Episode 5 – Why Are Christians So Judgemental? | Greg Jao

Why do Christians sometimes come across as so judgmental, especially toward people who believe, live, or think differently?

Bobby McGraw sits down with Greg Jao of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to talk about disagreement, cultural blind spots, curiosity, and what it looks like to hold real convictions without reducing people to their worst ideas.

Greg shares how his own Chinese American upbringing taught him that even sincere Christians can read the same Bible through very different cultural lenses.

He also explains why Christians need to acknowledge where the church has caused real harm and why humility can open conversations that defensiveness shuts down.

For anyone interested in Jesus but turned off by Christians, Greg offers a simple encouragement: keep looking, keep asking questions, and do not let someone else’s failures end your curiosity.

Key Takeaways

• Christians can read the same Bible differently because culture shapes what we notice and what we overlook.
• Curiosity helps us understand people without requiring us to abandon our convictions.
• Christians should be willing to acknowledge and apologize for real harm done by the church.
• Disagreement becomes judgmental when we stop seeing the other person as a whole human being.
• If judgmental Christians have made faith difficult to explore, keep looking at Jesus and keep asking questions.

Chapter Markers

00:00 - Welcome to Greg Jao

01:26 - Choosing a Different Path Than His Family Expected

04:05 - The Weight of Disappointing Your Parents

07:30 - What Does It Mean to Hear God?

09:03 - What Does Calling Actually Mean?

10:47 - When Christians Give Opposite Biblical Advice

13:02 - How Culture Shapes the Way We Read the Bible

14:52 - Feeling Judged by Both