Josh Benner

Category: News

  • Last Man Standing returns to huge ratings, important family message

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    Tim Allen’s hit sitcom Last Man Standing, premiered on Fox last week to an audience of 8 million viewers. The show had previously had a six season run on ABC before being cancelled in 2017.

    Spoiler alert 

    In the return episode, Allen’s son-in-law is so fed up with President Trump that he wants to move his family (Allen’s daughter and grandson) to Canada. The family disapproves. During the episode, Allen’s grandson Boyd turns up missing.

    In spite of all of the arguing and disagreement, they all unite to find Boyd (who had wandered to his grandfather’s store to work on a project).

    I do appreciate shows that do take a sincere look at the unity that we need. The political divide in our nation is extreme.

    Relationships and friendships have ended and families have been divided just because of differences of opinion.

    It’s one thing to have strong opinions on politics, but the division that can happen gives the role of politics an unnecessarily high priority in our lives. Yes these things matter. But so does faith, family, friendships, and unity.

    Before Roseanne was cancelled, that was stated as one of the goals for the return of that show.

    With Last Man Standing, I do hope that the show can continue to be a voice for the importance of love of family in spite of differences. It’s an important conversation that I think the entertainment industry largely ignores. It can have a tendency to get too caught up in wanting to make its own political statements rather than addressing the overarching political conversations we’re having in this country.

    Many were critical of the cancellation given that Tim Allen (and his character Mike Baxter) is conservative and paints conservative politics in a positive light. The show was still popular and fans thought that the cancellation was politically motivated.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    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.

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  • Kanye West gives political commentary at end of SNL

     

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    Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @David Sankbone
    Popular rapper Kanye West was the musical guest last night on the season premier of Saturday Night Live. At the end of the show, he invited the cast back up on stage.
    West was wearing the Donald Trump red and white “Make America Great Again” hat. As the show was ending, West gave a political commentary. It’s been removed on Hulu and was cut off on the live broadcast (to be fair, it was the closing credits of the show).
    West has publicly supported Trump on multiple occasions. He met with Trump to discuss issues including the murder rate in West’s hometown, Chicago. He has said he loves Trump.
    That doesn’t mean he has to love everything Trump does but he is an interesting voice in the political arena. It seems that part of his support from Trump is also disapproval of democrats. West talks about how the show producers bullied him about his MAGA hat.
    He turns and thanks the cast (some of whom look very uncomfortable) for giving him this platform.
    West talks of how there should be a natural balance to things, yet he suggests 90% of news is liberal, 90% of television is liberal. He talks of how major entertainment hubs like Los Angeles and New York are overwhelmingly liberal, as well as in the music industry. “It’s easy to make it seem like it’s so so so one-sided,” West says. He’s exactly right on that front. So much of what we are experienced to in the media is liberal. In these large media formats, it can be hard to get other voices into the conversation and that isn’t productive.
    I’m sure people will mock West, people will (and have) said it’s for publicity. But for almost two years, West has been supportive of Trump. West has caught a lot of flack. The media and entertainment industries he is criticizing will dismiss what he’s saying (while at the same time, proving his point).

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    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.

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  • Newly published Reagan letter shows deep faith as he shares gospel with dying father-in-law

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    The Washington Post ran a 1982 letter written by former president Ronald Reagan to his dying father-in-law. His father-in-law, Dr. Loyal Davis had not been a religious man, and on the brink of eternity, Reagan felt compelled to stress the importance of faith.

    The most powerful man in the world pointing someone to the most powerful being in the universe.

    The newly published letter was discovered by Washington Post writer Karen Tumulty who was going through a box of Nancy Reagan’s personal effects in researching for a book on the former first lady.

    Reagan’s letter is a work of apologetics where he looks at Jesus as having come in fulfillment of prophesies. Using a similar line of reasoning to C.S. Lewis, Reagan talks of how Jesus either was who he claimed to be or a great con man (which would beg the question of why he would follow a “lie” to the point of dying for it). Reagan talks of the impact that this one man (who had such a short ministry) has had on the rest of the history of the world:

    The miracle is that a young man of 30 yrs. without credentials as a scholar or priest began preaching on street corners. He owned nothing but the clothes on his back & he didn’t travel beyond a circle less than one hundred miles across. He did this for only 3 years and then was executed as a common criminal.

    But for two thousand years he has … had more impact on the world than all the teachers, scientists, emperors, generals and admirals who ever lived, all put together.

    Reagan talks of the importance of faith in Jesus and ends the letter by appealing to his father to put himself in God’s hands.

    I appreciate this letter. Presidents are complicated individuals and Reagan’s faith is a subject of debate. But in this letter, his sincere desire is for his father-in-law to place faith in Jesus. He thought sharing the gospel with a beloved family member was worth doing.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    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.

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  • Nike ad says Colin Kaepernick is “sacrificing everything.” We should all agree that that’s absurd

    DmMVEk3WsAACHq1.jpg-large.jpeg“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it.”

    Sacrificing everything?

    This is the slogan on a new Nike ad featuring former Colin Kaerpnick, former NFL quarterback who was the first in the NFL to kneel during the National Anthem as a protest. The ad is on a new marketing campaign from Nike as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of their famed “Just do it” slogan.

    There are varying opinions on football players kneeling. In general, most Americans do not support this and see it as offensive and disrespectful. 63 percent of people responded unfavorably in a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.

    But I feel like we should all agree that he most certainly did not “sacrifice everything.” People go off to wars and die. But Colin Kaepernick is in an ad for a shoe company that says he “sacrificed everything?” People in other parts of the world stand up to barbaric dictators and pay with their lives (and sometimes the lives of their own families). But Colin Kaepernick not playing football anymore is him sacrificing everything.

    That’s absurd.

    Kaepernick has far more fame and notoriety for his protest than he ever would have had for being an ok NFL quarterback. He made millions playing football.

    He’s going to make millions with Nike. According to the New York Times: “Nike will produce new Kaepernick apparel, including a shoe and a T-shirt, and if the merchandise sells well, the value of the deal will rival those of other top N.F.L. players, according to people close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because Nike had not formally announced it. Nike will also donate money to Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” campaign.”

    I think it hurts the cause. Sports writer Jason Whitlock, who’s been critical of Kapernick’s protests commented: “Told y’all from Day One this has always been about the money. All of it. Revolutionaries aren’t sponsored by major corporations. It’s been a hustle from the giddy-up.”

    I agree with Whitlock. Gandhi wasn’t saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world. Obey your thirst.”

    I think Kaepernick cashing in on his protest (first of all, that totally undermines the idea of sacrifice) hurts his message. He’s trying to address real issues and he’s going to attach his name to an apparel line? Obviously that’s his right too. But it also makes him look like a corporate shill.

    It doesn’t seem to be a very successful means of rallying support to a cause or advancing a public discussion on the issues. A lot of Americans find the display disrespectful and offensive. And that’s fine. You can do something that offends people. But then what’s the end game for actually being an agent of change? If you turn off people whom you’re trying to reach and they don’t want to listen to the message, how do you achieve anything?

    These are complicated matters and there are a number of thoughtful opinions. The issue for me has never been kneeling for the national anthem. My biggest issue is that he’s getting treated like he’s some sort of martyr. Kaepernick has certainly received lots of criticism for his protest but many also celebrate him as a hero, he’s been given a huge platform, and he’s going to profit greatly off of this. This isn’t what it looks like to sacrifice everything.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    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.

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  • New gender study suppressed because it doesn’t fit agenda

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    I originally read about this story on the DailyWire.

    A recent article from a Brown University researcher named Lisa Littman was published on the subject of rapid-onset gender dysphoria. In short, there can be a social component to issues with gender identity.

    The article suggests the hypothesis that:

    friends and online sources could spread certain beliefs. Examples include the belief that non-specific symptoms such as feeling uncomfortable in their own skins or feeling like they don’t fit in — which could be a part of normal puberty or associated with trauma — should be perceived as gender dysphoria; the belief that the only path to happiness is transition; and the belief that anyone who disagrees with the teen is transphobic and should be cut out of their life.

    Brown University has pulled the study offline. In a statement from the Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, she said:

    Independent of the University’s removal of the article because of concerns about research methodology, the School of Public Health has heard from Brown community members expressing concerns that the conclusions of the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community.

    So the article has been removed because: “conclusions of the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community.”

    So we must therefore hide from research because it’s unpopular and doesn’t fit an agenda. The research results are unpopular and what is necessary is to proactively seek out studies that suggest the opposite findings.

    Truth should speak for itself. Truth is inherently worthy of being known. If truth is going to be suppressed because it might “discredit efforts to support transgender youth,” then there can be no honest discussion on the subject.

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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.

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