Josh Benner

Category: News

  • Feel sorry for the victims, not Bill Cosby

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    Legendary actor and comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault this week.

    More than 60 women have claimed Cosby raped or sexually assaulted them. 45 of them say that he drugged them. Many taking a drink or other pill offered by Cosby and waking up hours later.

    These accusations go back to assaults as long ago as 1965. There are several more women who have acknowledged assaults by Cosby but who are not allowing their names to be revealed to the public.

    It’s hard to go after someone who’s rich, and famous, and beloved by millions. It’s hard to be one voice against someone powerful. There actually had been women who had told the police about Cosby’s actions, but evidence can be difficult to find in these cases. There had been women who had mentioned it to reporters but the stories weren’t published. Research indicates that the vast majority of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. Many victims fear that their story won’t be believed (especially when it’s an accusation against Cliff Huxtable, someone who has a public persona of being wholesome). Many blame the victim.

    Considering that a number of Cosby’s accusers were unconscious when assaults happened and weren’t necessarily sure of what had specifically taken place.

    And over and over and over again, the story is the same. He would give a woman something to drink, or give her some type of pill for pain or anxiety, and they would black out. Horrifying and monstrous.

    In October of 2014, comedian Hannibal Buress referenced the allegations against Cosby in a stand up routine. Within the next five weeks, some 45 women came forward with accusations against Cosby. This was not the first time Cosby had been accused of sexual assault. One victim talked about it in a 1996 interview that was never published. In 2000, Lachele Covington came forward saying that Cosby assaulted her when she was an extra on his show Cosby.

    In 2005, seven women came forward. This was the first time Cosby’s allegations were made known publicly. He settled in a civil suit for an undisclosed amount. In legal documents from that suit, Cosby admitted to using drugs as sedatives for the purposes of sexual encounters with women. But he argues that they agreed to it.

    This week, he was convicted in the 2004 rape of Andrea Constand. Cosby’s conviction in this one case is a victory for all of his victims, where many of the crimes occurred long enough ago that criminal charges cannot apply due to the statute of limitations.

     

    Even after Cosby has been convicted, many still struggle to accept that Cosby is guilty.

    Why?

    Because it’s Cliff Huxtable! And Cliff Huxtable is a wise and wholesome family man. He’s made us laugh, his characters are lovable.

    Don’t feel sorry for him. Feel sorry for his victims. No matter how kindly his public persona is, he’s a serial rapist and a predator.

    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.

  • Peace in Korea? Time will tell

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    Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in. Photo courtesy of Cheongwadae / Blue House at Wikimedia commons
    North Korea has a history of evil and tyranny. They starve and persecute their own people. They have a horrible record on human rights. It’s a totalitarian police state.
    The Korean War was fought from 1950-53. Hundreds of thousands of troops from the north and south as well as the United States, China, and other countries died. But the war never officially ended. There has been hostility between the north and south. A heavily fortified demilitarization zone has divided the Korean peninsula.
    A constant in North Korea has been the rule of the Kim Dynasty, with Kim Il-sung rising to power after Japan lost control of the north in 1945 (Kim Il-sung became premier of North Korea in 1948).
    But today, April 27, 2018, in an historic summit between Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in, the two countries have vowed to end hostilities and officially declared an end to the Korean War.
    In the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, the two countries are committing  to working together to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
    If this all works to achieve peace and unity on the Korean Peninsula, this is something to be celebrated. 
    Time will tell if North Korea is sincere in holding up their end of the bargain. 
    In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that true believers would be recognized by their fruits (Matthew 7:20).
    I see an illustration to the gospel and sincere vs phony conversions compared to North Korea’s sincerity or insincerity to pursue peace.
    One of the biggest thing people misunderstand about Christianity is that there’s a difference between a person saying that they have faith and a person who actually has faith.
    One of the ways to know if faith is genuine is by seeing a life that is transformed by the gospel. We’re known by our fruit. Apple trees produces apples. Trees that are rooted in Christ are meant to produce love, joy, and righteousness (among other things).
    It should be easy to tell if North Korea really does want to work for greater peace and unity. Actions will back it up.
    Again, if this is a sincere effort, this day will be long remembered. It’ll be one of the most significant events of the 21st century. But let’s also wait for the harvest and see what kind of fruit North Korea produces.
    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.

  • Alfie Evans and the value of human life

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    Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @rodhullandemu

    Alfie Evans is a British baby who is fighting for his life with a rare medical condition.

    There is a hospital in Italy that will treat the child. Italy has arranged to transport the child from Britain.

    But British courts are disallowing this. Instead, they’re scaling back treatment on Alfie which will result in his death.

    I heard a chilling argument today. The logic of it was that the parents are biased (after all, it’s their kid) and that they’re not really in a position to objectively evaluate this decision.

    The problem with that argument is that it’s assuming that if they were in a position to be more levelheaded, they would see what makes sense and just let their son die. But that goes against the instincts of any good parent. Furthermore, it’s not as if most sets of parents who aren’t in this situation look at it and think “Of course they should let him die.” For most parents, they would fight for their child to get treatment, as a moral absolute.

    The other part of the argument that I found disturbing was that it argued that since the parents wouldn’t be good judges of what was best to do in this situation, courts and panels would be better equipped. After all, they have educated professionals who are able to evaluate the case.

    But groups of educated professional people have concocted some of the most egregious evils in history.

    This shouldn’t even be a debate. This literally costs the United Kingdom nothing. Another country is paying and willing to transport Alfie.

    A civilized and free country should not interfere with this. It’s evil.

    Pray for Alfie and his parents.

    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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  • 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.

  • American pastor is a hostage of the Turkish government

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    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.