How Western Christianity Got It Wrong

Name: How Western Christianity Got It Wrong
ISBN: 9798889836872

Replacing the God of Fear with a Spirituality of Healing

by Randy Woodley

Publisher

Broadleaf Books

Publication

Jul 14, 2026

Format

Hardback

Illustrated

Price

28.99

Dimensions

5.75 x 8.75 in

ISBN

9798889836872

Pages

262

Age

Adult 18+

Rights Sold

🌍 World Wide Rights Available

Description

Jesus never intended to start a religion that would justify stealing land, enslaving people, or destroying creation. So how did we get here?

In How Western Christianity Got It Wrong, acclaimed author Randy Woodley, of mixed white and Native American heritage, traces how a brown man from Nazareth who never lost his connection to the whole community of creation became the poster child for empire-building and environmental destruction. The faith that bears his name crafted theologies that rationalize greed, violence, and colonization--everything Jesus actually opposed.

Woodley exposes the ideas that poisoned Christianity's well, how the Western church won a monopoly on sin and salvation, and how violent atonement theories replaced the healing message Jesus lived. Drawing on Indigenous wisdom that was flourishing on Turtle Island long before missionaries arrived, Woodley reveals what Jesus's liberating message looks like when freed from imperial frameworks.

Picture communities where creation is family, not commodity. Where healing happens through relationship, not transaction. Where Creator speaks through many voices and welcomes all who walk in love. This is the Jesus Way as it was meant to be--not a system of control but a path of wholeness.

Awards & Endorsements

Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University

"Randy Woodley's critique of Western Christianity is so blistering and comprehensive that it would be easy for those of us still committed to some version of it to respond with defensive dismissiveness. Instead, in light of the manifest corruptions of our tradition, in the past and today, it is time to open our minds and hearts even to the most radical critiques. I urge all believers in Jesus to consider seriously both the critique and the winsome constructive account of the way of Jesus that our brother offers here."

Author(s)

Randy Woodley

Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley is an activist, scholar, author, teacher, and wisdom keeper of mixed white and Native American heritage who speaks on justice, faith, the earth, and Indigenous realities. He is the author of numerous books, including Becoming Rooted, Journey to Eloheh, and How Western Christianity Got It Wrong. He and his wife, Edith, co-sustain Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds outside Portland, Oregon