The Cory Truax Show

On This Episode: TWO CHRISTIANS DEBATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY I listened to a debate where to believers disagreed on how the Christian should interact with government regulations regarding the environment. It was interesting and helpful, and I have some personal take-aways I want to share with you. CHRISTIANS AND IMMIGRATION POLICY I listened to a second debate about Christian thinking on national immigration policy. This one can get complicated in the time when we live, but I want to give you my conclusions. DID JON STEWART MAKE A GREAT POINT? The Internet seems to think Jon Stewart made an excellent point on his AppleTV show. Conversely, the point was really bad, and demonstrates the American mind is getting dimmer. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT I watched a debate recently about how Christians should educate their kids. After that, I saw a TikTok trend where kids make light of their need for psychiatric treatment, that suicide is now the second leading cause of death in young people, and that young folks are more medicated than ever. All of this got me thinking about how we pull our kids from the fire that is this culture. I have some ideas. ARE YOU SIMMERING WITH ANGER? Pastor Matt Chandler recently shared some disturbing information on how much social media companies are motivated to make us angry. Let’s spit ourselves out of the rage machine. IS AMERICA EXCEPTIONAL? A recent Twitter back-and-forth got me thinking about this term. What about America is normal and what is exceptional? THE GOSPEL IN NUMBERS The Book of Numbers offers astounding wisdom for us today. Let me tell you about it. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: STRINGING TOGETHER THOUGHTS I have recently been ruminating on these three topics: 1) How the Kingdom of God gets from 2 billion people to 7 billion; 2) Not letting politics affect our emotions as presidential season kicks up; 3) choosing the “white pill” (hope) over the red pill (conspiracy thinking) or blue pill (sleepwalking through life). I think I bring those together into something useful in the first segment. HOW JESUS’S TRIAL ILLUSTRATES US At Jesus’s trial before Pilate, Pilate knows what is right, but fears the crowd’s disapproval. So, he does what he knows is wrong to gain their approval. The crowds calling for crucifixion were manipulated into rage. I fear BOTH of those characters reflect us today, and I want to help end that. THE BIBLE AND THE OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT Should there have been more regulation on the train company? What should the consequence be for this train company? I think a Biblically-informed legal framework offers us a lot on this topic. NATIONAL DIVORCE A crazy member of Congress brought up having a national divorce. Many of us have talked about this concept for years, and I have some additional thoughts on it. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: EVEN THE BIBLE’S “WEIRD LAWS” ARE GOOD There’s laws about not boiling a baby goat in its mothers milk and about covering up holes you dig in ground. How are these laws to love and apply to today? Let’s talk about it. ARE WE ROBBING THE POOR AND MIDDLE CLASS FROM POTENTIAL WEALTH? Giant corporations and banks are buying houses in bulk in major American markets. This is making it almost impossible for young people and middle income people from buying a home. Buying property is THE primary way Americans have built wealth for centuries. Is there a Biblical argument for BANNING these corporations and banks from buying these houses to see to it that regular Americans aren’t left behind? REVIVAL AT ASBURY UNIVERSITY? There are reports of a revival breaking out at a Christian university in Kentucky. That definition seems to be a spontaneous continual worship service. I notice that the times of renewal and revival in the Bible are marked by the Bible being preached, a lot of prayer, and a lot of repentance. What's happening at Asbury an be GOOD, but we also need to know the signs of true revival. REVISITING THE "HE GETS US' ADS It ended up that the Left and the Right have criticisms of these ads. I have a little nuance I want to add, and then a question to ask. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: PRIORITIES ON CULTURAL ROT I saw a lot of folks [rightfully] criticizing the satanic display at the Grammy’s. However, I want to be sure we critique rot INSIDE the church as much ferocity and volume. I’ll give two examples. EVIL IS BORING Besides the Grammy’s having an immoral performance, they also displayed on grey and boring evil is. Virtue and truth are exciting. Displaying the same old, tired, no-longer-shocking stunts that share values with the entire power structure of our institutions is just boring. Artists used to be subservice and challenging to the powers that be; now they’re shills. QUICK STORIES -A judge embarrassed herself at her confirmation hearing. Her ignorance is instructive to us to being people always learning. -A Texas school asked a mom who works in porn not to volunteer at events. This conflict tells us the consequences of losing any sense of shame. -A recent debate made me rethink some healthcare thoughts. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: BEAUTY, TRUTH, AND THIS UGLY WORLD A petition is circulating, calling on dictionaries, and us, to “undefine beauty” – no redefine it. This is a really good opportunity to explore how we think about beauty. Ultimately, beauty is that which corresponds to truth. Evil is ugly. Goodness is beautiful. I want to talk about that in depth. The world longs for beauty, but doesn’t know where to find it. Let’s be people that live beautiful lives – drawing people far from God to his ultimate beauty. BIBLE KNOWLEDGE THAT’S MIND-BLOWING The Ten Plagues in Exodus are WAY more interesting than you realize. Let me tell you that story. Additionally, we learn in the story of the Exodus that God FIRST rescues, supplies, and protects and THEN gives the law. If our God has already been that gracious to us, can’t we assume His law is lifegiving and good? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: BIBLE-READING THIS WEEK: WHEN WEARE FAILURES, GOD IS FAITHFUL In the chronological reading of the Bible this week, there’s a theme of God’s people being total, embarrassing failures and God continually reaffirming His commitment to them. There’s a ton of comfort in that. THE SPIRIT OF OUR AGE IS DECONSTRUCTION FOR THE SAKE OF IT I want to systemize my definition of the ethos that surrounds us now. I’ll use Prince Harry’s book, a lesbian college student wanting to president of a Christian college’s student body and many other examples to unify a story. That story is largely that we once DISRUPTED the molds that made us – communities, businesses, churches, arts, families – the goal of making them better. Now, we DESTROY all molds and demand that the world conform to our feelings. I also have some thoughts on how to live Christianly in that crazy world. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: WHAT DO WE DO IN A CULTURE GROWING MORE HOSTILE TO CHRISTIANITY? We’re seeing stories of a Christian kicked out of the mall for wearing a “Jesus saves” t-shirt, of pastors being denied “Pastor Story Hour” at libraries that host “drag queen story hour,” of college athletes being benched and berated for not submitting to the spirit of the age, or people fired for following the wrong accounts on Twitter. It’s becoming more hostile out there towards Christians. So, how do we respond? I Peter gives us a lot of guidance on that. Let me walk you through it. OUR CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE READING In our reading this week, we see the good news that God is a God of covenant-keeping, that the sin of Sodom isn’t that complicated, and that knowing the stories of the Patriarchs will change how you worship. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: A NEW IDEA FOR 2023 This year, I’m going to try and open every show with a reflection on Scripture reading. The twist is that I’ll be using a CHRONOLOGICAL reading of the Bible. So, for this week, we start in Genesis. LISTERNER QUESTION: WHAT DID JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAID…. Jesus said that unless you’re more righteous than the Pharisees, you won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What did that mean? This question is a fantastic opportunity to learn how we understand verses in their paragraphs, chapters, and in larger context. THOUGHTS ON THE BILLS PLAYER WHO COLLAPSED Of course, this event is unspeakably sad. I’m noticing, though, some folks using the event for their own agenda. I want to kindly and humbly argue against that tactic. NEW YORK TIMES ADVICE FOR THE NEW YEAR I respond (and sometimes mock and correct) advice the New York Times gave its readers for the new year. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On this Episode: MY MOMENTOUS YEAR From engagement, to home selling, to home buying, to travel, and finally to wonderful marriage, it was an incredible year for me. THEME OF THE YEAR 1: Anger From viral videos of temper tantrums on planes, in groceries stores and in restaurants, the rage came often this year. Let’s consider how NOT to add to it and how to be a force for peace in the new year. THEME OF THE YEAR 2: Everyone noticed men are falling behind. Even the secular media started noticing we have a masculinity crisis on our hands. In God’s ordered world, we need men to eschew childishness, embrace the challenge of being responsible for others and to lead. THEME OF THE YEAR 3: Winsomeness vs. Confrontation In both Christianity and American Conservatism, we’re relitigating the role of power and persuasion. I’ve wrestled with it all year, and I have some final thoughts. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: ADVENT WEEK 4: Love The Christmas story is filled with love – Elizabeth choosing joy instead of jealousy about Mary’s pregnancy and Joseph choosing belief instead of skepticism about the same. But the greatest act of love was the incarnation itself. I have some thoughts from Romans 5 about how this Christmas seasons exemplifies God’s love for his children. CHRISTIAN LOCALISM There’s a lot of debate right now about something called “Christian Nationalism.” I want to tell you why Christian Localism is the much better idea. This is the idea that first being concerned with your street, neighborhood, school or workplace will be much more effective than trying to win the government of a country. NATIONAL HEALTH CRISIS I know the holidays are a terrible time to talk about this. However, I saw, back-to-back, a story about our obesity rate and then another about how giant food makers give millions to dietician and nutritionist programs. I have just a few thoughts. BEWARE OF WHO YOU LISTEN TO For the Christian, it’s tempting to listen to the voices that agree with you politically. It’s important to recognize, though, that many of those voices are not Christian voices. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: ADVENT WEEK 3: Joy When hope is fulfilled, there is joy. We’ll take a brief look at the shepherds, Simeon, and Ana to examine how the first Advent brought joy. We’ll also take that cue to think about the first Advent as a signpost, pointing us to the second and final Advent of Christ. If we’ll live in that light, we’ll walk in joy. WHAT DOES “REIGNING WITH CHRIST” MEAN? I heard a challenging sermon this week about what it would mean or us to actually reign with Christ right now – reigning in our households and over the parts of Christ’s Kingdom he’s entrusted to us. I’ll play you some of that audio that has a particular challenge for Christian parents. THE 303 CREATIVE VS. ELENIS CASE Seeing the progressive, secular Left react to that case crystalized three things for me. First, there’s a segment of the secular hard left that despises Christians. Second, the modern Western world has concocted a novel system where one’s sexual desires are a CORE identity. That’s new in human history, and most of the planet now has no paradigm for sex being someone’s core identity. Finally, the just ruling is clear. The Supreme Court should end Colorado’s prejudiced law. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: ADVENT WEEK 2: Preparation Week 1’s theme was hope. As we hope for ultimate Advent of Christ, though, we prepare. I’ll note in this segment that a too-common experience is that a promise – even a fulfilled promise – can sometimes leave us underwhelmed. Sometimes we overestimate our joy at an experience. The Second Advent will not be that, though. Whatever hope you have for Jesus’s Second Coming, you’re not hoping enough. So, as we await that hope, we prepare. I’ll give you some ideas on how to do that. WHAT HAPPENED, WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE’RE GOING I saw data this week that recorded the rapid secularization of the United States. As Christianity’s influence has plummeted, the consequences have been devastating to the culture. I also want to point you to even more secular societies as a warning of where we might be headed if the church doesn’t go about its own purity and renewal to lead the culture around it in renewal. OUR MEDIA DIET IS MAKING US SICK Just as a bad nutrition regimen will make us sick, our media diet of relying on social media and internet is making emotionally, mentally and even physically sick. I have a solution. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: GRATEFULNESS IN AN ENTITLED TIME Happy Thanksgiving! We live in a time totally unimpressed with our relatively easy lives. I have some thoughts to encourage you to be blown away by the physical and spiritual blessings we enjoy. ADVENT WEEK 1: HOPE One of main themes of Christmas is light invading the darkness. We live in a weary world that needs the thrill of hope. We live in a captive world that longs for Emmanuel – God with us. To appreciate fully the light that has come and will come again, we need to take the time to understand how dark it is. INCARNATION – WHAT WE DO WITH OUR BODIES MATTERS God chose to put on flesh and dwell among us. This means A LOT. One implication is God’s value of the physical world and how when we live, where we live, and what we do is eternally meaningful. MUCH MORE --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: LEARNING FROM BRIDGET JONES’ DIARY A listener sent me an effective line from this popular series of books that highlights a them of my show: our crisis of meaning and the negative effect thereof. This also served as a great reminder to watch, listen, and read with discernment – filtering everything through Scripture. ELECTION SEASON BRINGS MADNESS TO PULPITS From a “Renew America” rally in a church to Stacey Abrams taking the mic at a church on Sunday morning, Biblical illiteracy ranging to heresy is pouring out of our political process. I’ll play you the audio and provide critique. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PANIC Near the end of the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, various hysterical people warned us of martial law impositions or an unwillingness to give up power. That’s happening again regarding right-leaning candidates likely gaining majorities in a few weeks. These claims have always proved false, and our institutions always hold up. There needs to be accountability for the panic-causing press. THE CHANGING MUSCULAR CONSERVATISM I’ve been chronicling the change in the church and on the Right regarding the role of government and the role of Christians in government. I’m still wrestling through it myself. In this installment, I have an argument from the Federalist that makes the full-throated argument that folks on the Right need to embrace the thinking of the Left: get power and use it to impose our ideas. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode THE U.S. UNDER JUDGMENT I recently heard a sermon that, in part, itemizes the actions and attitudes that invite God’s wrath on a people. As I heard it, I was personally convicted, but I also saw that the US is INVITING God’s judgment on us in very specific ways. I also lay out how His judgment is already being made clear. THE “HE GETS US” CAMPAIGN Some group is spending $100 million to “re-introduce” and “re-brand” Jesus to the United States, using slick TV ads and a clever website. As the adage goes, “clarity is kindness,” and I’m finding an issue that the campaign is clear about almost nothing. They seem to want to generate interest and curiosity about Jesus – and it stops there. I’ll give details. ECONOMIC POLICY MATTERS BECAUSE IT HELPS OR HURTS PEOPLE A fundamental Biblical worldview holding is that we desire flourishing and dignity for every human. History has demonstrated particular policies are best for humans. I recently saw stories on retirement funds being decimated by the market and middle- and lower-income families struggling with inflation. We should pursue policies that encourage growth and an environment where people have the dignity of self-reliance through work. COVID FOLLOW UP PART… I DON’T REMEMBER We just found that ACT scores are at an historic low, and it’s being blamed, in part, on a year of lost schooling. From time to time, I like to re-visit how we responded to Covid and the years-long consequences that response will have. I have a couple stories to this end. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: NATURAL DISASTERS RUIN THE GENDER NARRATIVE The national narrative regarding gender has morphed and then radicalized over the past 50 years. We have folks who seem to embrace a full egalitarian relationship between men and women. During hurricane Ian, though, I noticed women were mostly doing the hard work of caring for the hurting while men were out sandbagging, rescuing in boats, repairing power lines and cleaning sewers. When progressive gender ideology bumped up against reality that God designed, reality won. There are beautiful differences between men and women. We need each other. Let’s honor that. LEFTISM WOKE-ISM CONTINUES TO BUILD ITS RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE I’ve been establishing for years that Leftist Progressivism is a RELIGION – not a political ideology. It has its own origin story, fall story, and plan of salvation/redemption. It has its own symbols and creedal/doctrinal statements. Recently, I noticed that their art has taken on the quality of 90s Christian art. It stopped caring about being good and primarily now cares about just making a point in favor of the religion. I noticed ANOTHER way progressive Leftism is forming its theology. I’ll tell you about it. ABORTION AND TWO SENATE RACES The Republican running for governor in Arizona, I think, is sort of kook, but she gave a MODEL answer recently about abortion from which pro-life people can learn a lot. I’ll play the audio. Additionally, the Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia is being accused of paying for an abortion in the past. I’ll walk through the scant details and ethics surrounding his support. COLD CIVIL WAR IS GETTING HOTTER I’ve been saying for almost 7 years that the US is in a “Cold Civil War.” We hate each other – but we’re not hurting each other. Recently, though, an 84-year-old woman canvassing for a pro-life cause was shot in Michigan. Cayler Ellingson was killed in the Dakotas, and his killer said Cayler was a “Republican extremist.” I desperately want to find a way to cool down the country’s temper and tenor. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UPDATES The Supreme Court will hear a case where a Christian web designer wants to be free not to take on business for gay weddings. Her argument is iron clad, and I expect her to win – a GIGANTIC victory for religious liberty over the regime of sexual identity being the chief purpose of humanity. Additionally, CVS recently fired a Catholic woman for wanting an accommodation in not fulfilling prescription for abortion bills. The odd part is that they GRANTED the accommodation for four years. What changed? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: LESSONS FROM A CS LEWIS PLAY My soon-to-be wife got us tickets to see what was an incredible biopic play about CS Lewis last week. I left wanting to preserve some examples he gave us about having an intellectual but simple faith as well as understanding how pleasures and pains are all hints much more profound truths. I'll provide details A STORY THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE FOR ME The morning after that play, we found that my fiancé's car was STOLEN.  Stolen. In the Upstate of South Carolina from a nice complex -- it's crazy to me.  I have some thoughts on that event and how it made me think about our broader crime problem generally. YOU'RE BEING LIED TO ABOUT ITALY'S ELECTION The next Italian Prime Minister isn't a fascist. Her party isn't related to Mussolini's in any meaningful way.  Much more important is what her victory says about the state of life in the west. Her victory is akin to Brexit, the movements behind Donald Trump AND Bernie Sanders, and other recent election results in Europe. I have a lot to say here about what these results are responding to and what they mean for the future. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: DESANTIS, ABBOTT, AND FLYING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY When Governors most affected by the 8,000 humans crossing our border each day sent many of them to New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, I thought it was a good and right decision. Small Texas towns don't have the resources to sustain the 2 million people who illegally cross the border this year. Moreover, the folks who govern and largely populate these cities need to be shown what their lawless, open-border policies cost and cause. Leftist border policy is inhumane, and they need to see the human cost. Then those governors, however, took it one step too far. Humans are not props for political arguments. Sending these folks to Kamala Harris's residence and to Martha's vineyard was trolling. You might have laughed at the trolling, but it wasn't right. It's unproductive.  This was a lesson of doing the right thing in the wrong way. The Left need to see the consequences of their inane, immoral border policies, but as we make arguments, let's make them humanely. LESSONS YOUNG PEOPLE NEED I recently spoke to a group of college students on some of the themes they'll need as they enter adulthood. I emphasized practical ways to build discipline -- because motivation is brittle and fleeting. We talked about the dangerous and safe places to derive meaning and then finally about why we should embrace getting older and leaving childishness behind. SOCIAL MEDIA LAW UPHELD I'm struggling with this one. Texas passed a law saying large social media companies can't censor their users. My libertarian streak bristles at this idea. It's their companies, so leave them alone. The lawyers defending Texas's law, though, made some compelling points. I wrestle with the competing interests on show. A LOT MORE --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support

On This Episode: LISTENER SUBMISSIONS I finally catch up on some email from listeners: -One says I've gone soft, and that the more cantankerous Cory was better. I'm not going back there, though. -What do I actually think about the End Times and how the world ends? -Are pharmaceutical companies responding to malignant incentives when it comes to depression treatments? -Is the idea of extra-terrestrial life compatible with a Biblical worldview? CRIME IS DRIVING A TON OF VOTERS AWAY FROM THE LEFT A caller into a C-SPAN show made the case that he prefers the Left to run the federal government (for social programs), but that the Right should run local and state governments because they take crime and safety seriously. I have some thoughts on that. LEARNING FROM THE QUEEN It seems a lot of the admiration for the Queen was that she fulfilled her duties to her family and her country. We live in an age that says to live for no one but yourself. We operate in a time that calls us to reject our responsibilities to our parents, siblings, community, church, and everyone else. We're told me must live to be our truest selves -- no matter the cost. The Queen exemplified choosing duty over self. We should celebrate and emulate that. JOE SCARBOROUGH MANGLES THE BIBLE REGARDING ABORTION Admittedly, I got too angry with this one. Joe thinks he knows a lot of Bible. He doesn't, and it was obvious. I'll correct his idiotic theology on abortion. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/corytruax/support