Aaron Schultz

“Some church folks hope that by distancing themselves from us heretics, they do not have to be reminded of their own lack of empathy, judgment, intolerance for diversity, cognitive dissonance, bigotry, infatuation with savior-like political leaders, hypocrisy, oppressive policies, power trips, aversion to new ideas, and overall un-Christlike ways.”
― Keith Giles, Before You Lose Your Mind: Deconstructing Bad Theology in the Church

“There is no greater distortion to the true gospel of Christ than to hold up a leader who bullies, lies, threatens, and promotes violence, and assert that God appointed him. A church that exalts any leader—political, religious, or otherwise—who regularly stirs up division and violence, unleashes anger and hatred, lies incessantly, threatens reporters, and belittles women, is not a church. It’s a cult.”
― Amy Hawk, The Judas Effect: How Evangelicals Betrayed Jesus for Power

“According to Jesus, the gospel can be contaminated by at least two common attitudes, which can spread throughout the church and ruin the whole batch of dough. Some of the Pharisees were judgmental and hypocritical. Their religious instruction was heavy on control and rules and legalism and hoop jumping, and had a convenient way of overlooking the log in its own eye while barring entrance to God’s kingdom for others. For example, a gospel contaminated by such a yeast might condemn a gay, married, and monogamous person for sexual immorality, while simultaneously saluting a twice-divorced, thrice-married, unrepentant serial adulterer and sexual assailant who sleeps with porn stars while his wife is home tending to their infant son. This is the type of hypocrisy Jesus can’t stand.”
― Amy Hawk, The Judas Effect: How Evangelicals Betrayed Jesus for Power

“Biblically speaking, if my fervor for the first nine months of life isn’t matched by equal fervor for protecting and advocating the years after, I’m not truly pro-life. I’m just pro-pregnancy.”
― Amy Hawk, The Judas Effect: How Evangelicals Betrayed Jesus for Power