Rex M Rogers - Discerning What Is Best

Discerning What Is Best
with Dr. Rex M. Rogers

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 02 October 2024

Few people would argue with the statement Pete Rose was one of the best baseball players to ever play the game, but he’s not in the Hall of Fame because of gambling. So, what is right and just in this matter?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #172 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

I grew up in Ohio watching Pete Rose, a la “Charlie Hustle,” probably the first Major League Baseball player with whom I connected. I always appreciated his hard charging, run everything out, never give up, headfirst slide (which he invented) style of play.

As I came of age in the mid-1070s, Pete Rose was a primary engine in what was called the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds at the top of baseball. In the 1970s, they “won six National League West Division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series titles.”

Meanwhile, Pete Rose played from 1963 to 1986, as member of the Cincinnati Reds, later the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won his third World Series championship, and briefly with the Montreal Expos. He managed the Reds from 1984 to 1989.

“Rose was a switch hitter, and is MLB's all-time leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215) and outs (10,328). He won three World Series championships, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Glove Awards, and the Rookie of the Year Award. He made 17 All-Star appearances in an unequaled five positions (second baseman, left fielder, right fielder, third baseman, and first baseman).

As I said, few people argue with the idea Pete Rose is one of the best baseball players we’ve ever been privileged to watch. By every measure, if Pete is not a Hall of Famer, no one is.

So why is he not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY?

“In August 1989 (his last year as a manager and three years after retiring as a player), Rose was penalized with permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while he played for and managed the Reds; the charges of wrongdoing included claims that he bet on his own team.

In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction, after previously excluding such players by informal agreement among voters. After years of public denial, he admitted in 2004 that he bet on baseball and on the Reds.”

I liked watching Rose play. He was truly outstanding and entertaining at the same time, an athletic superstar before the phrase was coined.

Ironically, while I later wrote a book called Gambling: Don’t Bet On It (1997, revised, 2005), as I just noted, it was foolish betting on his own team that damaged Pete’s legacy and to date has kept the greatest hitter in baseball out of the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose not in the Hall of Fame is sad. No question. It grieves me as a sports fan.

And given where professional sports have gone—investing in gambling apps and promoting sports gambling on TV game coverage—I could be moved to say, Pete should be “forgiven” and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

But there are still moral dilemmas and questions about what is best for the game.

Pete didn’t just gamble on sports, he gambled on his own team, i.e., games over which he exercised influence, thus theoretically increasing the opportunity for cheating and reducing the integrity—meaning level playing field—of competition. The usual come back is, yes, but Pete always bet on his own team to win, not throw a game to lose so he’d win at gambling. So, his gambling was inconsequential.

Add another major wrinkle. In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States opened the door for legalized sports wagering in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018). With the Supreme Court’s Murphy decision, resistance to sports wagering rapidly collapsed in the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL.

In an earlier podcast called “Opening Floodgates of Sports Betting,” I noted that the leagues began opening their businesses to legalized sports betting at the speed of light, including professional leagues investing in online gambling or fantasy sports websites.

But have the rules for gambling by professional players changed? Not much. Common themes regarding across professional leagues regarding gambling include:

1 - Zero tolerance for betting on own sport: Regardless of the league, players are universally prohibited from betting on their own sport, especially games in which they or their teams are involved.

2 - Protection of integrity: Leagues want to avoid any potential influence on the outcome of games that could arise from gambling.

3 - Use of inside information: Sharing inside information, like injury updates or game plans, with gamblers is a violation.

4 - Location and timing restrictions: In many cases, players can gamble on other sports, but not while on team property or while participating in team activities.

Now, despite the fact nearly all professional sports leagues have investments in sites like FanDuel or DraftKings etc., rules for players still prohibit them gambling on their teams and games. In other words, rules protecting the fairness of competition are still maintained similar to what existed for Pete.

Think about it this way. Pete violated one of the cardinal rules of sport, especially in the MLB that lives with the memory of the Black Sox scandal, a game-fixing effort in which eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for payment from a gambling syndicate.

Despite acquittals in a public trial in 1921 (though most of the players later admitted involvement), the first MLB Commissioner permanently banned all eight players from professional baseball. He did this, he said, to “save baseball.”

Fast forward a few decades.

What about Performance Enhancing Drug users? Didn’t they cheat? Yes, players who are known to have used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have faced significant challenges getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame voting process, conducted primarily by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, has been influenced by PED controversies, and voters have often withheld their votes from players linked to PED use.For example, players like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, who had Hall of Fame-caliber careers but were connected to PED use, have been repeatedly passed over despite their significant statistical accomplishments.

Bonds and Clemens were dominant during their eras, but their association with steroids has left their Hall of Fame candidacy in limbo for years. The voters' stance on PEDs reflects a broader desire to maintain the integrity of the Hall of Fame as a place that honors not just on-field success but also sportsmanship. As of now, known PED users have not been widely inducted into the Hall of Fame.

One could make a case that many players in the Hall of Fame had a boatload of character problems in their lives. But the thing is, their character problems didn’t involve cheating at the game of baseball. They were outstanding athletes who earned amazing career statistics and thus a shot to be voted into the Hall of Fame. In this sense, their personalities and personal lives are irrelevant.

So, a lot of emotion, which is not necessarily bad, can lead one to argue that Pete should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. And now with his recent death, a lot more emotion will be brought to bear arguing the same. Some say that Pete’s gambling never affected a game the way PED users’ actions definitely did, so what he did was not really cheating, not as bad, and worthy of mercy. One could also argue that a lifetime ban is punishment that doesn’t fit the crime. Even Rose observed, “There are guys who get life sentences in prison and they’re set free before I am.’’

But to preserve baseball for our posterity, the integrity of the game of baseball must be inviolable.

If Pete is put in the Hall, does it signal rules don’t matter? Does it require the Black Sox be admitted to the Hall? Should PED abusers be admitted to the Hall? Moral dilemmas abound.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check //www.youtube.com/@DrRexRogers" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;">my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers or https://x.com/RexMRogers.

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 29 September 2024

Perhaps some of you have experienced war, so you know how to pray during times of war, but for the rest of us, how should we pray in violent times?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #171 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

“War is hell,” so said Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, and who would disagree with him? War damages, destroys, wounds, scars, maims, kills.

Awful though it is, war is a fact of life in a fallen world because it is rooted in the sinful, deceitful heart of man.

How then should we pray in times of war? Should we always pray for an immediate cessation of violence? Should we pray for peace when injustice remains? Can we pray for evil actors?

There is much in Scripture to guide us. We are commanded and expected to pray.

The book of James says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2

In the Lord’s prayer, we’re taught to acknowledge God’s will, saying “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10

Scripture recognizes that war and conflict and trials and tribulations will happen in this fallen world, so we are reminded, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” Prov. 21:31

Perhaps surprisingly, nowhere in Scripture are we told never to go to war or that all war is evil, unjust, or wrong. As I’ve mentioned before talking about weapons, while God says, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13), nowhere does Scripture tell us not to own weapons, that weapons are ipso facto evil, or that we should not use them for self-defense.

So, war happens, and it may be that we find ourselves in war for just reasons. But whatever the motivation of the actors in war, how should we as Christian believers pray during such times?

Let’s consider the obvious first: Just War theory refers to noncombatants. So, we should pray for innocent children – physically and emotionally endangered, living in fear and panic, ill, suffering, hungry, unable to attend school, orphaned. Innocent children may be found on all sides of a conflict.

Think how difficult it must be for Christian parents in a war zone to explain to their young children what’s happening, and to explain this in a way that is truthful yet does not raise their fears and anxieties.

Other ways to pray for in innocents in war who suffer, including civilians, children, and especially hostages:

Pray for protection: Ask God to protect civilians, children, the elderly, the infirm.
Pray for an end to violence: Ask God to bring an end to the war.
Pray for wisdom and grace: Ask God to give leaders the wisdom and grace to put the safety of noncombatants first.
Pray for guidance: Ask God to guide efforts to bring relief to troubled regions.
Pray for those who are displaced from their homes, what’s called internally displaced peoples, and pray for those who emigrate from their country and may become refuges.
Pray for hostages will be unharmed and released.

Scripture enjoins caring Christian believers to weep with those who weep or experience lamentation, pain, or suffering. How can we do this?

Pray for comfort and healing: Ask God to comfort and strengthen those affected by war, and to help them find healing and hope.
Pray for those separated from loved ones: Ask God to watch over refugees and victims of war, including those separated from their loved ones.
Pray for the bereaved. People experience loss in war, and grief becomes a daily companion.

My friend, John, reminds us we should take care to pray without “telling God what to do.” In other words, //medium.com/@andrewhayes/try-praying-without-saying-i-pray-that-a74ef49f17d3" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;">pray without saying, “I pray that” or “Lord, please do this or that.”

Jesus prayed for the Lord’s will, as in “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,’” Jn. 17:1

And King David, “But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.”Ps. 109:21–22

We should pray by asking, not by directing. This means, of course, that we must trust the Sovereign God for his will and the results, for those in war as well as for our loved ones near us.

Sometimes it is difficult to know how to pray for a given violent conflict. What if at least one side are evil aggressors who act based on greed, ethnic hatred, or desire for power? What if they will not respond to pleas for ceasefire or negotiation, and in fact, without unconditional surrender, declare they will fight and kill until the last among them live?

Evil, violent groups like this may only respond to military power and destruction, meaning that exercise of violence as legitimate coercive force, as noted in Romans 13, may be the only way to end violence. It is ironic, perhaps, but it is the fallen world again. It is the character of sin.

So, in this case perhaps we pray for the Lord’s intervention according to his will.

We pray that evil actors will be restrained and brought to submission to what is right and just. We pray not just for a cessation of violence, not just for peace, but for a peace that is just and therefore potentially lasting.

Scripture tells us to pray for the opposition, evil actors. God said, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matt. 5:44. We are commanded to pray for the Taliban, for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. We are commanded to pray for any human being we consider enemies of moral right, good, and peace.

We may also pray specifically for Christians on all sides of a conflict or war. In the Holy Land, that is, Israel—yes, Israeli Christian believers or Messianic Jews, and in the West Bank, Gaza—yes, Palestinian Christian believers—there are Christians right now caught in the crossfires of this violence. In Lebanon, there are Christians fearing for their families as violence edges closer to where they live and must work.

Pray for the safety of Christian believers.
Pray for their encouragement.
Pray God will be their refuge in suffering.
Pray for their witness as unto the Lord and his Gospel, his peace.

I think it is particularly appropriate and important to pray for the next generation. Pray for those whose hearts are bent on hatred and violence, that the Sovereign God will pour out His Spirit upon them, such that they see the futility of generational, ethnic or religious hatred, that they will come to see each human being as precious in the sight of God, that they will “turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it,” Ps 34:14.

Finally, pray for the global Church, especially the Western Church, that our eyes will be open to what God would have us do, and that we will be renewed in wisdom, faith, and hope. Pray the Church will see helpless and harassed human beings in the midst of the smoke of violence, that we will care for the hurting of all nationalities, ethnicities, ideologies, and politics, that we would think God’s thoughts after him.

Pray “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God,” 2 Cor. 1:3-4.

Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” Jn. 16:33.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 23 September 2024

In our hyper-sensitive culture, we’re afraid to note the real source of our problems, but is this making us happier, less anxious or medicated?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #170 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Current culture, even pop theology, suggests that everyone is OK, and no one is responsible for the bad, wrong-doing, sin, or evil in their lives or in this world.

We hear it regularly. “You are perfect just the way you are.” Or “God accepts you as you are.”

Idea is no change is necessary. But wait, isn’t the Gospel about transformation?

This is another of mankind’s theories that come at us one after the other, and which come and go, while God’s Word never changes.

In March 2018, actor Chris Pratt was given the MTV Our Generation Award. In his speech, he shared what he called “Nine rules from Chris Pratt, Generation Award winner." One of his statements was: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.”

Another statement was: “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.” After some silly bathroom humor and a few minor tips like how to give medicine to a dog, he concluded with: “Learn to pray. It's easy, and it's so good for your soul.” And finally, “Nobody is perfect. People are going to tell you, ‘You're perfect just the way you are.’ You're not! You are imperfect. You always will be. But there is a powerful force that designed you that way. And if you're willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. And like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else's blood. Do not forget it. Don't take it for granted. God bless you.”

Now I do not know why Chris Pratt shared these comments at the MTV Awards, a venue known for raunchy content, nor do I know if Chris is serious about Christian faith. And I do not know whether his life and lifestyle match his words. I do know that in this instance, what he said for the most part aligns with biblical truth, so I am glad he said it.

He reminded an audience generally focused on hedonism, narcissism, materialism if not also nihilism, that there is a God, he listens if you pray, and you are not perfect, so you need him. In a Hollywood context, this is radical stuff.

Back in 2002, Pastor Rick Warren published what became an international bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? I have long thought that the genius of that book is its first sentence: “It’s not about you.” The book's chapter one is titled "It All Starts with God.” “Rick Warren described his book as an ‘anti-self-help book.’…(He explains) how the quest for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding and doing what God placed you on earth to do.”

This, of course, is a dramatic contrast to psychology books like I’m OK, You’re OK, published in 1969 by Thomas A. Harris. Books like this and countless others make the same point over and over. They basically say in different words, “Look inside yourself. You don’t need to change.” Or maybe they say, “you can change yourself.” The problem is, neither idea is true.

How can I change myself when I am the problem? Well, I can’t, but current culture and pop theology argue that our problems emanate from places other than ourselves.

It’s the environment – not nature per se, but our everyday surroundings, our culture, our families. Or it’s that we have been cheated and mistreated by something or someone other than ourselves. We are oppressed by oppressors. Corporations or capitalism are high on this list of oppressors.

We medicalize or psychologize the idea of sin by rooting wrongdoing and hurtful outcomes in mental illness. I’m not saying there is no such thing as actual mental illness, and I am certainly not throwing a rock at anyone who has had mental health struggles. Nor am I against psychology as such. Never have been.

What I am concerned about is that I believe some of what was once considered a spiritual issue handled in the family and the church, based upon an application of the Word of God is now immediately shipped off to therapists. It’s part of the secularization of American culture, also now described as a post-Christian culture.

Meanwhile, “the U.S. has reached peak therapy. Counseling has become fodder for hit books, podcasts, and movies. Professional athletes, celebrities, and politicians routinely go public with their mental health struggles. And everyone is talking—correctly or not—in the language of therapy, peppering conversations with references to gaslighting, toxic people, and boundaries.…by the latest federal estimates, about one in eight U.S. adults now takes an antidepressant and one in five has recently received some kind of mental-health care, an increase of almost 15 million people in treatment since 2002. Even in the recent past—from 2019 to 2022—use of mental-health services jumped by almost 40% among millions of U.S. adults with commercial insurance, according to a recent study in JAMA Health Forum.”

“But something isn’t adding up. Even as more people flock to therapy, U.S. mental health is getting worse by multiple metrics. Suicide rates have risen by about 30% since 2000. Almost a third of U.S. adults now report symptoms of either depression or anxiety, roughly three times as many as in 2019, and about one in 25 adults has a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. As of late 2022, just 31% of U.S. adults considered their mental health “excellent,” down from 43% two decades earlier.”

So, despite the fact we have more things, more toys, more financial wherewithal, more health and medical care, we’re living longer, still, we evidence more anxiety, are //medium.com/@kristyznews/americas-pill-culture-how-we-became-the-most-medicated-nation-on-earth-146be203dff6" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;">the most medicated citizenry on earth via opioids and other drugs, and in terms of happiness, while “the U.S. ranks in the top 10 for those over 60, but for those under 30, it ranks 62^nd.”

American culture has been on a secular slide since at least mid-20^th Century. Americans now believe anything, everything, and therefore nothing. And these ideas have consequences.

This shows up in declining church attendance and thus a decline in the exhortation, encouragement, or accountability Bible-believing churches offer, slow erosion of Christian ideas and values undergirding everyday life, like respect for human life, consensus about law and criminal justice, decline in knowledge of and commitment to Christian values like honesty, work ethic, vision for growth or excellence, loss of moral boundaries regarding sexual behavior or fidelity in marriage with corresponding increases in traumatic emotional upheaval in the lives of both children and adults, disappearing belief in truth in education, science, law, business, a rejection of the presence and blessedness of a belief in divine providence, a breakdown in what I call a backstop or safety net.

In other words, sooner or later we all encounter some circumstance we cannot handle. We run into something we cannot deal with, something that overwhelms us emotionally and maybe otherwise too. It is in these times that we need a backstop or safety net, something we fall back on. If a person is not a Christian believer, if a person does not attend church or have family or other social support, if a person does not believe in God or has no relationship with him, what is their backstop in times of trial?

If there is no Christian beliefs we’ve absorbed like osmosis from our culture, and if we possess no understanding of our own about who God is and how he works in our lives, we are left in emotional freefall. We have nothing to catch us, nothing to turn to, nothing to fill the void or provide solace or encouragement, so we spin out of control. We maybe turn to pills.

Do we look inside ourselves and say, “Keep calm and carry on.” Do we decide, we’re OK and just soldier on? Does this work? Not for most people.

No, we’re not perfect, and our ability to live an abundant life is not about us. What we need is a real relationship with the God the Father, about whom it is said, “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul” (Ps 94:19).

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 16 September 2024

Twisted persons periodically shoot others in public spaces, then guns dominate the news coverage. Should guns be made illegal? What does the Bible say about guns?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #169 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Guns have been a part of human existence for a long time. Gunpowder and early gun technology were invented in China during the 9^th century, and by the 13^th century firearms were common in Europe.

If you are an American who does not possess a gun, the police usually do, and bad guys certainly do.

Each time someone uses a gun to kill four or more people, excluding the shooter, it’s called a “mass shooting.” When these events occur, advocates are featured on media arguing guns are the primary source of these tragedies and recommending gun control, gun buy-backs, or gun confiscation as the only way to curtail mass shootings or murder in general. Some of these spokesmen say guns exist only to kill people and anyone who believes otherwise is immoral

So, what does the Bible say about guns? Short answer: nothing. Guns did not exist during biblical times.

While it’s true, the Word of God says nothing about guns, gun laws, or gun control, Scripture does talk about weapons, war, murder, self-defense, and even more importantly, God’s definition of morality, sin, law and order, and justice.

What then does God say?

He said, fear of the Lord. Respect for others’ lives begins with respect for God.
God made it clear human beings are made in his image, eternally valuable.
Consequently, God said murder is always wrong.
God also said problems in this world do not originate with our toys, nor with our tools, but develop out of our own sinful hearts.
Because we live in a fallen, sinful world, evil exists, so God created government to curtail evil, gave us his moral law, and charged humanity with moral agency, meaning an ability to understand right and wrong and accountability to God to preserve life and do justice.

Because our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick, (Jer. 17:9), because “none is righteous, no, not one (Rom 3:10), human beings steal, lie, assault others, fight wars, and take human life. Consequently, self-defense is a moral consideration.

“The Bible records many accounts of wars, battles, and the use of weapons. Warfare is presented as an inevitable part of living in a fallen world (Mark 13:7, James 4:1), and weaponry is a necessary part of warfare…The Bible does not forbid the possession of weapons, and neither does it command such possession.”

“The Bible never condemns a person for carrying a weapon for self-defense (Neh. 4:15-23; Ezek. 33:1-9; Lk 22:35-38), though it does admonish those who are not prepared. It is noted in 1 Sam. 13:19-22 that as Israel was confronted with war with the Philistines, they had no spears or swords, only Saul and Jonathan had them.

It would appear the Israelites had to prepare their farm tools to be weapons (1 Sam 13:20). Even Jesus explained the necessity of self-defense, telling His disciples to be prepared as they departed from Him. He counseled them to bring their moneybags and knapsacks and also said, ‘And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one’" (Luke 22:35-38).

“The civil liberties of America have readily afforded people the right to "keep and bear arms,” as codified in the 2^nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights. “And while the Bible does not say a person must keep a weapon, it permits a person to do so” (Rom 14:1-4).

“As far as the Bible is concerned…there is nothing unspiritual about owning a gun or knowing how to use one. There is nothing wrong with protecting oneself or loved ones, even if it involves the use of weapons.”

Dr. Mike Austin, author of God and Guns in America observed, “The vast majority of gun owners in the United States of America have never harmed another human being using a gun, and never will. People use guns for hunting, for sport, or for an absolute last resort in self-defense. The fact that criminals use guns to commit crimes does not mean guns are the problem. Criminals are the problem.

If all the guns in the world were taken away, criminals would find new ways to rob convenience stores, commit muggings, terrify people, and commit horrible atrocities and mass murders. No, gun control is not, in and of itself, the answer.”

“While incidents of mass murder via gun violence in the USA have increased dramatically in recent years, it is not due to guns suddenly becoming available. Guns have been readily available in the USA for most of its history. Something else has changed in the culture that is leading people to commit these horrible actions. We have to ask ourselves an important question. Why is it that only recently did people start committing mass murders at schools, bars, concerts, and shopping centers? Again, the guns have always been around. So, what changed?”

Our culture has come to believe any violence is bad, that guns are only instruments of killing, so we hear “violence leads to more violence.” Maybe. But there are times, in fact often, that violence, i.e., use of a gun, is the only thing that stops violence, stops evildoers. In this righteous use of violence via a gun, innocents are protected. Not to protect innocents when we could have done so is itself immoral.

“The core philosophical argument for a moral right to own a gun can be summarized as follows: we possess the right to life, which entails the right to self-defense, which in turn entails the right to a reasonable means of self-defense. Since firearms are a reasonable means of self-defense…it follows that there is a strong moral right to own and carry firearms for self-protection.”

Scripture notes, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe” (Luke 11:21). Protecting our lives and our family’s lives is proper stewardship of what God gave us.

“Stricter laws are not a panacea. We need to address the culture of violence and death in the United States not only legally but also at the social, individual, and spiritual levels. A crucial way to do this is with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of life that also has implications for the issue of gun control.”

Now in this brief consideration about what the Bible say about guns, I’ve stayed close to Scripture, trying to present what the Word of God says, and allows us to conclude.

What I have not done is look at the practicality of gun control, i.e., that cities, like Chicago, with the most restrictive gun laws are still struggling with high murder rates, and that the history of countries where citizens’ guns have been removed is frequently a record of government tyranny.

Nor am I in any way trying to trivialize the use of guns in violence or dismiss deaths resulting from gun violence as inconsequential. Every human life matters. So, there’s nothing wrong with talking about our culture’s use of guns.

But of all the negative social trends present within American culture, guns are not at the top of the list.

Medicalizing or psychologizing or politicizing sin are greater threats. These trends intentionally redefine immoral, sinful choices as mental illness or environmentally determined or no longer a social concern (think legalized marijuana, eliminating the death penalty and cash bail, limiting prosecutions for low-level, nonviolent offenses and scaling back sentences, or not counting crimes that don’t fit the wished-for narrative).

If can’t call sin, sin, how can we expect to preserve liberty or attain justice or peace?

Guns are weapons capable of being used for ill or for good. The Bible places responsibility for the moral decisions involved in the hearts and hands of human beings. You are free not to own a gun, but those who choose to own a gun are not violating Scripture.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check //www.youtube.com/@DrRexRogers>">my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 09 September 2024

Is the Spirit of God bringing revival to the believer and a spiritual awakening to the seeker on the American college and university campus?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #168 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Revivals, or spiritual awakenings if you prefer, broke out on Christian college, private college, and public university campuses in 2023.

Now in 2024, perhaps we’re seeing the continuation of these experiences with the Lord.

Recently, “a revival event was held on the Ohio State University campus…where a few Buckeye football players gave testimonies and dozens of students were baptized. The event was held…outside OSU’s Curl Market and organized by numerous on-campus Christian student groups, featuring multiple members of the university’s football team leading the worship. Approximately 60 attendees were baptized that evening, reported the OSU student newspaper, The Lantern.

Another report said, Ohio State University’s campus witnessed a bunch of different churches joined together in a public place to worship. Ohio State football “players joined the crowd in worship. (which one attending faculty member estimated at 2,000). “It was all Jesus-based, all focused on Him,” the faculty member said. “Very vulnerable and very moving.”

Soon, ice bathtubs were brought and filled, and Gee Scott Jr. began preaching and baptizing his teammates…This comes just two weeks after over 25 players showed up to fall camp wearing custom OSU shirts that simply said, “Jesus Won.” (Someone at the event said) God is doing amazing things within this team, and it deserves to be publicized and praised.”

In 2023, Auburn University, Florida State University, University of Georgia to name a few, witnessed tens of thousands of students gathering, sometimes spontaneously, sometimes in sponsored events, to worship, praise God, hear sermons on various sins – yes, not just feel-good peptalks but sermons about darkness of the soul, slavery to sin and the freedom from that sin available to all through saving, forgiving, transformative faith in Jesus Christ. Such sermons were often followed by large-scale baptisms of hundreds of students in nearby bodies of water, even available campus fountains.

In a podcast February 2023, I discussed revival services that developed unsponsored and undirected at Asbury University, Wilmore, Kentucky.

Impromptu nonstop prayer meetings, Scripture reading, public prayers, confessions, arms raised, worship singing, some students being saved by making professions of faith in Christ. Personal testimonies went viral on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, racking up millions of views and inspiring carloads of visitors to descend on Wilmore, population 6,000.

The movement then spread to other Christian institutions of higher learning: “Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee; Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio; Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky.” Also, revival was reported at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

At Asbury, students arrived from other universities: the University of Kentucky, Purdue University, Texas A&M University and Indiana Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Transylvania University, Midway University, Georgetown College, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, and many others.

Christian author Jennie “Allen, who was a speaker at three…college campus outreaches, in which thousands of students gathered and publicly accepted Christ, and hundreds were baptized, told Think Eternity News via text: “People keep asking us what is happening? How does this keep happening? They want a formula. I get it. I keep thinking the same thing. But we know in our bones, this is a move of God. We [pastors, ministry leaders] all have done the things we are doing now in rooms, and this hasn’t happened. I believe we are watching the beginnings of the next great awakening. At least that is what we are all praying for.”

Adult ministry leaders at these events observed, students “aren't interested in just going to church on Sunday but following Jesus Sunday through Saturday. They are up late into the night worshiping and up early the next morning praying. They are walking their campuses sidewalks and sharing the gospel with classmates.”

A Texas pastor who spoke at the University of Georgia last spring, said he was asked “to talk about finding freedom from sexual sin.” After doing so, he said, “It's not really a “crowd pleaser” message, but I gave it and Jennie Allen went up afterwards, talking about the importance of living in Christian community. The arena was full of over 6,000 students! Jennie wrapped up with an altar call and someone in the crowd wanted to get baptized. Someone else shouted there was a pond by The Red Barn, a notable landmark on campus. Thousands of students went out to the pond, and over two hundred students lined up to get baptized. We were in the water for hours. This was not a “dunk and next” situation. This was two hundred different Gospel-centered conversations. We went slow to confirm that they were believers and baptized past midnight!”

So, based upon what we have in limited media coverage, it appears the Lord did something special on these university campuses last year, and perhaps he will do so again this academic term.

Given what we have seen on college and university campuses in the past few months, it would be easy to write them off as spiritual wastelands: destructive protests, and not simply pro-Palestinian demonstrations calling for care and consideration toward the innocents among the Palestinian population, like children or women, but rather pro-Hamas rages demanding universities divest themselves of all involvement with the state of Israel, along with antisemitic chants aimed both at Israelis abroad and Jews here at home, including on the very campuses where such ethnic hate is being propagated. So, yes, it would be easy to walk away from this, to dismiss them all as unworthy, spoiled, hopeless brats.

But of course, that is not what Jesus would do. God commands Christian believers to love our neighbors, pray for our enemies, speak the truth in love, and act as ambassadors of reconciliation in a sin-drenched world. Surely this includes our youth.

But why are so many American kids so susceptible to hatemongering?

Well, American postmodern, post-Christian culture, writ large on the academic campus, makes no bones about rejecting God, absolute truth, morality, even biological science. In place of moral conscience and critical thinking, students are taught skepticism and cynicism, that nothing deserves their faith, that nothing and no one is worthy of their trust, certainly not the USA.

For a few decades now, throughout academia, students have been systematically taught the rubrics of Marxist ideology, that everything boils down to oppressor vs oppressed, class conflict seen in rich vs poor or as race or gender conflict,

victor vs victim, and the one who has power—not necessarily righteousness—is the victor. Radical professors, and so their students, reject the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights because they believe freedom from law is preferrable to liberty in law.

Students are taught something called nihilism: the idea life is meaningless. Think about this. If you truly believed life was hollow, inconsequential, that your own life was pointless, that it had no purpose, you have no value or worth, why wouldn’t you seek escape in hedonism, lust or substance abuse? Who cares?

And if your life has no value or worth, certainly other human beings have no value or worth. If we believe this hopelessness, then what’s left?

It is in this academic context that I pray the Lord will send his Spirit upon the land beginning perhaps with the most spiritually bereft of places in America, the college and university campus.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check //www.youtube.com/@DrRexRogers">my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

Details: Written by: Rex M. Rogers; Published: 02 September 2024

We’re commanded in Scripture to love our neighbor as ourselves, but does this include migrants, even illegal immigrants, too?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #167 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Immigration is a major, divisive, and urgent topic in the United States, especially relative to the 2024 presidential election.

“The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States grew to 11.0 million in 2022, according to Pew Research Center estimates,” about 3.3% of the total U.S. population. “Meanwhile, the lawful immigrant population grew steadily from 24.1 million in 2000 to 36.9 million in 2022,” about 14.3% of the nation’s population.

Whatever one’s political views about US immigration policy, there are about 11M unauthorized and about 37M lawful immigrants in the US.

We can think about immigrants on many levels, but we’ll focus upon two here: personal or individual, and political or national.

First the personal.

In Scripture, Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:25-28), a pretty tall order. A lawyer, seeking clarity, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” and Jesus responded with the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

In this parable a man is accosted and beaten by robbers and left half-dead alongside the road. A priest passes by but does not help, then a Levite does the same. Finally, a Samaritan—someone whose ethnic identity is not well-regarded by Judeans—sees the beaten man and has compassion on him, taking steps to restore his health. Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:25-37).

Love our neighbor does not mean we must agree and certainly not endorse wrong or evil belief or practices. It does not mean we do not evaluate or make judgements about good, bad, or ugly culture. It means we love the person. It includes compassion, honesty, impartiality, and justice in our relationships

Jesus taught that we are to love those not like us, those who may not be able to love in return, those who are unlovely – in other words, other human beings.

How do we love our neighbors, immigrant, authorized or unauthorized?

Remember, they likely have experienced estrangement, anxiety, fear, lack of resources, feeling unwelcome. They may feel isolated and alone, sort of lonely in a crowd, because they are detached from family and familiar culture, including language, food, ways of life.

Build bridges, try to build common ground, show the love of Christ, help with language barriers like understanding idioms, be a friend, evangelize indirectly. Talk about life challenges and God but not forcing a decision. Ask if they know much about churches or Christianity. Talk about what Jesus or your faith means to you, how it affects your daily life.

Now, is it possible to be “pro-immigrant” – not so much as a political position but as a Christian or spiritual one, and if so, what does this mean?

Sure, pro-immigrant just means pro-people from another country, just like our ancestors. Legal immigration brings the U.S. new talent, able-bodied workers, new ideas, enriches us. Realize that whatever the problems of our immigration policies, there are all kinds of immigrants. Some may indeed be criminal and dangerous, or political agitators, but many are just families who truly hunger for asylum, freedom, opportunity, and a better life – just like the 2.5M who came through Ellis Island in the 20^th Century.

Now let’s consider the political.

America has been described as “a nation of immigrants,” yet today immigration is a major tension point in American politics.

But think about this: illegal immigration and open borders are the problem, not so much the idea of being an immigrant as such.

The biblical doctrine, “Love your neighbor” has been co-opted by progressive ideologues in their effort to reduce conservative resistance to progressive views.

These often-anti-Christian advocates work to redefine religious words, then employ them for social justice purposes. This is now happening with “Love your neighbor,” wherein we’re told that one must maintain open borders for to do otherwise is to not love our neighbor.

Among those working hardest to promote open borders are certain elites, meaning typically wealthy, progressive, transnational and political people who think of themselves as “world citizens” or “globalists.” Perhaps they are best-known in their association with the annual Davos, Switzerland confab, the World Economic Forum, wherein they pontificate on climate change, population control, world health, immigration, and technocratic global governance.

Globalists or progressives frequently cite something called “multiculturalism,” a view that all cultures are morally relative and thus not subject to evaluation. They promote open borders and wink at cultural and religious differences, arguing no moral distinctions can be made. This morally relativistic multicultural philosophy is one of the roots of the problems in the non-assimilation, social fracturing, crime and unrest, and street demonstrations we are now witnessing throughout Europe.

Germany embraced this philosophy and is now learning the hard way: open border mass immigration promoted as a culturally neutral economic boon yields social and cultural chaos.

Now the same multicultural philosophy, wedded to the leftist progressive Democrat desire for political power is at work in the U.S. The last few years’ influx across the open southern border of unvetted, unauthorized, mostly male migrants is now producing predictable, similar social fragmentation, unrest, and dangerous circumstances in American cities.

Meanwhile, many Christian leaders argue it would be wrong for the U.S. to consider closing borders or curtailing immigration because to do so is to not love our neighbors or not welcome strangers.

But author Eric Metaxas said, “It’s disturbing that some Christians seem quite happy to twist the scripture that says we are to ‘care for the strangers and aliens among us’ into a carte blanche invitation to enact dramatically destructive immigration policies, as though painting a smiley face over the monstrous reality of encouraging vicious drug cartels and child-sex traffickers. It’s hard to overstate the blasphemy of using God’s Word in this way.”

Author Megan Basham observed, “Of course, believers are to preach Christ crucified to all, no matter how they arrived here. Of course, we should provide for those in real need, no matter how the needy came to cross our path. But ‘welcome the stranger’ was Christ’s command to his followers to personally emulate the Good Samaritan. To insist that it was meant to be used as a blanket immigration policy is spiritual manipulation that cheapens its meaning.”

“The United States should and always has welcomed ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ to share in the blessings God has bestowed on us. But if we incentivize illegal immigration by rewarding those who ignore our laws and fail to ensure that those to whom we grant citizenship understand and respect our founding ideals that made the nation great, the United States will soon look little different from the countries these immigrants are fleeing.”

So, on a personal, individual level, we must love our immigrant neighbors no matter how they got here. This means ignore politics and ideology, build bridges, pray for them, minister to them.

On a political, national level, the U.S., to continue as we are now with open borders is to destroy America’s position as a beacon of hope to the world.

So, the U.S. must develop immigration policy that first, protects and preserves American ideals and identity, rule of law, and borders so that the nation may survive and meet the needs of its citizens, and second, the U.S. must develop immigration policy that provides a legal, orderly, just path for those who desire freedom and opportunity to become Americans.

Both these conditions empower us to love our neighbors.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check //www.youtube.com/@DrRexRogers">my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

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