Oct 28, 2025

🧩 Faith, Humor, and Radical Compassion: Stephen Tarr Reviews Separation of Church and Hate

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🧩 Faith, Humor, and Radical Compassion: Stephen Tarr Reviews Separation of Church and Hate

Review by Stephen Tarr

Book cover for Separation of Church and Hate

With toxic theologies like Christian Nationalism on the rise, it’s more important than ever for progressive Christians to be equipped with both compassion and clarity. In our latest Read. Reflect. Renew. selection, author and faith-rooted comedian John Fugelsang offers just that—a timely antitoxin in the form of a book titled Separation of Church and Hate.

Stephen highlights several strengths: the book’s tone, its scope, its sourcing, and its Biblical foundation. But he also names two caveats worth noting: a slightly oversimplified contrast between the Old and New Testaments, and a tendency to pit Jesus and Paul against each other a bit too sharply. Still, the heart of the book rings true—its message, both convicting and hopeful, is one we need in this moment.

Stephen Tarr, a member of Holy Covenant, offers this review:

“This is no academic tome, but neither is it a rant. While it’s forthright, it is chatty, informal and laced with humor. He doesn’t meet toxicity with toxicity.”

Fugelsang tackles a wide spectrum of justice issues—from racism and homophobia to capital punishment and xenophobia—grounding his arguments firmly in scripture and, more specifically, in the teachings of Jesus. His work is Biblically rooted and Jesus-centered, with a style that’s readable, accessible, and refreshingly grounded.

An actor, podcaster, comedian and progressive Christian, John Fugelsang has written Separation of Church and Hate. Pursuant to its subtitle, it is intended as “a sane person’s guide to taking back the Bible from fundamentalists, fascists and flock-fleecing frauds.” Thankfully, it does just that!

The book contains several significant strengths:

It is written with a light touch. This is no academic tome, but neither is it a rant. While it’s forthright, it is chatty, informal and laced with humor. You won’t find toxicity met with toxicity.
It is wide-ranging. I can’t say Fugelsang covers every possible issue, but he covers a lot:
- Misogyny
- Capital Punishment
- Homophobia
- Xenophobia
It is well sourced, biblically based, and Jesus focused.

Ironically, the focus on Jesus leads to the two possible negatives.

Fugelsang comes close to downgrading the importance of Judaism. He doesn’t quite get there, but that old (and inaccurate) idea of a distinction between the God of the Old Testament and that of the New is not always as far away as it could be.
He draws too radical a distinction between Jesus and Paul. He acknowledges that Biblical scholars don’t think some of the writings attributed to Paul are actually by him but then he acts as though they are. It’s far from fatal, but a little more nuance would have helped.

Still not convinced? Then there’s this: Willie Nelson likes the book; he says so right there on the back cover.

“Willie Nelson likes the book; he says so right there on the back cover.”

We invite you to check out Separation of Church and Hate and let it speak to your own faith journey—especially as we continue seeking ways to build a community grounded in justice, humility, and radical welcome.

📖 Want more information on the book or ready to purchase it? Visit our Read. Reflect. Renew. feature:

Separation of Church and Hate

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