The Quest for Purity

Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson and Jesus

Everybody wants to be pure.

That is the goal these days. We do not wish to be sullied or compromised by the sins of others.

The latest outbreak of guilt by association came from musician Neil Young. He withdrew his permission for Spotify to use his music on their platform. The reason is Joe Rogan. Let me explain.

What is Joe Rogan?

Joe Rogan is a comedian, podcaster and YouTuber who has been hosting interview shows that last three hours. You may be thinking, “Wait, three hours of people talking. Isn’t that just a talk radio show?” Well, yes. But it’s immensely popular. So popular, Spotify bought exclusive rights to it. Why?

To his fans, Rogan doesn’t sound like a corporate mouthpiece or an elite egghead. He’s come through mixed martial arts and stand-up comedy. He asks a lot of questions of his guests drawn from across the political spectrum. And this includes people who sound like tin-foil hat wearers like Alex Jones who have been subsequently cancelled by social media for their opinions.

Young vs Rogan

In the latest debacle, Rogan interviewed a virologist whose views on certain recent common illnesses were not endorsed by the established mainstream media. Artist Neil Young took exception to be being associated with what he considered irresponsible misinformation. So he invited Spotify to chose between his music and Joe Rogan.

Given Spotify paid $100 million dollars for the Joe Rogan Experience, that was only going one way. A number of other artists agreed with Young, and withdrew their music, as was their right. It’s not quite cancel culture. It’s a passion for purity. That’s what Neil Young wants. Lots of people seem to want the same thing.

Exhibit B

On 24th November 2021, Vice.com reported that several employees of Penguin Random House Canada confronted management over their decision to publish Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life, the sequel to the wildly successful original book, 12 Rules for Life, by Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson. This all took place at an emotional ‘town hall’ meeting called after dozens of employees filed anonymous complaints. Executives defended the decision to publish Peterson. One junior employee told VICE World News:

“[Peterson] is an icon of hate speech and transphobia and the fact that he’s an icon of white supremacy, regardless of the content of his book, I’m not proud to work for a company that publishes him.”

That employee wants purity. They want to be proud of the company they work for and the associations of one of their many authors is a spot on that blank page.

This standard is not rigorously applied. Penguin Random House have undoubtedly published and enrich all kinds reprobates, deviants and cads without being asked to ‘disavow’ those works.

Post-Christendom

Denis Diderot may not have said the words:

“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”

But this sentiment perfectly sums up the spirit of the French Revolution. Essentially, man should be liberated to be free from the powers that rule and, crucially, judge. The king represents the judgment of the state. The priest represents the judgment of God. One might think the death of mainstream religion would mean the end of judgmentalism and purity culture.

It turns out that being judgemental is an innate human desire. It’s one of our favourite pastimes. The only question is not whether you judge, but how and against what standard.

Monks and Mayflowers

But it’s not just the mainstream culture. The desire for purity has been raging in the church for centuries. One of the legacies of the Reformation is endless schism, driven by a desire for purity. There’s even a song about the proliferation of denominations and schisms after 1517 in A Monk’s Tale, my live comedy about Martin Luther in the 95 Theses. (Treat yourself to a CD for the kids in the car).

A hundred years after Luther, the Mayflower sailed to America. It was full of people who wanted purity, to the point of starting a new country, a new society and a new beginning.

The desire of purity continues today. I’m sometimes on the receiving end from my non-conformist, free church brothers and sisters. They wonder how I can be part of a compromised denomination like the Church of England which tolerates X, turns a blind eye to Y and never disciplines over Z?

There are a variety of responses to this. But here’s one. A church with one person or more is already compromised. We are the source of the impurity. Purity does not come from correct theology, or rites, or ritual washing. It never has done. So where does it come from?

Clearly the answer is not a what. It’s a who. Jesus. But we just don’t get it. They didn’t get it in his day either. On every page of every gospel, Jesus fails the purity test. He ate with sinners. He consorted with tax collectors. He touched lepers.

No Touching

In Matthew 9, Jesus is asked to go and heal a dead girl. Bad. Don’t touch a dead person, Jesus. You’ll become unclean. But he goes. And to put the tin hat on it, en route, a woman with relentless internal bleeding touches him. Jesus stops and brings attention to this fact. Don’t do that, Jesus. Don’t touch a menstruating woman. You’ll become unclean before you’ve even had a chance to touch the dead girl.

But Jesus turns it all upside down. He is the source of purity. When he touches the leper, the leper is healed. Jesus makes him clean. The bleeding woman is cured. Jesus makes her clean. And the girl is raised from the dead.

Now, here’s one for the pharisees and the teachers of the law to get into. What happens when you touch a corpse, but on touching it, it becomes alive? *cue rifling through pages and pages of precedents and rabbinic teaching* Conclusions: the law is good but not enough. Jesus is better. Our society’s endless quest for purity can only be found in Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

For more on the miracles of Jesus, check out my new stand-up theology Water into Wine show. There’s a new video trailer below. Why not book the show for your church? Get in touch here.

I’ll be in Hampstead on 24th March, and Derby on 26th March.

Then Fowey in Cornwall on 31st March and Bristol on 1st April.

And now Wimbledon on Friday 8th April. BOOK HERE.

Then, it’s looking like there will be dates in Wimbledon, Balham, Exeter and Canterbury. To get updates on that, subscribe (for free) to this newsletter.