The Thing That Jesus Hated Most About Religion

Why His Harshest Words Weren’t for ‘Sinners’

Image by RomoloTavani on iStock

I still remember the first time I felt the sting of religious hypocrisy.

I was a teenager, sitting in church, listening to a fiery sermon about the dangers of sin. The pastor’s voice thundered from the pulpit as he condemned drinking, sexual immorality, and the corrupting influence of secular culture. He warned us that good Christians should separate themselves from the world, should live righteously, should strive for holiness.

And then, just a few weeks later, I overheard something that made my stomach drop.

That same pastor — the one who had stood in front of the congregation preaching purity and righteousness — had been caught in an affair. Not just any affair, but one with a married woman in the church. And what happened? The church leadership quietly asked him to step down. No public confession. No real accountability. Just a quiet exit while everyone else was expected to keep pretending.

I remember sitting there, trying to make sense of it. I had seen people shamed, shunned, even publicly called out for far less — for dressing the wrong way, for questioning church doctrine, for admitting doubts. But here was a man who had stood on that stage, wielding the Bible like a weapon, only to…