Dr john



Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, author, scholar and teacher. A lifetime of study, research and meditation and over 40 years of dedicated service the Valley metaphysical community.

One does not become a spiritual teacher simpl;y by taking a class. St. Paul said a spiritual teacher must be able to empathize with us because, he has experienced things as we have (Hebrews 4:15). DR. JOHN'S ACHEIVEMENTS FARM WORKER YARD WORKER MISSIONARY NEWSPAPER EDITOR LABOR ORGANIZER UNION PRESIDENT BOOKSTORE MANAGER PUBLISHER RECEIVES DD DEGREE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PASTOR PSYCHIC READER PSYCHIC HEALER STUDY GROUP LEADER BISHOP WEBMASTER OMEGA DIRECTORY NEW AGE ENCYCLOPEDIA		The solid and impressive scholarship, incisive wit and wisdom of Dr John have endeared him to many. For decades he has sought out the truth and passed it on to his students. It has taken real courage, fortitude and sheer guts to teach unpopular truths. It's a hard thing to do because there's a price to pay for speaking out. Dr John is a much needed wake-up! call to those fast asleep in their comfort zones of traditional belief systems. Questioning and thinking are actively encouraged by Dr John; he encourages everyone, not just his students, to think and question. He has appeared in at least two movies and dozens of TV shows. He is the author of two books, 20 booklets and hundreds of articles. In his first book, New age BIble, he discusses the ancient secret of the ages which reveals our past and gives clues to the future. Hismost recent book, New Age Gospel, explains what New Agers believe and why. Currently he conducts weekly services at the New age Commuity Church, teaches a weekly metaphysical study group, does spiritual counseling and edits the Omega Directory and the New Age Encyclopedia. He tries to make himself accessable to those with religious or spiritual questions He is continually researching, checking and double-checking what he has already written. "I am not teaching exactly the same things I was teaching 10 or 20 years ago,"he says. "I have not reversed myself, but I am always finding llittle pieces of information that modify or clear things up a bit"
*An author's view* - Melanie McGrath, Motel Nirvana, 1996, HarperCollins Rev. Dr. Rodgers is a hell of a talker, brusque, without guile. His family were Mormon converts from Minnesota who settled in Arizona to be nearer Zion. Because they couldn’t afford to buy a home in Utah. He was active in the church from an early age, and his mission as a young man took him to Oregon and Washington, then back to Arizona One day the Bishop made an authoritative pronouncement, that Rodgers did not feel was supported by Mormon scripture. “So I asked his authority and he said The Bishop's Handbook and I discovered there was this whole book of scripture that people like me didn't know anything about." Rodgers' continued insistence that the church abide by the revelations of founder Prophet Joseph Smith riled the local authorities. He woke up one day to discover that, so far as the church was concerned, he was no longer a Mormon, Nonetheless, still feeling like a Mormon, he went back to church and signed up to began again as a novitiate. "And the bishop said, well that's OK, but we don't want you to talk." And that was just too much for him. So he quit the Mormon Church. In the late sixties he met a girl who said she wouldn't date him unless he attended a class in metaphysics. So he attended the class and discovered that metaphysics was what he had been believing all along. Later on, Rodgers and small group of followers set up a New Age church. "It's a small church because we preach truth, and who in hell wants truth? Fantasy's much better. Lies and fantasy you can sell all day long. And the truth is that there is no devil, and that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Whatever happens, you choose it, if not in this lifetime, in some other." Chief among Rodgers' subsequent record of achievements in public life was his success in forcing a repeal of the Phoenix municipal law against psychic reading, which had been on the city's statute books since 1913. In 1992, feeling that no one else had the answers to the nation's problems, John Rodgers ran as an independent candidate for the presidency of the United States of America on the following platform: Repeal federal income tax Legalize recreational drugs Pay off the national debt Senators to be selected by state legislatures No censorship
A reporter's view - Lawn Griffiths East Valley Tribune, Oct 14, 200 Two decades ago, the Rev. John Rodgers launched a New Age seminary because he found people to be “good-hearted, well-meaning ‘eager-norants,’ ” excited believers woefully lacking information about religion and spirituality. The founder of New Age Community Church and publisher of the oldest metaphysical newspaper in the nation, Omega Directory, Rodgers will mark the 39th anniversary, on Nov. 1, of his Alpha Book Center in Phoenix, one of the oldest metaphysical stores in the U.S. Regarded as the Valley’s authority on New Age, Rodgers fiercely defends religious liberty, but says, “Most people don’t know their church’s doctrines, and most people don’t care.” His monthly tabloid newspaper covers a broad swath of belief. The October issue carries such headlines as “The truth about vampires,” “New aliens found in Roswell, N.M.,” “Americans more spiritual than thought” and “Dutch priests are clearly not gay.” “Things are changing, things are going to be different,” Rodgers says of New Age. “Religion is going to change. We are not going to have big Baptist churches. … It will be something along the lines of the old guru and students, or master-disciple thing — or maybe it will be on the computer.” He spends much of his time maintaining two distinctly different Web sites:www.aznewage.com and www.aznewage.net, the latter focusing more on New Age essays. “People are becoming more spiritual and less religious,” he says. He believes God loves all people, wants them to be happy and “doesn’t care what goes on. Don’t pay attention to all the things that don’t matter.” Rodgers, 69, a native of Minneapolis, attended a Methodist church as a boy. Then his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He did a mission in the Pacific Northwest and ccontinued with the church into his 20s. After he moved to Arizona in 1965, he says, “They kicked me out because I was going by Mormon doctrine, and no church goes by its own doctrine,” Rodgers says with a laugh. When he tried to rejoin, the bishop said he was glad to have Rodgers back but didn’t want him talking in class anymore. “I wasn’t derogatory, just informative,” Rodgers says. But if he couldn’t talk, he wasn’t going back. “The Book of Mormon is a wonderful book,” he says. “It’s got really good stories, teachings and Mormon precepts.” From there, Rodgers took a metaphysics class in Tempe. “That is what I had been waiting for all along.” At the time, he worked at Al’s Bookstore in Phoenix and started a metaphysical section, complete with tarot cards. It quickly expanded its New Age trappings, books and resources. Eventually, its adult section was replaced by metaphysical. In the 1960s, the Valley was “Christian country,” he says. “Wiccans were hiding in their closets.” In 1967, Rodgers bought the store and named it Alpha. The store moved around, and, at one time, he had three shops. In 1979, Alpha moved to its current place at 1928 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix. He touts it as the “Good Karma Store.” It recently reopened after a fire “We never would have gotten the store cleaned without it,” he quips. About 100 people have gone through his five-semester seminary, with about 60 gaining ordination and some starting their own churches. He serves as bishop over several churches started from his. Fewer than 25 typically attend his Sunday service, and he described them as mostly “seekers and widows.” Astrologer Dominique Nancy Shilling has held regular sessions for 10 years at Alpha. She says Rodgers has a commanding understanding of many religions. “He can have a fundamentalist Christian in there, and John knows his stuff about the Bible.” “We teach what a human being is, what the universe is, what God is, what is really going on,” says Rodgers, who urges moderation in religious practices. “Jesus talked about the straight and narrow way. Don’t become too extreme. Crystals have certain powers. (Computer chips) are based on crystals, but I really don’t believe that crystals will make anyone float in the air.” In Omega Directory, Rodgers wrote that fundamentalism always fails. “Though we must continue our struggle, Christian fundamentalism will not be defeated by the strategic, targeted opposition of people like us, so much as it will eventually self-destruct from the weight of its own madness. … I oppose fundamentalism because I worship truth — the facts, reality, the God of gods.” Rodgers is author of “New Age Bible: The Hidden Truth Revealed,” which defines New Age and explores the relationship of such diverse faiths as Buddhism, Christianity, Wicca, Hinduism and Judaism. He believes religion has evolved to reflect the evolution of civilization and the growth of human consciousness. He scoffs at conspiracies, says skepticism is healthy and believes God revealed the truth to him and “it makes sense."