<P>Abandon dead dry rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved.</P><P>Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation in 2012 with a passionate provocative poem titled “Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus.” The four-minute video of Bethke’s spoken-word performance literally became an overnight sensation with seven million YouTube views in its first forty-eight hours (and 24+ million within a year). The message hit like a blizzard on social-media sites and in forwarded e-mails triggering an avalanche</P><P>In <I>Jesus > Religion</I> Bethke unpacks the stark contrasts that he drew in the poem-contrasts between teeth gritting and grace law and love performance and peace despair and hope. With refreshing candor he delves into the motivation behind his message beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior.</P><P>Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he’s not a pastor or theologian but simply a regular twenty-something soul-starved searcher who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. Along his journey Bethke discovered the real Jesus who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion.</P>