Josh Benner

Blog

  • Notre Dame fire and Occam’s Razor

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    I’ve never been to Notre Dame (or France for that matter), but I’m truly saddened by the news today of the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. An 800 year old building that remains a marvel for art and architecture. Fortunately the entire building was not lost, but Notre Dame is forever scarred.

    It is a lost for western civilization.

    I was always taught that the simplest conclusion is usually correct.

    An initial theory for the fire at Notre Dame was that it was linked to flammable building materials which were being used in a renovation project of the cathedral.

    It’s possible.

    But I just don’t see that as the simplest conclusion.

    The building survived eight centuries. It’s survived wars. Notre Dame was built to last. It’s always been a high profile potential target for a terrorist attack. It’s one of the great symbols of France and it’s a symbol of the Catholic Church. It’s Monday of Holy Week. Not to mention a recent string of unsolved church fires in France. I think it’s more likely that someone intentionally set that fire than that it just happened to occur for no reason.

    Where there’s smoke, there’s fire (pun intended).

    Simplest conclusion is usually correct. Not always. But usually.

    Time will tell (hopefully).

    Update 

    It’s been a couple days since the fire. I’ve had a little more time to reflect. What I wrote on Monday was my initial, gut reaction. And while I think it was (and is) a reasonable thought, I do think that it was presumptuous to suggest that my view was the most reasonable or logical assumption.

    I’m not dug in on a Notre Dame conspiracy theory to which no amount of contrary evidence will dissuade me.

    There are arguments to the contrary of my initial assumption. Authorities were quick to say they did not believe the cause was arson. Also, no person or group has taken credit for this fire (which seems to typically happen in acts of terrorism).

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

    Josh Benner  has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.

  • Heroic story of Arkansas truck driver making the ultimate sacrifice

    The word “hero” is so often thrown around to the point that it is often emptied of meaning.

    One Arkansas truck driver was most definitely a hero.

    Last week, Randall McDougal was driving a truck with ammonium nitrate (a fertilizer which is also highly explosive). While he was driving, there was a fire in his breaks. The truck essentially became a huge bomb as the fire spread. McDougal called 9-1-1, but also decided to drive the truck to a rural area, away from cars, people, and homes.

    Once he was able to get the truck in a safe spot, instead of trying to make his way to safety, McDougal attempted to put the fire out. Tragically, the fire could not be extinguished in time and a massive explosion ripped a crater into the ground, and killed McDougal.

    For the safety of others, he put himself into harms way.

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

    Josh Benner  has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.

  • The lost art of lament

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    Lament is a topic that is often overlooked in American churches (especially in predominately caucasian churches).
    Lament is very common in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. We see it as a theme throughout the prophetic books, and the Bible has more books on prophecy than in any other genre. We see it in places like Job, Ruth, and Ecclesiasties.
    Lament is not whining.

    (more…)

  • Politicians decide to pick on Chick-fil-a

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    Chick-fil-a has been the target of political ire in two different states in as many weeks. In late March, the San Antonio city council approved a new dining area in Terminal A of San Antonio International Airport. The agreement had originally included opening up a Chcik-fil-a location, but the council didn’t give approval until Chick-fil-a was excluded from the agreement.

    While Chick-fil-a is one of the most beloved fast food restaurant chains in America, famous for it’s chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, lemonade, and excellent customer service, the company also has a strong foundation of Christian values which permeate throughout the chain.

    Chick-fil-a does support organizations who share in the company’s traditional values, and some of those organizations oppose same-sex marriage. Among those groups are the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the Salvation Army.

    One piece of the story that I feel rarely gets mentioned in media reports is that FCA and the Salvation Army happen to oppose same-sex marriage and value traditional marriage, but that is not the primary reason for the existence of these organizations. It’s a result of their Biblical values.

    The issue with airports discriminating against Chick-fil-a is that there isn’t evidence that the company actively discriminates against anyone. They serve everyone. And considering the federal funds which the airport receives, it’s illegal to discriminate against a company based on their religious values.

    A similar situation happened last week when Chick-fil-a was given approval to open up at the Buffalo airport. Once again, people tried to block it.

    Do politicians have nothing better to do?

    A person has the ability to choose not to eat at Chick-fil-a if they find the company’s values to be so offensive that they just can’t support it.

    It’s also ironic that I think of the calls to be inclusive, tolerant, and accepting, but then people want to bash a company for being true to their values. It’s this idea of “we’re inclusive, and if you’re not inclusive in the way we think is right, you should be excluded.”

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

    Josh Benner  has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.

  • Writer compares student loans to car loans and why the analogy fails

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    Matt Walsh is a blogger for the Daily Wire, who I generally enjoy. Walsh recently wrote a satirical piece where he jokes about buying an expensive sports car that he can’t afford. In the piece, he suggests that the government should forgive his debts.

    This is a commentary on the student loan crisis. Walsh did not go to college. (more…)