Separating Church and Hate – Seeing with New Glasses

In this episode of Joyously Free!, host Joanie Lindenmeyer welcomes retired Lutheran pastor Jim Abbott to discuss approaching faith through compassion rather than judgment. Exploring themes from the book Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang, Abbott urges listeners to view scripture through “new glasses”, moving past fear and exclusionary literalism to embrace Jesus’s core message of mercy, generosity, and love. Abbott concludes with an uplifting call to replace fear with hope and live with openhearted kindness.