Monetizing Jesus: How Predators Bait Us & How to Outsmart Them

Monetizing Jesus:
How Predators Bait Us & How to Outsmart Them
by Glen Randall Bell, PhD
Core IQ Press
pp 214

In his famous parable of the wheat and chaff, Jesus clearly differentiated between the children of God, or the good seeds, and the chaff, who are the wicked among us. In Monetizing Jesus, by Glen Randall Bell, PhD, he gives us the tools of discernment, so we can clearly separate the wheat from the chaff.  

“There are predators all around us,” Bell cautions, and any one of us can be caught off guard and taken advantage of by a predator who has a really good act. Predators don’t wear horns or look like wolves dressed in sheep clothes. Predators can be successful, accomplished, charming and talk a good game. Walk down the annals of history and wherever you find war, destruction, deception, the wages of sin, you will find predators in action—using the image and likeness of Jesus to get power.

As a word of caution: “Predators often appear harmless at first. They are charming and present something new and exciting.”

There are fake Christians all around us. According to Bell, “The problem is so prevalent that Gandhi said, ‘I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”’

Monetizing Jesus is a must-read during these tumultuous times when the world stage is being dominated by a leadership who is doing terrible things in the name of Jesus. White Christian Nationalism (WCN) believes America is a Christian nation that must be dominated by white men. White Christian Nationalists are threatened by non-whites, non-Christians and immigrants on American soil. They are resolved to take back America, even if they have to use violence to achieve racial purity.

White Christian Nationalists embody what Jesus said when he quoted Isaiah: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Monetizing Jesus is a well organized primer that covers enlightened research and complex subjects in a clear and compelling way. Healthy versus toxic relationships are examined as well as how to identify gaslighting—the traits used by predators. Predators thrive within a closed, secretive, and insular system. Bottom line: “Only predators put God behind a pay wall.”

The message of Jesus is simple but radical. Love and respect God. Love and respect our neighbors as ourselves. Be selfless, not selfish. When there is conflict, be the peacemaker. Be charitable and care for those who are in need. Do not be judgmental and get all of the facts before coming to a conclusion.

Being a true Christian requires critical thinking skills. Dr. Bell provides some classic regimens to inspire critical thinking. There is a deft integration between Occam’s Razor and Sherlock’s razor, and lessons to be learned from Socrates, Aristotle, and by using plain old common sense. Bell encourages us to do due diligence bolstered by the gravitas of the authentic Jesus: have compassion for the poor, elderly and strangers. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Always keep in mind, Jesus taught an all-inclusive worldview of a loving God, and that alone transformed the world.