Joe Rogan and the Catholic Church
Joe Rogan often finds common ground with those he interviews, even those with which he disagrees. He’s not into identity politics and his positions are independent of the mainstream media, which is awesome. We are especially appreciative of his position on lockdowns, and mandates.
However, when he talks about religion in general and the Catholic Church specifically, he demonstrates a strong bias. To his credit he did accept some of the benefits of religion when he was interviewed on Ben Shapiro's show. However, Joe hasn't yet invited a serious Catholic onto his show. We hope he does. Here we provide a list of his quotes with short responses.
Is the Catholic Church a Cult
Catholicism has like a billion people… it’s a cult.
Joe Rogan, published Dec 19, 2017
In the show where he presented that position, the secular psychologist Bret Weinstein, torpedoed it by pointing out that if a culture successfully perseveres for centuries under a particular system of belief, it's not a cult, because cults cannot compete against a better (more sensible) system over time.
What's with the wizard on a throne?
Whenever you have a guy that dresses like a wizard and is sitting on a golden throne, that is why this is a problem
Joe Rogan, published Dec 19, 2017
Priests dressed like that long before wizards did. Wizards are depicted in long robes to mimic religion rather than the vice versa. The oldest version we could find of a wizard in a robe and hat was around 1200 A.D. which is 1200 years after the Christian priesthood. The Levites in the Old Testament distinguished themselves in the way they dressed 1500 years before Christ. This is the origins of the priesthood.
The "Chair of Peter" is not gold, it is wood. It is, however, very special. It was was a gift from Roman Emperor to Pope John VIII in 875. We would like Joe to articulate "why this is a problem". If he means that a throne indicates authority. Yes, the pope has authority to make important decisions on behalf of the Church. This role was pronounced by our founder, Jesus (Mat 16:18, Jn 21:15-17). We have a separate article about why Catholics have a Pope.
The Joe Rogan comedy routine
In a CULT its started by a guy. Its bullsh*t and he knows its bullsh*t, in a Religion that guy is dead.
Joe Rogan, published Dec 19, 2017
We understand that comedy shouldn't be taken seriously, but Joe actually used that quote during a serious discussion on his show, so it deserves a response.
If Jesus knew it was "BS" why did he die for it? Why did everybody who hung around with him for 3 years, witnessing all the miracles die for it, penniless? People who BS others do it for money, power, or unbridled sex. Jesus gave up all that and so did his followers. We suggest that Joe read the C.S Lewis argument that Jesus is either (1) lunatic, (2) liar, or (3) Lord. Psychologists have studied the life of Jesus from all angles and there is no credible theory that he was either of the first two. Most people know that intuitively.
Can DMT provide the same experience as deep prayer
Its possible that a drug can bypass some of the filters that human beings have that protect them from seeing the other side of this world. Yes you can see spiritual things by using a drug. But it's physically, mentally and spiritually dangerous to try to take a short cut into the spritual world. Think of Froto and the "ring" in Lord of the Rings. We have an article on DMT here.
Did Moses get high on DMT?
Do you know what scholars in Jerusalem think about Moses coming down from the mountain. They think the burning bush is acacia wood which is rich in DMT. They think the metaphor of the burning bush was a psychedelic experience, where he tapped into universal principles about peace, love, positive thinking etc.
Joe Rogan, published Dec 19, 2017
There is only one Israeli professor called Benny Shannon, with this hypothesis. Even Shannon calls it "speculative". The theory is full of holes. Moses had many experiences of the Lord talking to him where there was no burning bush.
Catholic school 46 years ago had nasty teachers
I [Rogan] grew up in Catholicism ... To be with these people for 9 months. My parents were splitting up at the time, so it was very confusing, I wanted things to have order ... I wanted God to make sense. I remember annoying people with ... God wants this God says that. I was six years old. Because I was a little kid dealing with my parents splitting up and there didn’t seem to be any order in the world and I was very nervous. So finally, l was happy because I was gonna go to Catholic school. But then as I experienced it, at six I said this is ridiculous, it doesn’t make any sense. First of all these people are so mean and nasty, they are not comforting and loving. And when I compared them with the way my grandmother was or my mother was, I felt these ladies are nasty. They represent God? This is crazy!"
Joe Rogan, Dec 3 2018
Now we are getting to the heart of Joe Rogan's problem with Catholicism. Joe Rogan had 9 months of Catholic School at 6 years old when his parents were going through a divorce. That is the extent of his direct exposure to anything Catholic. The next year his family moved to San Francisco and was in public school. His parents didn't go to Mass.
Joe went to a Catholic school 46 years ago and he is filtering his world view through handful of mean teachers who never hit him once. We have an article on the 1960's Punishing God. Things were definitely harsher then.
Joe, we're sorry your parents broke up when you were 6 and your teachers were unsympathetic. But perhaps its time to face the devastation you suffered from the divorce and not transfer your anger and pain over to the Church ... really!
Is the Catholic Church is full of kid f*ers
Interview a 2015 with Gavin McInness:
Gavin: “I quit booze for Lent. I didn’t have drinks on Thursday…”
Joe: “Are you Catholic?”
Gavin: “I just became Catholic. I…”
Joe: “What?”
Gavin: “I grew up atheist”
Joe: “How old are you?”
Gavin: “Forty-Five.”
Joe: “What the f***’s wrong with you? Why are you becoming Catholic now?”
Gavin: “I had kids. I realized there’s something else going on. That’s why I want…”
Joe: “There’s something else going on? What? A cult of child kid f***ers?”
Note: Here, Joe is doing a classic Gish Gallop.
The abuse crisis is a serious issue which should not be reduced to a slogan. We have an in-depth article on the priest abuse cases. We'll just say a few things here. There is no indication that the priesthood had higher rates of abuse than other professions. It's still a tragedy, but we'd have to banish coaches, employers, teachers, cub leaders, etc... to be consistent with Joe's comments about the priesthood. The left leaning Guardian said:
... figures from the outside world suggesting that not many professions do better. Last year, it was reported that half of the girls fostered in social democratic Sweden in the 50s and 60s had been abused; according to Camila Batmanghelidjh 550,000 children are reported to the social services in this country every year.
See also the US National Library of Health Report on the priest abuse cases which shows 80% of the victims were post pubescent teenage boys, pointing to a different problem than the popular narrative, which is inconvenient for the mainstream media who'd like to appease the gay lobby and lower the age of consent.
When I (Hugh) was a teenager, a popular TV/media personality in his 40s hit on me after I played music on a show he was hosting. I refused the offer but was devastated that it was not my talent he was interested in. Mr. Rogan's logic would be that I assume every media personality (and popular podcaster) is a predator. I don't think that is very fair.
Comparing the Resurrection to zombies
The majority of Americans also believe in a Jewish zombie. Joe Rogan on Twitter, September 2, 2010
The Resurrection predates any historical reference to "zombies", which originated in 17th century Haiti (1,600 years after Jesus rose from the dead). There is a good movie called The Case for Christ. It's a true story of an atheist investigative reporter who set out to disprove the Resurrection, and ended up converting to Christianity. There is more proof that Jesus rose from the dead than there is for Julius Caesar's existence.
Do Christians believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old?
The majority of Americans also believe ... that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. Joe Rogan on Twitter, September 2, 2010
The Catholic Church accepts the science of an old earth, the book of Genesis is not a science book. It is about the origins of our relationship to God, and his relationship to his creation. See our article on Creationism. Christianity is a huge movement of 1.5 billion people and 40,000 denominations. A small minority of which are young earth creationists.
However, it is ironic that those who ridicule these "science deniers" often can't answer this science question, which is in every grade 7 biology book.
What is inside a woman when she is 11 weeks pregnant?
- a blob of tissue
- a distinct human being with independent DNA and a heartbeat.
Here's the answer:
On abortion Joe appears deeply divided. Contrary, to what his guest, Rory Albanese, asserted in the interview, prolife people donate tons of time and money trying to help pregnant women keep and raise their babies. It's a stereotype that they are angry, selfish and judgmental. They are often kind, considerate and self sacrificing, ready to roll up their sleeves and help.
Is the Vatican a country that is only 100 acres full of pedophiles? They raised the age of consent to 18 from 12
Joe Rogan: [the Vatican] It's a country filled with pedophiles and stolen art. It's small, like a 100 acre country inside a city, filled with pedophiles.
Konstantin Kisin: This is why I love America, man. Because in the UK, we have liability laws. So if you say something like that, then you have to be able to prove it, otherwise you get sued.
Joe Rogan: Well, you can kind of prove it....
Francis Foster: Until 5, 6 years ago the age of consent was 12 years old....
Joe Rogan: "The Benedict guy, he was wanted in other countries on crimes against humanity"
(Podcast July 17, 2022)
Woah! Another Gish Gallop, a drive-by shooting of the Catholic Church, without anyone to respond. It appears Joe is calling for the world to cancel this independent country.
Why is the Vatican allowed to exist as an independent country?
The Vatican is small and it has to be an independent country so that it is not subject to partisan influence by various tyranical leaders and governments that come and go through history. For instance in China, the Church has an underground authentic Church and a Patriotic fake Church that is a mouthpeice for the government. When the decision making of the worldwide Church is in a country, it is compromised.
Is the Vatican full of pedophiles?
The Vatican ("The Holy See" is its offical name) has 825 citizens. There are no hospitals in the Vatican State so no one is born a citizen. Instead, Vatican citizenship is provided on a 'jus officii' basis. There are virtually no children living in the Vatican City. Citizenship is granted when individuals are appointed to work in the Holy See. Their citizenship ends when their appointment ends. There are no convicted pedophiles living there that we are aware of. We would invite Joe Rogan to provide us with a list of people he suspects are pedophiles with the reasons he makes those assertions. Notice his statement "you can kind of prove it". He said that because there is no proof. It simply is not true. It is another shrill claim.
Was the art work stolen?
We would invite Joe Rogan to provide us with a list of peices that he claims are stolen. Does he have grounds for this allegation?
Some of the works were dug up on ancient religious sites long since owned by the Church. Many others were gifted to the Vatican museums. Archaeologists and collectors bequeathed entire collections to the Vatican. Many works were commissioned directly by the Church over the centuries. Some artists in the middle ages worked for poor pay or for free because they wanted the recognition.
I would far rather these historical works of art be on public display in the Vatican than hidden in the bank vault or private mansion of some Russian or Chinese billionaire.
We would invite the Louvres and the British Museum, however, to return artworks plundered during the colounization of the west.
Was the Age of consent only 12 in the Vatican?
Being 2000 years old, the Vatican has many archaeic laws. The age of consent in the Vatican was raised to 18 in 2013 during the priest scandals in the US as a sign of solidarity with the appologies. Until the 20th century, in most countries, as soon as a girl hit puberty at around 12 or 13 she’d hit the age of consent, and was married off. The age of consent is still 12 years for girls in a couple of USA states, and in some European countries its around 13. This is true in various countries throughout the world. In the USA, you have to make the distinction between “the legal age of consent” and “age of consent”. In some states if the male marries the female with her parents consent, charges of statutory rape are waived if the girl is 12 years or older. List of countries by age of consent - Wikipedia
Conclusion
Science can answer questions about "how" things work, Christianity answers questions about "why" they work. There is no conflict between the two, they both seek the Truth from different perspectives.
We pray Joe Rogan heals from his parent's divorce, forgives his first grade teacher(s) and stops misleading young people into forming a cult of personality around him rather than our resurrected Lord, who is actually worthy of our praise.