Ron Johnson Discipleship Podcast

One of the most common myths we hear today is that Christianity is a form of cultural oppression. If Christians have their way, what will become of the unbelievers or non-religious? While these are valid questions, an equally valid question is what is the impact of a secular government on the rights and liberties of others? Since secularism has no transcendental ground for its claims, what keeps i...

Our Founders all agreed that civic freedom was impossible apart from Christian virtue. American statesman, Samuel Adams observed, “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” Republics do not survive apart from republican virtue. When Christ is rejected, a long line of fallen, petty, self-seeking poli...

Many Christians are completely satisfied with the notion of a secular federal government serving as the referee for determining what is officially "moral" behavior when it comes to public policy decisions. They are uncomfortable with the idea of bringing Jesus into the public square. They want a gospel that is "unfettered" from all the political baggage that makes things so con...

Should our morality as a nation be grounded in God's will or the will of the people? Ironically, our advocates for a liberal secular democracy are okay as long as the majority is not held by Christians, especially those who run for office or who try to legislate according to biblical morality. Then you are labeled a "threat" to democracy! How do we apply the Lordship of Jesus to our publ...

In our cultural skirmishes, a common tactic is to use a pejorative label to attack or to discredit your enemy. One of those labels attached to believers in Christ is the name "Christian nationalist." It evokes scary images of the Inquisition or the Salem witch trials. If you wear that name badge, you are an object of scorn and derision. So, what is a Christian nationalist, anyway? If we...

The Bible declares, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."( Proverbs 1:7) This means we have two choices as a nation. We can seek and follow the wisdom of God as we order our life together or we can reject God and His law and pursue the path of radical autonomy. If we will not be governed by Christ, we must necessarily be governed by someone or something else. Neutrality is a...

The Scriptures clearly define the role and scope of government. All those in authority are God's servants. Their authority is not absolute but delegated. They are tasked with the power to punish wicked behavior (Romans 13:1-4). In other words, there is a legitimate form of government coercion and an illegitimate expression as well. As Doug Wilson warns, “Before fining someone, or flogging him, or...

While Christians are often attacked for trying to bring our worldview into the public arena, those doing the accusing often hide behind the veil of neutrality. They act as if they are non-biased and without their own agenda. Of course, this is patently false. And as they work to advance their own agenda, they use words to destroy all who disagree with them. Their favorite tactic is to weaponize th...

It was Benjamin Franklin who noted, “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes." And it seems that governments who ignore their constitutional boundaries must levy ever-increasing amounts of revenue, via taxation, to simply maintain the ever-expanding bureaucracy that results. As Chris...

For the Christian, life is simple. God's authority outranks that of the king. The king is to do what God says, not the other way around. But for the secularist, what outranks the highest human authority? Herein lies the problem. An autonomous state will , in the end, commit overreach and the rights of the people will be trampled. This overreach is often manifested in the area of taxation. As Doug...

In America today, we are witnessing the epic failure of democratic secularism. Secularism is the false belief that we can function as a nation and society without any reference to God. Whether it's the frightening assassination attempt on our former president or the recent White House leadership coup, we are witnessing the profound loss of justice, order, civility and individual liberty that resul...

On today's podcast, we discuss some of the high points from the Alliance Defending Freedom conference Pastor Ron recently attended. We also talk about the power of our words to shape the world around us. And we marvel at the way God uses the most unlikely people to accomplish His kingdom purposes. Once again, our Christian worldview helps us make sense of it all! Find out more at https://ron-johns...

The late Francis Schaeffer observed, "When truth retreats, tyranny advances." This has never been more evident than in American culture today. Without a transcendent standard, objective truth, there is no limit to what governments can do, and no accountability for their actions. On this 248th birthday of American independence, we must renew our commitment to stand boldly for the truth as...

Have you ever wondered why "Pride" month is observed every June? And why do we designate the entire month when Veterans, for instance, are given only one day? What is the connection between Ishtar and the month of June? Where did the idea of "pride parades" come from? And why is Whoopi so mad??? We'll discuss all of this and more in our podcast today. Find out more at https://r...

The Stonewall uprising and the resulting movement were ignited by a female with male attributes, a fighter, a protector of alehouses, a fierce, angry, raging leader of those who crossed the boundaries of gender, the inciter of a multitude of feminized men. And like Ishtar, the goddess of storms, her name was - Stormé. Ishtar had returned and unleashed a storm that would set in motion a movement th...

No other symbol was so prominently associated with Ishtar than the lion. In ancient prayers and poems, she was referred to as the "great light, lioness of heaven." The lion was her chosen platform for waging war and inflicting vengeance. It should come as no surprise that just two doors down from the Stonewall Inn was another bar called "Lion's Head," the same sign that, in anc...

Ishtar was goddess of the tavern and patroness of the prostitutes. She had always been known as the one who broke down barriers. She came through New York, the gateway to America, for that very purpose. Her re-entrance into American culture would manifest at the Stonewall Inn, where the three elements of the goddess would converge: the gate, the alehouse and the prostitute. In fact, what made Ston...

The return of the goddess, Ishtar, into American culture began with the sexual revolution but it climaxed in a single event which would forever alter the values of the realm of sexuality, marriage, family and gender. It would be known as "Stonewall." In today's podcast we will talk about what has become "PRIDE" month, an event commemorated every year in nearly every part of the...

Ishtar's sorcery involved the transforming of men into women and women into men. Her temple priests embraced castration as an attempt to rid themselves of the characteristics of the gender in which they were born. These priests were the transsexuals of the ancient world. We should not be surprised that with the rejection of Christianity by the ruling elites, a door would be opened for the resurrec...

The arrival of June is only weeks away and we are all wondering if corporate America learned anything from last year's painful lesson - that trans activism is the fastest road to financial insolvency. Companies like Target, Anheuser - Busch, Nike and Disney felt the full force of consumer outrage as customers and dollars went racing for the doors. While corporate America seems to be learning the l...

Ishtar's deconstruction of the sexes led to the merging of masculinity and femininity. Our pop culture now features female entertainers appearing wild, unruly, shocking and vulgar. Their male counterparts are often sporting eyeliner, lipstick and other evidence of femininity. And if this was not confusing enough, we are witnessing "Drag Queen Story Hours" in public libraries across Ameri...

Ishtar's goal was the deconstruction and emasculation of men, resulting in the blurring of distinctions between what it means to be male and female. Strong biblical masculinity was increasingly mocked, marginalized and deemed "toxic." Male leadership, whether in public life, the home or popular culture came under constant assault. The God-given instinct in men to protect and provide has...

While Ishtar was the goddess of love, allurement and sexuality, she also embodied ferocity, aggressiveness, war and destruction. Other traditionally feminine qualities were missing, particularly those linked to nurturing - gentleness, compassion and empathy. Her sorcery specialized in blurring distinctions and transgressing boundaries. It was her nature to make others into her image - to turn a wo...

Today we celebrate our 200th podcast! We discuss the power of a biblical worldview to deliver us from a "fishbowl sized Christianity" into an oceanic perspective of faith. We also highlight the remarkable power of a Christian worldview to foster personal transformation and positive spiritual change in the lives of believers. Find out more at https://ron-johnson-discipleship-podca.pinecas...

This week America witnessed a total eclipse. Unfortunately, what could have been a perfect opportunity to highlight the truth of our Christian worldview was hijacked by end time hysteria and prophetic prognosticators. We also witnessed a surge of interest in women's collegiate basketball as South Carolina and Iowa faced off in the national championship game. Both coaches had an opportunity to cele...