Discerning What Is Best with Dr Rex M Rogers
Rex M Rogers
Discerning What Is Best with Dr Rex M Rogers is a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, doing Christian critical thinking, or spiritual discernment, about current issues, culture, and everyday life (Phil. 1:9-11). Rogers is former longtime president of Cornerstone University and now President of mission ministry SAT-7 USA. He is the author of "Gambling: Don't Bet On It," "Christian Liberty: Living for God in a Changing Culture" and its ebook "Living for God in Changing Times," and co-author of "Today, You Do Greatness: A Parable of Success and Significance."Learn more at rexmrogers.com.
Episodes
Canada Promoting Euthanasia, i.e., Dying
What's it mean when a once great nation known for its independence and freedom begins to celebrate death and dying as a solution to the problems of life? Canada is there, promoting legal euthanasia for a broad swath of people's problems, essentially suicide on demand. This is, of course, rooted in religious worldview. It has to do with individual and cultural replacement of Christianity and its affirmation of life with secular humanism, existentialism, absurdism, or nihilism. No hope, just despair, so why not end it all? Suffering possesses no value, only pain, so avoid it at all costs including one's own life. Of course, many who are depressed and feel hopeless do not take seek suicide and do not end their lives, but sadly, many do, and it heightens the tragedy when it is government policy that endorses this decision and provides means to accomplish it. But every human life is eternally significant, all have value, no circumstances or illness ever diminishes a person's worth. Even those who suffer, like Christopher Reeves who lived an exemplary life, and Canadian Michael J. Fox, who yet is a shining example of the human spirit in the midst of suffering are valuable to themselves and to humanity. Canada's government should repeal its euthanasia policies. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #LifeandDeath #Suffering #euthanasia
Adulting, Boys to Men, Gen Z
Gen Z, twenty-somethings and older teens, especially young men, seem to be struggling with what's now called "adulting," the ability and willingness to assume the ordinary responsibilities of adult life--working consistently, managing money, maintaining a household, forming lasting relationships, accepting responsibility for one's choices. Question: is it that circumstances in this era are so different from any other era, or is it that youth are largely untutored in Christian worldview and therefore unprepared for the hard knocks of life? When hard times or stresses come, they have no back stop, so they are adrift. What's needed is not religion but a relationship with Christ, what's needed is an understanding of who we are, young men in particular, in God's eyes and what he has for us. He is the source of purpose and meaning and proactive hope. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #adulting #GenZ #maturity #purpose #meaning
Alethophobia, Error, and Truth in a Cynical Age
It seems illogical, because it is, that human beings would not only come to believe truth is relative, preferential, circumstantial, but now also to not believe in truth at all. Or the next step, to dislike or fear truth, to simply reject facts, but such an idea is emerging in American and Western society. It's called alethophobia. Arriving at this point is no minor development. It's significant, for it leads to cynicism and nihilism, the hopeless idea that nothing matters, that life has no meaning and no purpose. Is it any wonder that there is a mental health crisis among young people or that suicides are on the rise? Or that drugs or other addictions are being pursued without boundaries, trying to deaden the emptiness human beings feel? Of course, there is still truth, and the Truth in Jesus Christ. There is still reconciliation and healing and hope and peace available to those who seek it. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #truth #alethophobia #MoralRelativism #Hope
Dollar General, Pricing Inconsistencies, Business Ethics
Dollar General is a nationwide grocery and retail store chain operating over 21,000 stores. Take a trip and you'll see them "everywhere." So Dollar General is well-known to put it mildly. Typically, prices for many items like milk, for example, are less than other area grocery stores or gas station convenience marts, so many people pop in for a few items. I do, for there is a store about 3 miles from our house. But the issue, and recent controversy, is whether Dollar General regularly charges more for an item than what is posted on the shelf, and more than this, whether the chain is knowingly doing this. In other words, milk might say $3.19 at the shelf but the checkout register charges you $3.49. Is this simply a case of the shelf posting not catching up with the corporate computer price increase? Maybe. Or is this intentional, and in that case, is this consumer fraud? Dollar General has been charged and settled fines in several states. Business ethics demands transparency and honesty, and a capitalist system works best if these principles are being observed. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #businessethics #fraud #capitalism #caveatemptor
Americans Don't Read, They View
Americans don't read like they once did and most purchased books remain unread. What Americans do is "view"--online, screen time, television. We get our information and entertainment, or as often "infotainment" via audio/visual media, not via the printed word. This matters because our minds, critical thinking capacities, and ability to learn, discern, and make decisions differ substantially between reading and a/v. And the generations read or view differently, hence the ever fragmenting way the generations understand the political culture and society in which we live. This is showing up in our ability to maintain e pluribus unum. The printed word and reading are by far the better way to go. Let's hope the younger generations rediscover this. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #reading #audiovisual #screentime #generations
Reforming the Immigration System
Immigration remains a political hot button. Congress needs to act, but political winds seem to prevent it from doing so. Meanwhile, America remains at risk to individuals coming to America who do not share American values and do not want to assimilate or pursue the American Dream. Rather, they want to tear down American civilization. It's time for reform. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #immigration #security #borders #citizenship
Flock Cameras in a Surveillance Society
Flock cameras are less than ten years old but they seem to have taken the country by storm. Governments buy them, place them on poles, then AI runs identifies cars, license plates, and apparently more. A lot of data. Questions for the public: is this another invasion of privacy? What if this data gets in the wrong hands? What about incidents already reported in which police have misused the tech to stalk their exes or others? The company, Flock Safety, offers pithy responses refuting all this. But the public isn't buying it. This is a harbinger of more to come--how much privacy are Americans willing to trade for a sense of security and safety? For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #surveillance #digitalsociety #security #privacy
Thinking About Nuclear Power
Nuclear power is the cleanest and most efficient, some say most cost effective, form of creating electric energy. Yet the U.S. is reluctant to pursue it for a host of political reasons. Nuclear power is safer than its image, it is not nuclear weapons, and it is environmentally friendlier than other forms of energy production. What is holding us back? For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #nuclearpower #energy #cleanenergy
Thinking About AI Data Centers
AI data centers are being built at a fast and furious pace, and along with this have generated significant pushback. Citizens are raising concerns about electricity, water, land, noise, and more broadly, surveillance potential. Asking someone if they are "For" or "Against" the latest proposed new data center in their area and the answer might be, "It all depends." Good arguments for and against can be identified. AI as such is not going to take over the world, but people controlling AI might do just that. So there are moral and spiritual questions involved too. Determining what your view should be, what a Christian perspective might be, is a matter of discernment. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #AI #AIDataCenters #TechMorality
American Youth Adrift In Cynicism
Gen Z, teens and 20-somethings seem to be having a time of it. Mental health crises, depression, anxiety, disillusionment, lack of trust, and much of it rooted in cynicism, which sadly often leads to nihilism. In a word, many young Americans are struggling. Given widespread rejection of religious faith, unstable families, and world events like COVID, it is understandable, but this knowledge doesn't make it easier on them. They need help, especially biblical understanding that can restore perspective and grounding and hope. This piece isn't knocking them, just expressing concern for them and for the country. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #anxiety #GenZ #mentalhealth #ReligiousFaith
Making America Healthy Again
"Making America Healthy Again," MAHA, is Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) RFK, Jr's theme and goal for his Trump appointed job at HHS. A zion of the Kennedy family, a longtime Democrat and titular liberal, committed to supporting the Trump Administration if the then-candidate and now President gave RFK a chance to pursue his later-in-life's passion. RFK is indeed eager to do something meaningful to improve America's food and eating habits, reduce child autism, improve school meals, and a list of other food and health matters. All this as a counterbalance to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former Biden official, who it is now known stood before the American people time and again and misrepresented information about COVID-19. Food is a gift of God and like the other gifts God gave humanity, we are to be good stewards. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #food #MAHA #vaccines #health
American Patriotism Needed Now More Than Ever
A certain segment of the American citizenry has of late looked upon patriotism as something hokey, corny, out of date, or worse, an impediment to their globalist inclinations. But patriotism that remembers, celebrates, and applies America's exceptional founding ideals is needed now more than ever--belief in the Creator, acknowledgement that our life and liberty, indeed all our human rights, come from God not government, that the government governs by the consent of the governed, and that the possibilities of tomorrow are yet ours if we respect virtue, law, order, and justice for all, free enterprise and work ethic, and an affirmation of the gift the founders gave us--a constitutional republic. Patriotism is legitimate, valuable, and can be enjoyable. What matters is what we are patriotic for and about. If "We hold these truths," this nation's founding assumptions and aspirations, we can in this 250th year yet realize the promise of America's moral vision. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel@DrRexRogers. #patriotism #liberty #ExceptionalIdeals #ConstitutionalRepublic
The Sad State of American Higher Education
I spent 35 years in higher education. Loved every minute of it. Love campus life. Loved the process of learning, critical thinking, debating. But today, when I look at what's happening in much of American higher education I am saddened. Like many other sectors of American society, academia is not simply buffeted but in many ways and many institutions succumbed to leftist ideology, so-called "woke" perspectives, moral relativism, and politics rather than a search for truth. Not all faculty and staff members of course, not all departments, not all schools, but most. The state of American higher education is one that's lost its sense of purpose, its vision, and its ideals, replaced by cynicism, even nihilism. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #academia #highereducation #searchfortruth
Cultural Appropriation or Appreciation
If you admire, adopt, and adapt the practice of another culture, these days, you're immediately accused of a new sin the left calls "cultural appropriation." Don't you dare learn from and use a tradition, food, clothing, etc developed by another culture for this is theft, pure and simple. Or so says identity politics. But could it also be what it has been since the dawn of time, intercultural communication and exchange, learning, sure--maybe absconding at times--but mostly just cultural evolution and harmless social change, something we might better call cultural appreciation. It's one of the issues in our day. For more Christian commentary see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #culturalappropriation #culturalappreciation #socialchange
What Is Democratic Socialism?
Democratic Socialism, leftism or Marxism by any other name, is once again ascendant in the US among the young, the restless, and the woefully ill-informed. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing and has never--got that, never--produced a healthy, free, and prosperous society in all of history. But it is dangerous and a threat to American well-being, so we need to learn about it, what it is, certainly what it is not, and how it can be sent back to the dustbin of history where it belongs. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #socialism #Marxism #DemocraticSocialism #LegalizedTheft
Semiquincentennial Patriotism
July 4, 2026 is America's 250th birthday. Many will celebrate with their expressions of patriotism. Some, seemingly a lot, will not celebrate, unable to separate their patriotic feelings for their country's heritage and ideals from contemporary politics and personalities. Or, too many Americans simply now reject America's heritage and ideals, considering the country's blessed history one of "settler colonialism" or "imperialism" or "white supremacy," yada, yada. It's sad, really, for patriotism is not only an emotion or feeling but a choice. Of course the USA has not always been right or lived up to its own ideals, but time and again we've tried, we fought a Civil War in which an estimated 750,000 Americans died to correct and make right our national sin. America is aspirational. It is worthy of patriotic celebration because of the founding ideals=life, liberty, equality, pursuit of happiness. It is worthy of patriotic celebration because America has blessed more people than any nation on earth and yet today strives to be "a more perfect union." For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #patriotism #Semiquincentennial #250 #freedom
Virtue Is the Foundation of a Free Society
"Virtue" is an old word, not used much today, unless with its narrower late-19th Century meaning referring to feminine modesty and chastity. But it is a word the Founding Fathers knew well and a concept they discussed at length, for they believed that a free society could not endure without a virtuous citizenry. For them, the old broader meaning of the term applied, moral character, judgment, integrity, concern for the common good, self-restraint. A virtuous citizenry would govern themselves; a citizenry without virtue would invite or require outside government control. Benjamin Franklin said, "Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants." So virtue is essential to what the Founding Fathers called "The Great Experiment." Could we, would we govern ourselves? Or would we yield to our passions and succumb to tyranny? It's a question for our 250th Year as American society seems bent upon absolutizing the pluribus at the expense of the unum. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #liberty #virtue #Constitution #libertyandlaw
Fathers More Important Than Ever
Fathers are key to healthy children becoming mature adults. Absence of a father, inattention of a father, engagement with a bad father can decimate, even destroy a child's life. Many of the social pathologies America is experiencing today track back to a breakdown of the family and often the impact of a poor father - boys in prison, adolescent girls getting pregnant, drug and domestic abuse - it sadly goes on and on. Fathers in this technological age are as important as ever. Presence, right values, mature behavior and judgment, loving the child's mother, all are critical. God give us more good fathers. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #fathers #fatherhood #family
Nuclear Family: State of the Union
The nuclear family, sometimes called the traditional or natural family, Dad, Mom and a few kids, has been under duress since the 1960s. Earlier it was social trends, cultural change, economics, education and employment decisions, that put pressure on the family, but later and more recently its been intentional targeting by groups like Black Lives Matter or leftism in general. Also, since 1973, abortion has played a negative role, along with the broader sexual liberation movement. Yet history is replete with evidence the traditional nuclear family is the primary building block of healthy societies, especially free societies. Lose the family and lose the future. Christian teaching blesses and reinforces the family in numerous ways. Whether America has gone too far in allowing a decline of the nuclear family is a question yet unanswered. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #NuclearFamily #TraditionalFamily
Sports Betting Still a Bad Bet
Sports betting in the USA is on a roll, and the gambling missteps or crimes of high profile athletes and coaches does not seem to have slowed this juggernaut. In 2018, the Supreme Court allowed states to determine their own approach to sports betting. By 2026, twenty seven states have legalized online sports gambling. With the explosive growth of apps like DraftKings, FanDuel, and more, American adults can bet on sports 24/7. Now add "prediction markets" to the mix. Sounds great, but gambling still leads many into debt, addictive behavior, related criminal activity, sometimes loss of jobs and relationships. Sports betting is not a good deal, i.e. a good bet, for anyone other than those who own the gambling operations. It's not good stewardship, promotes consensual theft, and encourages covetousness. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #wagering #SportsBetting #gambling
Social Change in My Lifetime
Change is a fact of life, some good, some not so good. In my three score and ten years American culture has witnessed extensive change. I'd argue much of it is not good and that we are not better off than we used to be -- technologically maybe, and that's a maybe, but not morally, not culturally. Think with me a while on some of these changes - abortion, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, moral relativism, socialism, antisemitism, nihilism, and more. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #social change #moralrelativism #America
Multiculturalism Is a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Multiculturalism has, along with woke DEI, one of the religions du jour of the intelligentsia for about fifty years now. It sounds good. Everyone no matter their religions, values, practices, ways of life, nationality, we'll all just meld together in one big happy family. John Lennon hoped for something like this with his 1971 "Imagine," in which some of the lyrics say, "Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion, too. Imagine all the people. Livin' life in peace. You." Problem is, it's not reality. It ignores God, human nature born in sin and thus evil in the world. Europe tried this since the 1970s and in Germany's former Chancellor's words, it "utterly failed." Much of Europe is now in trouble, polarized by cultures that did not assimilate and do not endorse the Judeo-Christian values upon which European cultures were built. The USA tried this especially under Presidents Obama and Biden. Hasn't worked here either. Multiculturalism is a false, fractious, failed philosophy and the sooner we recognize this the better for us all. For more Christian commentary, see my website, www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #multiculturalism #immigration #assimilation
Antisemitism in American Society
Antisemitism has been called the world's "oldest hatred." Jews, who the Bible calls God's "chosen people" through whom the Savior, Jesus Christ, came to the world, have been the focus of harassment, persecution, conspiracy theories, and various "final solutions" since near the time of their inception as Abraham's lineage. Just in the last few years seeing American college students support Hamas, condone or embrace or celebrate 10/7, and chant "From the River to the Sea" on campuses and in the streets is sad and shocking. Clearly, as Christian believers, no hatred can be justified, for all human beings are made in God's image, all are loved by God, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. But the Left promotes antisemitism and it has not gone away. This is not a political matter; it's moral. Certainly this should never occur in a free, open, and pluralistic constitutional republic, and not in America's 250th year. For more Christian commentary see my website, www.rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #antisemitism #Jews #10/7 #Israel
Persecuted Christians in Nigeria
Persecution of Christians worldwide is at an all-time high, with over 360 million Christians (1 in 7 worldwide) experiencing high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. Nigeria is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians, number 7 on Open Doors World Watch List. People debate whether this is a genocide, but whether it is or not, Nigerian Christians are dying in record numbers. Meanwhile, the world does not pay much attention. "Persecution" may not yet have come to the West, though this can be debated, but certainly "harassment" of Christians has come to the West with manifold examples throughout Europe, Canada, and some in the U.S. Believers should pray, become informed, support helping Christian agencies, and learn how to respond to harassment and persecution when it comes, because as we approach or experience the end of days, it will come. See my website www.rexmrogers.com or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more Christian commentary. #persecution #harassment #religiouspersecution #hate
What Guides Your Decisions?
We base our decisions on assumptions, values, presuppositions, what Francis A. Schaeffer used to call "pre-theoretical commitments." These guiding values can come from a wide range of sources but at bottom, they are religious because we are religious creatures, even those who identify as no-religion. So, what guides your decisions? A Christian is enjoined to align his or her life and practices, including decisions or positions, on the revealed Word of God, principles taught in the Bible. No one does this perfectly, but it's interesting to watch, and to examine oneself, people say they are believers yet make decisions that do not align with Scripture. We all do this. So, this is a good review. What guides your decisions--and your social-political positions? For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #decisions #worldview #values #presuppositions
U.S. National Debt Ticking Time Bomb
The U.S. national debt stands at $39 trillion. Then again, it does not stand. It keeps climbing. You can watch it on the US National Debt Clock website. It's mesmerizingly scary. To say the national debt is unsustainable is to state the obvious, but few seem to believe it other than some leaders in Washington, DC, perhaps some economists et al. But even with President Donald Trump's emphasis on reducing the size of the federal government and lowering the national debt - remember, he created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - still, the naitonal debt has climbed precipitously under both of his administrations. Other politicians seem to want to just kick the can down the road for someone else to address. But how far we can kick that can before the US exepriences a financial collapse is up for debate. Certainly, this needs more attention for debt has helped to destroy many historical empires and great countries. The USA is not invulnerable. For more Christian commentary see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my Youtube Channel @DrRexRogers. #nationaldebt #financialcollapse #paythepiper
July 4, 2026 the 250th USA Birthday—Will We Make It?
July 4, 2026 is the USA's 250th birthday. But with the division, polarization, hyper-partisanship, leftism, and now Islamism afoot in America, more than a few pundits are wondering aloud if America is on its last legs. Patriotism is down significantly from the 1976 Bicentennial or even the new Millennium in 2000. People are dejected, disillusioned, despairing, and increasingly nihilistic (life is absurd). Few empires or nations, except the most ancient Egyptians and Chinese, lasted longer on average than 250 years. The reasons they declined and suffered demise were more often internal debauchery and dissolution than external military raids. Sounds a lot like the USA. But there is hope, our founding ideals and the providence of God. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #250Anniversary #Semiquincentennial #RiseAndFallEmpires
Freedom vs Security in an Open Society
We are likely on camera almost everywhere we go today. We live in a mass surveillance, track and trace society and the tech is getting more powerful by the month, now adding AI to the mix. For citizens, and for law enforcement, there is a tension between freedom that we wish to maintain and security that we hope to experience. Maximize freedom and collective security may be at risk. Maximize security and we may be trading freedoms like privacy. We can see this plot play out in virtually every television law enforcement and criminal justice program. Same for movies with the big take-over-the-world plots left to the Bond movies and Mission Impossible. It's an interesting tension--freedom vs security--that authoritarian societies like China or North Korea do not experience. But for an open society like the USA, it's a daily experience. For more Christian commentary see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #freedom #security #surveillance #CivilLiberties #CivilRights
Olympics Return to Athletic Sex Sanity
Well, it took a while, but the International Olympics Committee has finally returned to biological, historical, moral, athletic sanity by ruling that women's events are for women and men's events are for men. No crossovers in the name of transgenderism. Can you imagine what Olympians past would say if they could know how the IOC, and most sports associations and leagues, have operated the past few years--the sex confusion in the name of an ideology promoted to address the desires of a few who are emotionally and spiritually confused? At last, common sense has returned to begin with the next Olympics in Los Angeles, 2028. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #sex #LGBTQ #AthleticSexSanity
The Political Left is Now Everywhere and Dangerous
The political Left has now surpassed traditional Liberals in national political influence in academia, media, and more. Whereas Liberals generally want to reform America because they believe in the country, its founding ideals, and its potential, Leftists want revolution, radical change that elevates ideals contrary to the founding and displaces the American heritage. Simply put, Liberals are, still, for the most part, patriots. Leftists are, for the most part, anti-patriots. Leftism is based upon values intended to undermine and destroy the founding values that made America's first 250 years a time of flourishing--with faults for sure like slavery, yet with progress toward fulfilling its own ideals. Leftism is dangerous. It's a philosophy that literally can destroy America. #liberals #leftists #socialism #TheLeft
Is It Ever Appropriate to "Just Give Up" On Someone?
Most of us meet someone if not more than one person in life who is, well, in a word, disgusting, or someone impossible to get along with, or maybe someone threatening, evil, or dangerous. What then? Is it OK to just walk away? To just "give up" on someone, maybe even a wayward relative? We've all heard stories of faithful grandmas who've prayed for years for a delinquent grandson or granddaughter. We know the parable of the Prodigal Son in the New Testament wherein the grieving and generous father never gave up and when the son finally came home, received him with grace and joy. So what is appropriate for a Christian in these circumstances? The Word gives us direction. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #prodigal #JustGiveUp #NeverGiveUp #AlwaysHope
Violence and Moral Equivalency: USA vs Iran
At this publication the USA and Israel are at war with Iran. Much has been made in media that this action represents aggression by the US and Israel, seemingly ignoring forty-seven years of consistent aggression and violence by Iran against America, "The Great Satan," and Israel. Many have trotted out the cliches "violence breeds violence" and calls for "immediate ceasefire," overtly or subtly conveying the idea that all violence is the same, that is, that all violence is morally equivalent. While I do not want nor promote violence, do not want war, do not trivialize the destruction and death of war, and realize noncombatants always get hurt, still, I do not believe all violence is morally equivalent. I also believe that sometimes bad or evil actors do not stop until they are violently coerced to stop. So it seems that Christians should study the Scripture and think with nuance and discernment before they label use of violence as ipso facto immoral. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #violence #JustWar #ViolenceBreedsViolence #cycle of violence #Justice
Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia—Gravestones of Nihilism
Assisted suicide, euthanasia, or the umbrella term assisted dying are now in vogue in several European countries, Canada, and increasingly in the United States. If Canada's experience is any guide, what starts as compassion for the suffering escalates in time to a wide spectrum of rationales allowing unhappy people to take their own lives, legally and with healthcare professional assistance. People say, "so what, shouldn't people have control of their own bodies and do whatever they want?" It depends on how you look at it, particularly when assisted dying expands to include euthanasia, the active taking of lives considered unsuitable. Christian teaching focuses upon life as a gift of God in whose image we are made, on the value of human beings even in the midst of suffering, and on God's sovereignty. In this view, assisted dying is an M.O. kowtowing to a culture of death. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #assistedsucide #euthanasia #ImageOfGod #deathwithdignity
Considering My Mortality--and Yours
Nothing like the unexpected death of a friend or acquaintance to bring the reality of mortality front and center to your thoughts. Scripture says, "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," (Heb. 9:27), and a cursory review of history present and past bears this out. So, if the Lord tarries his coming, someday I am going to die, and so are you. Given this incontrovertible fact it behooves us, don't you think, that we consider this fact of life. Not to be morbid or funny, but to be realistic. If death was all there is we might all turn into nihilists, but death is not the end. The verse above mentions something after death - judgment. For the believer in Christ--in the language of the old King James Version--there is also the promise of "absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8). In any event, death is not final, so we should be prepared for the afterlife, and the Good News of Christianity is that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #death #mortality #Gospel #eternity
Sports Betting Is a Threat to Sports, And to the Bettor
In 2018, the Supreme Court of the US let the tiger out of the cage, decriminalizing sports betting. Now, with states jumping on the gravy train sports betting continues to attract ever greater numbers of bettors, particularly young men. Problem is, betting is as detrimental to human wellbeing as it ever has been. Gambling of all forms attracts the criminal class, graft, greed, and corruption. The temptation to cheat, to throw athletic contests with the hope of illicit financial gain, and the lure of "easy money" is as irresistible as ever. This inevitably results in individuals suffering financial losses they cannot make whole. This results in referees, umpires, players, and others engaging in gambling in a way that undermines the integrity of competition. This results in addictive behavior for some. While there is no "11th Commandment" saying, "Thou shalt not gamble," gambling nevertheless violates at least five doctrines of Scripture. Gambling, especially sports wagering, is a bad bet. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #gambling #sportsbetting #wagering
Selective, i.e., Biased Media Coverage
Can we believe anything we hear or view in media today? It's an interesting question. Point is, we need to discern what we are being presented because media is itself selective, biased, and at times untruthful. This is exacerbated today by America's political, and truth be told, cultural and social polarization. Media just reflects this, develops coverage that attracts people holding certain views, and markets what they present as reality, all for influence and profit. It's often said that media is left-leaning, and overall I'd agree with this, but there are also right-leaning media, and both are capable of selectively sharing in the interests of their preferred narrative. Christian media is capable of the same thing, presentations that slant in a preferred direction. Best way to see through this is to watch or read diverse sources, compare and contrast, discern. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #MediaBias
The West and Advanced Nations Not Having Enough Babies
Population decline is no longer a future projection but a present reality. The West, if not the world, is well into a shrinking and aging population trend. The USA's population replacement rate is 1.6, well below the 2.1 children per child-bearing-age woman needed for replacement without something like immigration. Nearly all the economically advanced countries of the world are in similar shape or worse, including China, Japan, and South Korea. Reason for this global phenomenon are rooted not in biology but in moral or philosophic choices influencing couples' attitudes and actions re procreation. The focus now is mostly on self-actualization as opposed to families. These trends directly affect economic and cultural vitality and the country's prospects for the future. Christian teaching calls children a reward, not a burden, and blesses family structures. For more Christian commentary, see my website, www.rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #PopulationDecline #ReplacementRate #GrowthOrDecline
Free Speech, Protests, Churches
Jan. 19, 2026, about three dozen protesters entered the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, disrupting an ongoing worship service and chanting “ICE out” and “Renee Good." Some of the protestors claimed a First Amendment right allowing their actions, while opponents argued the protestors violated the First Amendment rights of church parishioners attending the service. Confusion over 1A rights is now as much a part of the Minneapolis discussion as people's differing views of ICE, immigration, law enforcement, and protest. Needless to say, 1A involves not only freedom of speech but freedom of religion and freedom of assembly, key and critical elements of the American experience. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #protest #FirstAmendment #IllegalImmigrants #ICE #Soulforce
Lawlessness, Courtesy of Elected Officials?
Elected officials on the Left and Right, Progressives, Democrats, and Republicans have become increasingly bold and often crude in their public comments attacking the opposition or decrying some development they do not like. Traditional four-letter words are passé. Now it's vulgarities like the F-word. Apparently officials think this makes them sound tough or sincere or authoritative. But more importantly, elected officials are now calling for citizen followers not simply to "protest peacefully," but to "resist," to pushback, to fight, and this is specifically aimed at law enforcement officials. Leaders don't seem to realize that, though they did not say "become violent," followers hear their cranked-up rhetoric and take it to the next level of physical altercation. This is called a stochasic effect wherein public speakers use vague, coded, or inflammatory language that demonizes a target, allowing the speaker to maintain "plausible deniability" for any subsequent violence. It's happening regularly in American political discourse and it is dangerous. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmroger.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #violence #mobs #anarchy #FreedomOfSpeech #protest
Government as Physician, Protector, Savior
With the democratic socialism trends in the USA, perhaps we're overdue to pause and think about what really government can do. Not what we want it to or hope it can do, but what it actually can do. Then as importantly, what should we not ask government to do because we can do it so much more effectively--with freedom of choice--ourselves? This is a look at the lost art of individual responsibility. I, for one, do not like it much when "Big Government is watching me." For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #Socialism #IndividualResponsibility #Liberty #Security #BigGovernment
Pornography Among (Christian) Friends
Sad to say, but pornography is now as big a problem in the Christian Church as it is in culture. And porn is ubiquitous, a fancy word for "everywhere" and instantly, easily accessible on the smart phone in hand. One point of this podcast is that otherwise safe or harmless social media platforms are now replete with adult content creators posting enticements, i.e. "trolling" with images within that platforms parameters but luring viewers to click links that eventually lead to paywalled porn sites. This is what we mean by porn is everywhere. Porn consumption damages the mind and soul, relationships, and more. Protect yourself, and if necessary, get off any social media platform that offers unhealthy temptation to go down the rat hole into explicit porn consumption. There is no temptation and no addiction more powerful than the Holy Spirit. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #porn #pornography
Islam in America—Freedom of Religion and Its Limitations
Islam is a growing religion in the United States, so for Muslim followers who are American citizens, the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion applies. Some commentators have worried, though, about certain Islamic practices do not comport with a free society, so they argue Islam as a religion should be banned. This action would, of course, violate the First Amendment. So if indeed there may be problems with certain practices, what do we do? Can a religion be limited without being banned? Does any precedent for this exist in American law? The answer to both questions is, Yes, for there is a body of relevant case law exists. And by the way, disagreeing with the tenets of another religion is not ipso facto discrimination or prejudice or hate. It's freedom of religion and speech in a pluralistic society. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #Islam #Islamic #Islamist #FreedomOfReligion #First Amendment
Be One of God's Unlikely Leaders
Be One of God's Unlikely Leaders: Live With Focus, Get Things Done is my book, just released Nov 2025. It's the product of years in various leadership positions, a book I wanted to write for a long time, began writing 15 years ago, set it aside for work priorities, then didn't touch it until I retired end of May 2025. The Lord allowed me to finish the book last summer. Feels good to finish a long-dreamed about project. My premise is that anyone, anytime, anywhere can be a leader, or learn to be a leader. For Christians, leadership is not an option but an opportunity. Leaders don't, or shouldn't try to, do things alone (even the Lone Ranger wasn't really alone; he had his trusted friend Tonto), but leaders are important for they typically inspire others to aspire to greater achievement. We look for people who we think are leaders, but God looks for people who will be leaders. God uses ordinary people - unlikely leaders - to accomplish extraordinary things. For more Christian commentary, see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #leadership #stewardship #UnlikelyLeaders
Two-State Solution: Solving the Unsolvable
The Israel - Palestinian conflict has been a perennial one for almost the last one hundred years. Of course the roots of the conflict reach back many centuries earlier. Since Israel became a recognized nation state in 1948 and the people called Palestinians lived mostly in the West Bank and Gaza, calls for a separate, independent Palestinian state are repeated in war and, if this ever happens, out of war. It's logical, seems fair, seems even doable because the proposal has been made upwards of ten times, Israel has agreed, yet each time the proposal was rejected by the Arab groups and Palestinian leaders. The issue at bottom is worldview. When ethnic hate is ingrained in belief systems and taught to toddlers, there is little chance of rational diplomacy winning the day. Challenges occur on both sides, and egregious brutality occurred most recently in what's called 10/7. This piece looks at the arguments, including biblical verses, and hopes for peace. For more Christian commentary see my website www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #TwoState #Bible #JewsAndArabs #IsraelisAndPalestinians #Peace
Antisemitism Is Evil
Antisemitism is surging the world over, including in the United States. The result is harassment, threats, and violence toward Jews, by far most of them with no known contact with the perpetrator. It's just a person who hates Jews and acts on it. Antisemitism is evil, another form of sin, whether it is generated on the Left or Right. No moral justification exists. And by the way, if people hate one group, they can hate yours too. Antisemitism is antithetical to the Christian ethic of love and to biblical teaching, no matter where the Jewish person lives, no matter his or her nationality, no matter whether he or she is a religiously practicing Jew. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #Antisemitism #Jews #ChristianEthic #Bible
Considering Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a theological and political movement that supports the return of Jewish people to the land of Israel and the modern state of Israel, based upon interpretation of biblical passages. The term is complicated in use, some employing it as a label and verbal political insult, others for those accused of being anti-Palestinian, and still others for what they believe the Bible says about God's chosen people, the Jews, and biblical prophecy. Some reject Christian Zionism as heretical. The point of this podcast is to consider differing points of view and land on a defensible perspective, one that acknowledges Scripture and one that is applicable in the contemporary geopolitical space. For more Christian commentary, check my website at www.rexmrogers.com or see my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #Israel #Zionism #ChristianZionism
Restoring American Culture
"Making America Great Again" is all well and good, but based upon what? Economic, politics, law and order? Perhaps all these things but more than this, to restore American culture to its former strengthen and enable it to flourish, we need to remember our Creator endowed us with certain unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We need to reassert a belief in a sovereign God, law and order and justice based upon a absolute definition of truth or right and wrong, liberty based not in identity or class or race or wealth or gender but in human beings made in God's image, each temporally and eternally significant. We need a reaffirmation of our founding ideals. For more Christian commentary check my website at www.rexmrogers.com or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #patriotism #FoundingIdeals #Life #Liberty #JudeoChristianWorldview
Coming to America: Socialism in a Government Near You
Socialism, under the guise of "Democratic Socialism," is once again making an an appearance in the USA, and it's more prevalent than perhaps you might think. It's perplexing, really, why this ideology and political governance model, which has failed spectacularly and completely in the 20th Century, still attracts foolish supporters. That socialism sells fantasy, utopia, is one thing, but that it does so based on other people's money and resources is another. And herein is one of socialism's appeals to the young, the have nots, the depressed--it offers a way out that requires nothing of them. Socialism is about greed, theft, demoralization of incentive and responsibility. It's about blaming society for one's problems and, ironically, looking to government to fix those problems. Socialism does not believe in God, accountability, or individual worth, only the collective and power for the few. "Democratic" is just a meaningless messaging adjective. Do not be fooled. Socialism brings destruction, debilitation, and death to everything it touches. For more Christian commentary, check my website at www.rexmrogers.com or see my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #socialism #freedom #utopia #slavery
AI in Culture and Church
AI, artificial intelligence, is "taking over the world." While it's not quite like that, it seems like it for AI is now part of virtually every endeavor that uses any form of online support. What does this mean? Is AI threatening, dangerous, and if so how and how can it be managed? What positive contributions does AI make to culture and even the Church? And with all that, we're only just beginning and no one including the experts knows exactly what human beings can do with AI and where this might go. But AI is just a tool, a powerful one, but still a tool and what it is made to do and does tracks back to us, human beings. We are still morally responsible. But with that in mind, AI offers enormous potential for serving the ministry of the Christian Church worldwide. For more Christian commentary, check my website, rexmrogers.com, or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #ArtificialIntelligence #technology #Freedom #Surveillance #ChristianWorldview
Os Guinness and Colson Center Film "Truth Rising"
Dr. Os Guinness, Christian apologist and social commentator now in his 80s, is the narrator and featured presence in Focus on the Family produced film, "Truth Rising," in partnership with the Colson Center. Guinness believes Western culture and civilization are at a tipping point, what he calls a “civilizational moment,” a period when culture loses touch with its original purpose and dynamism. The root cause is people don’t hold to truth because they fail to hold to the Truth—that is, Jesus Christ, from whom all truth flows. In this interesting and thought-provoking film, Guinness travels the world to make his argument that Western culture and particularly America have three options: renew our commitment to original ideals that made the country and civilization flourish in the first place, replace them with something else, or decline. Right now, decline is leading. But there is hope: restoration of truth. For more Christian commentary, check my website at www.rexmrogers.com or see my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more video. #civilizationalmoment #riseandfall #WesternCivilization #AmericanCulture #freedom