Yesterday, Not the Bee reported on the latest jaw-dropping quote from Texas Senate candidate James Talarico.

The man currently on leave from his studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary once described himself, "as a Christian who hates Christianity."

As that article noted, defenders have immediately rushed in to explain that he didn't really mean Christianity, but rather certain expressions of Christianity. He meant the hypocrisies and failures of the institutional church.

Let's just assume for the sake of argument that they're right.

That explanation actually reveals a deeper problem.

Talarico is articulating a worldview that has become increasingly fashionable among progressive Christians:

• Christianity is wonderful. Christians are the problem.

• Jesus is great. It's the Church that has lost its way.

• The Sermon on the Mount is inspiring. The Bible's actual moral teachings are on the wrong side of history.

For many of these people, "Christianity" has come to mean everything they dislike about the faith: traditional doctrine, biblical sexual ethics, church authority, creeds, historic orthodoxy, and the accumulated wisdom of two thousand years of Christian teaching.

Those things are treated as unfortunate baggage that must be discarded so that the supposedly radical and revolutionary message of Jesus can finally be recovered.

The dilemma for such a position is that Jesus Himself never made such distinctions.

• Jesus established a Church.

• Jesus appointed apostles.

• Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture.

• Jesus spoke repeatedly about sin, repentance, judgment, obedience, marriage, and holiness.

In fact, many of the teachings that modern progressives find most unpalatable are not inventions of the Church at all. They come directly from Jesus Himself.

Modern progressives like Talarico often claim to be rescuing Jesus from Christianity. In reality, they are creating a Jesus more compatible with contemporary political sensibilities than the one revealed in Scripture.

What emerges is not a more radical Jesus but a more predictable one. "Jesus" begins sounding remarkably similar to the people reconstructing Him, affirming the same priorities, embracing the same assumptions, and arriving at the same conclusions.

At some point an uncomfortable question has to be asked:

If you find yourself consistently at odds with two thousand years of Christian doctrine, Christian ethics, Christian theology, Christian worship, and Christian practice, have you really discovered the true essence of following Christ?

Or are you worshiping a false god who bears your own image?

The New Testament repeatedly warns against this very thing.

Paul cautioned Timothy that a time would come when people would "not put up with sound doctrine" but would gravitate towards those who would "say what they want to hear" (2 Timothy 4:3). Peter warned about those who distort the Scriptures "to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16).

Even Jesus asked a haunting question that seems terrifyingly relevant in light of Talarico's remarks:

'Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?' (Luke 6:46)

That's the question.

Many people today claim to love Jesus while rejecting the authority of His Word.

They praise His compassion while dismissing His commands, celebrate His mercy while ignoring His calls to repentance, and admire His concern for the downtrodden while rejecting His teaching on holiness.

But Jesus never offered Himself as a customizable Lord.

And then there is the Church. To the degree that Talarico is using "Christianity" as a stand-in for the Church, the statement becomes even more troubling. The Church is not merely a human institution.

• It is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

• It is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27).

• It is the community for which Christ shed His blood and gave His life.

That does not mean those of us who are members of Christ's church are perfect, of course. Every rational believer understands that it is necessarily filled with sinners saved by grace. That means that congregations will experience the consequences of sin. It means that leaders will fail.

But there is a profound difference between grieving the sins of Christ's bride and declaring hatred for her.

The irony is that many who claim to hate Christianity are often attracted to virtues that Christianity itself created: Human dignity, equality before God, compassion for the poor, concern for the oppressed, forgiveness, mercy, the intrinsic value of every person.

These are not modern, progressive discoveries. They are fruits of Christianity.

The challenge facing people like Talarico is not whether they appreciate Jesus.

The challenge facing Mr. Talarico and his defenders is whether they are willing to accept the Jesus who actually exists rather than the one they wish existed.

They are not the same person.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.