I never thought the day would come, but I have found a ‘unicorn’ which I guess I had assumed did not exist because, in my 40+ years in the Christian church, Christian pop culture, and general Christian book store musings, web sites, books, magazines, podcasts, etc., I have never seen. BUT IT EXISTS. And this proves that maybe…
JUST MAYBE…
Atheists aren’t 100% insane.
Atheists all the time be telling me how Christians are bigots and angry and full of hate and blah blah blah.
You’ve heard them.
And for YEARS I’ve just assumed that they were off their meds. After having been to many churches and watched/listen to podcasts from MANY churches for many years, I’ve never heard the kind of nonsense that these guys think is the Evangelical Norm. Since I was a small child, every teaching pastor I’ve ever heard has said, “Love the SINNER, hate the SIN,” in much the same way you would say “Love Uncle Dave, Hate his pancreatic cancer.” It is not the science of rockets.
So for years I’ve been confused by these atheists who are CONSTANTLY telling me that Christians are hateful bigots and what not. It’s like hearing people explain why they think Big Foot exists. Apparently they know a guy whose cousin once saw a blurry 8mm film of a pastor teaching why we should hate sinners, and now Atheists are seeing one behind every tree. I figured it was some drunk hippie in a monkey suit playing a prank on people…
Then I found THIS (Caution- Strong and Inappropriate Language in this video):
THIS is Pastor Steven Anderson. He is the hateful, angry, ranting Baptist preacher your atheists friends on social media warned you about. At first you will think this is a Saturday Night Live skit. At first, you will NOT believe your eyes and ears. But once you have seen enough of this guy, you will realize that he is not a comedy sketch – He’s the REAL THING.
At the beginning of this montage, Pastor Steven explains that homosexuals are NOT welcome in his church- and again, I warn you that he uses all of the inappropriate language that he is allowed to use- and also that he likes to give mean nicknames to people because he thinks it makes him look cool, and there’s that one guy in the front row who laughs when he does it… It’s like a 4th grade, playground bully whose mother never loved him became a Baptist preacher so he could LITERALLY Bully from a Literal Bully Pulpit.
BUT! You may be asking- “Doesn’t he preach the GOSPEL?” And to that I say, “Uh, I donno.”
Like, he SAYS Gospely things, but then he also teaches that God hates sinners and we should hate sinners and there are some sinner who CAN’T be saved and a bunch of other things which makes me say, “What translation is he reading?”
It’s the KJV. It’s the KJV or you’re going to hell (apparently). He teaches that too.
But it hit me recently as I was pondering this: Pastor Anderson here is doing what Old Earth Creationists do- he’s pretending the Bible DOESN’T mean what it ACTUALLY says.
For example, in Exodus 20, God says: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.”
And Old Earth Creationists read that and say, “God didn’t MEAN six days. He MEANT 13.7 billions years in six somewhat overlapping epochs. Or Seven.”
Similarly, Pastor Anderson here reads: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
And he says, “Jesus didn’t MEAN God LOVES the WORLD. He MEANT that he loves fundamentalist Baptists who read the KJV and he HATES Catholics, Homosexuals, Calvinists, Men who wear skinny jeans, mumble rappers and boy bands, movies about dragons…” Etc. The list is extensive.
So to my OEC friends I say- you’re every bit as much to blame for this as anyone else. But I digress.
The point is- the thing these Atheists have been claiming to have seen REALLY EXISTS! The hateful, angry, gay-bashing fundy preacher REALLY EXISTS! It’s like wandering into Starbucks and seeing Big Foot serving a grande` skinny Late` to a leprechaun riding a unicorn on their way to a funny Adam Sandler movie. MIND BLOWN.
But, now we need to explain to the Atheists that not EVERY Starbucks has Big Foot as a barista, serving coffee to unicorn riding leprechauns. That one example doesn’t equal a normal anywhere in the world. A fluke is not a standard. The exception is not the rule. Pastor Anderson is a living metaphor- internet atheists seem to have said something which is rooted in an actual fact. Let’s not read more into that than we should. Maybe Atheists aren’t 100% insane, but this one oddity hardly drops that percentage into the realm where in we should be voting them into public office. When atheists say something which happens to be true, I am reminded that, even in Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill, there was that one joke which made a few people laugh. It’s not as common as being hit by lightning, but it happens.
And in case you didn’t know, Pastor Anderson is wrong; #JesusLovesYou
A Bit of Orange 
LOL! I really appreciate this post. I assure you, Pastor Crazy Pants is alive and well, as are some abusive, harshly judgemental, appalling Christians currently displaying the precise same amount of grace that they themselves have received. Absolutely None. Woe be to those who misuse and mishandle His name, because I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they finally get to meet up with the same angry, wrathful, “God” of hatred and bitterness, they have tried so hard to inflict on others all these years.
But for those atheists who think this is a some kind of excuse for not being a Christian, God doesn’t buy our excuses. You’re called to get out there and show the bad guys what the love of Christ is really all about. Show them how it’s done when it’s done the right way.
Merry Christmas, Orange Guy!
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Amen IB22. Amen.
And Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you!
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So the question is… Regardless of what Anderson believes… What do you believe? Do you believe that everyone who is not Christian is going to hell, and deserves it?
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Howdy Grabaspine (Chiropractor, are we?)
Actually, the question is, What is TRUE? It makes little difference what I believe unless what I believe is the truth.
Are people made in the image of God, capable of knowing good from evil?
Have we chosen to reject our divine image and do what we know to be evil because we worship ourselves, or our desires, or fame, fortune, power, etc, instead of the God who made us?
Did God really step into human history to live a perfect life and pay for our sins- dying in our place and rising from the tomb three days later?
Can we have eternal life by choosing to believe in Jesus as he says in John 3:16?
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
My position is simple- Jesus was telling the TRUTH, and I believe him.
As it says in Romans 3:22-24
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
So the question is, are you going to put your faith in Jesus and be saved?
Happy New year, G.
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Sorry for the possible confusion. Nope, not a chiropractor. Book spines. 🙂
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Ah! That makes just as much sense, and is somehow much more appealing. 🙂
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His predecessor as the famous Bible-Boogey-Man that non-Christians like to point to was Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist. I have met Steven Anderson (his church is in Tempe, AZ, and my wife and I lived there while she finished up school at ASU) as well as many of the Westboro group (protesting a funeral of a fallen soldier in Glendale, AZ, because he had a lesbian sister). I have friends who know many others in this general following of Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churches. They are also the KJV-onlyists who think all other translations of the Bible are straight from Satan and so are you if you read them.
You should try checking out on YouTube Steven Anderson’s interview of James White over KJV-ism . . . if you have an extra three hours. He was making a movie about how evil non-KJV-onlyists are, especially Calvinists. It starts out well, and ends in a blaze of glory that is both sad and funny.
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Thanks Daniel,
I actually have seen the conversation between Anderson and James White. I had simply forgotten that it was Anderson until after I wrote this and found that video on YouTube again. The amazing thing about that conversation- among other things- is that Anderson ends up LITERALLY making White’s case by the end of it, and while White calls him on it, Anderson never understands that he’s doing that. White gives up out of being perplexed and confused, but I’ll bet he wishes he had stuck in for a few more minutes because Anderson was forced to argue against his own case by the end. But, yeah, Anderson argues that NO ONE is saved unless they have heard verses from the KJV. A confusing and evil doctrine which I can’t imagine being talked into. Sad and Funny describes it well.
thanks again.
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I had an apologetics class under White, and you are correct. He got confused about his arguments coming out of Anderson’s mouth as “counter-arguments” against White’s arguments and was not sure what to say. By the time he formulated “rebuttals”, Anderson was storming out. It was extra embarrassing because his equipment was used, so he had to come back for it. Poor guy.
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Greetings! First-time reader, first-time comment leaver. I just wanted to let you know that I am one person removed from the fool you wrote about (and I use the word “fool” with full knowledge of its implications). A follower of my blog emailed me one day asking to talk with me personally. I made the phone call and found out he had once been a member of Steven Anderson’s church. Unfortunately, his son still follows his un-biblical, graceless, loveless teaching. I could feel the heartache of this father through the phone. Since then I’ve been doing my best to encourage and pray for the family.
As for this type of preacher, there are others like “Pastor” Anderson. What’s more, living in the mountainous regions of Tennessee, Bigfoot ain’t a joke – something’s out there. But I’d rather sit in a cave with the stench of a Sasquatch than sit under the blasphemous venom of Steven Anderson. Whether or not he is truly born again is between him and God, but several of the fruits of the Spirit are missing, namely love, kindness, and gentleness.
Thanks for setting the record straight with your atheist friends 🙂
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Thanks for you comments, Anthony. It is heartbreaking to think about the friends and family of people who hold to hate theology. I must say, the mind does reel. I confronted a guy when I was in college by reminding him that John 3:16 says that God loved the world… he began with, “Let me tell you why that’s wrong…”
And I was all, “You’re going to tell me why the Bible is wrong?” I figured the conversation was not going to be very productive after that.
But keep praying and offer encouragement and education where you can. I figure that’s all we can do for most people.
And God bless you AB. Happy New year!
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