Separation of Church and Hate
by John Fugelsang

Separation of Church and Hate

Fundamentalism has used the Bible to spread hate, and it needs to be taken back by the actual Bible-Believers.

Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang, published by Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, September 9, 2025, 304 pages

Ugh!!!

John Fugelsang brings us a book that is so confusing at times, but also makes some very valid points. At the end of the book he makes this statement, “Some of the best humans I have known have been Christ followers, and they weren’t all Christian.”

That is the premise of the entire book really. His whole book centers around the “teachings” of Jesus. Jesus was inclusive to all religions, inclusive to anyone that had a different sexual orientation, he was non-violent, and he was pro-choice with abortion, and that he was for abolishing the death penalty.

He sites many verses throughout the book from the NIV (New International Version) and the KJV (King James Version).

The good points that he does make is that there are “Christians” out there that actually spread hate. Christ loves all mankind (humanity) or he wouldn’t have died for their sins on the cross.

Taken the Bible and radicalizing it to marginalize certain people groups or to justify hate is foolishness. Jesus did preach love your neighbor. Jesus also preached to love the Lord and then love your neighbor.

Fugelsang forgets that there can’t be the love of Christ or God without the God’s justice. John, not everyone is going to heaven. There is a literal hell spoken of in the Bible and that is where people go if they reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

The Bible never teaches about purgatory and neither does the Bible teach that good works get you to heaven. The blood of Jesus Christ being applied to your sins and you repenting from them and putting your trust in the one who can save (Jesus), that is the ticket to heaven.

John Fugelsang is a Liberal Catholic just from what I gathered from the book. There are some pros where he shames those that call themselves Christ followers, but hateful to the unbelieving. I am not one of those. I did not like the book, because he lumps all right wing Christians into one pot and everyone else in another pot. That’s biased.

The Professor’s Commentary

If you want to get your blood pumping or your blood pressure up, Fugelsang actually twists the words of Christ to make Jesus okay with sin and He is not okay with sin. Also, he discredits Paul over and over again. The whole Word of God is inspired. The problem with John Fugelsang’s book is that it is written by a man that was hurt by his “church” and this is his retaliation. This is just my opinion.

The statement that he makes towards the end of the book is an “oxymoron”. The word Christian actually means “Christ-follower”. Also, not all people are children of God. Christ makes statements that would point to that truth. There are children of God (the true believers) and children of the Devil (the unbeliever). Do your homework John. Reread the Bible without trying to make it fit your agenda. I believe that is problem even with real Christians today: they make the Bible fit their beliefs instead of their beliefs aligning with the Bible. 

1 out of 5 stars

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If you want to check out the book and read it for yourself click here