When I first saw this story I thought it was about Jill Duggar’s new husband, Derick Dillard. It’s not that I can’t tell the many Duggar progeny apart, I sort-of can, it’s that I didn’t really read the story and rolled my eyes at it. It’s one of those “my religion is better than your religion, even though we have the same God” arguments, and really who has the time or patience for that? These people do, obviously.

Jessa Duggar’s 19 year-old fiance, apparently frustrated by the lack of full-on hugs from his would-be bride, posted a Facebook entry denouncing Catholics for some ways their religion differs from his own Evangelical beliefs. It was very eye-roll inducing and the kid must have realized that on some level because he deleted it when people started calling him out on it.

Ben Seewald, the staunch Christian boyfriend of 19 Kids and Counting star Jessa Duggar, 21, has been forced to delete an anti-Catholic rant he posted to his Facebook page last week, after it caused a social media storm, reports RadarOnline.

The 19-year-old, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, vented his ‘problem’ with the Catholic faith, slamming the religion for suggesting that Jesus’ mother Mary was a ‘sinless being,’ and quoting scripture to support his views.

‘Where [Catholics] depart from Scripture, I will in no way support, but will call them out because I love them and desire that they be turned from their deadly errors,’ the frothy diatribe read.

‘I have nothing against individuals who are Catholic,’ the post read. ‘I know a lot of Catholics who are great people. What I DO have a problem with is the teaching that man can merit God’s favor through his own works or the works of other fallen men.’

It continued: ‘I DO have a problem with the teaching that man can come to God through Mary or any other person besides Jesus . . . I DO have a problem with the deification of Mary as a sinless being.

‘Mary herself admitted her need for a Savior. If she had no sin, she would need no Savior.’

Readers were quick to respond to Ben’s post – not the first aggressive religion rant he has shared to the social media site.

‘Ben is the worst. He is just the worst,’ one user commented. ‘This kind of ‘Christian love’ is one of the most sickening sentiments on the planet.

‘It’s demeaning, it’s condescending, it’s self-aggrandizing and it turns my stomach.’

Many users pointed out the various errors in his Bible references, with one writing: ‘You post your almighty preachings as if you know the real truth.

‘But, then people point out your numerous mistakes, you take your post down or just erase all the negative things. Grow up boy and face the truth.’

Not long afterwards, Mr Seewald did indeed erase the post. He has since shared a post about ‘Abortion. America’s Silent Killer,’ – another one of his preferred subjects to proselytize.

[From Daily Mail]

I used to be Catholic but now I’m an atheist. I’m a recent transplant to the south though, and I learned to stop telling people I’m atheist lest they try to “save” me. (So many random people have tried to get me to go to their church. Unless it’s the Church of Bacon, I’m not going.)

So this whole rant makes little sense to me. Maybe those of you with more theology knowledge can explain it, but taken on face value it seems to mean that he doesn’t agree with certain Catholic beliefs and thinks they’re so terrible as to be “deadly.” He’s saying that Catholics are going to burn in hell for the fact that they think that charity is looked upon favorably by God, right?

A while ago I heard an excellent This American Life about a former high level Evangelical pastor and right hand man to Oral Roberts, Carlton Pearson. Pearson came to the personal realization that God wasn’t damning good people to hell just because they weren’t Christian. He also studied The Bible inside and out and decided that it was flawed and that it wasn’t God’s final word. Of course the Evangelicals denounced him as a heretic.

If I did believe in God, I would believe something similar to Pearson and The Unitarians. Their God is inclusive and loves and welcomes everyone. Seewald’s God is pissed off when anyone varies from their specific arbitrary formula for salvation.

Oh and Seewald also posted this photo last month of Jessa with a semi-automatic rifle. Shootin’ up sh*t for Jesus!

Photos from Facebook