Suffering is a fetish to Christians. The romanticization of unnecessary suffering, including suffering that God has promised to reduce or remove in this life, has long been a feature of the Reformed and Evangelicals, and especially the cessationists. Their theology almost becomes an eroticization of sickness and poverty, and they love to wallow in suffering for the glory of man. Even what is called Christian Hedonism represents only a psychological adjustment when it comes to suffering, instead of faith in God to overcome and change circumstances. Even if there is a difference in perspective, there is no essential difference in the doctrine and effect. When it comes to suffering, it is still a form of religious masochism.

Phony Christians are religiously aroused by unnecessary suffering. This is not the legitimate suffering that comes from believing and preaching the gospel; in fact, suffering for Christ is often not in view at all. Rather, they are enamored with the suffering that comes from everyday living, including those difficulties that God promises to reduce or remove, and that he instructs us to conquer by faith. For them, suffering is a religio-spiritual fetish. Their doctrine is a narcissistic and deviant anti-gospel. It is a grotesque and pornographic theology. It is a self-centered and self-abusive heresy. It is their way to experience a religious euphoria without possessing the faith to overcome circumstances or to receive blessings and miracles from God, and without having to do anything that might incur the kind of suffering that the gospel truly honors. All they need is to be losers in life, and do nothing, and their theology of suffering would catapult them to glory and ecstasy. They are religious sickos.

The perverts of cessationism are commended just for being victims. It is the easiest and laziest of fake religions. They are praised just for being sick. They are praised just for being poor. And they get extra points if they attack those who have faith that God can make their lives better. They claim that they endure for the glory of God, but no glory goes to God, because they are showing us nothing about God, but only how they are putting up with him for mistreating them. All we hear from them is how they have been faithful to God even though God appears to be unfaithful to them. This religious masochism is all for the self, for the glory of man. Their whole life is a religious scam to secure human approval. Indeed, they succeed in this. People admire their endurance, their fake piety. This is their reward, and it is all the reward they will get.