Jesus Untangled

Keith Giles has just released a new book entitled Jesus Untangled. I caught up with Keith to ask him about the book.

Enjoy!

Instead of asking, “What is your book about?” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?”

Christians who read this book will be challenged to follow Jesus in a deeper way than they’ve probably ever considered before.

Tell us a bit about the experiences that shaped the insights in your book.

As a former straight-ticket Republican for over 35 years, I slowly started to notice the plank in my own eye. I started realizing that it was possible to follow Jesus without being entangled with American politics. Then I started to realize that it wasn’t only possible – it was very necessary. I discovered that you cannot convert a culture if that culture has already converted you.

What do you hope readers will walk away with after they finish your book?

Many people who’ve read Jesus Untangled have shared with me their experience of being set free from political entanglements and re-discovering their passion for Jesus and His Kingdom.

Who do you see benefiting the most from reading your book?

I think there are two groups of readers who might benefit most from my book: Christians who are tired of politics in the church, and Christians who cannot imagine their faith apart from their politics. One will find the book a refreshing affirmation of their desire to follow Christ without entanglement, and the other will be challenged to follow Jesus by crucifying their politics.

What have been the controversial parts of the book for evangelical Christians?

What parts of this book aren’t controversial? The Evangelical Christian church has slowly become more and more entangled with conservative politics over the years. Anyone who dares to challenge that alliance, or to actually try pull them apart, is asking to be hammered.

So, I fully expected there to be a backlash among many American Christians, but as someone who was once a member of that tribe, I’ve really worked hard in this book to introduce my ideas with an extra measure of grace.

I think the most difficult topics to address are questions like, “Are we a Christian Nation?”, “How do we follow Jesus apart from politics?” and “Won’t evil triumph if we don’t engage in the political process?”

These are some of the questions I deal with in the book. I think many will find it challenging, but it’s always a good idea to put our faith on the anvil now and again, if for no other reason than to see if it can stand the test.

Tell us about the title of the book.

Many Christians, especially in America, are entangled with politics. As someone who was once completely blinded by politics, my hope is to help my brothers and sisters in Christ to recognize this deception of the Enemy and fully abandon this entanglement that threatens to distract us from our calling and mission as Ambassadors of Christ to the nations.

So, not only do I feel that Christians need to “Untangle” their faith from politics, I also feel that the solution is to “Crucify our politics to pledge allegiance to the Lamb.”

What’s next for you? Are you working on anything new?

The hardest thing about writing this book was to stop writing it! So, at the urging of my publisher, I took all the extra research and ideas that wouldn’t fit into this book and I started writing the next one. At the moment I’m 85 pages into what will eventually be my follow-up book. Tentatively entitled “Unraveled” and hopefully released at the end of this year.

Order Jesus Untangled on discount.