A New 95 Theses: Reclaiming Jesus From The American Evangelical Church

As October 31st approaches, we remember that day in 1517 when a monk named Martin Luther nailed his grievances to a church door, sparking a reformation. Today, we stand at another crossroads. The evangelical movement in America has strayed far from the Jesus who welcomed outsiders, challenged religious authorities, and embodied radical love. These theses are not written in anger, but in grief—and hope.

On the Nature of Jesus

1. Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew, not a white American suburbanite.
2. The Jesus of the Gospels consistently sided with the marginalized, not the powerful.
3. Jesus never asked anyone to pledge allegiance to a nation or political party.
4. The red letters in your Bible often contradict the religion built in His name.
5. Jesus welcomed doubt and questions; He never demanded blind faith.

On Salvation and Exclusion

6. You have weaponized salvation, turning grace into a gated community.
7. The “sinner’s prayer” appears nowhere in the teachings of Jesus.
8. Hell has become your favorite tool of manipulation and control.
9. You have made God smaller than human love—what parent would torture their children eternally?
10. Jesus never said “only Christians go to heaven.” You did.
11. God’s revelation is not limited to those who have heard your particular version of the Gospel.
12. You have confused certainty with faith.
13. Love is a better indicator of knowing God than doctrinal correctness.

On Scripture and Literalism

14. The Bible is a library, not a rulebook.
15. Jesus used parables because truth is often found in story, not in literal fact.
16. You have worshiped the Bible instead of following its central character.
17. Cherry-picking verses while ignoring context is not biblical interpretation—it’s propaganda.
18. The creation story in Genesis is ancient poetry, not a science textbook.
19. When you read the Bible literally, you miss what it’s actually saying.
20. Jesus never wrote anything down. Perhaps that should tell us something about the nature of His message.

On LGBTQ+ People

21. You have caused immeasurable harm to LGBTQ+ individuals in the name of “love.”
22. Your “love the sinner, hate the sin” is neither loving nor biblical—it’s cruelty wrapped in religion.
23. Jesus said nothing about homosexuality. Nothing.
24. You have driven countless young people to suicide with your teachings on sexuality.
25. Conversion therapy is torture, not ministry.
26. Two people loving each other is never an abomination. Your lack of love is.
27. Gender identity is complex, and ancient texts don’t speak to modern understandings of human experience.

On Women

28. You have used religion to keep women in subordinate positions.
29. Jesus elevated women in a patriarchal society. You have done the opposite.
30. Women are not responsible for men’s lust.
31. Complementarianism is patriarchy with a Bible verse attached.
32. God does not call only men to leadership.
33. Purity culture has damaged generations of women, teaching them their worth lies in their virginity.
34. Modesty teachings place the burden of men’s behavior on women’s bodies.

On Politics and Nationalism

35. You have merged Christianity with American nationalism, creating a false gospel.
36. The flag does not belong in the sanctuary.
37. “Christian America” is a myth that ignores history and harms democracy.
38. Jesus transcends our political categories and partisan divisions.
39. You cannot serve both Jesus and partisan politics.
40. The kingdom of God is not advanced through political power.
41. Christian nationalism is idolatry.
42. Jesus was anti-empire. You have become the empire.

On Wealth and Prosperity

43. The prosperity gospel is heresy that makes Jesus a cosmic vending machine.
44. Jesus spoke more about wealth than almost any other topic—and none of it was about getting rich.
45. Your megachurches are monuments to ego, not temples of worship.
46. Pastors living in mansions while congregants struggle is a scandal, not a blessing.
47. “God wants you to be wealthy” contradicts nearly everything Jesus said.
48. Tithing guilt is manipulation, not stewardship.

On Science and Intellectualism

49. Faith and science are not enemies.
50. Evolution is not a threat to God.
51. Climate change denial is not a Christian position—it’s negligence toward creation.
52. Anti-intellectualism is not a virtue.
53. Curiosity and critical thinking honor the God who created the universe.
54. Telling people to pray away depression and anxiety instead of seeking medical help has cost lives.
55. The earth is not 6,000 years old, and pretending it is makes Christianity look foolish.

On Judgment and Shame

56. You have mastered judgment and failed at compassion.
57. Shame is your primary tool of control.
58. “Speaking truth in love” is usually just speaking harshly without love.
59. You focus on others’ sins while ignoring your own.
60. Sexual sin receives disproportionate attention while you ignore greed, pride, and lack of compassion.
61. Purity rings and pledges created shame, not holiness.
62. Your obsession with who is sleeping with whom reveals more about you than about Jesus.

On Power and Abuse

63. You have protected abusers and silenced victims.
64. “Touch not God’s anointed” enables abuse and protects predators.
65. Spiritual authority is not a shield against accountability.
66. The abuse crisis in evangelical churches is not isolated—it’s systemic.
67. Forgiveness does not mean avoiding consequences for abusers.
68. You have valued reputation over justice.
69. Women and children have paid the price for your institutional self-protection.

On Race and Justice

70. White evangelicalism has been complicit in racism.
71. “I don’t see color” is not biblical—it’s denial.
72. The church was wrong about slavery. The church was wrong about segregation. Listen when people tell you you’re wrong now.
73. “All lives matter” as a response to “Black lives matter” dismisses the specific pain and injustice being named—something Jesus never did.
74. Jesus was born into an occupied nation. He would understand police brutality.
75. Your “law and order” rhetoric would have condemned the prophets.

On Immigration and the Other

76. “Build the wall” is antithetical to “welcome the stranger.”
77. Jesus was a refugee.
78. Your fear of immigrants reveals a lack of faith in God’s provision.
79. National borders are human constructs, not divine mandates.
80. If you care more about immigration law than about people fleeing violence, you’ve lost the plot.

On Control and Freedom

81. You have made Christianity a system of rules rather than a path of liberation.
82. Jesus came to set people free. You have bound them in chains of guilt and obligation.
83. Faith should expand possibilities, not restrict them.
84. The fruit of your gospel is anxiety, not peace.
85. You have confused control with holiness.

On Hurt and Healing

86. Religious trauma is real, and you have caused it.
87. The term “exvangelical” exists because of your failures.
88. When people leave your churches, you blame them rather than examining yourselves.
89. Deconstruction is not apostasy—it’s often the path to genuine faith.
90. Jesus spent time with those religious authorities had cast out. You should too.

On the Way Forward

91. Love is not a weakness. It’s the whole point. Empathy is not a sin—it was who Jesus was.
92. Compassion without conditions is what Jesus modeled.
93. Mystery and uncertainty are part of faith, not threats to it.
94. The Kingdom of God looks nothing like what you’ve built.
95. There is still time. The Jesus you never knew is still calling you back to the way of radical love, inclusion, and justice. Will you answer?

These theses are not the end of a conversation but the beginning of one. To those wounded by the American evangelical church: your pain is valid, your anger is justified, and you are not alone. To those still within these walls: there is a better way, a truer way, a way that looks a lot more like Jesus and a lot less like the institution built in His name.

The door is nailed. The conversation begins.