John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Sadly, Ted's sister died of lupus at age 15, and his biological father who was also an atheist took his own life with a gun. Life is a veil of tears. I cannot help but wonder where Ted Turner is right now. What is he experiencing in the afterlife? Biblically, Mr. Turner is burning in Hell if he died in his sins without having receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for his sins, which sadly appears to be the case. That is so sad.
To be quite honest, I too feel contempt for organized religion. I detest the authoritarian abuse that I have experienced firsthand in many Independent Baptist churches today (fundamentalist and neo-evangelical alike). There is a wicked arrogance and haughty bad attitude among many pastors today that is spiritually crippling the churches, driving godly people away. The one main thing woefully lacking in most churches today is genuine love, concern and compassion for people. Pastor Jack Hyles said it well:
To be quite honest, I too feel contempt for organized religion. I detest the authoritarian abuse that I have experienced firsthand in many Independent Baptist churches today (fundamentalist and neo-evangelical alike). There is a wicked arrogance and haughty bad attitude among many pastors today that is spiritually crippling the churches, driving godly people away. The one main thing woefully lacking in most churches today is genuine love, concern and compassion for people. Pastor Jack Hyles said it well:
“If you have one person in this world, one, in or out of your family, who really cares for you; and will care for you when you mistreat them, and will care for you when you cannot give them a thing; if you have one person who cares for you with Bible care, you're above average.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Who Cares Anyway?”
“If you really care about one person, you're above average.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Who Cares Anyway?”
“Our trouble is we only love those who appeal to our senses.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Who Cares Anyway?”
That being said, my heart goes out to people when I hear them expressing utter disgust and contempt for organized religion. I mean, look at Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Kenneth Copeland and Jim Bakker—all religious con men who prey upon the masses for money. Do you really think they care about anyone except themselves? I think not (2nd Peter 2:1-3).
Religion Versus Christianity
And then look at the churches themselves—all of the scandals, misguided zeal, sexual abuse and crooked pastors that we've endured for the past half century in the United States. I'm really surprised that anybody still goes to church. So, I cannot say that I blame the world for condemning the churches, when all they are doing is speaking the truth. I speak as a redeemed born again child of God. I feel nothing but contempt for organized religion today!
Frank Sinatra, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Silverman, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Jodie Foster, James Cameron, Harrison Ford, Ridley Scott and countless other celebrities have all spoken freely about their contempt for religion. Honestly, I cannot disagree with them about religion itself. I fully understand that most of them are atheists, so I do consider the source; but to be honest, the things they say about religion are true. Fortunately, I can clearly see that God is good, true, holy, honest and just; religion does not represent our faithful Creator. I sincerely believe that anyone can see this truth if they want to. John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
My own father, who is in Heaven today, once said to me: “Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world.” My father was absolutely right, and he was a non-denominational Skid Row preacher. You see dear reader, religion wants to fit us with glasses but the Lord wants to open our eyes with the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life according to John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” I learned a very long time ago that the inspired Holy Bible and religion are two different things that are worlds apart. John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
2nd Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” The Bible says that Satan (the god of this world) blinds the minds of unbelievers, to prevent them from seeing the light of the truth of the Gospel, lest they be saved. So, if the Devil can get you to start hating everything about organized religion, so that you reject the light of the truth along with religion, he has you caught in his trap.
I've said all that to say this. It breaks my heart to see a guy like Ted Turner leave this life without faith in Jesus Christ. I cannot help but wonder if he ever saw the difference between truth versus religion. Did he make the connection? Did he see that the Gospel (Jesus' death on the cross, burial and physical resurrection) has absolutely nothing to do with manmade religion?
You Don't Have To Be Religious To Go To Heaven
Many people are born again today, who do not attend any church. I am one of them, at present. I haven't found another church to attend, since ruthlessly being kicked out of the Family Baptist Church in Pensacola in June of 2025 over my biblical stand against immodesty. The pastor's wife wears her ungodly pants in public, so in their haughty pride THEY (not me) made a big issue (a big stink) over my Bible preaching on social media, censuring my ministry. The pastor's wife feels contempt for me because my Bible preaching makes her feel convicted over her immodesty. But it is God's Holy Spirit, and not me, that offends her.
Today's pastors are so carnally-minded, shamefully incompetent and hateful of people, that they couldn't care less about who they throw under the bus, throw out the door and hurt (and I wasn't the first person to be kicked out the door of their horrible church). Those wicked pastors (and the ungodly church members who support them) will answer to God why I no longer go to church. I write to their shame. 1st Samuel 24:12, “The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.”
If Ted Turner saw the same hatred, childish behavior and antics that I have seen in today's churches, I do not blame him one bit for his disparaging remarks and refusal to have anything to do with religion. Could it be possible that Ted Turner wasn't able to differentiate the difference between true Christianity and contemptible manmade religion? This is where Satan traps so many people, using contemptible religion to influence them to despise the things of God.
Yet, we read in Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” I don't claim to understand it, but somehow, someway, every human being gets an opportunity to be saved. God's grace is what saves a man! Not works, not being faithful, not church membership, not our best performance or good works; but grace. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” When God's grace appeared to men like Ted Turner, George Harrison of The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra, they rejected that grace.
I cannot help but sincerely believe that wicked men use the flaws of manmade religion as a cloak, as a valid excuse in their own mind, to refuse to come to the light of the truth to be saved. John 5:40, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Yet, the Bible does say that the Devil “blinds” the mind of unsaved people. So, although God's saving grace does appear to everyone; it is also true that Satan to some degree hinders lost people from being saved with his lies.
Ted Turner died with a staggering net worth of $4,800,000,000 and yet what saith the Scripture in 1st Timothy 6:7, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
When Apple founder Steve Jobs died in 2011, he left behind an amassed fortune of $10,200,000,000. Sadly, Mr. Jobs was a lifelong devout Zen Buddhist, a false religion that does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
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