Churchianity

Real Answers To Real Questions: Creed Of The Nons

Rick TryonLeave a comment

There are serious questions that should be asked over and over again until the Poohbahs of Churchianity can answer them with something other than “It’s a mystery we can’t comprehend, brothers and sisters…” nonsense.

The Bible Rebel blog is a free resource for those seeking original and curated content, including news and commentary, on faith, biblical studies and interpretation, and the intersection of politics, culture, and the Bible.

Our Mission

  1. To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
  2. To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
  3. To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
  4. To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior, and to help regular, everyday folks understand the Bible and apply it in their lives.

I do not subscribe to a modern denominational creed or set of doctrines. I don’t think that modern-day Evangelicals, Baptists, Lutherans, or Catholics are going to burn anyone in the town square—it’s just that I don’t trust organized religion.

I’m non-denominational. I’m a “Non.” And there are a lot of others just like me. In fact, more and more folks are fleeing traditional “churchianity” every day. Why? More on that in future posts.

Here’s my one and only creed, which I’m happy to share with my brothers and sisters in the Fellowship of the Nons:

Creed of the Fellowship of the Nons

Our living God is a loving God, and the Bible is His revealed word and will.

Our hope and eternal salvation rely entirely on the work of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Rick Tryon, Bible Rebel

Demand Some Answers From Your Pastor/Preacher/Priest

Rick TryonLeave a comment

How comfortable is your brand of Christianity?

Do you just sit in a pew on Sunday, or do you stand on the Truth every day?

Do you ask hard questions of the pooh-bahs of Churchianity, or do you just accept the doctrinal traditions they are spoon-feeding their congregations?

Questions like these:

  • Does God send kids who don’t “accept Jesus” to eternal torture in a flaming hell?
  • If Grandma is alive and strumming a harp in heaven right now, why should we mourn her death?
  • Why does God allow so much pain, death, and suffering in the world?
  • If God has already decided everything that’s going to happen, why should I pray for my friend to recover from a disease?
  • Where does the Bible clearly and explicitly teach that God is three-in-one and one-in-three?
  • Why did Jesus have to die in order for me to be saved, and what am I being “saved” from?

Those questions, and many others, should be asked over and over again until the pooh-bahs of Churchianity can answer them with something other than “It’s a mystery we can’t comprehend, brothers and sisters…”

Remember, Jesus reserved some of His strongest words not for pagans or politicians, but for religious leaders.

What is Bible Rebel? Fresh content posted daily (except Sundays) for seekers hungry for truth and relevance outside the stodgy, lifeless confines of Churchianity and the dark, empty hopelessness of atheism and nihilism.

Tuesday Watchdog: Vatican Creates Schism

Rick TryonLeave a comment
Photo via Julius Silvers, pexels.com

Vatican Declares SSPX in Schism, Excommunicates Bishops and Priests

The Vatican formally declared the Society of Saint Pius X to be in schism after it consecrated four bishops without papal approval. The Vatican excommunicated the bishops and hundreds of priests involved, making it one of the most significant internal Catholic ruptures in decades. AP

Jesus prayed that His followers would be one (John 17), but unity without truth isn’t biblical—and neither is churchianity dressed up as truth. When religious institutions fracture over authority, every Christian should ask: Is my ultimate loyalty to Christ and Scripture, or to a denomination or tradition?

Traditionalist Priests Say a Future Pope Will Reverse the Decision

Following the excommunications, leaders within the SSPX publicly expressed confidence that a future pope would welcome them back into full communion, signaling that they view the dispute as temporary rather than settled. Reuters

The hope of Christianity isn’t found in the next pope, pastor, or church council—it’s found in our Lord Jesus Christ and in Him alone. If our confidence depends on the next religious leader fixing everything, we’re royally screwed.

Should we always put Scripture and the Lordship of Jesus over religious tradition and authority? Is the Pope Catholic?

Tuesday Watchdog Alert: The Weak Glow Of Religion

Rick TryonLeave a comment

The World Hates The Light, Burn Brighter

While American Christians argue online about worship styles and coffee flavors, believers in places like Nigeria, North Korea, and Syria are risking prison, kidnapping, and death just for owning a Bible. Recent reports estimate more than 388 million Christians worldwide face persecution or discrimination for their faith — the highest number ever recorded. – Vatican News

Should we assume we’re not persecuted like that for our Christian faith here in America because we’re such great believers? Not on your life!

In fact, we should be asking some serious questions about why our brand of Western churchianity is many times so milquetoast and inconsequential that the Adversary doesn’t waste his time trying to destroy us or even silence our too often watered down message.

Tradition and the doctrines of men disguised as God’s truth are not a threat to darkness. As the world gets darker, people start looking for actual light, not the synthetic, weak glow of religion.

Remember, Jesus never promised that following him would make us popular. He promised truth.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” — John 15:18

Here’s the Bible Rebel reality check:
The modern world offers endless distraction but very little hope. Christians in persecuted nations know following Christ costs something. Many American Christians barely let it inconvenience their Sunday schedule. Ouch.

So What?

Today, pray for persecuted Christians by name if you can. Check your own faith – is it salty and full of light, or bland and ho-hum? Ruffle some feathers, speak the truth, and be a force for God as He moves through this time and place bringing His grand and awesome plan to it’s conclusion.

Tuesday Watchdog Alert: Empty Religion

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Gallup’s latest numbers show what you already feel in your bones: fewer people are showing up, tuning in, or identifying with any religious tradition. Engagement is drifting and labels are fading. The old structures don’t hold like they used to.

But here’s the twist: the hunger hasn’t gone anywhere. People aren’t rejecting God — they’re rejecting churchianity: the noise, the politics, the performance, the plastic spirituality that never delivered.

Because the doctrines of men and religious traditions are empty cisterns that hold no water. So the thirsty start going elsewhere.

If that’s you, welcome. You’re in good company. Jesus built His movement with people who didn’t fit the religious mold. Outsiders. Questioners. The spiritually allergic. The ones who said, “There has to be more than this.”

Scripture puts it simply: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” — James 4:8

Not “draw near to a denomination.” Not “draw near to a system.” Just God. That’s our mission at Bible Rebel.

Maybe the decline in religious engagement isn’t a crisis — maybe it’s a clearing. A chance to rebuild faith from the ground up, without the baggage.

Saturday Watchdog Alert: The Soul of America Is Still Searching

Rick TryonLeave a comment

America is weird right now.

One headline says more Americans are becoming “spiritual” again. Another says traditional faith keeps declining while younger generations experiment with everything from astrology to paganism to “manifesting the universe.” Translation? People are starving for meaning but trying to fill the God-shaped hole with crystals, TikTok gurus, and “energy cleansing.” That’s like trying to fix a flat tire with whipped cream.

Meanwhile, Pew data shows religious “nones” remain historically high, even while some Gen Z young adults are suddenly curious about faith again after years of nihilism and anxiety. Turns out endless scrolling, hookup culture, and worshiping yourself doesn’t actually heal the human soul. Shocking. – FAITHWIRE

The Bible already explained this thousands of years ago:

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” — Romans 1:25

When a culture removes God, something else always rushes in to take His place. Politics. Pleasure. Identity. Occult spirituality. Rage. Self-worship. But none of them can carry the weight of eternity.

Here’s the good news: people searching for meaning are closer to the truth than people pretending life has no meaning at all. The hunger itself points to God.

Take 20 minutes and read from the Book of Matthew today. Look specifically for what it says about God’s mission statement for His people and His Creation.

I dare you.

Saturday Watchdog Alert: When You Are Your Own God

Rick TryonLeave a comment

The modern world promised freedom without God.
How’s that working out?

A recent report from the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture says America continues to wrestle with the rise of the “nones” — people with no religious affiliation — even while many are desperately searching for spirituality again. Meanwhile, a Washington Post report on “nihilistic violent extremism” described a growing trend of young people embracing meaninglessness, rage, and destruction as identity itself.

That’s the problem with a culture that worships self.
When “you are your own god” becomes the national religion, eventually people realize their god is anxious, lonely, angry, addicted, and scrolling TikTok at 2:00 a.m.

So people drift into New Age spirituality, aesthetic Satanism, crystals, chaos, online occultism, or just plain numbness — because the human soul was built to worship something.

The Bible already diagnosed this centuries ago:

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” — Romans 1:25

Here’s the good news: Jesus didn’t come to make you more religious. He came to rescue you from emptiness.

Turn off the noise for 15 minutes. No phone. No music. No doomscrolling. Think about your purpose in life and ask this:
“Are You really there?”

Faith Requires Skepticism

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Question everything. Faith requires a healthy dose of skepticism about everything we think we know.

Wait, faith requires skepticism?

Of course it does. Our Heavenly Father commands us to love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Did you get that last one? Minds.

God wants us to ask questions, examine His wonders, and search the Scriptures seeking truth. That requires an inquisitive mind.

The most dangerous aspect of the doctrines of men is that they are usually close enough to biblical truth that they fool even the most sincere and honest among the faithful.

Some of those doctrines of men are so convoluted and confusing that they present stumbling blocks to those outside the faith and sometimes cause the faithful to abandon the faith.

We should faithfully seek to understand God’s truths about His nature, His creation, and His will for His people, even if that means challenging long‑held doctrines and theologies that were devised and propagated by religious folks for their own benefit — or for the purposes of the principalities and powers behind them.

Remember who the enemies of our Lord were? The religious leaders of his time and culture who had perverted and changed the Word of God into the doctrines of men.

Remember the lesson of the Reformation? Churchianity was challenged, and the centuries‑old religious status quo was called to task — salvation by grace, not ceremonies and dead works.

Bible Rebel will be asking questions and challenging assumptions here. We believe it’s high time for a New Reformation, or at least a fresh look at the old wine in the old wineskins.

Every Wednesday we will be raising some important questions about commonly held doctrines and assumptions within modern Churchianity.

Stay tuned.

What Is Bible Rebel?

Rick TryonLeave a comment

The Bible Rebel blog is a resource for those seeking original and curated content, including news and commentary, covering faith, biblical studies and interpretation, and the intersection of politics, culture, and the Bible.

Our Mission

  1. To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
  2. To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
  3. To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
  4. To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior. and to help regular, everyday folks understand the Bible and apply it in their lives.

Contact us at in**@********el.com

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Our Free Monthly Newsletter: What Is ‘Curious Fearless Faith’?

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Please take a minute to subscribe to the Bible Rebel monthly newsletter – it’s free and will keep you up to date on all our articles, videos, and features.

Our Mission at Bible Rebel

  1. To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
  2. To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
  3. To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
  4. To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior.

At Bible Rebel, this is our one and only creed:
Our living God is a loving God and the Bible is His revealed word and will.
Our hope and eternal salvation relies entirely on the work of God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

So, expect some controversial viewpoints and uncomfortable ideas in some of the coming content from Bible Rebel.

March/April Highlights

Your Life And What Comes After (52): A Few Tips From Bacca Ricky

Lions Don’t Have Masters

They Said It: Four Quotes On The Book Of Job

One-Minute Video Mini Message: God’s Plan For You

Ten-episode Bible 101 video series completed

Watchdog Alert: Pope Leo Wrong…Again

What Is Twelver Shi’ism?

Coming in April/May

Armchair Apocalypse series.

“Your Life and What Comes After” book available.

More in-depth content on deeper biblical studies and theological issues.

More Video Mini Messages like this – Earthquake Joy

You can find all of the current Bible 101 episodes and One-Minute Mini Messages here on our YouTube Channel, and you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

We’ll also be continuing our regular features, guest articles, and series:

  • Biblical Literacy: What the Bible does and doesn’t say
  • They Said It: Poignant quotes on a variety of topics
  • Guest articles
  • And more…

Watchdogs

As always, we’ll be keeping a watchdogs eye on all of the latest political, religious, biblical archaeology, and cultural news and events from around the world and bringing to you in bite-size chunks to keep you informed.

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