churchianity

Saturday Watchdog: Baptist Reversal

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Southern Baptist president reverses course on denomination’s abuse crisis

Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice, who previously described the SBC sexual-abuse crisis as more “hoax than reality,” is now calling abuse a serious threat requiring “constant vigilance.”

In his first address to the SBC Executive Committee, Rice told churches to establish safeguards, take every allegation seriously, report accusations immediately to law enforcement and cooperate fully with investigations. He also announced a commission on women in pastoral ministry and proposed adding explicit language about gender, sexuality and marriage to the Baptist Faith and Message. The Roys Report

Give Rice credit for changing direction, but Christians shouldn’t miss the larger lesson. When accusations threaten a church’s reputation, the temptation is:

Protect the church.

Protect the pastor.

Protect the ministry.

Protect the denomination.

That is definitely the wrong order.

So What?

Protect the victim FIRST. A church shouldn’t need lawyers, reporters and survivors dragging it toward transparency.

“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light… But he that doeth truth cometh to the light.” — John 3:20–21 (KJV)

Churches ought to be the first institutions running toward the light, not dragging their feet and covering their eyes from the light.

Real Answers To Real Questions: Creed Of The Nons

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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

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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.

Saturday Watchdog Alert: Nihilism, Atheism, Churchianity

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Three recent headlines point to the same uncomfortable truth.

Atheism is quietly growing in America. – Medium

Researchers are tracking a rise in nihilistic, grievance-driven extremism among young people. – American University

And new data shows America’s religious landscape is shifting rapidly in conflicting directions. – WiFiTalents

At first glance, these stories seem unrelated. They’re not.

When people lose confidence that life has a Creator, a purpose, and a moral foundation, they don’t stop searching for meaning. They simply start looking elsewhere. Some chase politics. Some chase pleasure. Some chase outrage. And some eventually conclude that nothing really matters at all.

That’s the dark promise of nihilism: if there is no ultimate truth, there is no ultimate purpose. But the human heart was never built to live on a diet of meaninglessness. It’s like trying to run a pickup truck on maple syrup. Creative? Yes. Effective? Not so much.

Scripture offers a very different vision:

“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

The Bible says your life is not an accident. You were created on purpose, for a purpose, by a God who knows your name. The growing confusion around us isn’t ultimately a political crisis or a cultural crisis. It’s a meaning crisis.

Take ten minutes today and write down your answer to this question: What am I living for? Then compare your answer to Romans 11:36 and see where the two differ.

Make sure you’re not putting maple syrup in your tank.

Tuesday Watchdog Alert: The Weak Glow Of Religion

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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.

Is That Thief In Heaven?

Rick Tryon1 Comment

Most of us are familiar with this passage in Luke about the others crucified with Jesus:

Luke 23:40–43 (KJV)
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Many use this as a proof text that believers go immediately to heaven—or somewhere—when they die.

But is that really what this passage is about? Or is there something else going on here?

Let’s start by asking what should be some obvious questions if we are to assume the traditional theological narrative about Luke 23:40–43.

Is saying a few words, sticking up for Jesus, and asking to be remembered by him all that is required for thieves and malefactors to get into “heaven”?

Is being in “paradise” the same thing as “going to heaven”?

Did Jesus come into his kingdom on the day of the crucifixion?

Did the malefactor go immediately to “heaven” with Jesus after they died?

Did the malefactor miss Jesus for the 40 days or so that Jesus was carrying out his post‑resurrection ministry on earth?

Is the malefactor in heaven right now with Jesus?

What was the point of Jesus being raised from the dead after three days if he and the malefactor crucified with him were already alive together in paradise or heaven on the very same day they died on crosses?

We should all be asking questions like this, and many of the other things we’ve been taught from religion and churchianity, to see if they make sense and if they are actually biblical.

Stay tuned as we start examining the questions raised here in detail.

Tuesday Watchdog Alert: Empty Religion

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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.

Churchianity And Politics

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The folks who hated Jesus most, and the ones he leveled his most scathing rebukes at, were the religious leaders of his time and culture.

Followers of Yeshua the Messiah shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged by the ridicule and snarky attacks on us because of our faith, or by the tiresome and faithless virtue‑signaling and false preaching and teaching coming from the poohbahs and “leaders” of organized churchianity.

Just remember what the religious and political leaders of that time and that culture did to our Lord over 2,000 years ago, and to the faithful in subsequent generations.

There’s nothing new under the sun.

This present age is not our friend, but there is a day certain when this present age ends and the suffering Servant becomes a reigning King.

Question Everything – Especially Churchianity

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Churchianity and the theological status quo should be scrutinized by all people of faith regularly. That is exactly how we got the Reformation.

Is there a New Reformation brewing? It seems so. There is a difference between truth and tradition.

Man-made Christian creeds and doctrines are no longer being blindly accepted as biblical truth just because the Protestant clergy or the Catholic Papacy say so.

The nature of God, heaven, hell, sin, the apocalypse, predestination or free-will, the Rapture, the origins of the universe – all of these ideas and more need solid reexamination to see if the commonly accepted doctrines of men used to explain them measure up to the message of scripture.

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.

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.

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.

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Watchdog Alert: Churchianity News

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Bible Rebel keeps a watchdog’s eye on news and events from the world of faith and religion and brings that content to our readers.

Trump Establishes Faith Office & Religious Liberty Commission

Former President Donald Trump has inaugurated several faith-based initiatives—such as a White House Faith Office, a Religious Liberty Commission, and a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias. While his conservative Christian base applauds the move, critics warn it risks violating the First Amendment by privileging politically aligned Christian factions over broader religious pluralism. From Milwaukee Independent

Southern Baptist Convention Advances Conservative Resolutions

At their 2025 annual meeting in Dallas, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)—the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.—voted to endorse several conservative social resolutions. These include advocating a legal ban on pornography, opposing same-sex marriage (seeking reversal of the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision), restricting sports betting, and encouraging childbirth. Internal debates also continue on issues like women pastors and the denomination’s policy arm. From the AP

AP-NORC Poll: U.S. Adults Embrace Religious Chaplains in Schools

A new AP–NORC poll finds about 60% of U.S. adults support allowing religious chaplains in public schools to provide support—though not teacher-led or compulsory prayer. Support is split along denominational and political lines: White evangelical and Black Protestant adults are more favorable than Catholics, mainline Protestants, and non‑religious respondents. There’s broad concern (80%+) over church–state separation and funding issues. From apnews.com

Ecumenical Christian Leaders Condemn Hate Speech in Dallas

Over 30 Christian leaders and churches—including groups from Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, United Methodist, Evangelical, and Congregational traditions—have publicly denounced a planned “Hindu supremacist” event in Dallas featuring Kajal Singhala. Organized by Hindu nationalist groups with histories of anti-Christian rhetoric, the event has drawn strong opposition from an ecumenical coalition underscoring religious freedom and the Christian gospel. From clarionindia.net