dEvangelized: "The Pastor is Always Right"

There were only two rules in my former church:

Rule # 1. The pastor is always right.

Rule # 2. If in doubt, go back to Rule # 1.

Each time he said so, we lay preachers responded with a hearty "Amen!" and a vertical hammer fist in the air.

It took me over a decade to realize that these ecclesial rules were a load of rubbish.  

Pastors, Biblically

Depending on which Christian theological tradition you adhere to, you may have gotten the impression that the terms bishop (Gr. episkopos 'overseer'), elder (Gr. presbuteros 'old man, advanced in life'), and pastor (Gr. poimen 'shepherd') refer to different ecclesiastical offices.

In the New Testament, however, the three terms are not actually religious titles but are descriptions of the different facets of the same "office," as shown in at least three passages. In Acts 20:17, 28, Paul is said to have addressed the presbyterous 'elders' of Ephesus and referred to them as episkopous 'overseers' tasked to poimainein 'to shepherd' the ekklesian 'the called out', 'assembly', 'church'. In I Peter 5: 1, 2 the presbyterous are admonished to poimanate 'be shepherds' over the flock. Finally, in Titus 1:5,7, the young missionary is ordered to appoint presbyterous who are also individually referred to as episkopon 'overseer'.

[See online edition of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible here; cf. Vines (1981 20-21, 128-129, 167)].

Vine, W.E. 1981. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Old Tappan, New Jersey: H. Revell Company.

As every Bible scholar knows, these were not clerical titles -- which is why nowhere can you read in the 27 books of the New Testament of a Pastor Timothy, Elder Andrew, or Bishop Paul. Not even Pope Peter.  There was no such obsession with these and other titles among the first Christians, as far as we can read.

Among the qualities elders/bishops/pastors should have are: "...blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain... hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined" (Titus 1:7-8, NIV).

I have known or heard of quite a few pastors who exemplify many or most of the above-mentioned qualities. None of them, as far as I know, had ever thought that they were always right.

A Pastor's Corral

Not so with my former pastor. His word was the law, and most of the members never dared question him. While some questioned the rules privately, they were governed by these publicly. They were led to believe that whether or not they live abundantly on earth and then live forever in heaven all depends on their faithfulness to church rules and the pastor’s prayers or favor.  

Church members often talk about being "saved by grace, not by works" or declare sola scriptura  'according to scriptures alone', sola fide 'through faith alone', sola gratia  'by grace alone' , solus Christus 'through Christ alone' , and soli Deo gloria 'for God's glory alone' (cf. Ephesians 2.8-10; 1 Timothy 1.2; 2 Timothy 3.16-17).  In reality, however, their assurance of salvation depends on their subjective religious experience and on how they measure up to the pastor's teachings on what salvation is and how one gets saved.    

So like a flock of sheep, they were directed by his curled staff, seeking his blessings and dreading his curse. Those who dared to question the soundness of the pastor's rules were disciplined, vilified and/or ostracized. A few others who were able to discern the wolf in the shepherd eventually left the fold quietly.

This religious corral was never meant to be managed like a democracy for as the pastor had often contended, the church is a theocracy where the minister is the Eternal King's deputy. In other words, the pastor is God's little dictator on earth. He even ventured to say that in the imaginary physical kingdom to be set up supposedly by Jesus Christ when He returns to reign for a thousand years here, he and his fellow pastors from our church group will be appointed governors of some theocratic territories.

Making Sense of Sheep Mentality

This social behavior, this unquestioning surrender of one's mind to the dicta of a fellow human being is nothing new or unique. Indeed, history is replete with accounts of even well-educated, highly intelligent people who have surrendered their freewill and critical thinking  to charismatic, smooth-talking charlatans who promise an imagined or imaginary reward here and in the hereafter.  Just think of Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Sung Myung Moon, David Koresh, et al.

Related Post: "QUIBOLLOY & THE QUAKE"

They, of course, do not view themselves as being subservient to a man but to God simply because they see the pastor as a human vessel for the divine message. They do not see themselves as shackled and caged slaves of a fellow human being -- only as servants of a divine being who has set them free from the manacles of sin and death.

It is quite difficult to make sense of such devotion and naivete when you have not gone through this religious experience yourself. So let's suppose you are one of these fellows:

• You were "born into the church" or been with a particular church since you were a child.  The only religious songs you can truly appreciate are those in your group's hymnals or song sheets, and the only preaching you can comfortably listen to is that of your pastor.  The only truth you know are the doctrines of your church.

  How could your pastor be wrong when he studied theology for many years, sacrificed other promising careers just to get the salvific Word of God out to those who are in danger of hell-fire, and only spoke what can be proven by a "Thus saith the Lord"? How wonderful it is to know that everything you were taught in church are backed by Bible verses!

  What could be more true than your inexplicably overwhelming experience of being touched by the Spirit! What better testimony to the truth than all the changed lives in your church?  No, the pastor cannot be wrong and your church is built on the Rock of Ages.

• One time in your life, you felt so fragmented, guilty or lost, and you happened to attend a church where you were genuinely welcomed and where the preacher spoke with such eloquence, conviction and power that you felt he was speaking directly to you, condemning you for your iniquities and at the same time offering you forgiveness and redemption.

  Then you were shown this movie about sinners in hell screaming in unimaginable pain as they burned but are not consumed like the worms that go in and out of their noses and other orifices. You were absolutely terrified about the prospects of ending up like those damned souls.

  Then you were shown a movie about the Great Tribulation, the reign of the Anti-Christ, the Mark of the Beast, and the Battle of Armageddon.  Prophecy has made it crystal clear who will emerge victorious, and you did not want to end up on the wrong side of the coming war.

   That was a double whammy to your arrogant self.  They capitalized on your fears and insecurities, so right then and there, you heeded that altar call in tearful surrender and began to experience a sense of wholeness, joy and meaning.  

  You didn't bother to further investigate whether those end-time predictions had factual basis. If you did, you would have found out that those were made up stories and teachings concocted across centuries by  people who are as ignorant as you about the future. 

  What mattered was that your paralyzing fear was real, and your cathartic tears of repentance during the altar call was transformative.

• You started questioning your faith when you were in high school, then you became thoroughly skeptical about it in college when you studied philosophical works.  But then you encountered a highly intellectual student who seemed so secure about his or her faith and can hold her intellectual ground when you discussed religion. You were intellectually stimulated, just as you begin to feel a romantic attachment to this remarkable person. His or her kindness intrigued you so much so that you started joining him or her in Bible studies and eventually church services.  

  You still had doubts, but your friend and the preacher have convinced you that a strong faith need not mean perfect or complete knowledge and the absence of doubt. You're sold, and your life began to have meaning once more in the midst of believers especially in the company of someone you are attracted to.

• You've been following a religious program on radio or television, reading some religious publications, and questioning certain doctrines you have been taught as true since childhood. You are mentally wracked -- conflicted about your religious convictions, and confused about familiar texts which now seem filled with contending truths.

  Then this pastor bursts forth into your life, and he looked and sounded sure about himself, rattling off scriptural texts like he has memorized the entire Bible forwards and backwards and satisfying your questions with ease. You have never apprehended the truth so clearly until this moment.  He is the only true messenger of God.

• A series of failures in your life, deaths in the family, injustices in the community, or tragedies around the world have wreaked havoc on your once solid faith. Now you seriously doubt whether God cares about you or if he exists at all.

  Then you come across a preacher who teaches you theodicy and explains quite convincingly why God has allowed suffering and why you should trust in the inscrutable wisdom of your Creator. Your faith has thus become vibrant once more.

• You've had a privileged life, living off some inherited or hard-earned wealth, and looking fulfilled and happy with all your humble brags on social media about what you ate, how you look, what you bought, who you were with, and where you went.

  But deep inside, you're bored with your life, you feel empty. You realize that even with all your money, there seems to be something missing in your life. Then you hear this pastor with a stolen quotation about money buying you medicines but not health, a house but not a home, adulation but not respect, companionship but not love, leisure but not meaning, etc.

  You realize he's talking about you, and you wanted him to flog you more with guilt-inducing sermons. You have become his number one fan.

• You're down on your luck -- you just lost your job, you're penniless, and your debt is mounting. You wander in the streets and stumble upon a church. You join in the worship service and lose yourself in the soothing music and rapturous mood.

  One of the kindly ladies talk to you in a room after you signed up for a spiritual counselling of sorts. You pour out your frustrations and she commiserates, even sharing with you a similar situation she was in years ago. You end up sobbing especially when she fervently prays for you toward the end of your meeting. Then she talks to the pastor and the pastor talks to the congregation.

  After church, a well-dressed man shakes your hand, introduces himself, gives you a glossy calling card, and says you should drop by his office the next day with your CV. That's how you landed a job which, years later, will see you rise through the corporate ranks and the social ladder.

• You were a working student when you got converted by the pastor. Your parents died before you got to college, and your younger two siblings lived elsewhere under the care of distant relatives. So the church became your home where the pastor and his wife were your foster parents and the rest of the church were your brothers and sisters.

  It was all God's will, apparently, for you began to see the pattern in your life's tapestry woven by the Eternal Weaver: You were meant to be in that university where you met the pastor; your church became your support group when you were struggling with your studies and finances; members of your church aided you in launching your career; you are now blessed materially beyond measure and you can now give back to your church bountifully; and your job enables you to reunite with your siblings and give them a comfortable life.

  Your conversion experience completely changed your life for the better.  You feel special. You were called. You're a child of God.

• You often got sick, and each time the pastor was there to pray for you. After some time, you recovered. You cannot explain how you were healed: it's a miracle!  You will naturally follow this man of God even through the valley of the shadow of death or drown in the deep blue sea for him if he wished so.

Imagine thousands of people going through similar circumstances that led them to an existential reboot, a new-found truth, personal growth, and purposeful living. Their testimonies offer valuable insights on how individuals could develop an unyielding loyalty to a belief system, a church, or a preacher. 

Certainly, these anecdotal pieces do not constitute proof of these believers' truth claims for other very pious people with totally opposite beliefs across the globe can tell of similar experiences of so-called Divine Providence.  

But these can offer us a glimpse of what religious conversion entails, and how ignorance and gullibility can be exploited by preachers to entice prospective followers.

Epiphany or Apophany?

Religious epiphany is an instance where one has a conversion experience or becomes convinced that s/he is led by a divine power. It is quite understandable that these believers would credit the pastor as the instrument of God for their changed lives. It is possible that throughout their lives, most of them will remain steadfast in their belief that they were convicted by the Holy Spirit through the pastor's preaching.

Stripped of their mystical adornments, however, such experiences may actually be cases of apophany -- i.e., people connecting two unrelated experiences or ideas together.  Ex-Church of Christ member and Skeptics Society founder Michael Shermer (2011, 113, 169) has coined two terms to encapsulate this religious phenomenon: patternicity ("the tendency to find meaningful patterns in both meaningful and meaningless noise"), and agenticity ("the tendency to infuse patterns with meaning, intention, and agency"). 

But for believers, everything that happens to them is in accordance to a divine pattern and purpose. For as Romans 8:28 says, "...we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".   

In reality though, it may not really be a case of finding proof of the divine but simply of selective memory and encountering the psycho-social function of religion.  Nevertheless, such a conviction is enough to make believers loyal to a particular theological school, church and preacher.

Human Access to the Divine

That kind of loyalty further cements the notion that pastors, preachers or priests have special access to divine power or the divine mind. They have the Holy Spirit's power to convict the sinner's soul and bestow abundance on the believer's life.

But it is precisely this idea of one's ability to commune with the divine that empowers one person to control the thoughts and behavior of hundreds or even thousands of people. It is both fascinating and frustrating how even supposedly smart people could believe that someone who got a degree in Theology and/or an ordination from another human being or an ecclesiastical institution has gotten a step closer to the mind of a god, when it could be easily demonstrated that ordinary people who do not wear the title of a Pastor or Pope can give us more sensible counsel and make much wiser decisions than (m)any of these church leaders can.

They can claim that a divine hand has placed them there but, if we were truly honest about how this works, it is clear that social and historical accidents, personal ability and political machinations were at work in setting them up to their pedestals and that a preacher's success is really all about personal charisma, communicative skills, marketing strategy, work ethic, career management, and a ton of luck.

Some pastors or ministers may tell you they directly obtained their knowledge from a particular god, but that's baloney because the supposedly special knowledge they got can easily be imagined or concocted by other people who don't claim any connection to the divine.

Their contradictory claims also indisputably point to their sources of ideas earthwards, not heavenwards -- unless you are willing to concede that God has forked tongues or that contending gods perpetually connect with and confound various human channels at the same time much like Greek deities supposedly did.

This claim about speaking to some supernatural being makes faith subjective, constructed according to the claimants' prejudices and imagination.

It is easy to forget when we see them behind the pulpit and/or when they are in their special costumes that they are no different from the rest of us -- people driven by love, lust, anger, and pride.

It is also easy to forget that many preachers are on the whole good not because they have the divine spark in them, but they were generally goodhearted in the first place; that many others are just nasty, despicable men of the cloth simply because they were already so even before they ever donned the ecclesial robe.   

In the latter's case, their unpleasant character can with practice be sublimated. Their vengefulness or vindictiveness can, for instance, be easily hidden by their condemnation of unbelievers or sinners who, they assure us, will be burned in hell forever and ever by an imaginary Eternal Punisher.

Not Human Wisdom

Right before I left that church, my closest friends tried to dissuade me by saying I just needed to have a "simple faith" and trust in divine wisdom, not in human wisdom. After I left that church, I came to understand that maybe what they actually wanted me to have was a simplistic belief -- one that naively views a particular church's interpretation of Scriptures as pure, unadulterated by cultural, political and historical influences; one that sees the world in black and white, good vs. evil; and one that regards an honest inquiry into one's faith as a mark of a backsliding spirit, and not of intellectual integrity.

It now seems odd, too, that they would condemn human wisdom when in fact it is the foundation of their faith. How did they acquire their faith? Through the indoctrination mainly at home, in church, and even in school. Who taught them about the doctrines they now dearly hold? People in the pew and behind the pulpit. How did these teachers obtain their knowledge? Through human channels -- theologians, Bible school teachers, other preachers, book writers (hermeneuts, exegetes, apologists), other believers, and even random people with appealing ideas.

Too often though, these facts about how theological information has been obtained and passed on using human wisdom are lost in the believer's tendency to spout Bible verses like "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Prov. 16.25) and "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God (I Cor. 3.19a)" and feel content that they have thus easily exposed the folly of the non-believer's reliance on human wisdom.

But really, when a pastor says his message is the word of God, he is actually speaking about what he thinks a particular sacred text means. There is no divine voice speaking through him; he is simply speaking from his limited experience as a human being, distilling knowledge he fetched from the intellectual wells of Bible translators and/or interpreters and a host of other human beings.

The quality of the preacher’s sermon and the effectiveness of his presentation are dependent on his genes (physical appearance, vocal quality, mental capacity), homiletical or public speaking training, mnemonic ability, social background or status, and other human characteristics that enhance his charisma.

To dismiss the "unbeliever" as relying merely on human wisdom masks the fact that the believer's faith system is the product of culture and historical accidents.

Money Rules

Our pastor's twin rules actually constituted only one major rule with infinite number of sub-rules , mostly about money.  I came to understand that just as taxation is the lifeblood of governments, so is "love offering" the soul of the church.

No matter what the sermon topic was, he always managed to drill into us the urgent need to give money sacrificially. We were conditioned to give "'til it hurt” – Missions Offering, Faith Offering, Love Offering, Firstfruits Offering, and other types of giving that made the church coffers ring.

That echo from the pastor's treasure box, to reinterpret Tolkien, was the one ring which ruled us all, the one ring which found us, brought us all under his shadow, and in the darkness of his divinely-inspired wisdom bound us. So bound were many of us -- students and professionals alike -- that we were willing to forgo even our basic needs just to heed the call of that ring.

We were totally sold to the pastor-centric idea that "The more money I have, the happier you are," as Bill Maher aptly puts it. It didn't matter that most of the working people were forking over to the church 50% of their taxable income while the pastor was getting 100% of his tax-free salary and benefits.

It didn't matter too that God's blessings came with a Trumpian quid pro quo deal: I will bless you more if you give me more. So if your business goes kaput because of some natural or man-made calamities, good luck to your giving and to the ROI from your own business and from the pastor's racket. For after all, as is always claimed, "The law of sowing and reaping is a universal principle".

Not all pastors are like this of course. I have several pastor-friends who don't live in luxury despite their success in their respective ministries, and even if they are well off, they don't flaunt their wealth like many of their colleagues do.

Other pastors or evangelists I know are really just there for the money. A few others just stay on as preachers even though they do not believe in most of their theology anymore, simply because they have no other career to fall back on -- preaching is the only thing they know and can earn their keep from.

Still, others have become jet-setting servants of the Lord, reminding me of some wit who said wrote:

"There are at least three ways to get rich:

1. Be a Gambling Lord;

2. Be a Drug Lord; or

3. Be a Praise the Lord."

These well-heeled preachers may not have gambled nor done drugs -- they simply , following Pascal, wagered on the Lord, and got high with God.

This reminds me an anecdote which tells of an encounter between Thomas Aquinas and Pope Innocent II which supposedly went like this:

Entering the presence of Innocent II., before whom a large sum of money was spread out, the Pope observed, “You see, the Church is no longer in that age in which she said, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’”—“True, holy father,” replied Aquinas; “neither can she any longer say to the lame, ‘Rise up and walk. [see Bartleby]

Well, I seriously doubt the factuality of the story of Peter miraculously curing a disabled fellow, but I have no doubt that the Roman Catholic Church has been one of the most enduring business enterprises the world has ever known. And so have been other Christian sects and church leaders

Some preachers in the Philippines have even become much like many politicians who wield the three G's: guns, goons, and gold. These rich pastors impoverish their own people and promise them mansions in heaven while they themselves live in mansions on earth.  They assure their followers that they are under the protection of armies of angels who may be invisible but are everywhere in the air. Meanwhile, these pastors need bodyguards, guns, technologically advanced transports, and surveillance equipment for their 24/7 protection.

More of these con artists masquerading as messenger of divine truth will no doubt emerge and rake in more silver and gold in the years to come simply because millions of people are just so gullible that they think those with silver tongues also have silver wings.

As long as people keep surrendering critical thinking on the twin altars of hopeless faith and false hope, love -- the love of money -- remains enthroned and will reign supreme among the "seven churches of Asia" and beyond.

The Berean Rule

He urged us to read the Scriptures to find, like the ancient Bereans supposedly did, “if [the things he taught] were so” (Acts 17.11), and indeed we found them true as we listened to his thunderous sermons, made notes on our Bibles’ margins, highlighted key texts, and memorized strings of verses. For us, Sola Scriptura was not just a slogan; it was our lifeline. For after all, we were convinced that the B-I-B-L-E meant "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth."

It didn't occur to me back then that those basic instructions actually comprised of 1,189 chapters and 31, 102 verses plus the layered interpretations of these texts laid down by Patristic writers, Protestant preachers, English Separatists, and many other modern-day scholars chief of whom was Cyrus I. Scofield whose Dispensationalist notes had virtually become an integral part of the Scriptures for us.

So when we read the Scriptures supposedly like the Bereans did, we did so using the the theological lens our church happened to have developed across the years.

The Set-Your-Mind-On-Things-Above Rule

He urged us to “set our minds on things above” by dressing neatly and decently, prayerfully choosing what to watch on TV (or hellivision,” as one other pastor called it which is why he did not have such an accursed thing in his house), avoided worldly parties, and tried to keep away from worldly songs.

Sometimes, our pastor would overlook or turn a blind eye to the little sins of some rather bull-headed sheep, notably among whom are his own children. Eventually, he would relent and slacken certain policies so, for instance, the once-horrifying pantsuit and knee-length skirts eventually became acceptable and replaced ankle-length skirts among most of the women in church.

Another example is that the once-unacceptable ostentatious display of wealth eventually became a norm, especially among his family who had by then entered the much-envied circle of the elite.

In recent years, social media has further set him and many of his members "on things below" as they took various online portals a collective showcase of the fine cars the Lord blessed them with, the latest gadgets they could afford, their junkets here and abroad, the VIP lounges they lolled in, the new residences they built or bought or moved to, the ornate furniture in their house or condo unit, the branded clothes they bought in cash, the food they ate, the food their pets ate, their wonderfully done hair in a famous beauty clinic, and such other "blessings from God".

The Vulnerable Troop Leader Rule

He reminded us to focus on the perfection of the Lord, not on the imperfection of his servants, so we looked past his personal antics and moral lapses, always mindful that the Devil has consistently trained his assault most on God’s troop leaders on earth.

This actually meant he could do anything he wanted, even the most dastardly act, and get away with it. For after all, notable men of God in the Bible were imperfect, broken vessels of the divine message but still got the pass to the heavenly gates:

• Adam, the cowardly pass-the-buck guy who dumped his guilt on his wife instead of taking full responsibility for his own sin;

• Noah, who was so wasted after flooding his belly with wine that he opened himself to a homosexual act with his own son, Ham;

• Abraham, the guy who was ever-willing to donate his wife to a king just to save his own skin;

• Lot, a loving parent who offered his daughters to be raped in place of two angelic visitors and who, in his drunkenness, had carnal relations with his own daughters;

• Jacob, that weasel who cheated his older brother and deceived his own father so he could scoop up firstborn privileges in accordance to a divine law;

• David, the king who had his top, loyal general killed so he could have his widow as his wife;

• Solomon, a lecherous sovereign whose insatiable appetite had to be supposedly fed with 700 wives and 300 mistresses at the expense of his tax-paying constituents...

It didn't matter that a lot of these stories in the Old Testament were partly or entirely fictitious to promote the agenda of scribes and redactors who wrote these. These are powerful Biblical illustrations of how some people could do the most horrible acts and still get rewarded handsomely in the end simply because they were chosen as vessels of divine messages.   

Conversely, people during those times apparently get severely punished for committing small  infractions, like Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10.1-7) who "offered strange fire" and were immediately torched by God, or some young men who mocked the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 2.11-12) and were mauled and devoured by a bear.

So never mind those truly goodhearted, generous, well-loved people out there who have made the world a better place by using their wealth to actually ease the sufferings of the poor and the downtrodden and support scientific research to develop better modes of transportations, more effective medicines, and others.   

Since they did not happen to be members of that particular church and did not have the one and only true Evangelical conversion experience, did not have the right Bible or theology, or spent their Sundays not in church but in the field furthering the possibilities of research and human development, they will burn in hell forever.

Meanwhile, the corrupt and criminal preachers, pastors, priests and popes will stroll along the golden streets of heaven, entertained by the soothing sounds of harps played by angels.  

The 24/7 Rule and Pastoral Entitlement

Another rule involved becoming a "total" Christian -- i.e., 24 hours of the day, 7 days of the week. He exhorted us to give time for what he called as the Lord's work, and so we spent our lives like Jesus was coming at any moment– midweek service, special prayer meetings, Sunday morning and evening services, Sunday afternoon prospecting, Friday visitations, Saturday Bible studies or Kids Ministry, lay preachers’ class, daily tracts distribution, Friendship Evangelism, and many others.

So although I had genuinely happy moments in that church, I had found the demands of "doing the Lord’s work" exhausting. For some time, the pastor’s exhortations sustained me somehow, and because I had the conviction of Jeremiah, proverbial the fire in my bones kept me going, deriving pleasure in seeing the supposed fruits of the Spirit grow in our tiny sect and translate into more conversions, more giving, bigger dreams, and a greater hope of heaven.

Then I quit.

As I pointed out earlier, for most of those I left behind, "simple faith" was what I needed most. For them, instead of questioning what we were taught, I should have been surrendering my intellectual arrogance to Jesus because He is the Answer (although what the question really was is still a puzzle to me).

Backsliding and quitting on my faith only proved that I wasn't a true Christian at all, that my heart was not totally converted to Jesus. I was too worldly: My spirituality just didn't make the cut, and I wasn't really cut out for soul-making. I might have thought I left them, but when the Rapture comes I will certainly be left behind.

That is certainly understandable. For by viewing someone's departure from their faith that way, they convinced themselves that the tiny bells around their necks are medals of authentic existence; that living in an ecclesiastical coral cut off from the rest the earth's vast pastureland is just a rehearsal for the hoped-for eternal existence in Paradise.

Most pastors I know and have watched or read about like to make themselves the model of an ideal Christian life and their habits the pattern for their flock's behavior. Which is fine, I suppose, because of course they have follow-ers who are supposed to imitate them.

However, this notion can lead to thought control and abuse. Just consider those pastors who routinely insist that their members participate in all or most of the regular and special activities or programs of the church, and question the faithfulness of those who could not do so.

From their viewpoint, even members who have been regularly giving tons of money to their church but who don't regularly attend midweek services and weekend Bible Studies are in danger of hell fire. For me, that smacks of insensitivity and self-centeredness.

And no surprise there, if you come to think of it. For if you make a living out of preaching with the following privileges, you would eventually think you are the core of a geocentric universe:

• You develop and implement your own work plan;

• You are watched over by a supposedly invisible supervisor who is too busy to make a spot check on your workstation every now and then;

• You have a band of loyalists around you who unquestionably carry out your orders;

• You don't have to clock in or out of a biometric attendance machine each day;

• You regularly rake in tax-free salary and other benefits, and from time to time get generous gifts from grateful and ever-cheerful givers;

• You don't have to worry about transport to and from work because your office is right next to your house, or maybe you have the latest edition of the most hi-tech cars money can buy;

• You don't fret over unpaid house rentals and other bills because you made sure your church takes care of such things;

• You get the spotlight each Sunday, during church anniversaries and other special events in the lives of your followers from birthday celebrations to house blessings; and

• You are regarded as a righteous man whose "prayer... availeth much" (James 5.16) and therefore one who can cause a loyal member to be blessed and an erring one to be accursed.

You would no doubt develop such an immeasurable sense of entitlement that you forget or disregard the following facts or possibilities:

• Most of your members are working their asses out so they could sustain their regular offerings to the church and to put food on the table;

• They usually have to scrimp on their budget, depriving themselves of even their basic needs, just so they could regularly give their tithes and all kinds of extra offerings;

• Their daily work life is measured by a bundy clock and have to work overtime to beat deadlines or else they lose some benefits or even their jobs;

• They barely sleep just to keep their businesses afloat given the political and economic uncertainties the country is facing;

• They spend hours on the road to and from work, inching through every traffic in the morning at night while by that time you are simply lazing or dining somewhere;

• They get home to do house chores, help their children with their homework, and fulfill some other marital or parental duties while you in the meantime don't have to be distracted by such mundane concerns because perhaps you've got maids and tutors to serve you, or a wife who can do full time work as a housekeeper simply because your income is more than enough for your immediate and extended family.

The Pastor is Often Wrong

I could point out specific decisions and instances where my pastor was often wrong  -- factual errors in his sermons, misuse of biblical verses to justify his wrongful acts, misjudging people's character, meddling into the private affairs and dictating life-defining choices of church members, conducting misguided and harmful counseling even though the only training he had in this field was reading some pop psychology books, among others.

But whatever awful things he has said and done or will say and do, his salvation is secure for God's love supposedly covers his multitude of sins, even ones he has securely hidden from the public.  Having been so indoctrinated about pastoral authority, his followers will always find ways to rationalize his wrongful ways and creatively deal with the cognitive dissonance they are likely to continue facing.

And so in the end, the sheep get devoured not by wolves but by their shepherd.  

Suggested Reading:

Shermer, Michael. 2011. The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies -- How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. New York: Henry Holt and Company. EPUB.

• DEVANGELIZED: CHILDHOOD INDOCTRINATION IN A FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH

• DEVANGELIZED: CHILDHOOD INDOCTRINATION IN A FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH 2