Joe Rogan, Aaron Rodgers discuss power of faith amid chaos

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Joe Rogan and NFL star Aaron Rodgers recently discussed the crucial role Christianity plays in an increasingly chaotic society and the need for Jesus’ return in an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.

“I think as time rolls on, people are going to understand the need to have some sort of divine structure to things, some sort of belief in the sanctity of love and of truth, and a lot of that comes from a religion,” Rogan said in a Feb. 7 episode of his podcast. 

“A lot of people’s moral compass and the guidelines that they’ve used and follow to live a just and righteous life has come from religion. And unfortunately, a lot of very intelligent people, they dismiss all the positive aspects of religion because they think that the stories are mere superstitious fairy tales, that they have no place in this modern world; ‘we’re inherently good, and your ethics are based on your own moral compass, and we all have one,’ and that’s not necessarily true.”

Rogan cited the behavior of soldiers in war as evidence of the absence of such a moral guide. These individuals, asked to act as murderers and killers in service to their country, struggle to reintegrate into society and resume normal, ethical lives, often facing severe psychological distress.

“It’s a f—-d up world we live in,” he said. “We need Jesus. For real, like if you came back now, like Jesus, if you’re thinking about coming back, right now, now’s a good time. Now’s a good time. We’re kind of f—-d.”

Rodgers, the quarterback for the New York Jets, suggested that many believe Jesus is coming back imminently, adding, “It might be the mark of the beast.”

Rogan reflected on humanity’s potential tipping point toward unmanageability and chaos, suggesting that divine intervention, akin to Moses’ experience with the Ten Commandments, might be necessary to realign society. 

“It might be, we reach a certain point where we’re so unmanageable and so chaotic, that something comes down and gives us a guideline,” he said. “I mean, this is what Moses essentially experienced, supposedly, when he came back with his Ten Commandments. These people that have had these religious visions, none of them are … ‘we’re f—-d.’ All the religious visions are, ‘There’s a way to do this. There’s a guide. There’s a way to follow and there’s a greater power that’s above everything that controls this whole thing and keeps it all together, and there are laws to adhere to that will make for a much better life for all humans and all life on Earth.’”

Echoing Rogan’s sentiment, Rodgers contended that even those without traditional religious beliefs find their own “religion” in various forms, such as science or environmentalism. However, he stressed the importance of believing in something greater than ourselves. 

“Everything we do matters,” the athlete said. “I think atheists can find their own religion. It might be the religion of science, or religion of climate change, or whatever it might be, but to not believe in a higher power means that really nothing we do matters, and ultimately, I live and I die, and that’s it. So whatever purpose you might have, it’s short-lived. It’s just for this. There’s nothing else going on. I have a hard time with that because I believe there’s a seen world and an unseen world. And there’s forces of good and forces of evil, and that there’s a purpose for all this and there’s a lot of reasons why we’re doing this. There’s a lot of opportunities to do this. I’d like to get it right this time around.”

“If there is the Christianity part and Jesus wants to come back and save everything,” Rodgers added — “it’d be good right around now,” Rogan interjected. 

Though raised Catholic, Rogan has revealed in the past that he does not subscribe to any particular religion. He regularly expresses interest in secular spiritual practices and ideas, including meditation and the use of psychedelics for exploring consciousness.

However, in recent years, several guests have openly discussed their Christian faith on his podcast, including journalist Michael Shellenberger, author Stephen Meyer and singer Oliver Anthony.

“What’s the remedy for this intense hatred and anger against civilizations? And I was like, it’s love, obviously,” Shellenberger told Rogan in an April 2023 podcast episode.

“Loving your enemies is, for me, what Christianity is about. It’s the heart of Christianity. It’s really hard.”

“Forgiveness,” Rogan interjected. 

“Forgiveness,” Shellenberger agreed. “It’s really, really hard. And so, for me, it was like, I’m interested in having a faith that’s hard, not easy. If it were easy, what’s the point? It’s got to make you better in some way.”

Shellenberger contended that “wokeism” is like a new religion, adding: “I think all this stuff — it’s sort of the end of civilization, but it’s also the end of belief in religion.” 

“First of all, it’s terrifying, you just kinda go, ‘I hope these trends are non-linear and something’s going to turn around,’ because otherwise, it doesn’t look good,” Shellenberger said. He added that such trends indicate that there are “elites trying to gain control over the society” and that society no longer has “any foundational myths.”

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