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Dennis Diehl

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Dennis Diehl is a former pastor of 26 years,  who outgrew the Literalism of Fundamentalism.  He writes about Pastoral and Church abuse and is available to speak on such topics or be helpful to any church suffering under abusive religion or pastors. 

 

OpEd News Member for 877 week(s) and 4 day(s)

71 Articles, 0 Quick Links, 58 Comments, 3 Diaries, 0 Polls

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(26 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 15, 2007
Questions Your Pastor Will Hate When I was a kid, I loved to ask Bible questions of my minister, who I thought was supposed to have the one true answer to everything. I got an assortment of answers, most of which did not answer the question but made me a bit unsure I should even asked them. First in a series of real Biblical squirmers!
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Bible Roulette--Are Ya Feeling Lucky Punk? Bible Roulette is one of the world's funnest games. Any fundamentalist, Bible haunted, prophecy nut can play it. The problem is that many politicians swear by it or use it to their advantage. Another problem is that all the cylinders are full.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 14, 2008
Fleecing the Flock--They Actually Have Classes! Who would have guessed they teach classes in effectively fleecing the flock of their funds. Learn the tricks for your own church.
(10 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, July 2, 2007
Harry Potter VS Moses...What's the Difference? For some, reading or watching Harry Potter is the same as picnicing with Satan. So why do all the Bible guys do the same tricks? And what's the difference?
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, August 27, 2008
As Hurricane Gustav Approaches--It's Weather-Not God's Judgment Weather is just weather. While one can get in the path of that which will not respect your humanity, it is not God's judgement on us.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 7, 2008
Counting Down to Christmas and the Birth of the SUN There truly is nothing new under the sun!
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ok, that's it! "Holy Land " Label Is Officially Revoked Amazingly, yet not unexpectedly, the Holy Land has had it's status revoked by the very ones who thought to make it so.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, June 16, 2007
Questions Your Pastor Will Hate- Part2 Everyone loves the Christmas story but Pastors don't like the questions the contradictory accounts can bring to his desk. Mark notes nothing about Jesus birth, Matthew and Luke disagree and John wrestles with Jesus not being from Bethlehem and born of fornication. Paul just says he was born of a woman..nothing special there. What gives?
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, June 16, 2007
You Shall Not Kill Has No Meaning in the Real World of Religion One of the shortest andmost simple of the Ten Commandments is "You shall not kill." Pretty simple actually..."You shall not kill." Any questions? Well of course there are and the right after Moses gives mankind this great law, he orders the murder of 3000 people who were afraid he'd skipped town and left them to die in the dessert.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, April 9, 2008
21 Fabulous Things I have Learnt From the Bush Dynasty If you just listen closely, as we were all taught in school, you can learn amazing things about how it all works.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, September 17, 2007
Monotheism-Source of Unending War and Pain The idea that my God can woop your God and all your associated believers is getting old. Humans and Rebublicans (little joke there)need a new paradigm if we are to reap more than the whirlwind of exclusivism in human thinking.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Mama, Mama...I'm Obama...and so are you! Keep your vote in the family. Vote your DNA...Vote Obama!
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, September 30, 2007
You Can't Unring a Bell-You Can't Unsee What You Do See Whether it's religion or politics, you can't unring the bell of waking up. You can't not see what you have come to see.
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, December 29, 2007
Those Prospering Pastors--When To Say No Not everyone who is collectiong your hard earned money for God, works for God. Ask yourself these questions before you give to fund the end time work of some prophet, priest or king.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 28, 2008
There Are No Chosen People, Religions or Governments on the Planet ...just people, religions and governments.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Fool Me Once... Shame on Us Plain and Simple Whether we get fooled once or twice, it's a shame. How much longer can we, as Americans, put up with being fooled by the fools that fool us?
(37 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, June 21, 2007
Questions Your Pastor Will Hate - Part 3 Pastor, I have a few questions about the events surrounding the Crucifixion. I know reading the Gospels is like four people seeing the same accident, as you keep telling me, but help me out here...
(10 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, June 23, 2007
Christian Fundamentalism -- The High Cost of Being Sincerely Wrong Goodmorning Pastor. I used to be one of you. I know how you think and how you filter the world through the Bible, as you understand it. May I make a few cautionary observations so we don't end up with hell on earth?
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, June 15, 2008
Weather is weather - not the wrath of God Weather is just weather. While we humans are adept at getting in the way of earth processes, it is not the Deity "trying" to tell us something. He can just hold a seminar if he really wishes to that!
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 8, 2007
Refuting Christian Fundamentalist Claims that Muslims Can't Be Good Americans A rebuttal to the foolish blindspot experienced when a Christian Fundamentalist explains why Muslims cannot be good Americans.
SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 2, 2007
Exclusivism--The Mind Virus From Hell Exclusivism and just how to perpetuate that specialness that comes with many mindsets within religion, or politics, is a mind virus that is going to take the world down in flames. The Neo-Con counselors to the Republican Party have set the stage for the biggest sanitation problem in the history of the planet.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, September 22, 2007
Mr President I have a Ques..tzzzzzzzz tzzzzzzzzzz I have a question Mr. President. You said..tzzzzzz tzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz tzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..hey man..ouch.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 20, 2008
We Don't Need Politicians...We Need Enlightened Humans Leading Unless we all come to grips with the truth that we're all small parts of the same one big thing, we'll never get out of this mess selfish politicians and corporate greedmeisters have gotten us all into
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Man Rips Head from Bush Wax Figure in Crawford (wink,wink) Ok, it was German tearing the wax head of Adolf Hitler, but it could happen at this rate...
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, September 7, 2007
Can a Good Muslim Be a Good American? Ask a Good Christian Fundamentalist Can a member of the Islamic faith be a good American? Evidently not for the following reasons. However, applying the same principles to Fundamentalist Christians, we find they have to leave town too.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, February 10, 2008
Stay Home From Church--Save Ten Percent-Fundamentalist Terrorism Lord..save me from your followers.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 16, 2007
"I'm So Disillusioned."--Excellent, Now We Are Getting Somewhere! "Oh I am so disillusioned." Oft repeated words these days when it comes to religion and politics. But who wants to be "illusioned?" Who wants to live with illusions? While painful, becoming disillusioned is the first step to recovering our political and religious sanity.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, December 20, 2007
A Little Theological Honesty Here...Merry Solstice I know it's difficult to admit, but the ancient "Reason for the Season" is not what you have been told.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 8, 2007
Neander-Thoughts-Ideas in Religion We Can Do Without There are no Neanderthals on earth today, but there are Neander-THOUGHTS. A Neander-thought is an idea, way of thinking or being that no longer works. The world of Religion has many worn out and archaic Neander-Thoughts.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Legacy...What I have learned from The President of the United States of America Before President George W. Bush leaves office, I want to relate some of the many lessons I think many of us feel we have learned during this most incredible time in our history. I am thinking I better hurry as well.
(11 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, September 10, 2007
Hello Earth! God the Father, Allah, Jesus and Buddah here..Listen Up! We've rolled around heaven just a little bit too long and now we just have to speak up. Most of you folks there on your nice blue planet are good folks. We need to have a chat with those who seem to be important amongst you. You seem to have lost your minds.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Church Member's Bill of Rights -- Basic Rights Any Member of a Church Should Expect to Enjoy Sometimes "the Church" takes over a bit too much of one's life. These are the basic considerations and rights that any Church member of any Church should be reasonably able to expect be honored by the Church or Pastor.
SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Speaking From the Heart Mr. President? The Bible notes that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Is that what we are experiencing with Mr. Bush's gaffes and observations of how it all is in this world he has created for us?
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, October 7, 2007
All Candidates...Please Step Through The Mental Detector I don't believe it is unreasonable for "we the people" to ask all those who aspire to high office to pass through a MENTAL detector as you drag us with you on your journey.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, April 4, 2008
Dear Lord-Please Chasten Us in Thine Hot Displeasure, and Hurry. Lloyd's of London warned that the absence of natural disasters or man made accidents was putting pressure on them to reduce premiums in 2008. We must all pray for them.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, July 2, 2007
Eyes for Eyes, Teeth for Teeth and Life for Life...No Wonder Everyone is Blind, Angry and Can't Communicate Eyes for eyes and teeth for teeth simply leave the world blind and toothless. Religion has a funny way of spreading love.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, September 16, 2007
Neander-Thoughts and Thinkers-Ideas in Religion That Never Really Worked Neander-Thoughts are ideas that pretty much have proven themselves not to work well in real time. They existed for a long time but now have come and gone like the Neanderthals of old. Neander-thoughts produce Neander-Thnkers which has gotten us all into this world mess to begin with.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, August 26, 2007
Mother Teresa--From Saint Back to Human and It's OK Even Mother Teresa, that human we all just knew we could never quite be like, wore a mask. We all wear masks and dropping them is more encouraging to us than clinging to them.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, August 16, 2007
Fundamentalism Leads Mostly to a Sanitation Problem NeoCon Fundamentalists seem to love a good "Let's make Jesus come back" war. By cobbling together the schizophrenic prophets of old with narcissistic Apostles and a dash of Revelation, they just know Jesus will have to come save them, and only them. Problem is, all one will really end up with is a large human sanitation problem.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, September 8, 2007
Vengeance, Revenge and Retaliation--Anyone Got Any Better Ideas? An eye for an eye-a tooth for a tooth-a leg for a leg-an arm for an arm-a skull for a skull...hey, where'd you go?
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, September 6, 2007
Fundamentalist Pastor forbids teen and member blogging "Ask yourself, 'Do I have a tendency to want to have a voice?'" "If you blog, are you sure you do not partially enjoy it because your carnal nature is inclined toward vanity?" "In the grand scheme of things, why would the world at large care?" Answers: A. Yes B. I tend towards freedom of speech and thought. C. Because we may be heard and survive those who would squash freedom and the human spirit.
(15 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 29, 2007
Questions Your Pastor Will Hate Part 5 Pastor, aside from Matthew copying 91% of Mark and Luke copying 53% of Mark for their inspiration from God, here's the last of my questions for you. Pastor, could you stop staring at me and say something once in awhile?
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, January 10, 2008
God Revokes Holy Land Status--All Agree It's Time to "Pull It" George Bush is visiting the "Holy Land"....I don't think so!
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 6, 2007
I'm the Decider...Now Watch This Drive A Poem based on many popular Bushisms we have had to endure over the past six years.
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, December 3, 2007
From Pastor to Bastard...What a Trip! Thanks to the abuse and misuse of the Good Book by the piously convicted but marginally informed, ministers and layman alike are waking up to the cold facts of Christian origins. People want to reside in the comfort of the "Old Old Story," as long as it is the same old story. And there are many abusers of the sincere out there more than willing to take you down the path to our harm.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, October 27, 2007
Heading on Down To Xmas..We're All Still Sun Worshippers at Heart No matter our religious affiliations, we're all still SUN worshippers at heart.
SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The 12 Step Plan to Preventing War What this world needs is a good 12 Step Plan for the Prevention of War. May I suggest....
SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, January 5, 2008
So Many Ideas-So Many Beliefs--Think for Yourself This Time Around We tend to join and support what serves our personal needs and beliefs and then act as if all others are wrong for not filtering the world through these needs of ours. It's not way to run a planet. It is no way to elect a President. And we certainly don't need a President who filters his world, and by extention, ours, through his religious beliefs.
SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, November 27, 2008
All Consuming... It is my religious obligation to consume stuff. Stuff is truth. Storing stuff becomes a problem however at times.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Message from Jesus: Please- No More Christian Soldiers Marching as to War Hi...this is Jesus. You Church folks have been singing Onward Christians Soldiers long enough now. I don't like the song. I never liked the song. And I'm going to ask you to remove all references to me from the lyrics. And feel free to drop the "we are not divided, all one body we" stuff too. Satan said he'd be happy to lead your army. I quit. In me...Jesus
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, June 17, 2007
An Open Letter To the Good People of the Middle East From the We're Not that Stupid Americans When the American Government speaks for the "American people," sometimes we average American people need the world to know that they don't. What the Bush Administration believes about what the American People want and expect is often very far from reality. We'd like you to all to understand this.
(14 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, June 17, 2007
Weather is Not God's Judgement... It's Weather Whenever a major weather event hits, Fundamentalists scramble to assign it the meaning of it being a warning from the Deity to change our evil ways. They are long past understanding or being able to accept that weather is just weather and has absolutely nothing to do with God or Bible "Prophecy."
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 28, 2008
Dear God - Most of Us Need to Talk to You About the Few of Us Who are Scaring All of Us Hi God, It's us. We gotta talk.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, July 5, 2007
Never Wrong...No One Is Ever Wrong I've met a lot of people who are never wrong. But they are and you'll never hear an admission of it.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, October 11, 2007
Giving Away Our Power..A Very Bad Habit We have all done it. We are all guilty of it. We have all turned against ourselves allowing it. In America, we who can't not see what we do see, still do it.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Uh oh...A Bigger Secret Than THE SECRET..again. Ooops...seems there is a bigger secret than THE SECRET. Another Guru appears to be imploding trying to prove more stuff and bigger toys is the key to human happiness. Buyer beware...
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 27, 2007
This is Jesus...We Gotta Talk About This Christian Soldier Thing. How about we strike "Onward Christian Soldiers" from the hymnal? Jesus is making a special request that we all come up with a better way of motivating people to love each other.
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Do You Really Want To Live Under Religious Fundamentalist Control? Errrr, Um...No! Some are convinced that the solution to all our problems is to come under the blessing of Theocracy. Argh!
SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 14, 2008
Lest We Forget--When Pollyanna Ruled America Lest we forget. A simple reminder of how it really didn't go.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, June 23, 2007
Questions Your Pastor Will Dislike Part Four One can question anything but the apparent contradictions and editing in the Bible. Some say "so what, why nitpick." Others scoff at how anyone who was of God would really know how to answer these questions. And of course, there are the hundreds of years old apologetic used to make these problems seem to be not problems at all. Only the reprobates notice textual problems. True believers see none. You decide.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Why Do We Allow This to Go On? We notice it. We hear all about it. We see it. We shake our heads over it. We aren't stupid. So why do we allow it?
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, June 25, 2007
God Told Me To... "God told me to" are problably some of the most chilling words one could ever hear. Our President has been quoted as say it as have many religious types who were plainly wrong.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Email To God and the Host of Heaven-Return Receipt Requested A heartfelt email to God and the Host of Heaven imploring them that our Beloved President refrains from pulling a HugoPootyPoot on us all next year.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Dear Mr. President--You Are Not Special--Something You Forgot We don't really want a War President. It's not really just your job to make all the decisions and our to just go about our business. Here's a simple fact of life, Mr. President, that you and your base have forgotten, or never knew.
SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Twenty One Things Americans Expect Government Leaders to Never Forget Sometimes those elected, or even selected to govern forget the rules of governing. We are entering a new age where unless leaders understand the following, they will be looking for other work.
SHARE More Sharing        Monday, December 17, 2007
Tanks for the Memories--Politicians and Theoticians Need a Good Enema How about before the next elections we as all politicians and theoticians to submit to some internal cleansing?
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, January 26, 2008
It's The Gaza-dus--Return of the Karma Fairy The Karma Fairy Strikes Again and Well!
SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, January 5, 2008
I'm of Larry, I'm of Curly, I'm of Moe...How My Way or the Highway Rarely Works A one many show infected with the mind virus of "It's my way or the highway," is not only dangereous, but simple will never work as way for humans of all persuasions to co-exist.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, April 18, 2008
Headlines Seen Only In Our Dreams Headlines one can only dream about...

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