on what is uttered from the pulpit. You will no longer have a “borrowed” theology. Most preachers enter the ministry with a borrowed theology, and unless they do the necessary hard work in the study, they will never mature intellectually. And if they won’t do what’s necessary to be an educated man of God, their parishioners will remain stupid and ignorant too.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Why Did God Use Men to Write the Bible Instead of Doing It Himself?

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read bible

According to Evangelicals, the Bible is God’s supernatural Word. Written by men divinely inspired by God, the Bible is a perfect book, free of mistakes, errors, and contradictions. Of course, this is nonsense. A cursory reading of the Bible reveals all sorts of errors. Sure, Evangelicals cook up plenty of explanations for these errors, but some of their explanations leave a lot to be desired, bordering on farcical.

God could have imparted his Word to humankind by writing it himself. A perfect God would write a perfect book, yes? So why in the Hell did God choose to impart his Word in such a way that has resulted in thousands of years of argument, debate, and fighting? Why choose fallible, frail, contradictory men to write the Bible instead of doing it yourself? There are thousands of Christian sects, each believing that their interpretation of the Bible is true and all other interpretations are false.

Imagine how much better it would be if God wrote the Bible himself. Not that he inspired the writers, but that he wrote every word, including punctuation and versification. If God had done this, any misunderstanding would be ours. As things now stand, Christians can’t even agree on basic beliefs such as salvation, baptism, and communion. The Bible says, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” but history reveals many lords, many faiths, many baptisms.

God could publish an updated version of the Bible, one that does away with the passages that make him look bad. No incest, no genocide, no slavery, no rape. Rewrite the Bible, put it on Amazon, and sell millions of copies. This sure would clear up a lot of problems. Instead, we are left with an ancient religious text that has little relevance today.

Come on, God, get your act together. It’s time for you to update the greatest book never read.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.

How Evangelicals Respond When Confronted with Errors in the Bible

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bible head vice

Most Evangelicals believe the following about the Bible:

  • The Bible is inspired (breathed out) by God
  • The Bible is inerrant (without error)
  • The Bible is infallible (true in all it says, free of mistakes)

Two words describe how most Evangelicals read the Bible, that is, if they read the Bible at all. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that many Evangelicals rarely, if ever, read the Bible. And if Evangelicals do read the Bible, they do so selectively, often reading only the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.

  • Univocality (Univocality refers to the state of having only one meaning or voice, being unambiguous and straightforward. It contrasts with ambiguity or equivocality, where a word or statement can be interpreted in multiple ways. In essence, univocality implies a clear and single meaning. Google AI definition)
  • Literally (Reading the Bible “literally” means understanding its words in their most straightforward, ordinary sense, as they would be understood in everyday language, while also acknowledging the use of figurative language like similes, metaphors, and other literary devices. It’s about discerning the intended meaning of the text without imposing personal interpretations or allegorical readings that are not supported by the text. Google AI definition)

These words give definition to evangelical cliches such as: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me.”

The problem, of course, is that the Bible is NOT inerrant and infallible. Whether Evangelicals appeal to inerrant translations or manuscripts, it matters not; neither claim is true and can be easily rebutted. All one has to do is show one error, mistake, or contradiction for inerrancy to come falling down. The same goes for infallibility.

Bible inerrancy and infallibility are irrational claims that can be easily dispensed with by giving the Scriptures an honest reading. The errors, contradictions, and mistakes are easy to see IF you are not committed to inerrancy, infallibility, and univocality. Scores of sites on the Internet, including this one, list numerous mistakes, errors, and contradictions. Granted, Evangelicals have all sorts of novel, fancy, and, at times, irrational explanations for these problem texts. Their presuppositions demand they find some way to defend inerrancy, so Evangelicals go to extraordinary lengths to protect the Bible’s honor. Most often, all they do is either make fools out of themselves or show that they really do not understand the Biblical text. And this is to be expected. Many Evangelicals have a borrowed theology — that of their pastor. He’s the man of God, and they trust that he will tell them the truth. Unfortunately, many Evangelical preachers don’t tell the truth, either out of ignorance, or fear that if they tell their congregants the truth, the pews and offering plates will be empty and they will have to get a job at Home Depot.

When Evangelicals are confronted with errors, contradictions, and mistakes that they can’t explain away, what do they do? Admit defeat? Admit the Bible is not inerrant? Not a chance. Often, Evangelicals will make appeals to the Greek and Hebrew languages underlying various Bible translations. Oh, they can’t read Greek or Hebrew, but they own a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and an 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, and, in their minds, they have all they need to defend the inerrancy of the Bible and defeat “liberal” scholars who have spent their lives studying the Biblical text. I have watched countless atheist talk shows featuring Evangelical callers who think they know more about the Bible than the leading scholars of the day. When these defenders of the Bible meet their demise in the arena of debate, what do they do? Admit they were wrong? Not a chance. When backed into the proverbial corner, Evangelicals will always appeal to faith. Once they do this, no further discussion is possible. Faith is what people appeal to when they have no evidence for their claims.

Unless an Evangelical admits the obvious — the Bible is not inerrant, infallible, or univocal — it is unlikely that they can be convinced of the irrationality of their claims. Those of us who are former Evangelicals know that it wasn’t until the Bible lost its magical hold on us that we were able to see the text as it is: an ancient text written by fallible, frail men. God did not write one word of the Bible. From the table of contents to the index, the Bible is a manmade text, and Evangelicals cannot provide compelling evidence to the contrary.

Evangelicals are free to believe what they want about the Bible, but if they want to convince the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world that the Bible is the very words of God, evidence — not Bibe prooftexts — is required.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.

When Evangelicals Claim “The Bible Says,” This is What They Mean

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bible has all the answers

One of the most common statements made by Evangelicals is this: The Bible Says . . . Evangelicals believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God, meant to be read and interpreted literally. It means what it says and says what it means. If these claims are true, why do Evangelicals have such varied beliefs, even on the basics such as salvation, baptism, membership, and communion? How do we determine which sect is right? If the destiny of our eternal soul rests on us believing the right things, shouldn’t Christians speak with one mind on the core doctrines of Christianity?

The confusion of beliefs is a sign that Christianity is a human construct. The Bible doesn’t say anything. It is a book of words that must be read, interpreted, and explained. When I say, “The Bible Says . . .” it should be understood that I’m speaking from my past theological training, experiences, and interpretations. In other words, the Bible says what Bruce says it does. This is true for EVERY Christian. If there’s one thing I have learned about the Bible, it is this: It can be used to prove almost anything. Put a Calvinist, Arminian, Campbellite, Independent Baptist, Apostolic, Charismatic, Pentecostal, and Episcopalian in a room and ask them fifty theological questions. What will you get? Countless interpretations and explanations, each believing they are right. They all can’t be right, so how do we determine which sect/church preaches the True Christianity?

Sadly, many Evangelicals believe that their understanding of the Bible = God says. How can they possibly know this? They will authoritatively claim that the words of the Bible are God’s words, and when they speak the words of the Good Book, they are speaking God’s words. That’s why I have had countless Christians tell me when I object to something they said, “God said it, I didn’t.” Oh, the arrogance behind such a claim. I know of no way that someone can infallibly know that what they are reading or saying is the words of God. Humans wrote the Bible, and for 2,000 years now, Christians have been interpreting and reinterpreting the Bible. Every generation of believers shapes, molds, and interprets the Bible based on their personal opinions, beliefs, and worldviews. Even with intractable sects such as the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church movement, beliefs and practices change over time. How they define “old-fashioned” is very different today from what it was sixty years ago. As an IFB teen in the 1960s and 1970s, my pastors declared that “Godly” men didn’t have facial hair or long hair. Today, it is common to see IFB men with beards and long hair. The same goes for dress standards. Women wearing pants was verboten years ago. Today, it is not uncommon to see Baptist women wearing slacks.

Change is inevitable, even among groups who think that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. A few years back, my partner’s IFB uncle, Jim Dennis, died after pastoring the Newark Baptist Temple for fifty years. Polly’s parents attended the church for decades. Polly’s mom told me that she was proud of the fact that Jim believed the same things he did when he died as he did when he was a young preacher. In her mind, Jim was a pillar of sound doctrine and practice; a man who was steadfast in his beliefs and behavior. This, of course. was patently untrue. I can point to numerous beliefs and practices that Jim changed his mind about over the years.

I would argue that changing our beliefs is essential to personal growth. If my life story is anything, it is a testimony to the power and importance of change. As a Christian, my beliefs changed a lot. When I came to a new or different understanding of the Bible, I was unafraid to share it. This, of course, led to me being called a liberal or an apostate. All I knew to do was to honestly align my life with my changed beliefs. And I don’t live differently today. How about you? Have your beliefs and practices changed over the years? Do you have Christian friends who pride themselves on not changing their beliefs? Please share your experiences in the comment section.

Let me conclude this post with a short video by Dr. Dan McClellan on the subject, “No, the Bible Doesn’t Say So.”

Video Link

Dan has a new book coming out, The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) about Scripture’s Most Controversial Subjects. Dan does an awesome job tackling many of the claims Evangelicals make about the Bible.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.

What Revelation 22:18-19 Really Says

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hell

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

Most Evangelicals believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. The Bible is a supernatural book written by a supernatural God; without error and incapable of being wrong. While Evangelicals have a variety of ways to explain these beliefs, to the person they believe the Bible is the very words of God. God used human instrumentality to write the sixty-six books of the Bible, but the words are exactly what he wanted written down. According to Evangelicals, the Bible is different from other books. It is the book above all books, in that its supernatural author, God, revealed to humankind everything pertaining to life and godliness. The Bible covers everything from the creation of the universe and the first humans, Adam and Eve, to the history of the Jewish people. We learn from the Bible that humans are sinners needing redemption, and 2,000 years ago, God took on human flesh in the personage of Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life, and then provided himself as a blood sacrifice for sin. Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days later, victorious over death and the grave. Jesus ascended to Heaven forty days later and hasn’t been seen since. According to Evangelical theology, Jesus promised that after he ascended to Heaven he would send his followers the comforter, the Holy Spirit — the third person in the triune Godhead. The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer, teaching, guiding, and directing them, convicting Christians of sin, and revealing exactly what the Bible says and means.

Most Evangelicals are woefully ignorant about how the Bible came into being, who its human authors were, and how it came to have sixty-six books. The Bible is littered with mistakes, contradictions, and errors, yet Evangelicals believe the Bible is inerrant and infallible. Cognitive dissonance keeps Evangelicals from knowing and understanding the history and nature of the Bible they believe is the very words of God. Take Revelation 22:18-19. Many Evangelicals believe these verses teach that it is a mortal sin to add to or take away words from the Bible. Little do they know, that in its 4,000-year history, numerous verses and words have been added to and taken away from the Bible. There’s no such thing as a singular inerrant, infallible Bible. Yet, Evangelical preachers will preach sermons from Revelation 22:18-19, warning congregants of the penalty for tampering with the Word of God.

When the words of Revelation 22:18-19 were written, there wasn’t a Bible per se. The New Testament would not be collated for another 200-300 years, and the book of Revelation was not considered canonical by some early church fathers. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther said that the book of Revelation was “neither apostolic nor prophetic.”

A clear reading of Revelation 22:18-19 shows that the text is not talking about the Bible as a whole. How could it since the Bible as we know it today didn’t exist when Revelation was written? At best, the “words of the prophecy of this book” refer to Revelation as a whole or prophetic parts of the book. The judgments warned of in this passage of Scripture refer to adding to or taking away from the book of Revelation.

Revelation is one of the most interpreted and explained books in the Bible. You would think if God wrote the book of Revelation, Evangelicals would be of one mind on what it says, but that’s not the case. Pretribulational. Midtribulational. Posttribulational. Prewrath. Preterism. Premillennial. Postmillennial. Amillennial. The events recorded in Revelation are prophetic and have not yet happened. The events recorded in Revelation are not prophetic and have already happened. Added to these broad theological positions are countless interpretations of what the various events in Revelation mean and who the entities mentioned are. In other words, virtually every Evangelical preacher adds to or takes away from the book of Revelation. And those who do this will face God’s judgment and end up in the Lake of Fire. Or so says the Bible, anyway.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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 Moses Write the Pentateuch?

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moses writes the bible

Most Bible scholars outside of the Evangelical ghetto believe the Pentateuch/Torah — the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — was written by multiple authors over centuries. Many Evangelicals, on the other hand, believe Moses wrote the Pentateuch — an absurd claim if there ever was one. If you are unfamiliar with why this position is absurd, give the Wiki on the subject a read.

Thinking that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible leads to all sorts of apologetic gymnastics and wild explanations for things in the text that make Mosaic authorship an impossibility. Is Moses authored the book of Deuteronomy, explain chapter 34, verses 4-8:

And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

If Moses wrote Deuteronomy, how is it possible he also wrote his obituary? Absurd, right? I know all the explanations Evangelicals give to explain how this is possible, but none of them seem plausible. No, it is far more likely that an unknown author tacked on his account of Moses’ death long after he died. Problem solved, but many Evangelicals can’t accept that explanation because Bible literalism forced them to accept that Moses wrote the Pentateuch and he somehow mentioned his demise before he died, centuries after his death.

Here’s another. Take Numbers 12:3:

(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

If Moses wrote the Pentateuch, he sure had a high opinion of himself. the Bible has a lot to say about the sin of pride, does it not? No, it is far more likely that an unknown author added this description of the humble, meek Moses long after he was dead. Of course, if you are an Evangelical who believes in the transcription theory — God gave Moses the words to write, he was just a secretary — problem solved. Just remember, when facing an insurmountable problem with the Biblical text, appeal to faith and the supernatural. Problem solved.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Who Was Cain Afraid Would Kill Him?

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cain kills abel

According to Bible literalists, God created the universe in six twenty-four-hour days, 6,025 years ago. During the six days of creation, God created the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground, and then created the first woman, Eve, from one of Adam’s ribs. Of course, as science clearly shows, these claims are myths. Nonetheless, countless Christians across the world, and most Evangelicals in the United States, believe these claims are true. They must believe these things because their view of Scripture as inspired, inerrant, and infallible demands it. This is why you find Evangelicals defending such abhorrent behaviors such as rape, murder, slavery, and genocide.

Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel. It is assumed that Mr. and Mrs. Adam had other children, including daughters, but outside of a third son born later named Seth, the Bible mentions no other children. Adam and Eve’s children had children of their own, so a big question is who they had sex with. Their mother? Their unnamed sisters? Women who lived on Earth already when they were born? Fallen angels? Space aliens?

In Genesis 4:1-8 we find a story about Cain murdering Abel:

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Upset over a rejected offering to the Lord, Cain killed his brother. The Lord was not happy with Cain:

What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Cain, a keeper of livestock, was cursed by God. The Lord said from that day forward Cain would be a failed farmer and a fugitive/vagabond.

Cain replied:

 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Who, exactly, were the people that Cain feared would “find and kill him”? According to the Bible, the only people on Earth at the time were Adam, Eve, and Cain. Was Cain afraid his parents would kill him? In come Evangelical apologists with all sorts of explanations, but their protestations are nothing more than personal opinions. Remember, when you hook your wagon to Bible inerrancy — not adding to or taking away from the Word of God — you are forced to accept what the text says.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.