Jesus, the first-century Jewish teacher from Roman-occupied Judea, serves as the central moral reference point for the book’s argument. Fugelsang presents him as a social and religious teacher whose emphasis on nonviolence, mercy, and care for the poor provides a basis for evaluating the claims of modern Christian nationalists. His life and words become the standard against which the ethics of contemporary political movements calling themselves “Christian” are measured.

Fugelsang uses Jesus’s teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount and the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, to evaluate political and social positions. He argues that any political program claiming a Christian mandate must be evaluated by its alignment with Jesus’s explicit commands to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and care for the sick and imprisoned. Jesus’s rejection of retaliatory violence and his critique of performative piety are also used to challenge the “warrior-Christ” image found in some nationalist interpretations.

Fugelsang also highlights Jesus’s way of interpreting scripture as a model for readers. By frequently using parables and reframing Jewish law with the formula, “You have heard that it was said… But I tell you” (40), Jesus demonstrates an approach that emphasizes intention and ethical meaning over strict literal application. Fugelsang uses this to support reading scripture in context, in contrast to the literalist interpretations he critiques. In the book, Jesus is presented as the primary point of reference, whose example challenges readers to focus on compassion and ethical action in their understanding of faith.

Paul of Tarsus, the Pharisee-turned-missionary, is a pivotal figure in Fugelsang’s analysis of how modern Christianity often diverges from the teachings of Jesus. Originally a persecutor of Jesus’s followers, Paul became an influential early church leader, authoring letters that shaped its doctrine and facilitated its expansion into the Gentile world. Fugelsang uses Paul to demonstrate how context-specific correspondence to early churches has been transformed over centuries into widely applied doctrinal authority, frequently cited to justify culture-war positions on gender and sexuality.

Fugelsang’s central critique is the tendency among many conservative Christians to prioritize Paul’s words over the Gospels, a move that he argues often shifts attention away from Jesus’s core message of inclusivity. He focuses on how Pauline passages—particularly those attributed to him regarding women’s silence in church and same-sex behavior—have become “clobber verses” used to enforce modern interpretations. The book questions the proof-texting of these passages by challenging interpretations of verses like 2 Timothy 3:16 (“All Scripture is God-breathed”) (41), arguing that such claims of biblical inerrancy ignore the historical context in which Paul was writing.

By emphasizing that Paul wrote pastoral letters to address specific local crises, Fugelsang supports a reading that takes into account genre and audience. This approach questions the use of Pauline letters as fixed universal commands, suggesting that applying his first-century advice as timeless rules is a misreading. Paul’s legacy in interpretation thus becomes an example of how scripture can be used in different ways, depending on how it is read.

Jerry Falwell Sr., the American televangelist who founded the Moral Majority in 1979, represents the politically active fundamentalism that Fugelsang argues has shaped the public face of Christianity in the United States. By building a powerful network of institutions—including Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University—Falwell aligned conservative Protestantism with Republican electoral strategy, contributing to the formation of a political bloc.

Fugelsang presents Falwell as a key figure in the rise of a media-driven “family values” Christianity that linked the faith with a specific set of culture-war agendas, such as opposition to abortion and feminism. This association, broadcast into millions of American homes, helped establish a partisan version of Christianity that often placed less emphasis on Jesus’s teachings on poverty and justice. Falwell’s legacy, as Fugelsang frames it, contributes to the development of contemporary Christian nationalism, showing that these ideas developed over time.

Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, functions in the book as a contemporary case study of how Christian identity can be used in political contexts. Fugelsang analyzes Trump as a political figure who aligned himself with segments of the white evangelical movement by presenting himself as a defender of a faith under threat.

Fugelsang uses Trump’s presidency to illustrate the book’s central critique: the prioritization of political identity in relation to Christian ethics. By casting himself as a protector of “persecuted Christians,” Trump engages with a narrative of cultural anxiety that resonated with his evangelical base. The strong support he received, despite personal conduct and policies often at odds with the teachings of Jesus, highlights a dynamic where allegiance to a political figure and associated political positions takes precedence over the ethical teachings of the gospel. Trump’s role in the book is to demonstrate how political movements and religious identity can become closely aligned in contemporary discourse.

Mary Magdalene, a prominent disciple of Jesus in the Gospels, serves as a key example in Fugelsang’s argument against misogynistic traditions within the church. He presents her as a faithful follower who witnessed the Crucifixion and was the first to witness the Resurrection, establishing her textual importance. This historical reality is contrasted with the later, unfounded tradition that conflated her with a prostitute, a misreading Fugelsang argues was used to diminish women’s spiritual authority.

Her story supports Fugelsang’s discussion of gender and interpretation. By highlighting how later interpretations reduced her role, he critiques broader patterns of sexism within Christian history that do not align with the biblical text and Jesus’s own inclusive treatment of women. The reassessment of Mary Magdalene’s role illustrates how interpretations of scripture can change over time, drawing attention to the role of women in early Christian narratives.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is presented as a prominent modern example of a “Christ follower” in the book. As a Baptist minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, King linked the teachings of Jesus to the fight for democratic reform and racial justice. Fugelsang uses King as a counterpoint to the punitive and exclusionary politics of Christian nationalism.

King’s commitment to nonviolent direct action, love of enemy, and advocacy for the poor reflects an applied form of “red-letter” Christianity. Fugelsang uses King’s life and words to challenge the “warrior Jesus” archetype, showing how faith can be used to support reconciliation and social change. King’s approach to activism provides the book with an example of how Christian teachings can be applied in public life, illustrating what it means to faithfully follow Jesus in the public square.

Mike Pence, the former Vice President and Governor of Indiana, serves as a contemporary example of how public expressions of faith are connected to political positions. Fugelsang refers to Pence’s political career, particularly the controversy surrounding Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), to illustrate how the language of “religious freedom” is used in policy debates over LGBTQ rights.

Pence’s prominent evangelical identity is presented as part of his public image, which supports a political agenda the book critiques as inconsistent with Jesus’s teachings. He represents the close association between conservative politics and public expressions of faith, which influences policy discussions related to church-state boundaries and the rights of minority groups.

Dorothy Day, the American journalist and cofounder of the Catholic Worker Movement, is presented as a contrast to the political focus of Christian nationalism. Her life of pacifism, voluntary poverty, and commitment to hospitality aligns directly with the moral imperatives of Matthew 25. By establishing houses of hospitality and advocating for workers’ rights, Day lived out a faith rooted in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

Fugelsang presents her as a “Christ follower” whose actions offer an alternative to punitive forms of religion. Her legacy illustrates a form of faith expressed through service and social justice, rather than political power.