Josh Benner

Tag: daily wire

  • Another city tries to troll Chick-fil-a

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

    Another story regarding an airport Chick-fil-a. There had already been recent stories of politicians trying to block or hinder Chick-fil-a locations at the San Antonio and Buffalo airpots.

    Now it’s San Jose who has set its sites on the popular chicken restaurant. Next month, a new Chick-fil-a is set to open at the San Jose airport. Ir’s an agreement which was made last year.

    As is often discussed, Chick-fil-a was founded with Christian values, is closed on Sundays, and donates money to Christian organizations who adhere to Christian values (among those values, traditional marriage).

    The San Jose city council (who approved Chick-fil-a opening the location) unanimously voted to fly rainbow flags near the new Chick-fil-a.

    What planet are we living on?

    How childish can you be?

    Santa Clara county supervisor Kevin Yeager said, ““to counter the bigotry of Chick-fil-A and to let people know that even though there’s that restaurant there, the city is showing its support for the LGBTQ community.”

    Many in our society hate the values and teachings of Christianity.

    These attempts to troll Chick-fil-a are a display of that hatred.

    Do elected officials have nothing better to do than to troll and antagonize a successful restaurant that provides jobs? We live in a free country. If people don’t like what Chick-fil-a believes in, they don’t have to go there. Some airports have tried to shut down and interfere with Chick-fil-a.

    Matt Walsh, writing for the DailyWire put it well:

    This is not normal or healthy behavior. An adult should be able to cope with the fact that not every other adult in the world necessarily agrees with everything they do and think. There are many companies run by people who hold views I find abhorrent. I either choose to patronize those establishments or not, but I am not going to spend years of my life trying to penalize them for the crime of failing to abide by my every ideological whim.

    Despite all of the vitriol and opposition, Chick-fil-a continues to dominate as one of the most profitable and beloved fast food restaurants in America. Meanwhile those who oppose the restaurant are doing a great job helping them get lots of free publicity from media outlets.

    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…)

  • Pro-life: compromise vs practicality

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    Matt Walsh wrote an interesting piece for the DailyWire today. He was comparing the gun rights advocates to the pro-life movement.
    Walsh argues that the pro-life movement could learn from the gun rights advocates.
    The gun rights movement has a different attitude. They won’t give an inch. Ever. At all. They treat even the most mild gun restriction as a tyrannical assault on our way of life. They won’t agree that any gun should be banned. They won’t allow for any exceptions. They aren’t just in favor of gun rights. They are radically, absolutely, unequivocally in favor of gun rights. They are extremists about guns. And I don’t say that pejoratively. We ought to be extreme in our defense of our principles. Every gun rights advocate ought to be an extreme advocate. Every pro-lifer ought to be an extreme pro-lifer. That is the lesson here, I think.
    -Matt Walsh
    I normally agree with Matt Walsh but I think there’s a major flaw in his reasoning.
    Walsh argues that the gun rights advocates don’t budge, don’t give an inch, and that the pro life crowd celebrates seemingly small wins. But the gun advocates have the constitution on their side. Pro life advocates don’t (in fact, the supreme court precedent is against them).
    So the gun advocates are on top of a hill and defending their territory.
    The pro life crowd is on offense, trying to advance the agenda.
    The analogy is really rather that the gun rights advocates are similar to the pro-choice movement in that the pro-choice side also fights tooth and nail and doesn’t like to give an inch.
    Walsh criticizes the pro-life movement for being too quick to compromise. What’s the alternative? Especially when there is such vehement opposition? It’s not like a pro-life bill gets passed and the pro-choice advocates sit back and do nothing. States have passed laws requiring abortion clinics to educate women on alternative options. There’s a 2015 law in California which forces pro-life advocacy centers to post information about abortion. The battle rages on.
    You have to do things one step at a time. And so conservative state legislatures pass laws that help.  Walsh seems to call that “compromise,” but it’s utilitarian, it’s doing what you can today to save the unborn. Will it save them all? Sadly, no.
    Just because you can’t save everyone doesn’t mean you should give up at trying to save anyone in the pursuit of saving everyone. You do what you can.
    The pro-life side should most certainly not compromise or flinch from the value of all human lives, and having a deserve to protect the unborn. It should not compromise from the reality that life begins at conception. It should not compromise that abortion is wrong, because it is taking a life. And the pro-life side should continue beating the drum and fighting for new laws.

    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.