Bell is still in the business of making audacious moves. He was in Atlanta as part of his "Bible Belt Tour" to promote his new book, "What Is the Bible." He has ventured into the belly of the beast -- speaking in some of the reddest and most patriotic states in the United States -- to deliver a risky message.

He's telling audiences that a person should read the Bible "literately," not "literally;" that people who talk the most about the Bible often know it the least; and to the 81% of white evangelicals who voted for President Donald Trump, he declares:

You voted for a leader who has "zero moral compass."

Bell, who was once a megachurch pastor, says many evangelicals voted that way because they were motivated by "fear and power."

"The reason why this person got elected in many ways can be traced to a misreading of scripture," Bell said. "The way of Jesus is the way of nonviolence, it's love of the other. The story of Exodus is remembering you were once wandering slaves, so whatever you do be kind to the widow, the orphan, the immigrant among you. So when a nation of immigrants starts putting up travel bans, you have officially lost the plot."