Freedom Man Press

April 9, 2020 | by Gunner Steele

America has had a severe crisis brewing for at least the last 50 years, probably more, that ultimately is the true cause for the ills of our nation.

While Americans stand by and watch as tens of millions of innocent babies have been slaughtered in our own country; as homosexuals claim the "right" to get "married;" as transgender "rights" are forced on society; as violence, crime, and corruption runs rampant in society and government; and as we continue to see drug addiction, suicide, mass shootings, the rise of atheism, and so many other human and societal tragedies, many people wonder, where is God in all of this?

The answer is simple—God is in the same place he's always been. God is unmovable, unshakeable, omnipotent and omnipresent.

Unfortunately however, as is common, people are asking the wrong question. The question should be where are God's people in all of this? Where are the Christians?

And the current COVID-19 pandemic has put on full display exactly how pervasive and pitiful the American Crisis of Christianity really is.

The problem can be summarized by three pitiful Christian attributes: fear, complicity with the world, and biblical ignorance.

Biblically speaking, Christians should only fear God (De. 10:12, 13:4, Jos. 4:24, 24:14, 1 Ch. 16:30, 2 Ch. 19:7, Pr. 3:7, Ec. 12:13, Isa. 8:13, Mt. 10:28, Lu. 23:40, Ro. 11:20, 1 Pe. 1:17, 2:17, Re. 14:7). Any other fear is unrighteous and unholy. We should not fear death nor social pressure from our fellow man (De. 1:17, 1 Sa. 15:24, Pr. 29:25, Isa. 51:12, Jer. 38:19, Mt. 26:56, Lu. 12:4, Jn. 7:13, 9:22, 12:42, 19:38, Ga. 2:12).

But you just let one wussy little virus out and modern American Christians fold! They throw in the towel and follow the orders of sinful and wicked men that are not only unconstitutional but decidedly unbiblical and anti-christian.

Can you imagine if the government made a random declaration and said, "Nobody is allowed to go to church anymore!" What would happen? Well there should be righteous rebellion, resistance, and revolution!

But instead the government comes out and says, "Ummm, in order to protect you from DYING, we are restricting gatherings of more than 10 people." And this order effectively shuts down churches and church services since most have more than 10 people.

You would expect church leaders to rise up and quit themselves like men (1 Sa. 4:9, 1 Co. 16:13), and fight for and resist this unholy abrogation of our God-given religious rights.

Instead what do we see? Churches shutting their doors everywhere. All out of fear. Fear? Of what? This is ridiculous. These same pitiful preachers were not afraid of the swine flu epidemic of 2009, but they're fearful now. Why? Because they soak up propaganda like a malaria carrying African mosquito sucks up blood and engorges itself.

And most use the excuse of "wisdom" to cover the fact that they are all nothing but religious pansies. Here's an example of a website posting from a church that claims to be strong and claims to "oppose the world:"

Yup, that's Christian leadership today. It is essentially an admission that "we're all a bunch of pansies" but we don't want people to recognize that fact, so we'll just claim that we are using "wisdom." Treasure Valley Baptist Church should be ashamed of itself.

Here's another example from popular Christian blogger Tim Challies who basically just accepts the fact that their church must shut down and goes on to complain about the lack of efficacy of having church online in comparison with church in person. He then goes into a convoluted and worthless "theological discussion" about the difference between a church service and a chapel service—as if such a distinction is made in the Bible.

But again, all of this nonsense is just there to cover the fact that any church in America or the world that has shut its doors due to fear of the coronavirus is a shame. Their leaders are nothing but a bunch of pansies!

And the fear is twofold:
1. They are afraid of the virus.
2. They are afraid of government action against their church.

On the other hand we have men like Pastor Tony Spell of Louisiana and Rodney Howard-Browne in Florida who have both been arrested or have faced various levels of prosecution from their local governments for continuing to have church services. I say GOD BLESS THESE MEN.

They are doing what church leaders ought to be doing everywhere.

Wake up Christians! There is no more important time for you to be active and vigilant, and to be countering worldliness and the spirit of this age as when Pastors are getting arrested just for having church!!!

If your church shut down because of the coronavirus, let me tell you something—leave that church and go to another church whose leaders are not pansies. That church doesn't deserve your fellowship, your tithes, nor your support. Their response to the coronavirus is only one piece of demonstrable evidence that is showing the reality that your church and specifically your anti-biblical, fearful, church leadership is probably doing you and your family more harm than good.

Modern American churches today can be summed up in one word: Starbucks. That's what churches are today—a place of social gathering full of worldly hipsters trying to appease their emotional weakness by joining together with others—complete with an effeminate preacher in skinny jeans and sandals.

And while there isn't anything necessarily wrong with coffee shops or with social gatherings—that is not the purpose of church!

The Church of Jesus Christ is God's preserving force in this world. All of those despicable abominations I mentioned earlier should be eradicated or at least minimized by the power and the force of the church.

But Christian churches today are all about having a warm and fuzzy feeling about God and doing "what makes me happy" and what "makes me feel good" regardless of what the Bible says. In the end, Christians go along with whatever the world does, says, or thinks. The American church is mostly complicit with the world. Look at divorce rates and teen pregnancy rates and other moral ills, like drug use and porn addiction…the church shamefully and despicably lines up with the world. Is it really any shock that when worldly leaders tell churches to close their doors in order to "prevent the spread of coronavirus" that pansy preachers comply without question?

Matthew 5:13 "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

Jesus told us that Christians are supposed to be the "salt of the earth." Salt preserves things. Salt adds flavor. But if the salt has lost its savour, in other words, if it has lost its power to preserve or add flavor, then it is "good for nothing."

That is a perfect description of the American Christian church led by pitiful pansy Pastors.

In a time of coronavirus fear, churches should be OPENED FOR BUSINESS! Churches should be inviting people in to hear the gospel, to be inspired, to learn Biblical doctrine, and to be prayed for and healed. And if someone is legitimately so sick (probably with the flu or another ailment that is not coronavirus) that they can't physically come to church, then send a handkerchief and have the church elders pray over it to send back to them. Yeah! That's Biblical. Oh, you didn't know that? It's in Acts 19:12. Or, have the elders of the church come and pray for them and anoint them with oil. That is also Biblical and it still works (Ja. 5:14-15). People still receive miraculous healings to this day.

At a time like this, the church should be having revival. Instead, churches are telling their members to stay home and gather around their computer screen so they can watch their livestream. Seriously? Is it any wonder the world sees the church as weak and pathetic?

Sir Edmund Burke is attributed as saying "The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." And to do nothing is to be complicit with the world.

Well who should those "good men" be? They should be Christians. Christians should be the salt of the earth—the preserving element that prevents tyranny from overtaking citizens.

But right now in America, when we are witnessing the greatest authoritarian power grab in the history of our country, where draconian government edicts are superseding the levels of oppression in even communist countries, Christians are collectively doing NOTHING.

I like Edmund Burke's quote, but Jesus had a better one:

Matthew 5:14-16 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The church should not be hidden. It should not be forced to stay home. The church and its works must be on full display for all to see. But the church today isn't countering the world with Godly Christian works; on the contrary, it is submitting and succumbing to every evil edict from despots, criminals, liberals, atheists, and authoritarians.

"Having church" is more than just going to a building every Sunday and talking about God. Church services are an essential part of the Christian faith in that God requires us to have fellowship with our brethren.

Indeed, the writer of Hebrews teaches us that we should not forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (He. 10:25) And this right "to assemble" was expressly written in our Constitution which forbids the government from denying citizens their right "peaceably to assemble."

While church services vary in size, scope, and activity, with some service being held in stadiums and others in people's living rooms, the fundamental function and element of "church" is to have fellowship, accountability, and edification.

Church services, bible studies, and even general Christian fellowship should be powerful, enlightening, convicting, and inspiring—where Christians are edified and strengthened, corrected and guided, and where they are taught true Biblical doctrine, and where they can even experience genuine miracles.

Instead, Churches get fed spiritual baby food (He. 5:14) like pureed banana sauce laced with powdered sugar and a little bit of cotton candy on the side.

Christians today are doctrinally empty and spiritually void. The average American Christian couldn't even quote the 10 commandments, let alone tell you what the Bible teaches about government, family roles, economics, business, education, creation, or any other subject.

The word "church" as used in the New Testament comes from the greek word "ekklesia" and it means "an assembly" or a group or meeting. By definition, "church" means to assemble with your brothers and sisters in Christ. And the Bible tells us not to forsake this.

"Virtual" church, streaming services, and other technological advancements, while useful and beneficial in terms of spreading the gospel, can not and should not be used as a replacement to the EKKLESIA, to the physical assembling of God's people, because by definition it is not "church!"

But today pansy preachers and pitiful Pastors are accepting and allowing government edicts to prevent the assembling of ourselves together, all in the name of fear, which God says we should not have (2 Ti. 1:7). And it is all because they absorb propaganda like gullible sheeple who are easily guided by wolves that are hell bent on controlling the people and actually eliminating the church altogether.

Do you really think the main stream media is a friend of the church? Do you really think that globalists, statists, and liberal democrats want the church to thrive? And who is it that is forcing the nonsensical propaganda about COVID-19 down everyone's throats? It's them. The enemies of God and the church. These are the ones that are terrorizing the population with fake news and statist propaganda.

And the only platform more powerful and influential than media is…the PULPIT. Ohhhh, if only it were used.

But instead of church pulpits being used as the voice of reason, truth, inspiration, and guidance, churches are using their collective platforms to tell their members that they should comply with mainstream orders from fake news pundits and unconstitutional statists in the government.

Our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves! That's probably what the recent earthquakes in Idaho and Utah were.

Are Pastors today so spiritually weak and blind that they can't discern anything whatsoever? Do they not know the times (1 Ch. 12:32, Es. 1:13) nor recognize the work of evil in their midst?

It is a sad reality but we must corporately repent for the fact that our churches are made up of Pastors and leaders who are pansies. And they only exist because that's what people want. The makeup of church leadership actually just represents the desires of the people, so it is the people who must repent because they're the ones who want weak leadership.

This video says it best:

To any Pastor in America who has shut their church services down due to the coronavirus, I hereby challenge you to a public and written debate to Biblically defend your position. Time, space, and format do not provide the opportunity to make the case in this article, but to any Pastor who accepts my challenge, I offer to finance the publishing of the debate in print, PDF, and ePub format. The final edition will be made available for FREE as a download on this website and for sale, at cost, on Amazon.com.

The format is simple:

• You will make your case in an essay.
• I will make the case against you in an essay.
• We will both have the opportunity to respond to each others initial case.
• And then we will both have a final opportunity to respond to the previous responses.

Who will take me up on my challenge? If you are a member of a church that shut their doors over the coronavirus, you should ask your Pastor why he is not willing to debate me biblically and publicly defend his actions.