Josh Benner

Author: the Josh Benner Blog

  • Courts continue to rule against British baby: Alfie Evans fights for life.

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    Alfie Evans is a 23 month old British baby who has a rare neurological condition. He is in a semi-vegetative state. Machines have been keeping the baby alive. Courts have ruled that the treatment must be discontinued, even though there is an Italian hospital which has offered to attempt treatments for him. Alfie has been granted Italian citizenship.

    There has been a long legal battle. Yesterday, Alfie was taken off of life support.

    His parents are continuing to appeal.

    They are actually giving the child mouth-to-mouth, literally breathing life into him in shifts to keep him alive in hopes of getting a new appeal.

    What a tragedy.

    What love from his parents. They’re fighting tooth and nail to keep him alive.

    How sickening it is that the British government and courts have this type of power. Alfie is not the court’s son. A court should have nothing to do with this case. His parents want to take their son to Italy for treatment. Let them go.

    Unfortunately, this is not the first such case we have seen from the United Kingdom.

    Last summer, another British baby, Charlie Gard died in a similarly tyrannical case. Gard has an extremely rare mitochondrial DNA disease. There was an experimental treatment tat Gard could have received in the United States. Funds were raised. But the British courts would not allow the family to take their own son to the US.

    Courts should not be able to judge if a baby lives or dies. In both cases, foreign governments were allowing these two babies to receive treatment on their soil, so it’s not like either would have been taking resources from the United Kingdom.

    Certainly, in both situations, the odds of successful treatment were and are highly uncertain and unlikely. But it’s still worth trying.

    Unfortunately, this story seems to be very underplayed in the States. I’ve done searches on some popular news sites like CNN and MSNBC and there is no mention of Alfie Evans on either site.

    But we’re not all that different from the British. We have similar sensibilities. And it’s chilling that the courts are ruling against the life of a child for the second time this year.

    We must have a value in the sanctity of human life.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • California is NOT banning Bible sales

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    I’ve seen stories circulating about California banning the Bible. I’m also seeing some people sharing links from various websites (none of them are major news sites) talking about this ban.

    All of this is in relation to California Assembly Bill 2943, a bill which is related to “sexual orientation change efforts” also known as “conversion therapy,” which are therapeutic methods aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender based on psychological and/or spiritual interventions.

    Among the headlines I’m seeing:

    “Liberty counsel warning: California about to ban Bible sales”

    “One step closer to law: could a California bill ultimately lead to the banning of Bibles?”

    “Just in: liberal California lawmakers propose bill to ban sale of Bibles”

    “Developing: California pushes bill that appears to ban sale of Bibles.”

    There are cries of censorship, violating the first amendment. I’ve seen tweets that show the Nazis burning books.

    Since these therapies can be done as commercial business, consumer protection laws would therefore apply.

    From the bill:

    Courts, including in California, have recognized the practice of sexual orientation change efforts as a commercial service, andservice. Therefore, claims that sexual orientation change efforts are effective in changing an individual’s sexual orientation, may constitute unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business practices under state consumer protection laws. This bill intends to make clear that sexual orientation change efforts are an unlawful practice under California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

    To say that this law is a ban on the Bible in the Great State of California is a falsehood. To anyone who disagrees with that, show me where it says that?

    It doesn’t.

    I feel like there are websites that are writing headlines which misrepresent the facts of this law, for the sake of people clicking on their links. One of the people who’s addressed the law is a man in California who’s running for governor. He’s furthering the myth about what this law does. That seems to be fear mongering.

    We need to be intellectually honest. California is not working on passing a law that bans sales of the Bible.

    I’ve already said the bill doesn’t explicitly set forth a ban. Where in the bill does it implicitly give the right to make a ban on Bible sales?

    I realize that there are some people in this country who are very hostile to Christianity and the Bible. But that doesn’t mean that they’re tyrannical to the point of wanting a ban. And even if a small fringe did want that, it wouldn’t work. This country is 75% Christian.

    Also, let’s say that this did happen. How do you ban the sale of Bibles in a state? People have smart phones where they can DOWNLOAD a Bible. People have Amazon where they can order the Bible from another state. There are independent book stores that sell used books. Even closed off countries with totalitarian rulers who try to actually ban Bibles struggle to do that.

    But that’s not what is happening.

    There are plenty of issues in this country related to religious liberty. California banning the Bible is not one of them.

    I do believe there can be people who really do seek counsel for SOCE. I do think that this bill could infringe upon what therapists and counselors are able to do in working with those clients. From that perspective, I do see how there could be an infringement of religious liberties. And that’s an issue. However that’s a different issue than banning Bible sales.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

     

     

     

     

  • No, heaven will not be boring

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    Originally published in a slightly modified form November 21, 2016

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint. (more…)

  • American pastor is a hostage of the Turkish government

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    Credit: Facebook
    In 2016, there was a coup attempt against the Turkish government and their president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.  Factions of their military launched uprisings in several cities.
    The coup failed.
    The Turkish government believes that one of the intellectual leaders of the coup was Fethullah Gulen, a writer and former cleric who currently resides in Pennsylvania.
    Andrew Brunson is an American pastor who has been serving in Turkey for over 20 years.
    In the aftermath of the coup, Brunson was taken into custody for allegedly being involved in the failed coup.
    The evidence against him comes from anonymous sources. But the 50 year old pastor faces 35 years in prison for his alleged involvement.
    Turkey has expressed intreat in swapping Brunson for Gulen, whom the United States will not extradite.

    These are trumped up charges. Brunson is a hostage being imprisoned by the Turkish government for them to try to negotiate for someone they want.
    President Trump addressed the situation via Twitter this week. The Turkish government has not accommodated requests from the United States.
    Andrew Brunson is a man who has dedicated his life to spreading the gospel in another part of the world. We need to pray for Pastor Brunson, for his family, and for our diplomats and politicians who are working to get this man freed.

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    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

     

  • “Come Sunday” revolves around pastor sliding into heresy, denying doctrine of hell

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    “Come Sunday” is the true story of pastor Carlton Pearson (portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a pentecostal megachurch pastor in Tulsa.
    (spoiler alerts)
    In the beginning of the movie, you see Pearson’s concern for evangelism. He prays with a woman on a plane, he visits his uncle in prison to share the gospel.
    But after seeing footage on the news and hearing about genocide in Rwanda, Pearson is thrown into crisis when he considers the eternal destiny of those people.
    Pearson struggles to come to terms with the possibility of people unreached by the gospel and spending eternity in hell.
    The following Sunday, Pearson preaches a message at church where he says that he knows that all of those people were saved pointing to the love of God.
    In the movie, a mentor for Pearson was famed pentecostal leader, and university founder, Oral Roberts (played by Martin Sheen). Roberts and other friends try to convince Pearson to recant his teachings.
    But Pearson doubles down and continues to renounce the doctrine of hell.
    People in the church oppose Pearson. In reality, the church shrank by thousands of people who disagreed with Pearson’s theology as he became a universalist.
    The movie depicts Peterson meeting with Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops. In reality, the bishops declared Pearson as heretic in 2004.
    I feel like the movie paints this as being a witch hunt. The make Pearson seem to be a sympathetic figure. But in reality, it was the bishops confronting a pastor who was no longer preaching the Bible. They had no other choice. To undermine the doctrine of hell is to undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Hell was the penalty of sin. Because our sin was that great. And we could do nothing on our own to pay for our sins. Jesus did on the cross. He lived a perfect light.
    The idea that a loving God could not allow heaven is a popular one among many in our society.
    But we don’t create reality. Hell’s existence is not based on if we want it to exist or not. A person can choose to believe it doesn’t exist. But to argue that the Bible affirms universalism and that everyone is saved, regardless of if they have faith, contradicts the Bible. Faith is the means of right standing with God.
    Pearson’s “gospel” appears to be the belief that Jesus actually covered the sins of everyone, regardless of if they believe in him or not.
    In the gospel, we do see the love of God. But we also see the justice of God. There was a price to be paid for sin, and Jesus paid that price.
    No one in the Bible says more about hell than Jesus.
    Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:26).
    To be saved is to be regenerated (born again). Being born again is necessary (John 3:7). When a person is born again, they are given the Holy Spirit.
    “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
    I understand it’s a difficult subject. but instead of trying to justify unbiblical teachings. for anyone who cares for the word of God, we must also trust in the goodness and justice of God.
    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.