Joe Rogan, Christian? The podcaster opens up about his ongoing exploration of faith
Joe Rogan may not be ready to call himself a Christian, but the former atheist does find himself rubbing shoulders with believers on many a Sunday.
The podcaster once again revealed details about his ongoing exploration of the faith, including his habit of regularly attending church.
'It's almost like everybody is under a spell.'
He also demonstrated a newfound appreciation of why someone would need God in his or her life. When recent podcast guest Francis Foster expressed amazement at how much a friend of his could rely on religion as a foundation for getting through tough times, Rogan didn't seem nearly as surprised.
"If you really do believe that, it definitely will help you," the comedian concurred.
Church going
At that point, fellow guest — and Foster's "Triggernometry" podcast co-host — Konstantin Kisin chimed in that he himself had been becoming more religious.
"I haven't got there, but I have started going to church every now and again," Kisin explained.
"Do you enjoy it?" Rogan asked.
"I love it," responded Kisin.
"I do too," confessed Rogan, adding, "It's a bunch of people that are going to try to make their lives better. They're trying to be a better person."
Rogan then described his church experience as getting together with a group of people who read and analyze Bible passages.
"I'm really interested in what these people were trying to say because I don't think it's nothing," Rogan said.
No 'fairy tale'
From there, the New Jersey native addressed claims he has heard from atheists and secularists who dismiss Christianity as being "foolish."
The 58-year-old pushed back against the characterization that Christianity as a collection of "fairy tales" by "self-professed intelligent people," noting that a proper understanding of the faith requires considering historical context, translation difficulties, and oral vs. written tradition.
"I think there's something to what they're saying," Rogan offered.
Trust the science
While noting that modern science has found physical evidence for the biblical flood story told in Genesis, Rogan said he also appreciated the Bible as a compelling depiction of society 6,000 years ago.
Further segments in the podcast revealed that, perhaps due to a renewed interest in faith, Rogan's algorithm may have even changed.
- YouTube
This became evident when the group discussed some of Kisin's protest journalism, where he asks befuddled liberals the reason they are attending the current protest of the day.
In response, Rogan pointed to a video of a man doing interviews at a left-wing No Kings protest. The man asks attendees if they believe in human rights, to which they affirm, until they are asked about human rights "in the womb," which is when they dismiss the idea.
"It's almost like everybody is under a spell," Rogan laughed.
Rogan first confirmed he was going to church in June, after hinting at the idea that he was becoming more religious. He described his attendance similarly at that time:
"It's actually very nice; they're all just trying to be better people."
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Why every Christian must see the image of God in Gaza
Many people around the world are rightly celebrating the Israeli hostages who have been released from Gaza and the fragile ceasefire that is currently in place. Moments of reunion — and the prolonged agony felt by families of the remaining 13 deceased hostages — remind us that human life is precious beyond words.
Yet there is still another group of hostages in Gaza: countless Palestinian children trapped in fear, parents trapped in rubble, and a generation trapped between grief and uncertainty. For many Palestinians, this is a time to mourn.
What do we believe about the people who are different from us politically, religiously, racially, socially?
To speak of hostages today is to speak not only of those taken, but of all who have been bound by violence and loss. Every image of a freed captive should remind us that freedom is God’s design for every person made in His image. This is true for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
The Christian scriptures teach that every human being bears the imago Dei: the divine imprint of dignity, value, and worth. When we forget that truth, we become capable of anything.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of spending time with Rwandan Bishop Nathan Amooti. Rwanda is no stranger to pain. In the aftermath of genocide, Rwandans discovered that the first step toward national healing was re-humanizing one another — refusing to call a neighbor an enemy, rejecting demonizing language, and refusing to treat human souls as disposable.
That same work lies before us in Gaza. Rebuilding is not merely about bricks, electric lines, and water systems; it’s about reconstructing belief. What do we believe about the people who are different from us politically, religiously, racially, socially?
Rwanda’s recovery offers several lessons for all who long to see renewal in Gaza and beyond.
Rebuilding begins with re-humanizing
Bishop Amooti reminded me that genocide began when people stopped seeing one another as human.
The Hutus referred to the Tutsis as “snakes” or “cockroaches,” while the Tutsis called the Hutus “frogs.” Healing began when they rediscovered their shared humanity. Every act of compassion, every home rebuilt, and every hospital restored became a declaration that life is sacred.
Reconciliation is a process, not a moment
Rwanda learned that forgiveness and rebuilding take years of patient, communal effort.
Reconciliation started when individuals faced their trauma and chose life over revenge. True justice meant rebuilding community rather than pursuing more bloodshed. Bishop Amooti said that when a person kills someone who harmed their loved ones, “They become exactly like the person who first caused the pain.”
It takes humility and courage to stop the cycle of dehumanization.
Nation-building is moral and spiritual
When Rwandans returned to their homeland after the genocide, every system was broken: schools, hospitals, banks, and trust itself. They became innovators and social entrepreneurs, not simply out of ambition but out of necessity. The church played a vital role in helping rebuild communities by reminding people that identity runs deeper than tribe or politics.
Rebuilding Gaza will likewise require more than international aid; it will require moral imagination, shared responsibility, and courage to believe that neighbors can once again live side by side.
Healing requires shared responsibility
In Rwanda, citizens didn’t wait for government capacity; everyone participated in reconstruction. Pastors, teachers, farmers, and business leaders worked together to restore life.
The same must be true for Gaza. Governments can broker ceasefires, but ordinary people — Israeli and Palestinian, Muslim and Christian, local and global — will have to be ambassadors of goodness and peace with their own hands.
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Followers of Jesus Christ have a special responsibility; they are invited into this ministry of reconciliation. We rejoice with the families whose loved ones have come home; this is good, beautiful, and right. But to stop there would be to miss the heart of God.
We must also mourn with those who mourn — to grieve the staggering loss of life in Gaza and to join the sacred work of rebuilding.
If we believe that every person is made in the image of God, then every broken city, every grieving mother, and every frightened child becomes holy ground, a place where the Kingdom of God still longs to reign.
Freedom for Israeli hostages must include freedom for the people of Gaza: freedom from fear, despair, and ongoing dehumanization.
Why the Bible is suddenly flying off shelves across America
I’ve watched a lot of cultural moments come and go in my lifetime, but this one has felt different.
The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk didn’t just send tremors through the conservative world — it created a ripple that reached far beyond it. In the days and weeks that followed, I saw headlines I never thought I’d see: reports of a Bible-sales surge unlike anything in recent years.
When the noise of culture gets stripped away, the hunger for truth rises to the surface.
According to Fox Business, more than 2.4 million Bibles were sold in the U.S. in September — a 36% increase over last year.
The Bible-sales surge that coincided with Charlie Kirk’s assassination reveals something profound.
When America faces moments of crisis, people often turn to scripture for hope and answers. While no one can say with absolute certainty what caused the surge, the timing and impact of Charlie’s life and testimony make it reasonable to believe it played a significant role. And I personally believe that his assassination likely contributed to this powerful moment.
A cultural shockwave I'll never forget
Charlie’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, shook me to the core. Like so many others in conservative circles, I admired him. But for me, it was more than admiration. Charlie was my role model in Christ — a man who stood unapologetically for Jesus in a culture that often mocked Him. He lived boldly, unfiltered, and unafraid. That resonated with me deeply.
For years, those of us who followed Charlie knew who he was and what he stood for. But it wasn’t until his assassination that millions outside our circle — people on the left, independents, and even those who normally tune out of politics — truly saw him. His name wasn’t just on conservative media anymore; it was everywhere. And in that moment, the world encountered the testimony of a man whose faith was front and center.
That matters. His assassination didn’t just make headlines — it made people think about eternity. It made them think about what kind of man he was and, more importantly, Who he lived for.
This cultural moment reminds me of how believers are called to stand firm even when the world doesn’t understand.
Why people turn to the Bible in times like this
I’ve learned over the years that when tragedy strikes, people instinctively reach for something that doesn’t shake. They reach for something real. For many Americans, that means reaching for the Bible.
We’ve seen this before — after 9/11, during the pandemic, and now again. The Bible-sales surge isn’t just about a number on a spreadsheet. It’s a reflection of millions of hearts suddenly looking for answers they can’t find anywhere else. People may not even fully understand why they’re buying a Bible — but something in them knows they need hope.
Deep down, every person has a God-shaped void. And when the noise of culture gets stripped away, the hunger for truth rises to the surface.
The power of one man's testimony
Charlie’s faith spoke louder in his assassination than most people’s do in their lifetime. I’ve followed him for years, not just for his courage in politics, but for his unwavering love for Jesus. Seeing the way his story spread afterward impacted me profoundly. People who would have never listened to him while he was alive suddenly heard about him everywhere.
I believe some of those 2.4 million Bibles may have been bought by people who wanted to understand why Charlie believed what he believed. Others probably acted out of grief, curiosity, or quiet searching.
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Whatever the reason, it’s reasonable to believe his testimony was one of several factors prompting people to seek answers in scripture.
The early church experienced the same kind of ripple effect. Persecution never silenced the gospel — it multiplied it. Charlie wasn’t a martyr in the classical sense, but the way God is using his life after his assassination fits that same pattern: light shining in the darkness.
Why the Bible-sales surge matters
To me, this surge isn’t just encouraging — it’s revealing. Beneath the noise of politics and division, there’s still a spiritual hunger in America. People are tired of the chaos. They’re searching for something real. And whether they know it or not, they’re reaching for the only truth that can set them free.
The Bible isn’t just another book on a shelf. It’s living and active (Hebrews 4:12). If even a fraction of the millions who bought a Bible actually open it, read it, and meet the living God, this moment could be the spark of something extraordinary.
But this also means we need to be discerning because buying a Bible isn’t the same thing as being transformed by it.
Reaction or revival?
I remember the wave of church attendance after 9/11. America prayed. Churches filled up. People searched for answers. But as the months passed, that spiritual hunger faded.
Crisis can wake people up, but it doesn’t guarantee lasting change. That’s the question now. Will this Bible-sales surge be a turning point or just a reaction to pain?
Reaction is emotional, but revival is spiritual. Reaction fades, but revival transforms.
Real revival isn’t just a wave of emotion or a spike in sales. According to GotQuestions.org, true revival is a spiritual reawakening that brings a heartfelt return to God and obedience to His word. That’s the kind of revival America needs — not just a cultural reaction to tragedy.
My prayer is that this moment becomes more than a headline, that it becomes a holy spark that ignites something real.
The church — and you and me — must be ready
This is where we come in. If people are turning to the Bible, the church has to be ready to lead them to the Author. And I’m not talking about pastors and leaders alone — I’m talking about all of us. I’m talking about me.
People who might never have stepped into a church are holding a Bible right now. Some don’t know where to begin. Some are skeptical. Some are hungry. If we stay silent, this moment may fade away like so many before it. But if we speak up — if we share the hope we’ve found — we can meet those searching hearts with truth and grace.
Charlie's example and our call
Charlie Kirk lived the kind of bold faith I want to live. He didn’t compartmentalize his Christianity. He proclaimed it from the rooftop, even when it cost him culturally. That’s why he became my role model in Christ. And I believe the best way to honor that kind of legacy is not just to admire it — but to live it.
A Bible sitting unopened on a shelf won’t change a single life. But the Word of God, opened and believed, absolutely will.
This is our moment to shine the light of Christ, to speak boldly, and to live with conviction. Charlie did. Now it’s our turn.
America is reaching for the Bible again. But this time, it’s personal for me. Charlie Kirk wasn’t just a public figure I respected — he was a man whose faith inspired mine. His witness is still bearing fruit, even now. I don’t want to see this moment fade into history as just another cultural reaction. I want to see lives transformed.
That starts with believers like you and me living out the truth we say we believe.
This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Arch Kennedy's blog.
Christians are refusing to compromise — and it's terrifying all the right people
Only in the upside-down world of elite evangelicalism could repentance look like rebellion.
David French recently made a telling admission: He is "nervous" about "something" that is "stirring in Christian America." That "something," French insists, is that contrary to news that a Christian revival is under way in America, what is actually happening is not revival but "religious revolution."
Revival always looks like revolution to those who've made peace with decay.
The evidence? Jan. 6 (of course), a nuanced Christian debate about empathy, and Charlie Kirk's memorial service.
Authentic revival, according to French, would be focused on the self because true revival "begins with the people proclaiming, by word and deed, 'I have sinned.'"
But so-called MAGA Christianity, he claims, announces a different message: "It looks at American culture and declares, 'You have sinned.'" French continues:
And it doesn't stop there. It also says, "We will defeat you." In its most extreme forms, it also says, "We will rule over you." That's not revival; it's revolution, a religious revolution that seeks to overthrow one political order and replace it with another — one that has echoes of the religious kingdoms of ages past.
And don't be fooled when these revolutionaries call themselves "conservative." All too many conservative Christians are actually quite proudly radical. They want to demolish the existing order, including America's commitment to pluralism and individual liberty, and put their version of Christianity at the center of American political life.
It's clear that French sees the stirring of Christian faith across America — Christians re-engaging in politics, education, and culture — but instead of feeling encouraged or hopeful, he sees it as dangerous. He wants you to believe that ordinary Christians working to build communities shaped by biblical values are flirting with authoritarianism.
But what he can't seem to imagine is that maybe this is what authentic renewal looks like: Christians waking up to the world around them, tired of pretending their convictions don't belong in public life.
Revival, after all, always looks like revolution to those who've made peace with decay.
Domesticated faith exposed
French's nervousness reveals something deeper than politics. It exposes a theology that's been domesticated, one that treats faith as a private matter rather than a public demonstration of allegiance to Jesus Christ.
In his view, repentance is safe only when it stays inside the confines of the individual heart. But Christian faith is not individualistic. Repentance — literally meaning "turning back" or "returning" to God — is not limited to what one person can do for themselves. The Bible does not recognize the division that French asserts.
Instead, when people repent and turn back to God, hearts are transformed and households are changed. And when households change, communities change. And when communities change, culture is transformed.
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Every true revival — from King Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35) to the Great Awakenings — has looked political to those invested in the old order. That's because repentance, by its nature of not being limited to the self, always has public consequences. You can't toss aside sin and put on the "new self," as the apostle Paul calls it, without eventually dethroning the idols of the city.
The gospel doesn't just save people. It literally institutes a new Kingdom, one in which all reality is reordered around the lordship of King Jesus.
So when French frets about Christians who are "quite proudly radical," he misses the point. He sees a problem with Christians who want to tear down the "existing order" — as if that order has borne good fruit — and assumes they're driven by a lust for power and control. That critique is worse than lazy. It's slanderous.
In truth, these Christians aren't seeking power and control. They're simply refusing to bow to the false gods of our age.
Repentance reshapes reality
The "existing order" that French defends isn't morally neutral, working for the flourishing of all people. No. It's an anti-God order that calls confusion "compassion," celebrates sin, and treats moral clarity as a threat to democracy. It's an order where drag queens read to children, abortion is called "health care," and Christians are pushed to the margins of polite society.
Yet to French, the problem isn't the godlessness but the Christians who dare call it out, stand against it, and seek to reform it. This brand of "respectable" faith demands silence in the face of cultural collapse. It's the faith that turns a blind eye to societal sin over fear that conviction may be mistaken for cruelty or — gasp — power-grabbing.
But a Christianity that never offends the world will never change it. Jesus didn't die to make the world more comfortable. He died to make you and me new people, and new people — those whose allegiance to Jesus bears conformity to his Kingdom — inevitably shape the world around them.
Call it "Christian nationalism," call it whatever you want, but the truth is this: The existence of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus inaugurated, means that Christians right now are living out obedience to Christ. Christ is reigning, and that means His people, wherever they live, make their communities and countries more Christian.
And a more Christian world requires confronting the idols of our time and tearing them down, not politely negotiating with them.
Perhaps French is right: A revolution is under way. But it's not happening in Washington. It's unfolding quietly in small-town homes and churches across America, where Christians are repenting, rebuilding, and reordering their lives around the Kingdom of God.
Revolution unto God
We're now back to where we began: Only in the upside-down world of elite evangelicalism could repentance look like rebellion.
But maybe that's exactly what real repentance is supposed to look like in a culture that is so drunk on self-worship that it has not only rejected God or tried to erase Him, but it has tried to become like God.
French sees danger where there's actually deliverance: A generation of Christians waking up, tired of compromise, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue. He mistakes courage for cruelty and conviction for control. But the truth is simple: You can't have revival without resistance, and every age that bows to godless idols sees repentance as subversion.
If repentance and revival is returning to God, then revolution is what happens when enough people finally do.
Taxpayer-Funded Schools Can’t Prohibit Prayer And Promote Witchcraft
What looks like harmless exploration of 'different beliefs' is reprogramming the moral compass of the next generation.The gospel according to David French: A study in betrayal
What do you call someone who thinks drag queen story hour better embodies “liberty” than Americans buying Bibles in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom? I’ll tell you — and, let me assure you, I choose my words here with theological precision.
David French is a satanic slanderer of the brethren. In my view, he’s become an instrument of deception, and I’ll explain why.
If poetic justice prevailed, David French’s byline would read ‘Judas.’ May he enjoy the potter’s field he’s bought for himself.
Charlie Kirk’s legacy speaks for itself. Nearly everyone who spent time with the murdered founder of Turning Point USA left more grounded in the gospel than they were before. Even Donald Trump Jr., during Charlie’s memorial service, spoke to millions about St. Stephen — the church’s first martyr — because friendship with a man who had given his life and last breath to God bore visible fruit.
French, like Kirk, enjoys a powerful platform. From his perch at the New York Times — the epicenter of America’s corporate media machine — he can influence an elite readership. Yet what evidence shows that his faith leads anyone closer to Christ? None.
Instead, French routinely simps for the spirit of the age, mocking what is good, true, and beautiful. The man once known for moral clarity has become a parody of himself — Joe Biden with less drool and better diction.
French should not be engaged as a serious Christian thinker. He should be exposed and rebuked as what he has become: an agent of deception. As the apostle Paul wrote of Demas, his former companion who “loved this present world,” French has traded salt and light for relevance and applause.
Believers must guard against such turncoats as faith becomes costlier and clearer in our time. Scripture warns repeatedly about impostors who infiltrate the church, seeking to poison it from within. Paul named names in his epistles. He called out the frauds without apology. He didn’t leave the flock guessing about where the danger lay.
Today’s “nicer than God” crowd would scold Paul for being uncharitable. But Charlie Kirk understood that clarity, not niceness, wins spiritual battles. His campus Q&As didn’t leave students guessing about the truth. You might not have liked every answer, but you knew exactly what was at stake. That conviction, lived to the point of death, is what faith demands.
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Our faith is the cross, so all of us must provide an unambiguous understanding of the gospel and what it costs.
French’s conduct offers the opposite lesson. His public witness bears no fruit. He delights in the approval of secular elites who despise the gospel. He preens before the godless No Kings crowd, too vain to notice his own descent. Even the biblical warning about millstones and those who lead children astray doesn’t give him pause. He’s chosen his side: deceit and damnation.
I’ve mostly ignored French’s unraveling in recent years. But Charlie is dead, and I won’t let my friend — or the gospel — be caricatured by a man who has become nothing short of a terrorist to the faithful. French couldn’t tie Charlie Kirk’s shoes, which may explain his bitterness. He’s rewriting history to cheapen Charlie’s sacrifice.
How dare he.
You can’t hold such covetous slander in too much contempt. If poetic justice prevailed, French’s byline would read “Judas.” May he enjoy the potter’s field he’s bought for himself. The hireling always receives his reward in full.
Trump's heaven question shocks critics — but they missed the real story
President Donald Trump is no stranger to dropping jaws and turning heads with his rhetoric, bombastic commentary, and sometimes shocking statements.
While these reactions are typically sparked by the comical names he concocts for his opponents, his hot political takes, and other bold moves, the commander in chief has recently made headlines for some of his more theological proclamations and curiosities.
'I'm not sure I can make it, but he's going to make it. He's there. He's looking down on us right now.'
Trump was aboard Air Force One when he told reporters last Sunday that he’s unsure if he’ll make it to heaven. He prefaced his words by noting he was being “a little cute,” but proceeded to drop some thoughts about the afterlife.
“I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven,” he said. “I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. ... I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven.”
Just a few days later, while giving the late Charlie Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, Trump again brought up heaven.
“In his final moments, Charlie testified to the greatness of America and to the glory of our Savior, with whom he now rests in heaven,” he said. “And he is going to make heaven. I said I'm not sure I can make it, but he's going to make it. He's there. He's looking down on us right now.”
There have been other similar instances. Trump once pondered whether ending the Ukraine war would help secure his eternal glory. And at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service last month, the president made another headline-grabbing comment. Heralding Kirk’s love for his enemies, Trump painted a disparity between himself and the late Turning Point USA founder.
“[Charlie] did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” Trump said. “That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry.”
Responses to these proclamations have been swift and harsh. They have also rightly raised some questions about “earning” eternal salvation and the biblical command to love enemies. While some of those questions are fair, much is being missed in the mix of commentary and conjecture about Trump’s theology.
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First, it’s often tough to discern when Trump is being facetious or comical, making it almost impossible to know his real intent behind these remarks. Beyond that, the critics lambasting Trump should consider a different approach: prayer.
Anyone can be an armchair critic, but if Trump vociferously continues to bring up heaven, eternal salvation, and other related theological topics, there’s a solid chance it’s something he’s been contemplating personally. This seems incredibly likely in the wake of the attempts against his own life and after Kirk — a staunch friend and ally — was killed so publicly.
Some people seem to have missed the glaring reality that now is the time to move ceaseless critique to the side and double down on prayer for Trump to discern, comprehend, and embrace the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But there’s another element being missed amid the mix of reactions.
Some people claim that Trump needs better faith advisers, deriding the Christians who have coalesced around him. The assumption is that these leaders aren’t sharing biblical truth with the president.
But I know for a fact that Trump has heard the gospel. The late Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame once personally told me how he shared Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection directly with Trump leading up to the 2016 election.
“[I discussed] God becoming flesh … dying for the sins of the world, and, in his case, I said, ‘Dying for your sins, Donald, all of them, I figure there’s a lot — what do you think?’” Robertson told me. “He didn’t disagree with me.”
Robertson also drew an image of “an arrow coming down out of heaven … God becoming flesh, a cross, where Jesus took away the sins of the world.”
The point is: Trump has heard the gospel, and rather than trashing him, we should be doubling down in prayer that he comes to a place of full repentance and understanding.
Still, we must consider the deeper theological issues at the center of Trump’s remarks.
In the New Testament, James makes it clear that “faith without works is dead.” Interestingly, Trump has been talking a lot about peace deals and good deeds, pondering whether those acts can get him to heaven. The Bible has much to say about this topic.
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James 2:14 reads, with verses 15-17 continuing: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
James’ words are important not because works save us, but because the Holy Spirit, which dwells in us when we accept Christ and live a life for him, sparks in us a quest to live out Jesus’ call to love God and love others.
Simply stated: We do good because we’re guided by the Lord and His heart for others.
This message is boiled down beautifully by Christ himself in John 3. In that chapter, Jesus tells Nicodemus, a religious leader, that “you must be born again” to enter heaven. Nicodemus seems confused, pondering how one could re-enter his mother’s womb after birth.
That’s when Jesus explains that the rebirth in question is a spiritual one — a death to self and a life for the Lord. John 3:16, arguably the Bible’s most famous verse, tackles God sending his son to die for mankind so that people can have eternal life.
But what comes next is often overlooked.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him,” John 3:17 reads, with verse 18 continuing: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Ultimately, one must die to self and live for Christ. There’s no action — without this move — that affords anyone eternal life. Trump might be the most powerful person in the world, but he, like all of us, must decide whether he will embrace this reality.
Rather than endlessly lambasting him over his attempts to understand, we should devote ourselves to praying for him while also pondering whether we, too, have fully embraced this truth.
Why Gen Z is rebelling against leftist lies — and turning to Jesus
Picture it: 8,000 college students packed into an arena. Not to watch basketball but baptisms. Hundreds stepped into portable tanks while their friends cheered, with 500 professing faith in Christ that night alone.
This scene unfolded recently at the University of Tennessee, a major state university. It wasn’t an isolated incident. The Unite US revival movement, which began at Auburn University two years ago, has now spread to more than 20 college campuses nationwide.
The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.
Here’s what’s happening: For decades, secular progressives positioned themselves as countercultural rebels against the oppressive Christian tradition. But they overplayed their hand. They became the establishment.
The result? Young people are now rebelling against them by turning to Jesus Christ in record numbers.
Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, churches report attendance increases of 15% and campus ministries are seeing even higher numbers. Bible sales in 2025 have surged past 10 million copies, already over a million more than last year.
The establishment's overreach
The secular left didn’t just ask for “tolerance” of its beliefs — leftists demanded total capitulation. Over the past six decades, they captured universities, media, entertainment, corporations, and government agencies, then wielded these institutions like weapons.
They told young men their masculinity was toxic. They told young women that marriage and motherhood were a trap. They flooded schools with gender ideology and characterized objecting parents as “domestic terrorists.” University DEI offices became enforcement arms for ideological conformity. During COVID, they locked down churches while keeping abortion clinics and strip clubs open. They promised liberation and delivered loneliness, anxiety, and existential despair. Then they called Christianity oppressive.
The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.
Scripture tells us that God has written His law on every human heart (Romans 2:15). You can suppress that truth, but you cannot erase it. When a generation has been fed nothing but lies dressed as progress, the hunger for truth becomes overwhelming.
Why young men are leading
Research from Pew shows that for decades, each age cohort was less Christian than the one before it. But that trend has stopped with Gen Z. Americans born in the 2000s are just as Christian as those born in the 1990s, the first generation in decades not to show further decline.
Even more striking: Gen Z men now attend weekly religious services more often than Millennials and younger Gen Xers. The gender gap in religious participation has closed, with young men flooding back even as some young women leave.
The secular progressive vision has been particularly hostile to biblical masculinity. Men were told that their natural inclinations toward strength, protection, and leadership were “toxic,” that the desire to work hard and keep your feelings private promoted aggression toward women and the vulnerable, that embracing traditional marriage roles reinforced gender power imbalances and made society less safe.
Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.
By contrast, the church doesn’t tell young men that they’re inherently evil. Instead, it calls them to be servant leaders after the pattern of Christ, to lay down their lives as He laid down His for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), and to be strong and courageous in the face of evil (Joshua 1:9).
Scripture has always offered a vision of masculinity that is both strong and sacrificial. When a generation of young men have been told they’re “toxic” simply for being masculine, the gospel’s call to biblical manhood becomes irresistibly attractive.
Charlie Kirk understood this. He often told young men: “Get married. Have children. Build a legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue the eternal. Seek true joy.”
Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.
His assassination, meant to silence a voice calling people back to faith and family, had the opposite effect. As one pastor noted, “Charlie Kirk started a political movement, but he ended it as a Christian movement.”
His memorial, attended by 100,000 and viewed by millions, became a gospel proclamation. Young people decided they wanted what Kirk had found: purpose, meaning, and hope anchored in Jesus Christ.
Expect a backlash
Amid all this good news, Christians should never underestimate the resistance that will come from the cultural elites.
Expect increased persecution on campuses. Institutions that previously celebrated every sexual deviation will now express concern about “cultlike behavior” when students undergo baptism. University administrators, who previously ignored the Black Lives Matter riots, will now seek to restrict Christian gatherings. Media outlets that praised “mostly peaceful protests” will warn about the dangers of “religious fervor.”
That’s because spiritual warfare is afoot, and the enemy knows what’s at stake. When young people turn to Christ, they don’t just become saved, they also become transformed. They get married, have children, and raise the next generation in biblical truth. Civilizational renewal begins with revival.
True revival or cultural moment?
It’s also crucial not to mistake enthusiasm for revival. True revival brings conviction of sin, genuine repentance, hunger for God Himself, and hearts transformed by the gospel, not just increased church attendance.
Time will tell whether these professions of faith endure. Jesus warned that many hear the word with initial enthusiasm but fall away when trials come (Matthew 13:1-23). We must pray that these young believers sink roots deep into scripture and persevere.
But we should also recognize what God may be doing. When thousands pack arenas across multiple campuses to worship Christ, that’s not normal in modern America. As Paul wrote, “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
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This isn’t just about individual souls, though. It’s about Western civilization itself. Strong families produce stable societies. If this revival takes root, we’ll see the reversal of family collapse, demographic decline, and cultural decay.
The secular left knows this. Leftists built their project on the destruction of the family, the confusion of gender, and the rejection of biblical authority.
Every young person who turns to Christ, gets married, and raises godly children is a defeat for their vision. Every young man who embraces biblical masculinity is a threat to their power. Every young woman who chooses motherhood over careerism is a rebellion against their ideology.
The gospel offers what secular humanism never could: forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice, transformation through the Holy Spirit, adoption into God’s family, and a purpose that echoes into eternity.
Most importantly, it offers Jesus Himself: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Not a system of self-improvement or a political ideology, but a Savior and friend who loved us enough to die for us and who conquered death and rose again.
What we must do now
At key points, there is always a moment when God’s mercy is clearly apparent. This is one of those moments, and Christians must seize on it and fan the flames.
How? Take the following steps:
- Preach the full gospel: Not a therapeutic version that makes Jesus your life coach but the biblical truth that we are sinners under God’s just wrath, that Christ died in our place, that He rose conquering death, and that all who repent and believe in Him will be saved.
- Live lives that reflect what we proclaim: Young people are watching. If we want this generation to take Christianity seriously, they need to see Christians who love faithfully, raise children in the Lord, and stand for truth — even when it costs them.
- Disciple intentionally: It’s not enough for young people to make a profession at a revival event. They need scripture, mentorship, and biblical thinking for every area of life. This is the Great Commission: Make disciples, not just converts (Matthew 28:19-20).
Finally, if you’re a student reading this, recognize that your campus could be next for real revival. How can you help advance it? Start a regular prayer meeting. Invite your skeptical friends to church. Be bold when professors mock Christianity. Defend biblical truth.
You’ve been trained for this moment. Now step into it.
The victory is already won
The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18). We don’t fight for victory — we fight from victory.
The secular left’s project was always doomed because it was built on lies — and lies cannot ultimately triumph over truth Himself. The same God who sparked the Great Awakening, who raised up Luther to reform His church, who turned the persecutor Saul into the apostle Paul is still at work today.
The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.
If He chooses to use the overreach of secular progressives and the hunger of a desperate generation to turn society back to Him, that’s precisely how God works. He uses the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10). He takes what enemies meant for evil and works it for good (Genesis 50:20).
So let the secularists tighten their grip on their failing institutions. Every act of overreach, every attempt to silence the gospel only makes Christianity’s countercultural appeal stronger.
They made rebellion against God the establishment position. Now, young people are rebelling by turning back to Him.
The age of comfortable, culturally acceptable Christianity is over. What’s rising in its place is something far more dangerous to the powers of this world: a generation that has counted the cost and chosen Christ anyway. A generation that knows following Jesus might cost them jobs, friends, and status and has decided He’s worth it.
This is how reformation begins. This is how revival spreads. This is how civilizations are rebuilt from the rubble of failed ideologies.
The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.
The revolution has already begun. The only question left is: Which side of history will you be on?
This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Liberty University's Standing for Freedom Center.
How to bring Charlie Kirk's vision to life — starting in your own family
When Charlie Kirk was brutally martyred last month, I was only about a month postpartum. The news hit me like a freight train. That night, I woke up repeatedly, not to feed my baby, but because my heart was pounding. I kept asking myself, “Is this real? Is he really gone?”
Like so many others, I was shaken — stunned, unsettled, and deeply disturbed. As a mom, all I could think about was his wife, Erika, and two children left behind to pick up the pieces. Charlie’s legacy lives on, and his death has ignited a fire in a hopeless world. His impact has rippled across the nation and the globe — especially in the younger generation.
We’re not just raising kids. We’re training warriors for a fight that’s already begun.
I’ve always resolved to raise strong children, those who love God, love others, and courageously stand for truth. That conviction has only deepened. As a mom now of two littles — a toddler son and a newborn girl — I’m determined to do my part in raising the next generation to be like Charlie Kirk.
I’m more emboldened, unwavering, and unapologetic in that calling — and I want to encourage others to stand just as firmly.
The culture war is here
When the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, captives in a godless country, the prophet Jeremiah told them to seek the “welfare” of the city. He said, “For in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). The Hebrew word for "welfare" is shalom, meaning peace, wholeness, or flourishing.
Though devastated and disoriented, the Jewish exiles were charged to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the very nation that had conquered them. For 70 years, they were to live as a distinct people in a foreign land — engaged, not removed — trusting that God’s purposes extended even into exile.
If they were called to bless a wicked nation that wasn’t their own, how much more should we, living in the freest country in the world, rise to that responsibility?
It starts in the home; it starts with us. The Jewish exiles were called to have families and raise godly children, and so are we. We’re in a culture war — no matter how we feel about it or whether we like it.
As parents, we hold a sacred and irreplaceable role in shaping the hearts and minds of our children — future leaders who will either transform the culture or be shaped by it.
One day, our children may ask: “Where were you when they were killing innocent babies? Where were you when boys were allowed in girls’ locker rooms? Where were you when the truth was under attack?”
What will we say?
Scripture is clear: We are called to teach and train the next generation. We weren’t made to sit passively on the sidelines while the world unravels. Comfort, complacency, and silence are not options in a culture that is increasingly hostile to truth. We have a weighty, joyful, and urgent responsibility to raise bold warriors for Christ.
Let’s raise children who are like sharpened arrows, aimed at the heart of the culture with courage, conviction, and clarity. But here’s the deal: We can’t call them to be what we’re not. We must be the bright lights first — refusing to cower in fear, shining truth into the darkest places.
Let’s raise them to stand — and let’s show them how.
Faith is the great stabilizer
Without faith, it’s impossible to please God, and it’s impossible to have a thriving society.
At Charlie’s memorial, pastor Rob McCoy said: “Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus. He knew if he could get all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you’d come to its source, and that’s the Lord.”
It’s all about God.
Our priorities must always be clear: Faith, family, and freedom — in that order.
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Jesus calls us to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. Salt doesn't just give flavor, but it preserves, purifies, and sustains. Jesus warned, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13).
We are at a crossroads. We can either stay silent — choosing comfort and curated lives on the sidelines — or we can engage, stand firm, and live out our faith with boldness and conviction. Because if we don’t show up, our freedoms will quietly disappear, and so will the future we hope to hand our children.
Where do we start?
For me, part of that answer has come through the example of my friend Katy Faust, founder of Them Before Us. Her clarity, courage, and commitment to truth have shaped the way I approach parenting and cultural engagement. She speaks boldly on the issues others avoid and models the kind of conviction I hope to carry into every stage of motherhood.
Her book “Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City” is a must-read for any parent navigating today’s cultural landscape.
One of its most powerful takeaways is her challenge to parents: Know your stuff, study the issues of the day, understand the world your kids are growing up in, and, most importantly, know your Bible deeply and thoroughly.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination wasn’t an isolated tragedy but a symptom of something deeper: a cultural war rooted in the rejection of God and biblical truth. And the only way we fight back is by getting our own houses in order.
That means:
- God first. Family second. Country third. In that order!
- Making our homes fortresses of faith and places of refuge.
- Knowing the Word. Studying the issues. Teaching our children.
- Modeling the courage we want to see in them — starting with what may seem like the “small” things, such as refusing to affirm falsehoods by using preferred pronouns that contradict biological reality.
We’re not just raising kids. We’re training warriors for a fight that’s already begun.
The moment demands courage
When my son was growing in my womb just over two and a half years ago, I often thought, “He’s going to be a world-changer.” That’s our prayer as parents — not just to raise good kids, but to raise world-changers and strong leaders.
But the truth is: Leaders aren’t born — they’re forged.
Charlie Kirk was forged by fire. Tested, tried, and unwavering, he stood for truth when it cost him everything. He was bold. He was brave. And he refused to back down. Characteristics I want to see in my kids as we train them.
Now it’s our turn, not just to admire that kind of courage, but to cultivate it in our children.
Here’s where we start: Lead by example. Let them see you live with conviction. Take them to church. Root them in eternal truth. Teach them what’s true — and how to stand for it. Help them think critically and speak clearly. Show them how to live courageously in a world that fears truth.
In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle Peter exhorts believers to “always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” with “gentleness and respect.” This isn’t optional. It’s a call to know what we believe, why we believe it, and how to communicate it thoughtfully and confidently.
If we want to make an impact, being believers that obey God’s commands, this means we must dive deep into the scriptures, study apologetics, and understand the cultural issues of our time through a biblical lens.
If we want to raise warriors, we must be warriors. Raising the next generation of leaders begins with intentional, everyday decisions — in the home, at the dinner table, and in how we respond to the culture around us.
The battle isn’t coming — it’s already here.
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