I agree with the ideas behind nearly everything Sheri Faye Rosendahl says in this book. Unfortunately, though, her seemingly arrogant sarcasm will keep me from recommending this to anyone. She says early on that she hopes this book will spark conversation but then spends the remainder of it dismissing and talking down to the very people on the other side of the issues she mentions. There is no room for dialogue here. Speaking truth to power still has to be done in such a way that the powerful will be willing to listen. As this book stands, I think it is structured and written to preach to the choir, so to speak. I had high hopes for this but was disappointed.

Not Your White Jesus is a difficult book to write about. Rosendahl makes some good points about Jesus and how he dealt with people throughout the New Testament. However, her tone and slang are totally off-putting.

I definitely like Rosendahl’s main message. When asked what the greatest of the commandments was, Jesus responded, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’” (from The Message).

Jesus loved people and we should too, especially the marginalized in society, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the poor, the prisoners, and even people of other religions. His harshest words were always for the “religious” men of the time who were more interested in rules and appearances, not in loving their neighbors. Maybe we should be worried about loving people around the world and teaching them to love others, not about converting them. She does definitely prioritize love over other New Testament truths, but I’m not sure that right now that’s wrong. We could use more love, less hate, more caring, less violence.

She takes her basic argument, that love is what matters, and looks at a few of the current topics of today, like war, misogyny, consumerism, refugees and immigration. She uses scripture to illustrate her points and I agree with her a lot of the time.

I could complain that she deals in stereotypes a lot – that American Christians are rabidly pro-life, but are looking down our noses at pregnant teenagers or young single mothers, that we are all gun rights fanatics and are supporting bans on Muslims and building a wall. We all aren’t, I’m not. I do think she represents a large portion of the population who see Christians in that light. We can only change that perception by making sure the world see how caring, loving, accepting, non-violent Christians can be.

I have a couple of problems with the Not Your White Jesus. First, the author’s tone is antagonistic and will alienate the very Christians she want to impact. People don’t change their minds by being yelled at. Second, she uses so much slang and text-speak. I feel like she’s trying too hard to be current and relevant and in three years, her book is going to sound silly. Calling Jesus the J-man, using words like “rando” and “mic drop” just don’t do justice to her message. The title and blurb will make people pick up the book, but her writing might drive them away.

The book presents some incredibly important aspects of Christianity all too often overlooked in the American church. The problem, however, in my mind is the flippant way that Ms. Rosendahl tells the story. I get that she is trying to get to an audience that is turned off by the church, but that does nothing to fix the ailing problems of the people who don't really understand what is missing in the church.

To me, this book goes too far in trying to be current as it tells it's message. If the language was not so over the top in it's "I'll show you how different I am..." flippancy, it would be presenting some solid points. As it is, I probably won't finish the whole thing from tiring of her style.

The title drew me to the title of the book. Being an African American Christian that has been disgusted by the so called evangelical "Christians" that have not been living like Jesus would have wanted us to, I wanted to see what was in the content of the book. While I don't agree with everything that was written, the author does give some valid points, especially when referring to being pro birth (instead of pro life like a lot of evangelicals claim to be, because its obvious they could care less what happens to children once they're born), to working to help the homeless and several other points raised in the book.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of the book.

(I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)


I don't read a whole lot of non-fiction, but when I saw this come across NetGalley (sorry I finished so late!), I had to pick it up. This title seemed right up my alley.


I wanted to love this book by Sheri Faye Rosendahl, but I just...liked it. I don't think I was the target market. I (finally) realized a long time ago that Jesus didn't look like the paintings we as Americans normally see. This was geared more toward younger Millennials, it seems, possibly college students, with the way she uses "colorful language" and refers to Jesus as "J" a lot of the time.


The book included more personal stories than I expected; I forgot about the second part of the title and was wondering the author wasn't writing more about Jesus as a Middle Eastern man (not the fault of the author that I misread it). There were plenty of Biblical examples included, which I loved, but I wish there had been more references of other types.

Overall, I would recommend this, but if you already believe the things written, it's not revolutionary (though it is refreshing).

(short versions of this review are on Goodreads and Litsy [mydearwatson])

This book, "Not Your White Jesus" is different from any book I have seen because it deals with a very touchy subject which is something that has recently been a controversial subject--"White Jesus".

I first heard the name "White Jesus" last year from a friend who was doing biblical research and brought up the idea that Jesus Christ was not white in skin color and that He was much different than the Jesus many churches worship now. At first, I was a bit taken back by this info but the more I thought about it, it made sense and so, I was intrigued to see that someone had written a book about this very subject.
This book "Not Your White Jesus" has some good points, but overall I felt it was mostly just a rant about today's Christians and today's churches.

The language was a bit rough and unpolished for me and the thoughts quite radical and I did not completely finish reading this book because I lost interest in it. Perhaps if it had been presented in a more loving, less radical but teaching way, it may have had a better effect on me.

Although, I do agree that Jesus Christ was most likely not white, and that many churches nowadays may not present Him as He truly was, I cannot say that I fully agree with all this book said.

I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review and all these thoughts are my own.

--Leona J. Atkinson

I struggle with the audience and purpose of this book. I think it feeds into the filter bubble mentality afflicting society at the moment. Those who already share Rosendahl's views will appreciate finding an author they agree with, but beyond identifying issues, she offers few practical ways to effect change. And if those who disagree with her positions do read the book, they are likely to be turned off by her constant shrill condemnation of their opinions. While I tend to agree with Rosendahl on many issues, even I got tired of reading about how poorly she thinks most white American Christians are at following Jesus' calls to love. Not a book to build bridges of unity and change. Review based on an ARC from NetGalley

In the current climate of our society, I often feel a bit isolated in my thinking. I find myself wondering if other people that call themselves Christians are reading the same Bible that I am and apologize far too often for the condemning & judgmental actions of the people that call themselves followers of a God that practices love, grace & mercy in a capacity so far beyond our mortal scope of imagination that we can’t really even comprehend it. Not Your White Jesus by Sheri Faye Rosendahl lets me know that I’m not alone. There are others that get it. Others that realize the hypocrisy in quoting scriptures to justify prejudices while conveniently omitting the parts where it says not to judge. This book re-ignited my fire & I’m so thankful for the chance to read an advanced copy. My only complaint about this book is that most of the people that could benefit most from the perspective it offers will likely never read it.

Sometimes Christianity doesn't look like Jesus anymore. But if we're not like Jesus, what good are we?
Sheri gets away from the staid sermons we've heard all our lives. She talks like a young person with a passion for justice, a desire to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house those without shelter, welcome the stranger, and #letlovewin.

It seems that so many people feel that Jesus or God are no longer something that matters anymore. But if more of us presented our faith as Sheri does, our society could be transformed by this radical Jesus, #NotYourWhiteJesus.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reading copy of this book courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t love the way this book was written and it felt more like a few blog entries clumsily stitched together. However, I did find it a good thinking piece and conversation starter.

Not Your White Jesus is a book needed for the times but with it's provides no answers or suggested on what Red Letter Jesus would have them do.
I truly understand Sheri Faye Rosendahl; I live in the Deep South and see White Christianity at its worst. Pretty much everything she says, I agree with. We are taking the love out of Jesus focusing too much on traditions that benefit only us.
I enjoyed learning more about Syria and Israel; this broadened my view one something I had truly researched before. I saw several new sides to the debate. I also liked how she shared her personal struggles to put these ideas into place in her own life.
Unfortunately, Not Your White Jesus won't make a dent on the audience that needs to hear it. While there is great references to scripture and the author explains why this is different than the majority held reviews, her tone will drive those away. I can tell you that there were times even I blanched because it sounded like the Bible thumpers and I'm on her side! The other issues are that she leaves how to be a better Christian hanging. These new (old) ideas are radical to the opposition and without clear guidance, they won't actually do anything. There are two examples were she does give people ideas of what to do but not enough to carry the book.
This has great theory and ideas that need to become mainstream. Unfortunately, this book is written in a way that won't engender the opposition to her views.

The author is quite passionate about social justice and encourages us to trade white Jesus for the real, red-letter, radical, and counter-cultural Jesus. My favourite chapter was the one on materialism. A major problem I had with reading Not Your White Jesus: Following a Radical, Refugee Messiah was the author's tone; I found her a bit too flippant for my liking, considering the topics at hand. She makes a lot of generalisations and completely ignores nuance when writing about topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or immigration. Overall, okay book but really not for me!

Not Your White Jesus is one of those books that readers will either like or dislike, with few taking a middle stance. There are some very good points, but there are many places where the book goes astray.

First the good points. There is no doubt that many who call themselves Christians, whether they are committed believers or consider themselves Christians because they are not Buddhist, or Hindu, or something else, do not show the love of Christ to others as we are commanded. There is no doubt that Jesus’s name has been invoked to justify many atrocities and crimes. The author’s call to love as Jesus loved is certainly valid and appropriate to our day and age. She includes many passages from the Gospels to explain and support her assertions.

Unfortunately, this book shares an incomplete view of the love of Jesus. Missing is any mention of the fact that He told people to “sin no more.” Missing is the fact that the greatest expression of Jesus’s love was his sacrifice on the cross for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserved. Omitted in the midst of all the attention on Jesus’s love is the fact that He is coming again, the next time to bring the wrath of God to punish those who have not repented and believed on His name. Sadly, the author would instead have the reader believe that Jesus condones the sins of others, and that we should too.

The good in this book is far outweighed by the bad. The author treats the Lord of Creation as just some good guy, at times referring to Him disrespectfully as a “badass” or just “J.” And, for a supposedly Christian book, it was also peppered with an occasional (and needless) profanity.

As if all this weren’t enough, the book is as much (if not more) a political diatribe as it is a treatise on Jesus’s love. The book clearly espouses liberal/progressive politics and liberal theology. No political position is left untouched: LGBTQ rights, abortion, immigration, gun control, and Middle Eastern conflicts. Throughout the book conservative politics are roundly criticized. Worse, the reader is led to believe that those who do not hold to the same beliefs are contemptible, selfish, vile haters. This then is a glaring failure in a book about the love of Jesus: the lack of the love for those with a different opinion.

Disclosure: I received a free advance copy from Net Galley for my honest review.

This book is so, so good. So good that I annoyingly sent a comment to the author on Instagram to tell her I loved it and that it was such an important book right now. Some people are likely going to be bothered by the swear words but honestly, who cares! The message is still relevant and important and I swear more than that in a single day. She really gets to the heart of who Jesus was, irrelevant of your political party and I really enjoyed reading it and was sad when it ended.

Not Your White Jesus
Not Your White Jesus is a disturbing book. First it is disturbing because so much of what Sheri Faye Rosendahl has to say about the church is true. The predominant church in the US (the White-Jesus Church as she calls it) is not known for its compassion and love. The author is not the first person to see this or to write about it. This is a theme in the book "They Love Jesus but not the Church" by Dan Kimball. Nevertheless, it is disturbing to read about someone else who has seen the ugliness of the church and experienced it.
I can offer no excuse for this unloving behavior and I have committed many years of my life to presenting a picture of the Church that Jesus intended. However, I have done this within the context of that Church the author seems to despise. One of my concerns about this book is that the author seems to judge the church for its lack of love while exhibiting little love for that church she is condemning.
One of my favorite Christian writers told a story years ago about two authors who both wrote books about their concerns for the church. One of the books was moderately successful while the other was not well read at all. The less successful author spoke of his frustration that his book was not well received even though the theme was the same as the other writer. The response of this older, wiser writer was, “You both wrote about the church, but the other writer said it in love”.
I agree with Ms. Rosendahl that the Church is not known for its love and grace, but I was not seeing her love. Jesus butted heads with the Pharisees and the religious leaders of his day, but he died for them. Some of them became followers, for one Paul, the Pharisee of the Pharisees.
I also find this book frustrating because the author seems to prioritize love (which she seems to imply means making people feel good or safe) over truth. The author and I would certainly disagree on some of the specific issues she discusses, like LGBTQ+ and abortion but I would hope we would agree that we can’t put love and truth at opposite poles where we have to choose one or the other.
I won’t give my views on the LGBTQ+ debate except for two comments. Christians are called to love everyone and by this, I mean there is no place for the hateful words spoken by many “Christians” against those in the LGBT community. For those who see this as a sin I would say it is not the only sin and we do not have a right to pick and choose. I would pick gluttony and gossip if I were to picket.
My other comment has to do with the author’s opinion at Kindle location 1763. She writes, “When we look at groups like the LGBTQ+ community which are nonjudgmental, loving, kind, and generous, they look a hell of a lot like a ‘good’ tree”. I am sure that many in this community are loving, kind and nonjudgmental but this opinion can’t cover the whole community just as we can’t say that everyone in the White Jesus Church is an SOB.
Speaking of SOBs, let me raise the question about the use of profanity in a book about Jesus and the Church. The writer uses a plethora of words that I was forbidden to use and do not use to this day, even if i hit my thumb with a hammer.
I grew up in an environment in which there was no place for “Cuss words”. We were not even allowed to use “minced Oaths” that means a word that is not a cuss word but is used in place of a cuss word like Jiminey Cricket or darn. So, my question about the use of profanity comes in part from my culture. Plus, I’m old.

However, I did ask some Millennials for their take on this. One of them said that the writer seems to have bought into and immersed herself in the culture around her. Another said, I don’t think it is appropriate for a book about Jesus and the Church.
I don’t want to miss the point of what the writer is saying because I am hung up on the words she uses but I do wonder what the point is. Is it to alienate old farts like me? What a shame. The church needs to hear a clear voice calling, “Return to Jesus”.
I relieved a copy of this book from netgalley.com with the understanding that i would write a review.

The informal voice of Sheri Faye Rosendahl's writing style may well distance many intended readers. I hope that I'm wrong because her voice needs to be heard by, well, everyone. Yes, in parts it may seem like she's yelling. She obviously cares deeply and urgently wants to get her message across. True, her views may seem a bit radical, but they're worth pondering. This is a book I highly recommend for anyone who has any desire to follow Jesus, love their fellow man, or make the world a better place. No, these groups are not mutually exclusive, but I'm don't think that the message is confined to a Christian audience.

In our present climate of discord and division, there is no greater message for dedicated Christians, those searching for religious meaning, anyone with slightly spiritual leanings, or anyone concerned with the overall state of our planet than this impassioned plea for a return to the second great commandment to love our neighbors. Her thoughts are well argued and, for me, very convincing. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and Westminster John Know Press for making an advance copy available for an honest review.

Not Your White Jesus caught my attention right from the beginning of the book. Reminding us about the red letters in the Bible that are straight from Jesus' mouth made me squirm. It also makes me want to reach out to my fellow humans in love. This book will make you rethink white America Christianity. As much as the author reminds us to love our neighbors all around the world there was an awful lot of anger expressed against the USA and our government. I felt at times the politics were overriding the loving message from Jesus.

Let me preface my review with, I am a white, middle class, conservative Christian, I even homeschool my children. When I saw the cover of this book, I could feel my defenses rising, after reading the summary, I am still not sure this is a book I want to spend my time reading, but there was something leaving me slightly intrigued. I went to the author's website and realized immediately that there were going to be several points in her book that I would probably not agree with, but that is ok, we should not always agree on everything, but I did see that she was passionate. There was a fire in her soul and she had a message burning to get out. You have to admire when someone has something burning in them, so I knew then, I had to read this book. After finishing the book, I do not agree with everything Sheri Rosendahl wrote, I could even choose to be offended, but at the end of the day, we as the church need to realize that we could do a much better job. Politics aside, there is so much hurt in our world, we could all do a better job of being more like the Red-Letter Jesus. Unfortunately, the picture that Sheri paints of the White-Jesus church is exactly what many people are going to relate to, they are going to read this book and say, I have had the exact same experience. With that, I would challenge anyone that sees this book, is instantly bristled by the title, to go ahead and read it, but do so with an open mind, and consider, this is how people view us, until we can show them something different.

Definitely not a feel-good book! Ms. Rosenthal asks the reader to examine our American Christianity in light of what Jesus said, specifically in regards to how we show His love! This book makes us re-examine our actions towards Muslims and non-Americans and non-whites! We should reflect Jesus better after reading it.

I rarely review a book I haven’t finished reading. I rarely post a negative review. I’m doing both this time to save potential buyers the pain of “Not Your White Jesus.”

Sheri Faye Rosendahl’s stated purpose for writing this book is to help the understand the true Jesus. She says she wants others to understand Jesus is really not the sanitized Jesus we Americans often default to. He is not American. He is not political. He cares for people not countries. I was with her in this concept.

What I got though was a cliche-ridden political diatribe that seem to never get to the point. What I read in the first half of the book was rambling, repetitive tripe that proved no point. Rosendahl often veers off on political rants that defy her thesis. This may have been a nice magazine article, but not worth the paper for a book. (The tome is not listed as an e-book.)

I agree with Rosendahl’s thesis that the Jesus many Christian churches and leaders present is not the Jesus I read about in the Bible. Jesus wants us to love others above ourselves, even those of different faiths. Jesus wants us to sacrifice for others, even those of other countries. Jesus wants us to serve him and God, not a political idea, government, or even religious organization. If she had stuck to this topic, I might have followed her to the end.

The use of slang and street talk makes me take her thought less seriously. Does she really want her message to go to the religious organizations that claim to follow Jesus or only her followers? Does she really want to make an impact on the American Christian or only those who are part of her organization?

I’ll continue looking for a book that does what Rosendahl claims she wants to do. Maybe I’ll send her a copy.