Opening
A bold thesis powers these opening chapters: people can choose to live unoffendable lives. Brant Hansen blends humor, theology, and psychology to argue that surrendering anger brings joy, clarity, and love—and models the way of Jesus.
What Happens
Chapter 1: BEING UNOFFENDABLE: THE RIDICULOUS IDEA
Hansen first hears the proposal at a business meeting: choose to be unoffendable. He bristles. As a Christian, he assumes offense—and “righteous anger”—must sometimes be necessary. Determined to disprove the claim, he searches Scripture for a counterargument and finds the opposite: the Bible consistently calls believers to relinquish anger. The shock becomes conviction: Christians should be the most refreshingly unoffendable people on earth, forfeiting their claim to outrage.
He defines taking offense as clinging to resentment. “Righteous anger,” he argues, belongs to God alone because only God judges perfectly. Humans are mixed in motive and equally guilty. Even Ephesians 4:26 (“In your anger, do not sin”) sits inside a passage commanding believers to get rid of all anger and bitterness. We like anger because it flatters our moral superiority—a core struggle of Humility vs. Self-Righteousness. Pointing to Martin Luther King Jr., Hansen shows how one can resist injustice without nursing personal outrage. Embracing The Choice to Be Unoffendable becomes a sacrifice to God and a path to a richer life in the way of Jesus.
Chapter 2: EVERYONE’S AN IDIOT BUT ME
Hansen turns the lens on human psychology and calls himself a “Pharisee” at heart. In a gym parking lot, another driver inconveniences him—“That guy’s an idiot.” Minutes later, Hansen makes the same move and deems his own reasoning sound. Conclusion: “Everybody’s an idiot but me.” That reflex to cast ourselves as victims and others as offenders fuels our outrage machine.
He argues biblically that everyone stands guilty; whatever harm we suffer, we’ve committed similar wrongs. We occupy no moral high ground from which to nurse anger. This dovetails with the call to Grace and Forgiveness. When people protest, “Shouldn’t we be angry at sin?” Hansen notes we typically mean other people’s sin—the very debt Christ already pays. Citing Ecclesiastes 7:9 and modern studies of cognitive bias, he shows how little we understand others’ motives—or our own. The wiser route is humility: relinquish the “right” to anger and judgment.
Chapter 3: SIX BILLION RINGS
Through the story of his friend Michael, Hansen shows unoffendability in action. Michael opens a coffee shop in a progressive, artsy neighborhood. When an AIDS research art exhibit (known for “transgressive” pieces) assumes eviction after Michael buys the building, he insists they stay—and then caters the event with wine and chocolate-covered strawberries. By refusing offense, he wins trust among people predisposed to dislike Christians. Love covers offenses and opens doors.
Hansen then compares anger to the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings. Quoting C.S. Lewis, he notes that even small angers leave a “twist in the central man,” training the soul toward rage the next time. Anger corrupts; humans can’t wield it without harm—only God can. There isn’t one ring of power but “six billion,” one for each person. The call is to cast our own ring into the “Cracks of Doom,” illustrating The Destructive Nature of Anger and the freedom found in letting go.
Chapter 4: ARTISTS SEE THINGS
Hansen argues that unoffendability sharpens vision. Like an artist who sees a statue in a block of marble, we begin to see people as they could be, not just as they are. He tells of John, a polished baseball announcer, and Bill, a profane former player. Instead of recoiling from Bill’s roughness, John consistently honors him—even commissioning a plaque for an old career milestone. The gesture moves Bill to tears. John’s refusal to be offended clears space to love the person beneath the bluster.
This becomes a parable of how God sees us. Romans 4:17 says God “calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Jesus models this with Peter in John 13–14: after predicting Peter’s cowardly denial, he still says, “Let not your heart be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus sees past imminent failure toward the faithful leader Peter will become. Unoffendability lets us love with that same forward-looking vision.
Chapter 5: BERT AND ERNIE AND SATAN
A key to staying unoffendable, Hansen says, is to stop being shocked by sin. John 2:25 states that Jesus “knew human nature.” We, however, feign surprise—“I can’t believe she did that!”—even when people act in line with their track record. This isn’t cynicism; it’s realism about human brokenness.
He illustrates with radio-host war stories: a listener scolds him for saying it’s “warmer than it should be” since “God ordains the weather”; others complain that he plays the accordion too well on a secular song; someone fumes that he fails to mention Tim Tebow during a particular hour. A long email accuses him of quoting Stalin and running a “stoner bert and ernie shtick.” The old him would stew; the unoffendable him lets it go as the spillover of wounded people. Constant outrage is exhausting. Adjusting expectations to reality is liberating.
Character Development
These chapters chart a transformation from defensive outrage to intentional surrender of anger, modeled in everyday choices and small acts of honor.
- Brant Hansen: A self-aware “recovering Pharisee,” he moves from skepticism to conviction, grounding his thesis in Scripture, psychology, and humorous confession.
- Jesus: Presented as the unoffendable standard—never surprised by sin, always seeing redemptive potential, calling followers to radical forgiveness and love.
- Michael: A living case study; his hospitality in a hostile space shows how refusing offense disarms critics and makes space for genuine relationship.
Themes & Symbols
Hansen frames unoffendability as an act of worship and freedom. The Choice to Be Unoffendable is not passivity; it’s a decisive surrender of the “right” to anger so love can lead. It pairs with Humility vs. Self-Righteousness: offense feeds on feeling morally superior, but humility remembers our shared guilt and limited insight, making room for Grace and Forgiveness.
The Destructive Nature of Anger runs beneath every anecdote. Anger promises power and clarity but warps perception and corrodes character—like the One Ring. By refusing to carry it, we recover the “artist’s vision,” a God-shaped way of seeing people as future selves-in-progress. That vision fuels patient, creative acts of honor that change relationships.
Key Quotes
“In your anger, do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26)
Hansen notes the surrounding command to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,” arguing the verse doesn’t license sustained outrage. It warns against anger’s danger and points the believer toward relinquishment.
“Everybody’s an idiot but me.”
This refrain captures our cognitive bias: we excuse ourselves and condemn others. Recognizing this bias undercuts self-righteousness and drains offense of its fuel.
“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory or of unthinkable horror” … with each anger leaving a “twist in the central man.” (paraphrasing C.S. Lewis)
Hansen uses Lewis to show that anger is habit-forming and deforming. Every indulgence trains the soul toward future rage, making unoffendability a preventative discipline.
“Let not your heart be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14)
Spoken immediately after predicting Peter’s denial, Jesus’s words embody seeing a person’s future in grace rather than their imminent failure. Unoffendability looks through failure to redemption.
“He knew human nature.” (John 2:25)
Jesus isn’t scandalized by sin. Adopting his realism—expecting mixed motives and brokenness—reduces shock, conserves energy, and makes love practical.
“Love covers a multitude of offenses.”
Hansen’s stories embody this proverb: refusing to take offense doesn’t excuse wrong; it creates room for repentance, relationship, and change.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters lay the theological and psychological groundwork for a countercultural way of life. By dismantling “righteous anger,” exposing our bias, and offering vivid models—from a coffee shop to a broadcast studio—Hansen shows that unoffendability is both biblical and doable.
The section ties conviction to practice: releasing anger clarifies vision, strengthens humility, and unlocks creative love. It connects the book’s thesis to everyday choices—how we drive, host, email, honor others—and invites readers into a freer, more joyful, and Christlike way of being.