The Christian Post has a piece up about former pastor Dave Gass titled After 40 years, ‘megachurch’ pastor slams Christianity and quits, deacon claims he had affair. The church Gass quit is Grace Family Fellowship, and from their about page they appear to be a fairly standard issue complementarian church:
We are a Southern Baptist Church (SBC) and are affiliated with The Gospel Coalition.
There is a lot packed into the story, including a deacon explaining that Gass is covering for his own unrepentant sin:
…he was my pastor when he “walked away”. He actually just slept with a married women in the church and got caught. He never repented and they still live together.
According to Gass, he lost his faith in Christ in part because of the lies modern Christians taught him about marriage:
As an adult my marriage was a sham and a constant source of pain for me. I did everything I was supposed to – marriage workshops, counseling, bible reading together, date nights every week, marriage books – but my marriage never became what I was promised it would be…
Obviously the Bible makes no such promises. But modern Christians certainly do. Modern Christians teach that if a husband is godly enough, God will grant him a happy wife and therefore a happy marriage. See for example How Jesus Trains Husbands.
Pastor Doug Wilson explains in the introduction to his book Reforming Marriage that if a husband is godly he will have a happy marriage. Conversely, if the husband follows Pastor Wilson’s instructions but the wife still isn’t happy, this is an indication that the man is a hypocrite:
This is why I am afraid that this book will be of little use to those who simply want a “formula” to follow that will build them a happy marriage….
…the love of the Christian husband does not proceed from reading the “right books,” including this one, or going to the right seminars. God will not patch His grace onto some humanistic psychological nonsense—even if that nonsense is couched and buried in Christian terminology.
…
When a husband seeks to glorify God in his home, he will be equipped to love his wife as he is commanded. And if he loves his wife as commanded, the aroma of his home will be pleasant indeed.
The damage this false teaching does goes beyond merely destroying Christian families. It also threatens Christians’ faith in Christ. Men like Gass think this is actually Christian teaching. When they realize it is nonsense they reject Christ and not the false teaching.
“If you do the right thing (here), good things will happen to you (there). If bad things happen to you (there), you didn’t do the right thing (here).” – post-modern Western Christianity summarized.
Dalrock, outstanding. This part is the best.
This needs to be repeated over and over. The Bible makes no such promises but Pastors in Churchianity quite often do. They shouldn’t but they do. You can’t make those promises. Only God can promise, not a Pastor.
Christianity gives you no guarantee of earthly happiness if you follow Christ, quite the contrary.
It does give you guarantees of Heavenly happiness if you follow Christ.
Many worldly Christians mix up the two. Some of these worldly Christians become pastors, and THIS is where the trouble lies.
Really sad. Lives have been ruined and souls going to Hell because of this ungodly teaching.
And still the complementarians will say that he wasn’t godly enough.
I went and read the “How Jesus Trains Husbands” and this part jumped out at me:
” I often hear men say that they feel like they are giving more in their marriage than they are getting out of it or that they are giving more than their wife is giving. My response is usually something like this: “Congratulations! That is exactly the way it is supposed to be.””
Yes, it’s true, men give up more for marriage than men do, and that is why a man should never ever ever agree to give up the authority that is essential for him to be able to accomplish his mission. A man cannot be a good husband if merely agrees to be a chump and a patsy and a door mat for his wife. I mean, like, duh.
Oops, I meant “men give up more…than WOMEN do.” Sorry.
I’ve found that almost all atheists have a story like this. Modern Christianity preaches about vending machine Jesus, but of course, that’s not how it works. Their faith can then be shaken apart by the simplest of life’s challenges.
I wish people in this position would realize that they’ve been failed by other humans, and not by God. It’s very sad.
I am in the process of investigating a divorce case in my denomination. Part of the record quite clearly indicates that at least some leaders involved believe the man is to blame if the wife isn’t happy. It will be interesting to see what happens as I interact with the investigative team.
From my viewpoint, such finger-pointing in the absence of evidence is the same kind of thing Job faced when his accusers believed that if bad things happened to him he had to have sinned.
So then, Gass should become a red-piller. He should become the next Dalrock.
Imagine if there were two. What would the Warhorn manginas do?
Conversely, if the husband follows Pastor Wilson’s instructions but the wife still isn’t happy, this is an indication that the man is a hypocrite:
This means that Pastor(bator) Wilson has a complete lack of genuine faith.
He should be ashamed of himself.
Read about John Wesley’s relationship with his wife and then tell me a sufficiently godly husband guarantees a pleasant aroma at home. When I was disillusioned in my own marriage having done Christian counseling to no avail, I came across his story and was actually encouraged. Even a man like Wesley struggled. This was about the time I started reading Dalrock and Tomassi and things got easier. Not easy, but at least understandable.
The top image in the Christian Post article of “Pastor Dave” is a classic. I can’t tell if he is wearing suspenders or not, but it would be totally in character. The article is a bit of a response to “happy wife, happy life” babble as well.
@bradford
Just getting away from the whole idea that women are exactly like men (except for boobs and babies) makes a huge difference. Because the female behavior beings to look less random and more predictable. Scott (in Montana) mentioned last year that sometimes he has to just consciously do exactly the opposite of what his habits are telling him, and he’s not even close to the only man to have that experience.
Have you gotten a copy of Deep Strength’s book yet? If not, you should, it will help you.
Two words: Eastern Orthodoxy.
Lifted me from Presbyterian churchianity to Christ.
“Their faith can then be shaken apart by the simplest of life’s challenges.”
When they build a foundation on sand, such is the result.
A conversation with my wife touched on this when we were talking about the modern trend to debauch Christianity by affixing Judeo- to it. I was talking about a number of contradictions between the old and new testaments, old and new covenants, etc. how practices such as circumcision (don’t go off on this and miss the point, please) as being required for salvation were negated in the new covenant where there was only one requirement, but crept back in through Calvinism and Puritanism. She asked how can we be certain of anything if we’re choosing what to believe in, rather than accepting the bible as the whole and accurate word of God? I pointed out that there are thousands of denominations of Christian churches out there, including Catholic, Orthodox, and other versions, and choosing to belong to one is choosing that denominations choices about doctrine, dogma, and interpretations of the whole and accurate word of God. They are all VERY different, as our host here often notes, from the actual word.
There are far more eloquent and learned biblical commentators here than I. For me, the New Testament is the foundation of Christianity, not the old. The inclusion of non-christian doctrine, dogma, and interpretation is the source of the weakness in Christianity. You can see it when comparing the growth and revival of Orthodox Christianity against Catholic or Protestant denominations. Secular culture, social justice warriors, the judeo- fantasy, all usurp Faith and Truth to enshrine human and other religious law and its interpretations as the basis for the church rather than the New Testament.
I ask forgiveness in advance here, but failing to make choices about the Truth within Christianity, for whatever reason, is the essence of the parable of the taels.
This pastor guy committed adultery, and helped the wife of another man commit adultery. That Adultery is a sin is a Truth, one of the big ones. Marriage is a Truth. Doctrine and dogma over behavior in and of marriage is not, as evidenced by all the variation and interpretation. The biological reality of men and women is a Truth, stated as “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Science, genetics, and Game prove that ancient biblical Truth every day.
This pastor violated a number of those Truths, because he was blinded by the false dilemmas, interpretations, and ways people have changed the simple to the complex in order to sanctify their actions. Because he thought all the detail was the Truth, he missed the devil therein and threw everything out. Sounds like mission success for Satan.
That’s why I still advocate for the Good: Marriage, children, hope for the future, and sticking to the simple things I can understand.
“Eastern Orthodoxy.”
When I was a kid going to St Paschal Baylon Roman Catholic elementary school in Oakland, California, back in the 1960’s there was a boy who they said was actually Eastern Orthodox, not Roman Catholic, and other than that he was just another kid.
If I knew then what I found out later I would have asked, very loudly, “Hey, what about the Great Schism of 1054? Doesn’t that count for nothing?” Fortunately for all concerned I was very ignorant.
As it turned out I ended up being a generic Apostle’s Creed Protestant, before I even found out what a Protestant was, which means I get along with everyone and no one at the same time, which suits my personality.
My point being, (I bet you thought I didn’t have one), it’s not about the form, it’s all about the substance.
There’s something wrong when the modern Christianity that guy is rejecting is the Gospel of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.
He should have read Ecclesiastes.
@vfm7916
Vile and Faceless Minion friend, I am a fundamentalist baptist. I used to think in your direction when I was in a mainline protestant denomination that did not read the Bible; I do not think that way after reading the Bible. The Old Testament tells us about the New Covenant to come by showing us that the Old (Sinai) Covenant could not be kept by people of their own strength.
God’s promises are immutable, but God’s blessings come about because of a right relationship with God – and blessings can be removed as chastisement. You see this again and again in the Old Testament. If you turn to such a “legal” book as Deuteronomy, you find that the seed of the New Covenant is already there in the blessings and the curses – Israel must attempt to live in law, will fail, but, in exile, some will be chastised and drawn back to God when they have circumcised hearts (literally what John the Baptist preached – repent, turn from wickedness, love God). When Jeremiah arose to tell Israel of the New Covenant, he again referred back to this idea of a change of heart for God’s people – what we know of now as indwelling of the Holy Spirit, with God’s law written on the hearts of believers. Thus, when Jesus came and spoke of the New Covenant and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – He was not just following Jeremiah; He was following Moses. Moses spoke of The Prophet who would come; Jesus was The Prophet who came to explain the New Covenant made with individuals, not nations. The Samaritan woman knew her Samaritan Pentateuch (they had a politically-modified version of the writing of Moses) – she knew Moses said there was somebody coming to inaugurate this New Covenant.
Although the New Testament is the story of the mechanics of the New Covenant and how that special seed from Genesis 3:15 by way of Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, etc came to bless all the nations of the earth (so that the gentiles in darkness would awake to find themselves suddenly with access to God again), the story of The Prophet, The Messiah, The Promised Seed goes all the way back to Genesis; the New Covenant goes all the way back to Moses.
A great book that has this content explained is The Messiah by William Varner. The thing Scripture teaches is – neither the Covenant theologians nor the Dispensationalists get it right, because they put their theological system ahead of the plain reading of Scripture.
It is just another aspect of the health-and-wealth gospel Christians have been fighting against for years.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. – Luke 6:32 Apparently Jesus had a different idea about marriage. And shame on any man who thinks his job is to make his wife “happy.” What a bunch of horseshit! Love her like Christ but “happy” is her problem.
Gass should have quit a long time ago. Our leaders can’t identify what’s wrong with their teachings because they themselves don’t believe it.
I would have had major respect for the guy had he resigned that lucrative position voluntarily for apostasy instead of when his sin found him out, as a last grasp at the pretense of being respectable.
It’s frustrating when people quit real Christianity because fake Christianity disappointed them.
Nathan,
Let me add to this comment a bit. In the many decades I’ve been on this earth and talked to many different people with many different religious faiths, one thing I’ve found abundantly clear about so many “so called” Christians. They become Christian and they think, that’s it. They figure its real easy. And that is what they like about being a Christian, NOT that it is the one-true-faith, but to be a Christian is (for them) easy.
Its not easy. Its hard. Sometimes (depending on your individual circumstances) its very hard. And when you are asked to follow the rules when times are tough, the “so called” Christians who are only there for the pot luck lunch, the midnight mass, the coffee hour after service, the boy scout troop, the softball team, or all the pretty candles, they are going to bolt. Because they never really wanted to deal with the hard stuff. They just wanted the easy stuff. They never really had any actual “faith” in any of it. It was all for show.
I think with this pastor losing his faith? Meh. He didn’t lose his faith. He never had any faith. He was just there to have all the good stuff without actually thinking the rules applied to him. As far as he was concerned the rules never DID apply to him because they aren’t really rules, just guidelines.
Obeying God’s rules are hard. Sometimes, they are very hard to follow, particularly living in such a free country. To obey God’s rules means to give up certain freedoms that atheists (and feminists) enjoy every day of their life. We are all governed by secular law but you have less options available to you in the secular world if you are ALSO governed by God’s law. And the only reason why you would allow yourself to be governed by Him is if you truly believeth IN Him. Talk is cheap. Actions are where it counts. And its obvious to anyone who sees this clearly, this “pastor” never really wanted to be governed by anyone but secular government.
I am embarrassed to admit that for many years of my marriage, i believed that if things were not going well, it was because I was somehow not doing what I should have been doing. That I wasnt being selfless enough or wasnt helping my wife out enough. I am honest enough to admit that of course I made mistakes and some of our marital problems were my fault. What I learned from this site and other “red pill” sites was I could do absolutely everything right and my marriage would still have problems. My wife has a lot of baggage from her upbringing in a very dysfunctional and broken family and no amount of my doing things right cancel out that impact on her thinking and her actions. I can look back on the early years of my marriage and say unequivocally that most of ht problems we went through were directly tied to her behaviors and choices she made.
It was very liberating to realize that I am not 100% responsible for every bad thing that happens in my marriage. Oftentimes, even when a husband is doing everything right, their wife will still make bad decisions, have bad attitudes, and just plain rebel against the command to submit. Having a bad marriage or struggling in your marriage is not always an indicator that the man is somehow failing. Sometimes (most times?) it just means the woman is acting like a woman without regard for the damage it causes.
What bothers me the most about the news is that anyone ever gave him the job. Poor judgement in the church leadership – but then we are dealing with Churchianity worshiping the Judeo-Christ message of Nice Tolerance.
Gage,
Its EASY for a church and a true Christian pastor to “step-in” when the husband is dropping the ball in his marriage because if the husband bothers to attend church AT ALL that is usually a good sign that he is willing to listen and (maybe) change. No such sign is made by women attending church. Today’s church is so full-on churchianity, that no real effort is made by many (ANY?) pastors to force their feral wives to STOP being feral and OBEY their husband in all things. They have no authority and if a pastor ever asked a feminist (who is just there in the church because its “fun” and “easy”) to obey her husband, she will storm right out of the pastor’s office and tell him to go fuck himself so quickly it would be a complete effort in futility.
It is liberating to realize that you are not 100% responsible for every bad thing that happens in your marriage. Anyone who tells you that is preaching full heresy. And if your wife has true faith in God and His teachings, then she will stop doing whatever it is that she is doing and she will obey your authority. If she is a feminist, she will not.
The damage this false teaching does goes beyond merely destroying Christian families. It also threatens Christians’ faith in Christ. Men like Gass think this is actually Christian teaching. When they realize it is nonsense they reject Christ and not the false teaching.
Man I went through this too. There was a real struggle within me for a while trying to reconcile what I was learning in the manosphere with what I had been taught in church. Fortunately I didn’t lose my faith in God, but it did require a massive recalibration.
That’s why I am so firmly opposed to Doug Wilson, the Warhornmedia folks, and people like Michael Foster. This stuff has to be torn out by the roots, and half measures won’t do when you’re talking about lies so devastating that souls are at risk.
One of your all time greatest posts Dalrock. This hits the root problem with the church’s current teaching on marriage.
We are a Southern Baptist Church (SBC) and are affiliated with The Gospel Coalition.
That pretty much explains it all.
One wonders how many other Dave Gasses there are out there in Protestant ChurchianCo USA just waiting to melt down and abandon the faith, whether over their failed marriages or the failure of their co-opted churches to fulfill any of the empty promises they’ve been led to believe would inevitably come to pass just by being “good [read: nice] guys.”
While I won’t go so far as to say that adultery is or would be a factor in most “pastoral marriage implosions,” the number of churchian CEOs living in hell-made marriages has to be HUGE, given how widespread the complementarian mindset is, even among those pastors who don’t preach it as dogma. Just anecdotally, I have only ever once in the last 30 years met a pastor’s wife who was a Titus 2 wife setting the example for the women of her husband’s congregation. ALL of the others could easily pass for ball-busting feminist career women, or disgruntled bat shit-crazy housewives in the Friedan Feminine Mystique narrative. If that is the norm (and such a broad sample over three decades across so many denominations leads me to believe that it absolutely HAS to be), then it is obvious that the gulf between Scripture and churchian dogma where marriage and sexual roles are concerned is unbridgeable and the fictional facade that churchian CEOs are struggling to maintain in front of their all-too-gullible-and-biblically-illiterate congregations is simply unsustainable.
One of the ultimate questions is, at what point does the wreckage of adultery, divorce, and broken homes within the “church” become absolutely indistinguishable from that of the secular culture, to the point that not even churchians in any number believe (what passes for) the church to any longer have credibility or authority on Godly marriage?
feeriker,
We’ve been this way for quite a while.
I am wondering, does anyone know of any true Christian pastors who (because marriage is so broken and corrupted) have gone full MGTOW? I think I might hit the old google.
A healthy antidote against any prosperity heresy must be the first letter of St. Peter:
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
Pingback: He lost his faith in fake Christianity. | Reaction Times
I am wondering, does anyone know of any true Christian pastors who (because marriage is so broken and corrupted) have gone full MGTOW?
That’s an intriguing question. It’s become almost a de facto requirement for any Protestant pastor to be married if he wants to lead a church, so I would have to imagine that any “pastor” (i.e., a guy who is officially ordained by some seminary/bible college) who self-describes as MGTOW is probably not actively leading any incorporated congregation.
A healthy antidote against any prosperity heresy must be the first letter of St. Peter:
Indeed. Thing is, Prosperity Gospel Churchians don’t read Scripture, especially any part of it that pokes holes in the notion of the Prosperity Gospel.
OT, but I just noticed that Chateau Heartiste is no longer available on WordPress. It was up this a few hours ago, but it seems the censors may have finally found an excuse to remove him.
It says “This blog has been archived or suspended in accordance with our Terms of Service.”
Gage,
Thanks for pointing that out.
Dalrock,
This brings up an issue I’ve been concerned about for some time. With all the success SJW’s have been having lately at getting people silenced for wrong-think, what are your plans if they come after you? (That’s kind of a rhetorical question. I’m not asking you to publicly “out” your plans. More just hoping you have some.) I value what you have been doing here, and frequently read posts and comments from years past. It would be very disappointing if everything on here were to vanish. Would you mind if I, and maybe others, kept an off-line archive of the Dalrock site? I know about the Mac tool SiteSucker, but suspect there are other tools which do the same thing. Would such a tool work with a wordpress site to make an archive which includes the comments? Don’t want to do it without your permission, and am open to other ideas.
OT but I just discovered that WordPress has taken down le Chateau. You might be next Dalrock.
https://wordpress.com/view/jsolbakken.wordpress.com
I reposted CH’s last email on my little used wordpress blog, just to see if the rat bâtârds would take me down too.
Thanks for the heads up on WordPress deleting Heartiste. I periodically use the WordPress export feature, and just took a fresh copy.
OT again, but…
https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=RADIO
Listen, if you can, to at least the last twenty minutes of the May 10 show. ChristoFeminists discussing how feminism harmed the family, then they opine how working women’s childbirth should be further subsidized by the taxpayer. And so on.
I’m hoping they post a transcript. Absolute RP hamsterific gold. With a side helping of cognitive dissonance. They hit all the talking points. A lead-in to the upcoming Mother’s Day beatdown.
Going to have to use blog hosts in places like Hungary, Poland, Russia. Pick up sticks to places where the SJWs have no say, really. It’s much harder to kill a blog, obviously, than it is to kill someone’s FB page, like we saw last week, because you can find blog hosts that are offshore/outside the SJW West.
Novaseeker says:
May 10, 2019 at 5:27 pm
One of my wistful regrets is that my network/telecom engineering knowledge and skills aren’t more advanced than they are, because I would LOVE to be the guy who invents and perfects both a new connectionless internet protocol (Connectionless Internet Protocol, or CIP ?) and a new DNS resolution procedure that evade blockage and censorship attempts, whether by nation states or their SJW corporate proxies.
*women on second line second paragraph
Sorry haven read your next yet comment when I commented the first time
“It’s frustrating when people quit real Christianity because fake Christianity disappointed them.”
This was me. I spent years doubling down “in faith” and charging out to the end of a rotten branch as if I had some rational basis for considering it strong and solid. My life went to utter ruin.
I’ve been studying, praying, and considering for two years. This coming Sunday I will be in church as a worshiper and believer for the first time since 2002.
For me, it was a case of quitting fake Christianity after having spent 16 years ransacking the usual church offerings in a desperate search for substance (“real Christianity”) and coming up empty-handed.
I was being prodded in the direction of building my life on a pastoral career during much of that time. What I went through was negative and wasteful enough. I’m glad I didn’t end up like the poor sap pastor mentioned in the o.p.
Or, maybe Gass is just a dude who screwed – and continues to screw – another man’s wife, and now he’s blaming others for his sin. It happens.
OT, but important. Roissy’s site appears to have been taken down.
Men, women, what’s the difference any more? No wonder I got confused.
@ Iowa Slim
This coming Sunday I will be in church as a worshiper and believer for the first time since 2002.
Brace yourself brother. I have no idea where you expect to be on Sunday, but if you’ve been reading Dalrock you will not be surprised if you see or hear some oddities regarding relationships between husbands and wives, possibly exacerbated by it being mother’s day if you’re in the US. It is a perpetual weak spot within many churches as is shown here with regularity, as you probably know; but maybe not all of them so here’s hoping it won’t even come your way.
Just a reminder to be ready for it since you’ve been out of church circulation for a while.
Check out Ace of Spades…I think he hosts on an island in the Pacific….no kidding. He knew this would happen at some point.
Off Topic: “Dear Wives: Publicly Criticizing Your Husband Makes You Look Horrible”
https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/09/dear-wives-publicly-criticizing-husband-makes-look-horrible/
It’s a mediocre article, but it’s a start.
@Lost Patrol
“…Just a reminder to be ready for it since you’ve been out of church circulation for a while.”
That’s kind of you, friend. I’ve been following reports on this here and elsewhere for a long time. Honestly, all of these screws were loose throughout the churchianity scene back when I was involved in it.
It’s an orthodox church I’ll be attending this Sunday. I’m pretty hard to shock any more, but I’d be surprised to see any of this sort of foolishness thriving there.
@feeriker
He who ruleth not his own house cannot pastor the church according to the scriptures.
Grace Family’s about us page looks like a second grader wrote it. This doesn’t look like burnout to me. It looks like someone who was never grounded in the actual Christian worldview finally crumbling. If he had been mentored by say, Dr. Norman Geisler, he’d never have abandoned Christianity because of such sophomoric misunderstandings. He’s succumbed to the fallacious relativistic assertion atheism is true so therefore Christianity is like all other myths which is then “supported” by a tree of false syncretic assertions and information error.
I’m sure he’s a good administrator and presenter of baby bottles of milk. I’m sure the light show and music was good. But he’s obviously unqualified to be an actual biblical pastor. I don’t care where he got his degree. The reality is that he does not genuinely understand so is not competent with the orthodox Christian worldview in context with a true understanding of history, theology, exegesis, comparative religion, etc… because he was never taught it.
If Heartiste is banned now you should be prepared Dalrock. These leftists have started playing hardball.
Fair point
CH just got deplatformed. We shall see if it is temporary.
Frankly, his anti-misandry content alone was not enough for them to pull the plug. The White Trashionalism in addition to that is what did it.
Dalrock’s blog is not at risk. This is because his primary target is cuckservatives, which the left hates anyway.
Chateau heartiste WordPress site has been taken down. You should look into it as you could be next Dalrock.
But it is stunning and brazen that they would do this now. I wonder if they are going after smaller and smaller content creators, or if it is a purge done in waves.
Anon on CH
Frankly, his anti-misandry content alone was not enough for them to pull the plug. The White Trashionalism in addition to that is what did it.
Why do you believe that to be true?
Dalrock’s blog is not at risk. This is because his primary target is cuckservatives, which the left hates anyway.
Hmmm…why was James Damore fired from Google, again?
But it is stunning and brazen that they would do this now.
Why is it stunning or brazen to you?
I wonder if they are going after smaller and smaller content creators, or if it is a purge done in wave
Last week Facebook purged several public figures, including Alex Jones and Louis Farrakhan.
https://boingboing.net/2019/05/02/facebook-just-deplatformed-a-b.html
One may not like some of these individuals, might even despise them, but the trend is obvious. Certain forms of dissent will not be tolerated by Big Tech.
Nathan,
That is not quite accurate. Job was not being chastised, yet had many things taken away by the evil force in the world. Too many Christians blame God for abandoning things, instead of realizing it was part of the evil that runs rampant in this world.
It takes more understanding than I have to know exactly how God can promise so many specific good things (and He does!) but so many of us can still face trials that we don’t fully understand. I am nowhere close to Job, but I can understand how hard it is to handle not getting what seems to be promised. (Finding a wife was not a good thing for me, for example.)
We must never malign God (John 10:10 – The thief steals, kills and destroys) and must instead focus on plodding forward.
@feeriker
He who ruleth not his own house cannot pastor the church according to the scriptures.
Indeed, which is why it’s so horrifying to contemplate just how many pastors and elders in today’s churches are illegitimate office holders. Even more horrifying to contemplate is that if you were to remove them from their positions, it would probably be extremely difficult, or even impossible to replace them with anyone actually qualified per Scripture.
Grace Family’s about us page looks like a second grader wrote it.
Church websites are consistently some of the worst designed and maintained on the entire Internet. It’s also absolutely amazing how resistant many are to people who offer their time and talents to fix them.
Regarding deplatforming … I suggest that Dalrock get his own url, and build his own website on a host (other than GoDaddy). Just as a backup, in case WordPress deplatforms him.
In this day and age, every online presence left of moderate needs to prepare backups for when they are deplatformed.
Dalrock, I hope you’re also backing up all your essays, in case they need to be re-uploaded somewhere else. It’d be a shame if this whole site went down the Memory Hole.
I remember being young and visiting relatives in the East Bloc in the 1970s. You could sense the fear and restraint on freedom in the air. That’s what America increasingly feels like today.
Dalrock is definitely next becos in addition to being red pilled it is also Christian, and there are no consequences to oppressing Christians. Christians are like that helpless whale washed-up onto shore, you can poke it all you like and nothing happens.
Why exactly does Anon have it in for HuWhite Trash? Being HuWhite Trash myself I resent the attack on what is after all the racial minority to which I belong (not that I have any love for any Huwhite Trash living south of Dover or west of Swansea – and can barely tolerate those who live north of Newcastle) #Brexit #Megxit.
@RedPillLatecomer
My Russian friend told me that England is now like the Soviet Union was when he in the 1970s left that empire. He also said to me that if at that time someone had told him that in just over a decade The Soviet Union would be history he would not have believed it. We must have hope and it seems to me that any renaissance for what we might still call Christendom will be – as it has been in Russia – linked to Christianity.
Incidentally, as this might be of some interest generally, I specifically asked him about Christianity in the Soviet Union and from his answer it is clear that it was nowhere near as oppressed as Western propaganda liked to advertise. I also learnt from him and this will surely really surprise, that home ownership existed in some parts of the Soviet Union and certainly in his home city (which was neither Moscow or Leningrad). Of course, most people rented from the State but the same was true of the country to which he emigrated. My friend by-the-way was not a political dissident but left for purposes of romantic love. Reader he married her (and then the beotch divorced him).
“I can’t tell if he is wearing suspenders or not, but it would be totally in character.”
James Bond wears suspenders. Suspenders with a tuxedo or top-line suit create an elegant look, as you avoid the pinched waist look created by a belt. Suspenders are coming back in style, because (for heavy men in particular) they are more flattering than the pinched belt look that constantly has to be tugged up.
Of course, you should never wear a belt and suspenders together.
@Iowa Slim
It’s an orthodox church I’ll be attending this Sunday. I’m pretty hard to shock any more, but I’d be surprised to see any of this sort of foolishness thriving there.
Roger. Reporting from Orthodox regulars here indicates you will be spared from Complementarian dogma.
Otto: Suspenders are coming back in style, because (for heavy men in particular) they are more flattering than the pinched belt look that constantly has to be tugged up.
That would be, at the least, the second time they came back in style.
Red suspenders were a thing among yuppies in the 1980s, especially on Wall Street.
Opus: I specifically asked him about Christianity in the Soviet Union and from his answer it is clear that it was nowhere near as oppressed as Western propaganda liked to advertise.
Maybe not by the 1970s. But surely Christianity was heavily oppressed in the 1920s – 1940s:
@Red Pill Latecomer
My Russian friend did not say but then he was not alive at the time you mention. Stalin it may be recalled had himself been a Seminarian. How often Politicians are linked to Christianity. Both the present and last but one British Prime Ministers are children of Pastors.
I have just noticed that tonight’s (afternoon in America) broadcast from The Met is Poulenc’s Dialogues of The Carmelites which is about the slaughter of Nuns in the French Revolution. *spoiler alert* the entire cast are murdered. I have never been able to bring myself to listen to let alone watch this piece and tonight will not be an exception to that. Tens of Thousands of Priests and Nuns were murdered during the Spanish Civil War by the Marxists. It’s always the left is it not – everyone else just want to get on with their lives – who feel justified by murder. Viva Franco.
Per the doctrinal premise of “If Mamma ain’t happy, then Jesus ain’t happy neither” (to paraphrase), I don’t hear too many of them denouncing Adoniram Judson’s work in India, even though his wife was miserable about it and finally went insane. It couldn’t have been what we’ve been taught to call “A Happy Marriage” for either of them during those years. Does that mean Mr. Judson was in sin? I don’t think so.
Does that mean Mr. Judson was in sin? I don’t think so.
The no-doubt-soon-to-be-published Feminist Bible will surely prove you wrong. They’re still busy omitting and perverting Scripture to fully comport with the FI, but as soon as they’re done and their definitive version of the Bible is published, they’ll sure show YOU how misguided you are!
feeriker, did you send me an email yet?
OT:
Alyssa Millano asking for a sex-strike
https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/alyssa-milano-calls-for-a-sex-strike-to-protest-anti-abortion-laws-gets-slammed-on-twitter/ar-AABdZ8C?ocid=spartanntp
I’d say I feel bad for ex pastor Gass, his cogdis got the better of him, thank god he had the resolve not to blow his brains out.
Church was an Insanity Trap for me too. I couldn’t stand the young women in heels and tight-ass dresses ‘aaayymen-ing’, the crocodile tears, the fainting, the oils, that damn keyboard, the loud eardrum-bursting music, the theatrics from the worship team, all the infants and toddlers exposed to all of this, the contrast of flashy cars and rust buckets parked outside, the church hugs, making visitors stand up, the pastor’s personal anecdotes.
But my mother, never my father, always nagged me to go.
Happy Mother’s Day ma.
Alyssa Millano asking for a sex-strike:
Milano’s sex strike would have been more effective in the 1990s, when she was able to perform soft-core vampire porn: http://communistvampires.com/horror/Embrace%20of%20the%20Vampire.htm
Milano stated in interviews that she wanted to demonstrate that she was not the goody-two-shoes girl she’d played in Who’s the Boss. In other words, she wanted to “grow” as an actress. So she did Embrace of the Vampire, in which she goes topless in several scenes, engages in a lesbian romp with Charlotte Lewis, and participates in orgies with characters tonguing various parts of her nude body.
Mission accomplished.
Alyssa Millano asking for a sex-strike:
Lol!
Decline in educational standards leads to ignorant thots.
Some dead white male wrote a play about that. A long time ago.
https://infogalactic.com/info/Lysistrata
Guess how it ends?
Just to point out.
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-gass-4200b055)
1. He hasn’t been a pastor for 40 years. He was born in October 1978. He was employed by five congregations over the period running from some time in 1999 to March 2018 (per his LinkedIn). He appears to have a BA in Ministry from Tabor College, which bills itself as ‘evangelical’ and ‘anabaptist’ (but isn’t affiliated with any Mennonite or Dunker body).
2. Someone on the staff or diaconate of the congregation interviewed by the newspaper said that to the best of their knowledge, none of his previous postings were at megachurches.
3. He was for seven years (1999-2006) employed by an Evangelical Free Church congregation in Wichita with a staff sufficiently large that it wouldn’t surprise me to discover it had north of 2,000 regular communicants. He lists his title there as ‘assistant building manager’. The congregational web pages as we speak list no such position. They do list two building custodians.
4. The four other positions he lists were ministerial positions. He has been the pastor of two congregations and a minister at two others. One of these congregations I’m guessing might have > 250 regulars (given its staffing). The other I’m guessing has about 1,000 regulars; the current occupant of the youth pastorate he once held is 26 years old and was hired fresh out of divinity school. As for the two congregations where he was the pastor, one is located in a tiny village about 60 miles outside of Wichita; I imagine he had a side job to make rent. The other is this congregation from which he was dismissed. It’s located in a Kansas City exurb and by some accounts has about 150 regular communicants. It was the most responsible position he ever had, and he lasted all of 15 months there. The deacon who has remarked on the situation has said they ascertained at the time of his dismissal that he’d been carrying on an affair with said married congregant for about a year, IOW, from a point in time within weeks of his arrival.
In a visceral way, I can sympathize with this chap. He’s forty years old. From the age of 18 to the age of 39, his life was immersed in religious profession. He may have other skills (he was the custodian at one congregation), but he doesn’t appear to have been able in the last year to put them to work. Ideally, a minister is humble; the lack of professional advancement doesn’t faze him. Well, people are human beings, and you can tell from his remarks that he has a rather vigorous subjective sense of not having been recognized or valued. And, compared to his peers in the ministry, he wasn’t.
I do wonder how much the marital trouble to which he alluded was derived from any deficiencies he may have had as a provider, as well as her interaction with congregants where he was employed.
Leon Podles in his own private study of sexual misconduct among clergy offered that it was quite common among clergymen to be uncomfortable in your male skin; affairs with women in your congregation are attempts at proving yourself.
The top image in the Christian Post article of “Pastor Dave” is a classic. I can’t tell if he is wearing suspenders or not, but it would be totally in character.
That’s a vest he’s wearing. He’s clearly also wearing a belt. No clue what your issue is with suspenders.
Evidently he was born in Oct. 1978 and his wife in March 1980. They were already married by 2002 and living in a place in Wichita you can find on Zillow. Looks like manufactured housing.
His father-in-law had some management position at this company until his death in 2006:
https://www.watcocompanies.com/about/company/
Evidently, David Gass and his wife had two daughters as of 2007. His wife at that time offered this remark on a public forum in response to a friend who left a tribute. “”I miss Big Daddy everyday and it’s hard to believe it’s already been a year when I still can’t imagine a day without him. I have been blessed to have parents who were great parents and even more…” – Dana Gass” (Some men are a tough act to follow).
Does Christianity offer any advantage to a man’s marriage?
My understanding is that there is no promise from God for the “here and now” because that would be the heresy colloquially described as “prosperity gospel.” Am I wrong?
“The Lord makes it rain on the just and the unjust,” is how I recall the relevant theology.
The no-doubt-soon-to-be-published Feminist Bible will surely prove you wrong.
They are way ahead of you feeriker.
https://www.christianbook.com/feminist-interpretation-of-the-bible/9780664246396/pd/24369
Note the seller.
So when are they publishing the “Feminist Koran”? Or are they afraid that they might have a visit from the Sons of Mohamed?
@Lost Patrol
Publishing date: 1985.
Bonus from the “related books” field:
https://www.christianbook.com/suffer-rethinking-timothy-light-ancient-evidence/catherine-kroeger/9780801052507/pd/52505?event=CBCER1#CBD-PD-Description
I thought some of the rabbit trails in comments here got way off into esoteric weeds, but apparently this is an entire book consisting of an argument built on top of one word – in Koine Greek, of course. One. Word. Facepalm.
Publishing date 1992.
There must have been a veritable tide of books like these in the 70’s, 80’s and into the 90’s.
Perhaps stuff like this is what the CBMW thought they were pushing back against?
Re: a feminist Koran. As others have pointed out on this blog before, or so I seem to recall, Islam already serves the feminine imperative nicely. Islam is basically “let’s you and him fight” dressed up as a religion, and its rule about polygamy with a maximum of four wives per man mathematically approximates the 80/20 rule.
@AR
I should look more into the stated rationale for the work of the self-appointed CBMW committee to invent servant leadership for men. They probably said but I have not done the work to find it.
In the meantime, what’s old (1895) is new (2018) again:
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/womans-bible-ebook.html
Stanton concluded that ‘the Bible in its teachings degrades Women from Genesis to Revelation’.
https://www.france24.com/en/20181127-metoo-era-theologians-publish-womens-bible
…some scholars of Christianity are clamouring for a reckoning with biblical interpretations they say have entrenched negative images of women.
Religious feminists both men and women report – ‘Bible interpretations will continue until we get the one we want.’
tteclod,
Some malign it and others misuse the principles, but God says some pretty clear things about prospering (health and wealth) being a very proper target for the expectations of most Christians. I won’t argue it here, but it is more established than you would think based on the knee-jerk reaction to anything admitting that.
The hundred fold promise Jesus gave is very clear on this, for example. It lists a bunch of things and notes “now in this life” and then knows “and eternal life in the world to come”. (I am typing from memory, but that is the essence of at least one of those instances that is covered.
Most Christians in the US that do bad in this life, especially in the area of money, though with health to a lesser extent, caused a significant part of their own problems. Spending above your means is far too easy, as I know far too well. Society is changing and it is harder to get ahead, but someone who is more thoughtful and manages their money well can still do fairly well.
Many illnesses are driven by poor eating, low exercise, etc. Thus to blame God for their struggles is ignorance as bad as anything a woman does today.
God promises many earthly benefits, especially in the Old Testament. He never says they all vanished in the New Testament, but you would think so based on what so many teachers teach, even otherwise good ones.
I have noted before that these promises don’t guarantee everything will be wonderful. I am a very good example of that. I am not as financially well off as I should be because I spent too much. My weight is too high and I may pay for that later. (Though I look almost exactly like my grandfather, so I still wonder how much is genetics.) I did not have a faithful wife, though it could be argued I didn’t pay attention to the signs. No one (even in churches) was warning me about this when I married, but that is still a cause.
Stuff happens, as the saying (usually said more harshly) goes. We still have to live and walk through an evil world. We should not make it too simplistic and crash outside what the Scriptures say.
Lost Patrol,
Admitting the truth that women are fallen every bit as much as men is cutting them down, don’t you know! Get with the program!
Religious feminists both men and women report – ‘Bible interpretations will continue until we get the one we want.’
I hereby volunteer to put my “creative juices” to work writing speeches (more like elaborate excuses, actually) for these people that they can try out on God on Judgment Day to explain to Him why they decided to pervert His Scriptures and put words in His mouth that He never came close to saying. These will probably be very flippant, disrespectful, and irreverent speeches, but why wouldn’t they be? Anybody who would so nonchalantly pervert and distort the Word of God isn’t likely to be somebody who fears or even respects Him, so why not come off as a smug smartass in His presence? It’s not like they’re gonna win with Him anyway, so might as well start the trip to Hell with a final witty parting shot.
I’ll be contacting as many seminaries, BCs, megachurches, and “Christian” “think tanks” (e.g, FotF, CBMW) as I can find contact info for to start taking orders. I guess I’d also better upgrade MS Word; I think I’m gonna get writer’s cramp soon.
Feeriker,
I think this is one of the reasons Jesus will need to “wipe away every tear” when we directly appear before Him. We will all realize how much we have botched up and be truly repentant for it. Many Christian women today will be utterly shocked at how much they went with evil and harmed men of God, for just one example.
You are right that He will not accept excuses then and all will be laid bare.
I do intentionally stay humble however because I know “there but for the grace of God go I” and I don’t want to claim no stupidity in my life. I don’t rejoice in this outcome for others, but the justice will be completely appropriate.
I am just seeking myself to “make it until the end” at this point. I don’t much care what rewards I get in the next life, or even this one, at this point. I sometimes feel like John the Baptist. My days of purpose seem behind me and I am not sure what the point of the future is. (After he was jailed.)
“Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds…”
I would not like to have been one of the vast majority of shepherds of His flock the last couple centuries, for they will have a lot of answering to do to Christ about marriage …preaching damnation via the blasphemy of the Word of God.
God damned fools.
I decided to start commenting here now because I am truly concerned about how fast and more aggressively censorship is going these days. There was an article online (now removed) discussing a Google “employee meeting” (brainstorm type thing) hwre ethey discussed the possibility of a total shutdown of all “fake news” and “hate groups” online a couple months before the election. Christianity is widely regarded as a “hate religion” by the Left and has been for years. I am not sure what will happen before Nov 2020, but it is possible, given what we have seen recently, that we could see a concerned effort to shut down and silence all online dissenting voices under Leftist control, in one fell swoop.
Apparently, the JADL and a plethora of leftist groups are working with Big Tech (Google, FB, Tweeter, Amz etc) to shutdown all dissent before the 2020 election, whether or not they win the election or not. They have paid off so many members of Congress and rely on so many delusional “free market” GOP cucks, that Big Tech thinks they will be ok, even if they were to pull a total blackout before the election.
I have been reading Dalrock, ReturnOfKings/Roosh, and Heartiste for years. Heartiste was not out of the mainstream of truly Conservative/masculine thinking.
This whole thing is a huge warning siren going off. If they shut Heartiste down, Dalrock can be next. Dalrock’s works should be backed-up in a way that does not rely on WordPress system for anything (a WordPress back-up could require WordPress system to be viewable). It would be tragic to lose another voice of sanity online.
Dal, if you decide to start a new (paid) site to host your content, I suggest you “go dark” all the way to even further protect yourself and ensure content stays visible for good. Use a ProtonVPN system, get some prepaid credit cards at local WalMart and pay for everything online that way and avoid using your own personal information. Avoid leftist services like GoDaddy or anything Google, as these are leading censorship movement. You can still be almost completely anonymous online if you take the right steps.
Anyone who thinks Dalrock is immune to censorship simply because his focus is on marriage issues and exposing false Christian teachings are clearly not in the same planet that I live in. Exposing any false teachers hurts the collapse of (what is left) of true Christianity in the West, which is still a powerful force against Marxism (cultural, economic, social). The Left is universal in their thinking, they operate in a globalist, single-minded ideology. Dissent is not tolerated. Exposing false Christians hurt the rise of Femno-Christianity and “Woke” social justice ‘Christianity’. These people operate under a Soviet-type of mindset where any and all dissent, no matter how small, must be squashed with overwhelming force and done publicly, so everyone else takes note.
To quote one of Hillary Clinton’s fav “early 20th Century progressives”. Josef Stalin, ” Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas”.
There is a reason why the left is obsessed with ending the 1st Amendment, tech censorship, and national gun registries and subsequent confiscations.
Point being: ALL Christians and all voices on the “dissident right” (which today is anything that strays from Bernie Sanders-level of leftist ideology) need to have all of their data saved somewhere offline, to have an alternative system to communicate with one another, and to be able to regroup after being censored.
If anyone has any ideas on some sort of way to connect with each other after tech censorship, I am listening. Maybe Gab? Or https://voat.co???
There is a lesson from Heartiste’s shutdown yesterday: we all need to be prepared for upcoming “free-market” censorship from the left and we need to have a way to find each other again and regroup after the censorship takes place.
@BillyS
I appreciate your contributions, but you’re wrong on the health-and-wealth. And you’re not the only one. It has been one of the biggest influences in mega-churches in the USA, and from there it spread to the rest of the world. It must be one of the most dangerous heresies in the history of Christianity, as it promises earthly prosperity and health, which detracts from the core of the gospel: to be followers of Christ on earth, subject to suffering, until we enter the eternal rest and get our reward.
It is painting a picture to people that being a Christian is only a win-win situation both on earth and in the afterlife; you get to be rich and healthy, and live forever!
Now everyone wants to be prosperous and healthy, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with such a desire (except for the sin of the love of money of course), but it is a lie that Christians are guaranteed health-and-wealth. Not only is it a lie, but it keeps followers of Christ from setting their minds on spiritual activities. Of course we have a generous God, Who does bless us beyond what we even are aware of, but absence of health or absence of wealth are NOT sure signs of absence of His blessing.
It’s sad that followers of this “gospel” are not aware of the many warnings against such heresies in the NT, as well as the many descriptions describing the exact OPPOSITE in the lives of both Our Lord, Who we are to follow, and His apostles, who are great examples to us.
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” wrote St.Paul to fellow Christians. Christians were WORST OFF among ALL people, according to any standard applying to earthly life only.
“Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Does not sound like a promise of earthly benefits when following Christ.
“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” wrote James as an example to his fellow believers; if not most Christians were poor, that admonition would not make sense. Being poor was the norm, being rich the exception.
@Paul
I am afraid that this false gospel is quite widespread in the Global South of Latin America and Africa.
@feeriker
“These will probably be very flippant, disrespectful, and irreverent speeches, but why wouldn’t they be? Anybody who would so nonchalantly pervert and distort the Word of God isn’t likely to be somebody who fears or even respects Him, so why not come off as a smug smartass in His presence? It’s not like they’re gonna win with Him anyway, so might as well start the trip to Hell with a final witty parting shot.”
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.(Romans 3:19)
Jesus silenced people in the flesh on this earth in his pre glorified state. There is no reason he wouldn’t be able to silence people in Judgment.
” Silencing the opposition
Jesus always gets the last word. Not just that he is good at repartee, topping everyone else; he doesn’t play verbal games, but converses on the most serious level. What it means to win the argument is evident to all, for audience and interlocutor are amazed, astounded, astonished: they cannot say another word.
He takes control of the conversational rhythm. For a micro-sociologist, this is no minor thing; it is in the rhythms of conversation that solidarity is manifested, or alienation, or anger. Conversations with Jesus end in full stop: wordless submission.”
https://sociological-eye.blogspot.com/2014/04/jesus-in-interaction-micro-sociology-of.html
The Deplatforming will continue and the Republican Senate, and the President and the Courts will do absolutely nothing about it. They will continue to “monitor” it, and all that stuff.
““Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” wrote James”
I think a lot of the problem is that people are not content with having their basic needs met, I think people love riches and are inclined to become resentful if they don’t get rich quick. If we ask in faith we will certainly receive what God wants to give us, but it is reasonable to suppose that God will not give us something that would be very bad for us. I think it’s likely that a lot of people who are burdened with a surfeit of riches are reprobates in God’s eyes and He’s already written them off and they are only around to serve as negative examples of carnality.
I Timothy 6:
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
The idea that God will miraculously give a good Christian man a good Christian wife ant that they will share a lifetime of bliss is nonsensical because, among other things, it ignores the fact that God gave each person free will. God can and does direct good people to each other and helps them in so far as they use their free will to follow Him. But God does not control the marriage market any more than He controls any other choices we make. He also does not exempt the righteous from suffering. God has promised us tribulation in this world but left his peace with us as well. He has not promised unending bliss in this life. The righteous can find peace even in the midst of life’s storms. Happiness in this life is transitory but we can always have peace within ourselves through faith. The faithful come to understand that there can be no happiness without peace.
Alyssa Milano proposing a “sex-strike” is (as we all know) a feminine collectivist approach to enabling women to avoid the consequences of their actions via infanticide on demand. They hope that by denying BETAs sex those betas will vote with them
(which they will… the orbiters anyway).
There are several ironies here…
IRONICALLY those Betas weren’t getting much sex anyway! Its mostly going to the Alphas and wouldn’t you know it… women just can’t help themselves around Alphas… this “sex-strike” will be no different from the standard operating procedure of the last 10-20 years.
IRONICALLY, chastity (they won’t use that word) is exactly what women need! Chastity (a personal sex strike) has always been how individual women avoided bad consequences… by not making bad personal decisions.
Women like Alyssa Milano will never suggest that young women do the right thing for themselves by exceriseing chastity. That smack pf to much jugementalism.
But a fake “sex-strike”, which is selective and filled with exceptions for the best men and the higher status women (which all women think they are) that is about “The Sisterhood” and feels good for them.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48242766
OT, but not strategically, I visited a service today and they played this video on the jumboubermegatron in its entirety:
Eye bleach required.
I think a lot of the problem is that people are not content with having their basic needs met, I think people love riches and are inclined to become resentful if they don’t get rich quick.
THIS.
Too many people think that being a Christian means getting on the Big Guy’s good side so that He’ll make their lives easier. For all the thumping of the Bible that they do, they don’t appear to take the time to open it and read about the lives of those who gave up everything to follow Jesus. “Rich and blessed with money and material comforts” is 180 degrees out from how ANY of them actually lived. Indeed, most lived hand to mouth existences and died ugly deaths as martyrs. That would explain why reading the Bible is something most Western “Christians” today would really rather forego.
Can anyone seriously imagine most of the people warming pews on Sunday morning here in the USSA living the life of thd Apostle Paul, or even the life of one of today’s Christians in persecuted places like Africa, the Middle East, or parts of Asia? Neither can I. That’s why I KNOW that the minute persecution of the church in America begins in earnest that there will be mass apostasy and the remnant will be incredibly tiny.
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OT, but not strategically, I visited a service today and they played this video on the jumboubermegatron in its entirety:
Eye bleach required.
I’m tempted to say here “It serves you right for going to church on Mother’s Day.”
Ooookaaaaay.
So did Gass keep his kids? Is he divorced or still married? Any idea if he has a job now?
Knew that goin’ in feeriker. Went as a favor to a grandmother. They didn’t even wait until the sermon to initiate Beatdown DEFCON 1.
It’s not enraging or even contemptible anymore due to predictability. Can’t even laugh at it.
The church in question will be a parking lot within a decade.
For some reason I find it very disturbing that so many “churches” have jumbotrons.
I once overheard an idiot coworker say that he would gladly endure eternal damnation rather than bow to an “unjust” god. It never ceases to amaze me the stupidities people will say,
I am just seeking myself to “make it until the end” at this point. I don’t much care what rewards I get in the next life, or even this one, at this point. I sometimes feel like John the Baptist. My days of purpose seem behind me and I am not sure what the point of the future is. (After he was jailed.)
That’s pretty much my outlook on things as well.
“I once overheard an idiot coworker say that he would gladly endure eternal damnation rather than bow to an “unjust” god. It never ceases to amaze me the stupidities people will say,”
I’ve heard the same thing and numerous variations on the theme, which is, they judge God and God is unjust and unfair and way out of line if He dare even suggest judging them.
“I am just seeking myself to “make it until the end” at this point. ”
Am I the only one who thinks that the pain and suffering and torture of living in This Present Clown World is worse in its own way than more traditional old fashioned medieval sorts of torture?
I’d almost rather have my fingernails pulled out than live with this insanity inducing insanity.
Am I the only one who thinks that the pain and suffering and torture of living in This Present Clown World is worse in its own way than more traditional old fashioned medieval sorts of torture?
I would dare to say no, since I fully concur. While this “clown world” is what the majority have asked for, and thus fully deserve, it’s not something I would wish on anybody.
As a well-known (in the Baltimore-Washington area), now departed radio talkshow host remarked a quarter century ago (and I’m paraphrasing him here):
“Maybe they should build a chain of asylums to lock up the tiny remnant of us who are sane and let the loony majority have the rest of the world. It would be much easier to cope that way.”
Enjoyed services today….Mother’s Day was not mentioned….not even once.
For some reason I find it very disturbing that so many “churches” have jumbotrons.
Being that most of them are entertainment venues rather than true churches, why wouldn’t they have jumbotrons?
Enjoyed services today….Mother’s Day was not mentioned….not even once.
Truly blessed, thou art.
My experience with the family at church today reminded me once again that in the pantheon of churchianity, women are ranked above God. No surprise, I’ve heard it so many times I am no longer shocked to hear such things.
I was in church this morning as a believer for the first time since 2002. The only screen up front was a wooden one with icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary, archangels, and saints painted on it. The Hallmark card holiday was not mentioned. The mothers, stepmothers, and grandmothers had a one-minute sung prayer of blessing offered up on their behalf AFTER the close of the service proper.
On topic of Mother’s Day church services, I wonder how many had the pastor make the inane comment “Without mothers none of us would be here” as if it was something insightful?
@BillyS – I know I’m in that same mindset at least the majority of the time. I still have kids under age 10, so that’s what keeps me from that mindset all of the time.
@jsolebakken – You’re not the only one. As far as the radio commentators statement, I’d rather do the equivalent of “going Galt”, but I don’t think it’d matter as the rest of the world wouldn’t let those of us that wanted to do that to do so. I also don’t think this level of separation from the world is acceptable biblically.
I’ve mentioned before, a story in The Decameron. A Christian merchant is good friends with a Jewish merchant friend, so much so, that he fears for his soul and tries to convert him to Christianity on multiple occasions. Finally the Jewish merchant visits his Christian merchant friend, and tells him he is going to Rome to see for himself if he should be Christian. Knowing that the leaders poorly represent the tenets of the Christian faith, the Christian merchant tries to change his friend’s mind, but to no avail. Weeks later, the Jewish merchant comes back, converted. The Christian merchant is confused, knowing what his formerly Jewish friend must have witnessed. The formerly Jewish friend tells him, if the faith can endure such corrupt leadership, there must be something to it.
Such is still the case today. The modern churches have failed the faith, but the faith, in the end, is more than its self-proclaimed leaders.
P.s. @Cynthia- Vending Machine Christianity. I like that one better than one I heard a couple decades ago, ‘God, cosmic butler.’
@They Call Me Tom:
Indeed, and thank you for sharing that. I don’t recall ever reading that particular anecdote. but it certainly is apt!
“Without mothers none of us would be here” as if it was something insightful?
It probably is insightful to the people with sub-room temperature IQs making –and listening to– the observation.
“Without mothers none of us would be here” as if it was something insightful?
It probably is insightful to the people with sub-room temperature IQs making –and listening to– the observation.
@Anon: The de-platforming of non-radical_leftists is synchronized (originally a determined conspiracy in partnership with Obama and his administration to work on behalf of leftist ideology and politicians) and being accomplished in waves to reach political objectives the Democrats, leftist media organizations, leftist social media platforms, anti-American foreign interests (nations and organizations), neo-conservative RINOs in the GOP, as well as powerful globalist elitists all share for the 2020 elections in the U.S. specifically (and more broadly European elections).
It’s an epic battle between us and them, playing out politically rather than militarily, and there will be a winner (materially speaking). It’s WWIII but not as we comprehended it. God help us win because losing is unthinkable, the end of Western Civilization.
Personally, I think we’re going to win. What happens after that will be up to a generation beyond ours.
“Maybe they should build a chain of asylums”
Where’s Saint Benedict when we need him?
” “going Galt””
I feel like I’ve gone Galt in my heart. Where my treasure is, there will my heart be also. I still operate in the world like a normie, but I know I don’t think like like the people around me, especially because I live in the San Fran Psycho Bayarrhea Gruberfornia, as I call it.
It was Israel and Jewish groups that hatched the plan for worldwide deplatforming: https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Government-anti-Semitism-conference-endorses-net-censorship-403123
The article appeared in 2015, in the Jerusalem Post.
A government-convened international conference on anti-Semitism in Jerusalem on Thursday issued an action plan calling for Internet censorship as a remedy for anti-Jewish sentiment.
Recommendations coming out of the three-day meeting included the scrubbing of Holocaust denial websites from the Internet and the omission of “hate websites and content” from web searches.
Convened by the Foreign Ministry and the Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism (GFCA) is a biennial gathering bringing together Jewish community leaders, civil society representatives and diplomats to discuss ways to grapple rising levels of anti-Jewish prejudice.
Citing the “pervasive, expansive and transnational” nature of the Internet and the viral nature of hate materials, the conference’s final document called upon Internet service providers, web hosting companies and social media platforms to adopt a “clear industry standard for defining hate speech and anti-Semitism” as well as terms of service that prohibit their posting.
This is not some conspiracy theory. It’s in a respected Israeli newspaper.
My guess is that Jewish groups wanted to censor the internet of anything they regarded as hostile to the Jewish or Israeli narrative. But they couldn’t say that. So instead, they fomented an “anti-hate” campaign.
Whereupon everyone got on board the bandwagon, including Muslims, trannies, feminists, gays, etc. To the point that there’s been some conservative Jews have been deplatformed (e.g., Dennis Prager was demonetized on YouTube, and David Horowitz has been deplatformed in some venues.)
Gass is in sin, no doubt about it. But he has a point.
When it comes to the fickle nature of woman, no amount of church-prescribed actions on the part of the husband will make her change her views. In fact, Christian ”nice guy” husbands are particularly vulnerable, because the wife knows he takes scriptural standards seriously, while she can flaunt them, knowing that she has the weight of The State behind her.
In my own painful situation of years past, I resolved that I was unhappy because I was a bad husband. I wasn’t ”bad” in dictionary-definition standards: I was, and am, hard-working, faithful, honest and kind.
I was ”bad” in that I ”wasn’t earning near enough money”, because a nice house in a middle-income / working-class suburb wasn’t enough. It wasn’t a waterside mansion. Nor was I willing to change jobs and become something I wasn’t in order to pursue a literal ”castle in the air”.
My wife became ”happy” when I went red-pill. Playing stupid jump-through-hoops games to get sex? Open up a porn site and openly watch it. When she complains, tell her she has 2 choices: Have sex without the stupid games or otherwise let me watch it in peace. You get immediate compliance. Not enough money? Learn to live inside a budget like everyone else. Not a waterfront mansion? Lower council rates, smaller mortgage and brighter retirement future due to lower maintenance. Don’t like my job? I’m literally the best in the world at what I do. It will pay off long-term. Want to run to the authorities? Go ahead: ”Happy wife, happy life” becomes ”No wife, happy life”, while she becomes ”crazy cat lady #3247”.
I solved my problems and saved my marriage, but NOT by doing what churches would recommend. I did the opposite. Churches are too afraid to tarnish their image by allowing men to be men. In the process, they alienate men who would otherwise join or stay.
I solved my problems and saved my marriage, but NOT by doing what churches would recommend. I did the opposite. Churches are too afraid to tarnish their image by allowing men to be men. In the process, they alienate men who would otherwise join or stay.
Maybe someone out there can answer me this question: Given all the “random”* shootings we’ve had in schools and other public venues over the past couple of years and the often bizarre and illogical “official” explanations for them, why haven’t we seen any churchian pastors get gunned down on Sunday morning in the pulpit by frivorced husbands whose rebellious wives dumped them and blew up their marriages due to the pastors’ toxic churchian advice, and who were subsequently shunned by same pastors and their brainwashed flocks, adding insult to injury?
To be VERY clear, I am NOT wishing for any such thing to happen. I’m simply amazed that it HASN’T happened (yet, AFAIK ), given the ubiquity of the background scenario in today’s churches and what HAS to be mounting rage and frustration on the part of men sick of seeing the church undermine their marriages by undermining them as husbands and fathers.
(* How “random” these events truly are is debatable and fodder for other rants elsewhere.)
Feeriker,
You need to look a bit wider. God clearly blessed some people who served Him quite a bit. Having money is not a bad thing. A man with money and a desire to push this message could accomplish a lot, even if he was not personally talented, for example.
Money is not the issue, focus is. Most who are really struggling today still made their own bed. Few in the US have to give it all up to follow Jesus. We may come to that far too quickly, but we are not there yet.
Even the early Christians did well, helping each other out, though their socialistic living style ended up not being a good thing since it left many of them poor. (Though getting rid of assets in Jerusalem and even the whole area was not a bad idea prior to the Roman purge in AD 70.)
Wealth is merely a tool. People who refuse to use a hammer will have a hard time building a house. We shouldn’t worship hammers of course, but we should use them in godly ways.
I don’t know that I am personally worth it, but I would love to work with some Godly men with means to accomplish some things in this red pill area, with a solid Christian focus. I could not do all that I might like without money.
Ironically I am happy to be a “name it and claim it” guy, though I have no desire for the things most people claim. I just try to find what is in the Word and claim it for my life. I have certainly been shaken quite a bit in the past few years, but that doesn’t negate God’s promises.
I will add that I do find a lot of the modern focus on “gimme stuff” is horrid, whether in the church or from the “free stuff army” in society/government. Too many have no idea how well they have it and are not prepared for any trouble.
I want to build a support network myself, but I am finding that impossible. Churches don’t do much for really making such connections and neither does the world. That part is really frustrating.
Feeriker,
I suspect we are both quite similar. I still have a deep belief that God is good and wants good for His children in this life and the next. I can’t reconcile all that with my own experience, so I don’t let my experience completely drive my views.
People can believe what they want, though I think the problem in the modern churches is that they are too “American” rather than a belief in a specific doctrine (like health and wealth). Anything taken without a proper base understanding of who God is and that He is far above us is doomed to failure.
It is why Dalrock continues to have so much to write about, unfortunately.
@ ferriker the answer is emotional abuse is far more powerful than most know. Why have men continued to marry peroid? I can name less than a handful of married men i would b jealous of and the destruction women have done to men with zero empathy is remarkable.
The thing about emotional abuse having béen a child hood victim is it is not a fair fight. You are trying to b nice, civil, loved, gain affection or the abuse stop. They are using all your good intentions against you with no explanation. You think they are like you and being honest but they are not.
And spiritually emotionally abusive people are posessed by demons. When i became a christian i realized this they run you down and pick you up to string you around nearly perfectly like they are actually reading your mind.
My step mom degraded me every day and hit me couple times a year. One day i decide im 11 next time she slaps me im beating her till this is over. Incredibly she never did it again and the way she looked at me changed like looking out the corner of her eye.
I never gave a tell or sign i always have always been extremely stoic. Then she throws away her abusive arsenal so i thought and poses as trying to work on all our relationships but sadly failing. Crying and victim hood i want to love but just cant. Which is another abuse tactic this lasted 5 years till i told my dad im literally running away.
They will have you second guessing the color of the sky.
@RedPillLatecomer
During the 1920-1940’s The Bolsheviks were still a euphemism for (((the tribe))). By the mid 1950’s most of them had emigrated south.
@Spike
It’s a trip watching the bullets drop to the floor, isn’t it?
Just be careful. That is a potent drug.
feeriker says:
May 12, 2019 at 8:11 pm
“…why haven’t we seen any churchian pastors get gunned down on Sunday morning in the pulpit by frivorced husbands whose rebellious wives dumped them and blew up their marriages due to the pastors’ toxic churchian advice…”?
My guess answer to that is that frivorced husbands are the ”good people of the world” who look after their kids, pay their bills, coach weekend teams and would never, ever question their blue-pill conditioning regarding why it is that they seem to have done everything right, but their unhappy wife divorces them anyway.
This is in sharp contrast to the horror stories you hear about from women’s magazines about ”Christian men” , husbands who ”have a very different persona in private” who outwardly ”are nice, attend church, run Bible studies and youth groups” but who in private are ”controlling, narcissistic sociopathic”, blah blah blah.
These statements, paradoxically are both true at the same time.
-IF you expect your wife to reciprocate your good behaviour and good will, you are mistaken. You are attempting to manipulate her into sex.
-IF you think you have done everything you possibly can for your family, you are mistaken. Your wife will be comparing you to Chad who she was dumped by. He is now rich beyond the dreams of avarice and its your fault she missed out. You spending extra time at work is a selfish act.
-IF you attempt to prevent her going out on benders with her new-found open relationship rich wives or lesbian friends, you aren’t on the moral high ground, you are mistaken. You are controlling her movements.
-IF you attempt to rein in the runaway household finances under her tutelage and think this is the right thing to do, you are mistaken You are financially controlling.
I could go on, but you see the pattern of continually building resentment that would build up in men, the ”two sets of books” Rollo has talked about. The men who are the focus of such stories never turn around and call their ex-wives out for talking such vile manipulative garbage.
They do that because they’re, well, nice.
Gass is in sin, no doubt about it. But he has a point.
The sequence of events in these cases can be opaque, but it appears from the testimony of church officials that he (1) began carrying on an affair with a married parishioner within weeks of his arrival there in December 2016 and (2) upon being exposed abruptly resigned, left his wife (and daughters), and shacked up with said parishioner. He does not on his LinkedIn indicate any employment during the last 14 months. His wife may be a disagreeable woman in domestic circumstances, but it doesn’t appear that she disposed of him (and she put up with him for 16 years). He’s the one out there slicing her up on Twitter, not the other way around.
And, no, this guy isn’t the ‘best person in the world at what he does’. He’s an ineffective small time protestant clergyman. If she told him to do something else with his life, she was doing him a favor.
@BillyS
…I think the problem in the modern churches is that they are too “American” rather than a belief in a specific doctrine (like health and wealth). Anything taken without a proper base understanding of who God is and that He is far above us is doomed to failure.
BINGO.
The churches (and their occupants) being “too American” is right on the money. I really don’t think most people realize that what passes for (and really, what has ALWAYS passed for, even since the early days of the Republic) “the Church” in America is a carefully crafted cultural facade, an artifice designed to feign Christianity while ensuring that it does nothing to actually threaten the prevailing national socioeconomic and cultural narrative. (I’ve been driving myself nearly crazy trying to find the specific pair of essays in which he used the term, but the late Joe Sobran called it “the Great National Religion.”)
To be fair, every nation has, to some extent, co-opted Christianity to suit its own cultural narrative. Where the American bastardization, seen most starkly in the “Evangelical” or Dispensationalist churches, is so dangerous is in its absorption of the American fixation on individualism, even more so today in this age of selfishness narcissism than at any time in the past. Because the secular culture’s values prevail over those set forth by God in Scripture, the scriptural message becomes de-emphasized and diluted to the point of being lost altogether. In the case of the American Great National Religion, add materialism to the individualism and you have a church that becomes … anything but a true New Testament church.
TL;DR version: Imagine Jesus showing up at a typical American megachurch and demanding a gathering of white suburban UMCs to leave all their material possessions behind, pick up their crosses, and follow Him. They would just laugh at Him before running Him out of the place.
@Spike
I could go on, but you see the pattern of continually building resentment that would build up in men, the ”two sets of books” Rollo has talked about. The men who are the focus of such stories never turn around and call their ex-wives out for talking such vile manipulative garbage.
They do that because they’re, well, nice.
One wonders how long it will be under current conditions before “nice guys” become an endangered species.
Also, in the hypothetical scenario I described, even if it did happen, it’s probably unlikely that the MSM would ever mention the “frivorced husband betrayed by his church” angle. Too much unPC accelerant in that.
The single “mother” has excuses. I wonder how many males were involved with her five kids. Now us innocent taxpayers are forced to pay her welfare to make up for whatever the feral males of other single “mothers” can’t. The Democrats think all of this is normal, desirable, and “fair.” So do the neo-con rinos. I don’t, however. https://youtu.be/WZP2jA3I9A8
PurelyChixFlix now has a movie about the story of Hosea the prophet.
It’s anyone’s guess what the immoral of the story is…
– It is ALWAYS God’s will for you to marry the whore, or you don’t truly respect the whamanz.
– Become the depleted source of muh “empowerment” she has been brainwashed to crave, then God will be pleased with you; and He will consider you worthy to discover the secret knowledge of how pure and infalible the modern whamanz are.
Starring Sean Astin.
No, I’m not kidding.
This cultural value, which is exclusive to the West, particularly the Anglosphere, has made marriage dishonorable. If a man’s wife files for divorce, it is assumed a priori that he failed to satisfy to her in some way. The woman is granted moral authority over the relationship by society and thus a man risks not only half of his assets by tying the knot but his honor as well, and he has no way of recovering it.
Edit: It’s actually been out for over five years. And they continue to advertise their drivel.
@fereeker said: … so might as well start the trip to Hell with a final witty parting shot.
Maybe you were just being careless in your use of words. Or maybe you are not familiar with this:
and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. And Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. [Rev 20:11,13-15]
Those standing in front of the Judgement Seat have already been in hell. Those not judged worthy to be welcomed into the joy of the Lord will be sent away from God’s presence and cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the 2nd death. The same Lake of Fire into which will be tossed death and hell.
The Hebrew term “sheol” gave way to the Greek term “Hades”, which gave way to the English term “hell”. All three words refer to the place where the dead people are – the grave. And the scripture quoted above says that death and hell, death and the grave, will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. God promised there would be a resurrection from the first death. No such promise of resurrection is made to those who are consigned to die the second death. This casting into the Lake of Fire, this second death, for death and hell, death and the grave is consistant with other verses which claim that the final enemy to be destroyed by Jesus is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26)
The Bible does not say death will be “defeated”. It says death will be “destroyed”. The final enemy to be destroyed by Jesus is death and hell, death and the grave. That destruction is accomplished when death and hell are tossed into the Lake of Fire – which is the second death, from which no resurrection has been promised by God [Rev 20:11,13-15]
@feeriker – I appologize for misspelling your name in my post directly above. I meant to verify the spelling before I posed, and forgot to do so.
One of the biggest problems with fake Christianity is that it has sprouted a very lucrative, comfortable industry: big churches, comfortable (even corrupt) full-time clergy with no clue about reality (few of them having lived as an adult in the real world), as well as an enormous cottage industry with hangers-on and financially-dependent entities with a vested interest in the current Cash-ianity.
Their teachings are not real, because their teachings are not meant for the saving of souls. The teachings are meant to keep the worldly market churning, to keep the clergy in their comfortable, lucrative, and powerful sinecures. They enjoy tremendous prestige and power, these men (and, unfortunately, women – heresy!). The irony is that a large proportion of these clergy, who spew such nonsense so dogmatically (“Listen to me, or God will send you to Hell!”) are such terrible fools and scoundrels they would never stand a chance of promotion to management in a good-to-work-for company.
My take on the health and wealth gospel:
If a person follows God and honors Him, he will become wiser. As wisdom increases, he will tend to put sin aside, including costly ones. This will lead to somewhat greater wealth. As a person grows wealthier, he is tempted to depend on his wealth rather than God. This is the trajectory followed by Solomon in his downfall (1 Kings 10-11). The important thing is not to take that last step into unfaithfulness due to wealth. John Wesley identified this dynamic among the early Methodists, and determined to give away any excess money he earned.
But although this is a general tendency, one cannot work it backward, saying that if someone is wealthy it shows that they are faithful to God. Hell is full of people that were rich in this life, and Jesus uses a couple of them as examples. Nor does it inevitably work in the forward direction, such that if one is not wealthy then it proves he is unfaithful to God. This is the whole argument of the book of Job.
The bottom line: we can tell nothing about a person’s faithfulness to God by just looking at his current condition of wealth or poverty, health or sickness. God has much broader purposes for our lives than these things. Likewise we cannot determine others’ relationship to God by the good things they do – an evil person could do those same things for some personal advantage.
So seeing the good things someone does or the bad things that happen to them in this life do not let us read their spiritual condition. But we can see a bit into their spiritual condition by the bad things they do (Galatians 5:19-21).
I think James 4 tells us something of what our attitude should be about life:
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
“If the Lord will.” The prosperity people seem to rejoice in their boastings too much, which is what is not good.
@feeriker
In addition, note that the road was paved for the Evangalist/Dispensationalist movements by the Calvinists and other protestants that brought Old Testament worship and other standards back into the New Testament. The idea of “Blessings” over and above salvation and forgiveness of sin achieved through ritual or doctrinal practice is opposite to the teachings of Christ, and opened the door for Churchianity, Complementarianism, and all the other easy heresy. In the end its a return to a interpretive law system built on a pay-for-play foundation.
Accepting Jesus is the Son of God, the Father, and that His sacrifice his redemption for all that believe is very hard for some. Loving thy neighbor as thyself doesn’t really satisfy those who want an exclusive homeowner’s association full of law and rule to boost status and specialness. That individual streak is very hard to break. Conversely, self-limitation is the hardest thing to do.
Hmm
So seeing the good things someone does or the bad things that happen to them in this life do not let us read their spiritual condition. But we can see a bit into their spiritual condition by the bad things they do (Galatians 5:19-21).
“Actions speak louder than words” aka “Watch what they do, not what they say” confirmed yet again. Now, if only that concept was taught in seminary schools…
One of the biggest problems with fake Christianity is that it has sprouted a very lucrative, comfortable industry: big churches, comfortable (even corrupt) full-time clergy with no clue about reality (few of them having lived as an adult in the real world), as well as an enormous cottage industry with hangers-on and financially-dependent entities with a vested interest in the current Cash-ianity.
Can’t say about megachurch pastors. About ordinary pastors, the typical divinity student or seminarian is past 30 and seeking a second career, as it were. Whatever they’re seeking, f/t ministry is a destination for only a minority of divinity students.
Catholic priests seldom if ever have outside employment. The typical ordinand in the Catholic Church in North America is 37 years old and has made important sacrifices to enter the priesthood.
Not sure in which denomination talk of the four last things is common. I did once belong to a parish where the priest made references two it. He was posted there for about a year and a half.
vfm,
If strict Calvanism is true, all this is just God doing as He wishes. We just have to follow His whims.
That is more like Islam than Christianity though, so I think I will stay with a God who proclaims the way and expects us to walk it out.
“If strict Calvanism is true, all this is just God doing as He wishes. We just have to follow His whims.”
As a strict Neo-Calvinist, I must protest in the strongest possible terms. We don’t characterize God’s perfect and merciful will as His “whims.” If anything the opposite would be true of us, because we emphasize predestination and the idea that God has a very precise and compricated pran (sic) that He has thought ought in excruciating detail. He is acting the opposite of capriciously. Every hair on our head is numbered, and a sparrow does not fall out of the sky without God knowing it, so, If and when we suffer, it is always always and then always some more for our own good and the greater good.
Dalrock hear me out on this, kind sir. This is coming from a fellow, non-MGTOW Christian blogger as well who was shutdown a few weeks back. I am only saying this again because I am very concerned about what is going on after Heartiste got shut down just like that. Same goes for Fabius and GunnyQ, another one of my daily morning reads. This problem is not restricted to WordPress, it is an universal problem now and we on the “right” are the targets.
In my case, the online mob of angry feminists and trolling censors pushed several times to shut my site (RedPillChristianity) and I received notifications of complaints from webhost a couple times, until suddenly one day they shut me down completely. That was it.
Oh yeah and I used false name and address and a cash-bought prepaid credit card (OneVanilla MC) so no way they could “doxx” me for my writings, especially since I always use a ProtonVPN to keep my identity secure. Given my line of work, anonymity is key.
BTW, my writings and comment discussions were Conservative Christian with some variations in discussion, nothing antiseminitic or hateful…. It was all standard RP Christian stuff like Gaming a spouse effectively to exert male patriarchal authority, as explicitly determined by The Bible. That kinda thing, nothing you do not read about here or on comment section on any given day. All it took to shut me down was a couple triggered-triggerlys. Clearly ‘intolerance’ will not be tolerated.
Obviously, after a couple notifications from host, I had all my writings saved in Word and PDFs every day… also using the “site back-up” in the standard web editor program.
One final step you should do is Mirror your own site using HtTrack (free) – https://www.httrack.com/. The goal is to preserve your whole site in a format you control and can browse as if site was still up online. This saves all comments as well. I can show you how to do this easily if you are not sure how.
Although I will be re-launching my own Christian blog site again site soon using a non-censoring host, I am sad to have lost all my commentary, which was not as extensive as yours but had many insightful ideas and losing that clearly stung. Had I mirrored the whole site using HtTrack, I could at least copy/paste repost the comments when I re-launch here in next couple weeks.
One issue we must – must address as Christians, Conservatives, and ‘dissidents’ online is: how do we contact each other and regroup after a ban like we saw done to Heartiste??? What if Heartiste re-launches but major search engines “blacklist” Heartiste and keeps him from appearing when you search for the site???
Ideas on how we handle this as Christian writers? Thanks.
Think Samizdat
“He actually just slept with a married women in the church and got caught”
It’s not the “sleeping with” part that’s the sin. Tristan “slept” with Isolde out of dire necessity, although she was Mark’s wife. But had the sense to put his sword between them, and actually give it the heavy zees all night.
It’s the “in bed but wide awake” part that does the damage.
Literally no one who reads this blog regularly will be surprised that Evangelical Protestants have hire rates of divorce:
Fertility rates continue their collapse:
@Emperor Constantine, the graph shows only the age 15 – 19 group.
Many find Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to be a more useful metric than births / 1,000.
Is there something you find actionable in Wilcox’s tweets? Or in his writing in general?
Hard to believe a pastor of over four decades would be so ignorant and naive. Did he forget about free will on the part of his wife? This seems like man attempting to manipulate God. (Including the authors that teach you that you can reduce God to a magic formula so one can manipulate Him.) I suspect Gass was one of those men who were never actually called by God to ministry and that he approached it like any other job or profession. He feels he did what he was supposed to do in order to make God do the will of Gass! Absolutely absurd! And, who knows what the problem was with this pastor’s wife? Did he pray for God to choose her?.Or, was she an unbeliever? Did he marry the wrong person? His simplistic conclusion that Christianity is fake because he didn’t get his way seems like a temper tantrum to me. Was Gass even actually born again?.Who knows? faithbookonline.wordpress.com