How Can Pastors Believe?

[webmdave]

By Lorena

 

Jannah’s post reminded me of something I knew well when I was a Christian: Pastors know pretty much everything dark that goes on with the flock. They are usually aware of women who are regularly beaten by their husbands, children who are ,or have been, sexually abused by a caregiver, and extra-marital affairs church members are involved in. The good shepherds are also quite aware of which members are addicted to drugs and alcohol, who struggles with gambling and pornography, and even of people with obscure business endeavors.

 

The higher a person is in church leadership, the more he or she knows about how un-saintly the churchgoers are. Yet they dare to stand in front of the congregation, twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday, to tell the naïve followers of 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

 

I can understand that ordinary people like me can go to church for years believing the deception that most churchgoers are actually trying to live up to the “chosen generation” lie. I can see why someone like me would believe that God changes people. But how can pastors believe it? They know darn well that it is a fallacy.

 

I maintain that most pastors are atheists deep down inside. I dare to affirm that most of them lost their faith shortly after college, and that they keep at it for the sake of the money or of some other rationalization they have created for themselves.

 

I'd like to ask questions of the former pastors and leaders who come to this forum after leaving the faith. How you could stomach Christianity after discovering the "sins" and crimes many church goers are involved in? Did you ever feel like a huge hypocrite?

 

When I was a Christian, I thought pastors “survived” the church because of the love Jesus had put in their hearts. I thought it loving that secrets were kept and reputations were protected. But now I see it as a conspiracy to keep the ignorant masses controlled and willing to dish out the money. If regular Christians were to find out some of the secrets pastors keep, would the religion lose power over people?

 

Unfortunately, a study would be difficult to conduct, but let’s assume the congregation hears 30% of what’s really happening. That 30% is easy to sweep under the rug. What would happen if the faithful heard the other 70%?

 

Perhaps most will stay, since believing in the tenants of Christianity requires a fair bit of self-deception to start with. But at least the few sincere followers would be freed to go on with their lives. That would be nice!

 

Still, I’d like to hear what sorts of rationalizations former pastors and leaders created for themselves to stay in the pastorate. How hard was it to look at yourselves in the mirror every morning, or to preach a sermon and bring people to tears in repentance? Particularly, when knowing that those who cry are usually the ones with the best “record.”

 

To monitor comments posted to this topic, use .

 

http://exchristian.net/exchristian/2007/07...rs-believe.html

[OnceConvinced]

I've never been a pastor, so I can't say from any authority, but seing as no ones replied to the thread yet, I thought I'd jump in with a couple of my own theories.

 

I think pastors know that everyone's sinful, even they are and if they gave it up just because of that, there would be no pastors (besides for many of them, they make a great living financially through it).

 

Pastors are continually surrounded by "yes men". Pastors try to have us believe that if you're in the ministry then the devil is going to target you big time. However I think they have it pretty sweet. They have a lot of supporters forever building up their faith encouraging them and they are surrounded by Christians most of the time. They don't have to go out there and face the world like the average Joe Bloggs does. They get to live in a nice sheltered little world where no one challenges their faith... ok, that's probably irrelevent to you original question, but it would explain why their faith is so strong.

 

It will be interesting to see what the former pastors have to say. I'll be back to read.

[Nude Disintegrating Parachutist]

The money is good and the life is easy...free house, free car, free vacations and all often on the churches dime, and besides all this to all the sheeple you are just one step removed in power and glory from jesus in the great pyramid scheme of life...how great is that? And whether the power of god is real or not and whether the pastor actually believes in god or not...the pastors power as far as the flock is concerned is most definently real...I mean after all he was called by god to serve wasn't he ! (...after it couldn't be because they are just to lazy to get a real, productive, useful to society type of job where thy may have to actually work......nah surely not...and stop calling me Shirley). My take on the subject from my limited vantage point as a non-believer anyway.

[Luke Wolf]

It comes from knowing all men have sinned, and when I was being trained to take over as youth pastor, a desire to help others out of sin, and into a more "Godly" lifestyle. Alot of people, especially low income/less educated, weak-minded, the mentally and/or physically weak, and those who are searching, turn to a church out of society placing such a high standard of morals and ethics upon going to church.

And not too mention the church preys upon anyone, especially certain target groups (people who are in the hospital, wonderers, bums, etc.). You see it as spreading the gospel, but I have known it to be nothing more than a well though out con's scheme.

[mwc]

My brother started into college to become a pastor many years ago. After awhile he dropped out and went into computers instead. Until just recently I never knew why but he told me that when they started studying the general theology courses he realized that xianity couldn't possibly have a lock on "god" and so, while he's still a believer (though non-conventional I've discovered...borrowing from here and there), he just couldn't follow through.

 

So, it seems to me, that depending on how various sects train their pastors that cognitive dissonance must kick in and either they give into it (which means either dropping out or living the lie as a pastor) or living in their own world where all those other religions are wrong and going merrily on their way through life where maybe reality kicks in at some point (but switching careers when all you've been is a pastor is kind of a dodgy thing so they probably just stick with it at that point).

 

mwc

[Guest Woman with a brain]

I can only speak from my experience as a stepchild of a minister:

 

1. Power over other people's lives. He went from High School teacher, to assistant warden, to full warden, and upon retirement, "man of god" wherein he had the ultimate authority over others.

 

2. Greed. After becoming a preacher he bragged about how much more money he was making.

 

3. Forgiveness. After all the atrocities he inflicted upon me and my brothers, his lying, stealing from his stepchildren and children, constantly saying, "god damn it", his impatience that my mother lingered near death for all of 42 days and when she finally died, he sat scarfing down breakfast as her body was removed by the funeral home and later, hiring prostitutes and bragging about it to his 2 teenaged granddaughters, his answer to his bad behaviour was, "I'm a man of god, I'm a believer, Jesus forgives me."

 

Yes, he could look at himself in the mirror, every morning, and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was forgiven.

 

He was with one of his prostitutes last December when his leg began to turn red and swell. By the next morning an ambulance took him to the hospital, where it was determined he had flesh eating bacteria. He was placed into an drug induced coma whereupon they removed his leg, the next day his hip and the next day part of his spine. He never came out of the coma. He never even knew what was wrong with him. He died.

 

I wonder if he ever got a chance to ask for forgiveness? But that's he whole argument with christianity, isn't it? Just do whatever the hell you want, no matter who it hurts, because, in the end, you will be forgiven, because you call yourself a christian, a true believer.

[R. S. Martin]

Whenever I bring out the "nonChristians are just as good as Christian" argument, Christians tell me it's not about being good. They have pat answers for all such questions. That it does not hang together is beside the point because--you guessed it: "faith is not rational."