Many things are biblical but not many are Christlike.
In Christian circles, you hear it all the time: “Live a biblical life.” “You’ve got to live biblically.” “I want a biblical marriage.” It sounds righteous and it sounds holy. Until you actually read the Bible.
Because the moment you begin to understand the culture, the history, the authorship, the moment you stop cherry-picking and start reading front to back, you realize something unsettling: Not everything in the Bible reflects the heart of Christ. And I don’t say that lightly.
I say that as someone who has watched and personally experienced that same Bible be used as a weapon. Not as a tool for freedom. But as a system of control. As a justification for judgment. As a means of condemnation. And yet… that same text says: Do not judge. There is no condemnation in Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
So tell me, how did we take a message of freedom… and turn it into chains?
The Jesus I read about in the books we still have in our bible said: Love your neighbor. But what I see today are people clinging tighter to religion than to love. Using doctrine to excuse division. Using scripture to defend hatred. And I’m not saying this to throw stones—I’m saying it because too many are afraid to.
Because silence has never been righteousness. And comfort has never been truth. And what’s rising right now in America should concern you. We’re watching “biblical living” be repackaged and pushed through the lens of Christian nationalism, as if “God” ever needed a government to enforce “Him”.
History is not on that side. Our forefathers saw what happened when religion and power intertwined in Europe. That’s exactly why the foundation of this nation drew a line, not to remove faith, but to protect freedom. So when people stand and say, “We are a Christian nation,” what they often mean is: “Everyone should believe what I believe.” And that has never been the heart of “Christ.”
If you want to live by rules and dogma, that’s your choice. If you want to bind yourself to systems and laws that Paul said multiple times were fulfilled, that’s your choice. But hear me clearly: Your beliefs are yours. Not your neighbor’s burden to carry.
It is never okay to hate in the name of holiness. It is never okay to force belief under the disguise of righteousness. And it is never—never—okay to use a sacred text to justify your lack of love. Because if your “truth” makes you colder, harsher, and more divided, it’s not “Christ” you’re following. It’s control.
And love…doesn’t need defending with hate.
-Finn 🤍
*when I use the word “Christ,” I’m speaking in the way Christianity commonly uses it: to describe the heart and character we see in the man called Jesus. But “Christ” was never meant to be confined to a name. It means “the anointed” and scripture itself points inward: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Not something distant. Not something reserved. Something alive within you.
