BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian
Beliefs
- Buddhist
- Catholic
- Contemplative
- Evangelical
- General Christian
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Latter-day Saint
- More Voices
- Muslim
- New Visions
- Pagan
- Progressive Christian
Topics
- Religion News
- Food and Religion
- Sports and Religion
- Religious Art
- Religious Music and Entertainment
- Religious Events
- History and Religion
- Style and Religion
- Politics and Religion
- Women in Religion
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion
- Business Finance and Religion
- Careers Workplace and Religion
- Education and Religion
- Family Parenting and Religion
- Health Fitness and Religion
- Home and Religion
- Relationships and Religion
- Technology and Religion
- Travel and Religion
Columnists
- Buddhist Columnists
- Business Finance and Religion Columnists
- Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists
- Catholic Columnists
- Contemplative Columnists
- Education and Religion Columnists
- Evangelists Columnists
- Family Parenting and Religion Columnists
- General Christian Columnists
- Health Fitness and Religion Columnists
- Hindu Columnists
- History and Religion Columnists
- Home and Religion Columnists
- Jewish Columnists
- More Voices Columnists
- Latter Day Columnists
- Muslim Columnists
- New Visions Columnists
- Nonreligious Columnists
- Pagan Columnists
- Politics and Religion Columnists
- Progressive Columnists
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists
- Relationships and Religion Columnists
- Religion News Columnists
- Religious Art Columnists
- Religious Events Columnists
- Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists
- Sports and Religion Columnists
- Style and Religion Columnists
- Technology and Religion Columnists
- Travel and Religion Columnists
- Women in Religion Columnists
Resource Library
- 2026 Calendar
- Library of World Religions
- The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth
- Patheos Answers
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Faith Leaders Database
- Anglican Episcopalian
- Bahai
- Baptist
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Confucianism
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Hinduism
- Holiness and Pentecostal
- ISKCON
- Islam
- Judaism
- Lutheran
- Methodist
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- New Age
- Paganism
- Presbytarian and Reformed
- Protestantism
- Religion Behind the Scenes
- Roman Catholic
- Scientology
- Shia Islam
- Sikhism
- Sufism
- Sunni Islam
- Taoism
- Zen
- See all religions
Research Tools
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
- Trending:
- Forgiveness
- |
- Marriage
- |
- Consciousness
- |
- Death Penalty
- |
- Election
- |
- Halloween
- Home
- Progressive Christian
- Good News For Non-Christians: Jesus Isn’t Like Most Christians
Good News For Non-Christians: Jesus Isn’t Like Most Christians
Last updated on: April 12, 2021 at 8:15 pm by Keith Giles
Good News For Non-Christians: Jesus Isn’t Like Most Christians 2021-04-12T20:15:29+00:00 Keith Giles
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A few days ago I posted this meme on my Facebook page:

Per usual, I received an equal number of comments in favor of the meme as disagreeing with it or questioning it.
The one reply that really made me stop was this one by my dear friend, Ruth, whom I’ve known since Junior High and who married my best-friend. She said:

This reminded me of something I had written about almost a decade ago: “It’s sad when the Good News to non-Christians is that Jesus is nothing like His followers.”
And, over and over again, this statement just continues to be proven true everywhere I turn.
Last week I was invited to be a guest on a radio/video podcast program called TRUTH WANTED which is hosted by “ObjectivelyDan” and is funded and hosted by The Atheist Community of Austin, TX.
Not only were they refreshingly kind and gracious to me, they also sent me $40 on GrubHub so my wife and I could eat a huge meal together and they went out of their way to assure me that there would be no “gotcha” questions and they honored me and blessed me more than ANY other podcast [Christian or otherwise] I have ever been invited to speak with.
Now, I’ve had my share of rude encounters with Atheists, mind you. I know there are assholes on every side and in every belief [or unbelief] system.
But, my point, [and I believe there is one], is that Christians – who are supposed to be following the Greater Commission to “love others as Jesus has loved us” – and who are supposed to be known for our love, and who were commanded by Jesus to love even those who hate us, should be held to a higher standard. I mean, we should hold OURSELVES to a higher standard.
Sure, Jesus said that people would hate us because they hated him. But, I don’t think that means that people should hate Jesus because they’ve learned to hate Christians who go out of their way to make them feel unloved.
If we’re serious about following this Jesus guy – and I really think that is pretty much the ONLY THING we should be serious about – then we need to understand that the God we believe in is LOVE, and we were created in the image of LOVE, and we are called to LOVE, because we have been transformed by LOVE, and we have experienced the beautiful, transformative power of LOVE ourselves.
In fact, if we’re not going to major on love, and if we’re not committed to becoming better at loving our neighbors, and our enemies, and, yes, even at loving OURSELVES as Jesus loved us, then I suggest we peel those fish stickers off our bumpers and burn all our Christian CDs, and donate all our Christian T-shirts to the Salvation Army, and call the whole “Christian” thing off. Because we’re doing more harm than good and we’re making it a LOT harder for those people who really do want to represent the God who is LOVE to the world we live in.
Love is what will change the world. The world will only change if we change.
We can’t afford to wait much longer. Let’s start practicing love today.
**

Deconstructing your faith isn’t easy. Don’t go through it alone.
Starting May 10, we’ll launch our next round of Square 1 – a 90-day online course and online community designed to help you navigate the Deconstruction process and move on to Reconstruction without Self-Destruction.
For a limited time, you can register for a whopping 75% off at this link HERE>
If you’re looking for someone to walk with you through this process, please meet me at Square 1.
**
Keith Giles and his wife, Wendy, work with Peace Catalyst International to help build relationships between Christians and Muslims in El Paso, TX. Keith was formerly a licensed and ordained minister who walked away from organized church over a decade ago to start a home fellowship that gave away 100% of the offering to the poor in the community. Today he is the author of the best-selling “Jesus Un” series of books, including “Jesus Unforsaken: Substituting Divine Wrath With Unrelenting Love” which is available now on Amazon.
Previous Post

April 9, 2021
How Much More?
Next Post

April 15, 2021 Your Reconciliation Ministry: How's It Going?
Browse Our Archives
Select a Category Art Biblicism Christian Politics Cosmic Christ Deconstruction Discipleship Dispensationalism Divine Unity Ekklesia End Time Stuff Eschatology Evergreen Following Jesus Gender General Christian Topics Gnostics God's Love Gospel of Judas Gospel of Mary Gospel of Philip Gospel of the Kingdom Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Truth Hell Historical Jesus Inner Circle Investigative Reporting Islam LGBTQ Issues Marriage Mental/Emotional Health Mystery Non-Duality Philosophy Podcast Poetry Politics Poverty Preemptive Love Prophecy Psychology Quantum Theology Racism Reconstruction Satire Sex Technology Theology Uncategorized Universalism
Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017
Follow Us!
TAKE THE
Religious Wisdom Quiz
Who said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"?
Select your answer to see how you score.
Peter James John Judas
Books by This Author Books by Keith Giles
Related posts from Keith Giles
INNER CIRCLE: Of the Same Mind
INNER CIRCLE: Overcoming Evil with Good
Jesus and Marx: Where They Both Agree
TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian
How to Make a Decision When You Can't...
Main point: It’s much more valuable to stay close to God so...
Archdiocese Hosts Military Marriage Retreat in Germany
RASTATT, Germany — The transient military lifestyle, with its frequent deployments and...
Nearly every morning, I make the drive to Detroit with my high-school-age...
The Real AI Story Is Adoption Without Trust
Artificial intelligence has crossed a political threshold. It is no longer a...
A new article, written by Jeff Lindsay and Gale L. Pooley,...
Swimfan: Forgotten Aughts Pleasures
This is a recovery effort. In 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding...
view all Progressive Christian blogs
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
- About Us
- 2026 Calendar
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Library of World Religions
- Faith In Media Tracker
- Advertise With Us
- Write for Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Do Not Sell My Data
- Contact Us
- Radiant Digital
- Manage Newsletter Subscriptions
- Unsubscribe From Notifications
- Sitemap
Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.
Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In











