If you believe this statement, “your pastor is more important than you are,” then you might be a cult member.
If you believe, “the most important thing that goes on in church is preaching,” then you might be a cult member.
If you, “Teach your child that there is nothing more important in the world than a church service.” then you might be a cult member.
If you believe in order to please God : “You should also have a level of dress that is above your everyday fare. If you just said, “I don’t dress up for anybody”you have a serious pride problem. You think you’re too wonderful to have to humble yourself and admit that there could actually be someone in existence that is above you socially. There is! His name is “the LORD.” You should “put on your best” to go to church.
And:
Men: wear a dress shirt and tie. That’s right, a tie, even if it’s just a clip-on. God is more important than you! Dress up for Him.
And:
Ladies: I don’t care if you think you have to dress like “Rosie-the-Riveter” during the week just to show how liberated you are, wear a dress to church. Why? Because even the God-hating world knows that a woman wears a dress when she dresses up.…
Then you might be a cult member.
If you believe this statement to be true: “The truth is that you just don’t think God is important enough to spend money on clothes for Him. But when your child is sick you’ll run right to Him and almost demand He jump up and fix him up. You’re special. God isn’t.” Then you might be a cult member.
Two words: BULL GIPP
Folks take note “This is the very definition of a Fundamental Evangelist.” This is a successful evangelist because his agenda is to set the people straight on “How to behave in Church” and he exalts the so-called M-O-g to just one step shy of god-hood. This is what those so called “Pastors” want to hear preached to their people by the visiting Evangelist.
Bull Gipp knows how to manipulate the mere sheep in the pews so that they properly reverence their local deity. This cult activity is is built on the premise, “How can you worship god correctly if you don’t worship the man-o-gawd correctly?” Notice the works sanctification that he preaches. Notice the heritical, you have to be right with God in order for Him to Love you and Bless you. It’s not who we are “in Christ” but what we do “for Christ” that justifies and sanctifies us according to Bull Gipp.
This is a perfect example of “Elmer Gantry-ism.”
And the sheeple have been so numbed by such poison as this, that they take it in and count themselves blessed to be in the presence of such annointed preaching and called™ men-o-gawd. And all the mere pew dwellers said? … B-U-L-L-L GIPP!
I was wondering when Bull Gipp would make his debut here. ;op
Had to use BULL GIPP again tonight as well. Some wahoo defending Roloff… boy that irked me.
Yep, BG is getting put through his paces, just trying to spread him far and wide. :-))
Unfortunately, there are those guys in fundyhood. I’ve certainly seen my fair share of them. They’re so brainwashed by fundamentalism that they raise these guys up to the point of perfectionism, and can’t see that there’s a lot of evil in those “preachers”.
I used to idolize those pastors, and then when the truth (the REAL non-sugarcoated truth) came out about Dr. Gray, I was crushed. I looked up to him so much. I remember seeing his mug shot and just started bawling. It rocked everything, and that was the end of my life in fundamentalism.
The hard part (still to this day) is deprogramming myself. I was born into it. It’s all I’ve ever known.
That’s rough Natalie. When first “saved”, I believed all Christians and all Pastors were perfect and the bench-mark examples of what a Christian should be. In the end, they are human…worse than mere “human”…they are opportunists, pragmatists and really no better than and no more than an insurance salesman. I’m really sorry for your experience.
You know, it’s hard to put into words a definitive response to someone saying “you believe you’re more important than God”. I suppose the only thing I could come up with that is just as stupid is “yeah, what of it?”.
Your normal person doesn’t even think on that level or have thoughts even approaching “I think I’m more important than God”. Yes, when my child is sick, the child takes precedence, so what? Like most fundies, Mr. Gipp believes God needs to be defended…just like the Calvinists who believe that God’s sovereignty needs to be “defended” against the infidels. The moment God has to be defended like some weak sister is the day God is no longer God. Mr. Gipp needs to find an honest job, like a school bus driver or something.
I came to the IFB as a teen and quickly realized I could not buy the god and religion the BJU bunker we attended was selling. After I came home from the Marines we started attending a smaller bunker. It all was about the M-O-g, and the underbelly of unaccountable religion almost drove me away from church for good.
To this day and for the forseeable future I will not become a “member” at another brick and mortar social club. I have found one I enjoy the preaching and music but I just can’t come to grips with this whole “joining” and “Membership” stuff any more.
Well, I learned from working at a church that membership all boils down to taxes anyway. Membership isn’t even Biblical. Just another man-made thing.
@Smith – I remember when the Gray thing happened and I was so devastated (I was raised from BIRTH to put pastors on a pedastal – you didn’t criticize them, or question them – they were “annointed” and in a league above us), that’s when God took my brokenness and started putting me back together for a life without fundamentalism.
Now, looking back, it was imperative. I had to have my fundie world fall apart and me be completely broken for God to deliver me out of it all and teach me how to live in His grace.
Since then, it’s been a freeing journey.
And, let me add, I don’t blame my parents for raising me in it. They came into fundyism when it was really big in the 1960’s, and we ALL have left it. It’s been a journey for all of us.
So, they were wonderful when I was going through my exit. They had already left and just listened to me cry and talk and cry and talk. ;op
No, you can’t blame the parents because they only bought into what they thought was the best thing for the family at that time. Religion, Jesus, God, etc., is supposed to be GOOD for people…you know, God is supposed to be ‘nice’ and care for your best and wellbeing. That said, it’s the MEN (and sometimes, women) who represent a perfect God that foul things up. In my mind I could only imagine how you responded to Dr. Gray’s moral revelation…that was something he had to keep hidden for years and was probably an issue when he was a kid, yet, he deceived many, many people.
In order to keep myself from going off the deep end in hatred for fundamentalism specifically and Christianity in general is to remind myself that God ministers and deals with us as individuals sans the MoG. Therefore me, my family and our bibles are sufficient until Christ returns.
Just found your blog and glad to see there’s a “BULL GIPP” article here 🙂 You have a new follower 🙂
I’ve got to say, you’ve made quite a find. It’s like this guy embodies everything wrong with American Christianity in one self-righteous, ignorant, spiteful package. Truly amazing.
I’m sorta new. What’s MOg?
MAN-O-god. (little g on purpose since most of them preach about someone other than the God revealed in Scripture.) A pulpiteer, the hired gun who is paid to occupy the pulpit, the cult leader who pontificates on which laws and standards will be preached on this week, the grand poo-bah of the local religious social club. This is the one who steps on toes, tugs on heart strings and otherwise generally doles out guilt and manipulates pew dwellers to react to his sermons in order that they can have some sort of religious experience or emotional movement that will pass for the moving of the spirit in their midst, thus validating their effort to gather in their local bunker each week… and validates writing a paycheck to pay the salary of all those “full-time” Christian Service workers.
Thanks. Sounds about right!