Jesus & Joe Rogan: They’re the Same

The most recent censorship attacks against Spotify and Joe Rogan remind me of a story that we can all find in the Bible. Maybe you have heard this one? It’s about a man who wants to teach others to think for themselves, to listen within, and realize their abilities. The man was named Jesus and he was the center focus of many ruling elites of his time. The charge? Daring to speak against the status quo. Jesus upset a lot of people in his time. They all wanted to silence him, cancel him, and eventually, they crucified him. All because he wanted to share more information about God with others.

I have seen this story play out before, and maybe you have? Gandhi, Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr all have similar stories as Jesus. Ironically (or maybe not) they were all canceled by the ruling authorities, accompanied by reactive mobs, that didn’t appreciate their ways of bringing more information (truth) to the masses. And today, they are esteemed as courageous leaders who spoke for those without platforms and microphones by the same ruling powers that worked so hard to take them out.

So when I see self-proclaimed Progressive Christians calling for the cancellation of Joe Rogan, I can’t help but wonder if they forgot about the dude in sandals they claim influences their beliefs and behaviors. Do you remember, the guy that speaks for the oppressed, the minority, the poor, and the sick? In case you didn’t notice, Joe Rogan is doing the same thing Jesus did. He has challenged Pharisees and Romans. He has invited on the Lepers and the poor. But somehow, thanks to big government, big media, big pharma, and big tech, the message sold is that Joe Rogan is spreading “disinformation” or “misinformation” (depending on the reporting).

Lies die, but the truth is forever.

A question once posed to Jesus but left unanswered was this, “What is truth?”

The “truth” as presented by the big ruling agencies has changed more times in the last 2 years that I am surprised most people still believe that putting their pants on one leg at a time is a good idea. The truth was once that masks would prevent the spread of Covid. And then, what was “true” was that isolation and social distancing would stop the spread of a virus. Then it was “true” that vaccines would prevent Covid and stop death. And here we are, February 2022, and no one knows a damn thing about Covid. We are back where we started.

And since we came back around full circle, we should invite in all the information we can that helps us better understand how we can get back to our lives. Joe Rogan is also doing his best to uncover those truths, and he does it in such a way that I would argue, is better than Jesus. He doesn’t speak in circles or parables. He invites guests that have expert knowledge in fields most of us didn’t even know existed. He asks questions that are not filled with accusations. And he challenges his guests if something sounds fishy.

What’s more, Rogan does what Jesus couldn’t do, he invites people to go seek out the information and check his sources. While Jesus had the scrolls and the prophets to cite, not everyone he spoke to had access to the same information. Rogan, however, will Google information in front of his guests, he fact-checks statistics his guests present, and he leaves lists of sources available on his platforms. Imagine if Jesus had the ability to get the people he spoke to pull out their scrolls and question the Pharisees right along with him. How devastating would that have been to the ruling religious elite of that time? I imagine it’s what CNN and other MSM platforms are experiencing right now. No one is believing the lies spread by MSM, just like people were questioning the lies of the Pharisees and the Romans in Jesus’ time. Even more devastating is the “fringe minority” of those speaking out. Jesus had 12 disciples, and 1 betrayed him. Rogan has follower counts between 6 ½- 14 million people. This is not a fringe minority. Rogan’s audience count is a threat to those with power, just like Jesus was a threat to the powers 2,000 years ago.

My advice is this: If you claim to follow Jesus, that claim stands for following the truth. If you are seeking truth, Rogan is offering it.