Josh Benner

Tag: politics

  • Kavanaugh, society, and the #MeToo movement

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    The past week has been a circus with allegations of past sexual abuse levied against Supreme Corut nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

    I don’t know what this man has or hasn’t done.

    I do believe people are fundamentally innocent until proven guilty and that there needs to be evidence.

    Some of the moves that the democrats in congress have taken in this process do make it seem like a bunch of political posturing (for instance, them sitting on Dr. Ford’s allegations for weeks and not revealing them until right before a vote. Was that out of their sincere concern for Dr. Ford and desire for her to be heard? Seems like they were very deliberate with that timing).

    The whole situation is immensely complicated.  (more…)

  • 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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  • Tomi Lahren swings and misses on abortion

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    Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @Gage Skidmore

    Life is bigger than politics.

     

    This weekend, Fox News pundit Tomi Lahren (a woman who’s generally conservative-libertarian but who happens to be pro choice) argued that abortion isn’t a battle worth fighting.

    In her argument, Lahren says that conservatives lose on social issues. I think this is part of the failure of her argument. The life of an unborn baby is not a “social issue.” It’s a fundamental right that the child has.

    She argues that a challenge on Roe vs Wade is unlikely to succeed. That might be true. But does that mean it’s not worth trying?

    I don’t think Lahren gets it because she’s. not. pro. life. She’s pro choice and she’s also looking at the issue from a political perspective, what’s expedient, what’ll help get votes.

    The argument I find most troubling is that Lahren argues that “it’s not the government’s place to dictate.” It’s not the government’s place to dictate? The government necessarily has to dictate some things with this issue. For instance, for Miss Lahren, at what point is an abortion no longer justified? And who decides that?

    If she feels like it’s not the government’s role, wouldn’t a better answer be to leave it up to the states? It’s not like a reversal of Roe would make abortion illegal or dictate to everyone what they can or cannot do.

    But I return to my point that the lives of the unborn are worth fighting for. Political popularity doesn’t dictate what’s moral.

    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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  • Politics in the religious arena: VP at Baptist meeting

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    Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention this morning.

    The speech hit on some political themes. Newly elected SBC president J.D. Grear later took to Twitter and said: “I know that sent a terribly mixed signal. We are grateful for civic leaders who want to speak to our Convention—but make no mistake about it, our identity is in the gospel and our unity is in the Great Commission. Commissioned missionaries, not political platforms, are what we do.”

    Some attempted to raise motions to block the speech. A Virginia pastor suggested cancelling the speech in favor of a prayer time. The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in America. Over the last generation, Southern Baptists have overwhelmingly voted republican.

    But it’s also a time of some turmoil within the denomination. One of the most influential Baptist leaders of the past generation, Paige Patterson, was recently removed from his role as the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This was related to improperly handling rape allegations from a student when Patterson was president at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Patterson had also made various other statements about women which were extremely controversial, such as insensitive comments about a woman who remained in an abusive marriage, after counseling the woman to stay in the marriage, Patterson saw her with two black eyes:

    “She said: ‘I hope you’re happy.’ And I said ‘Yes … I’m very happy,’ ” because her husband had heard her prayers and come to church for the first time the next day.

    These comments were met by an open letter from Baptist women, but Patterson did not issue any sort of apology until a similar letter by men within the SBC was sent. The treatment of women, how things like abuse and sexual assault are talked about and handled within the SBC have also been hot button issues at the meeting.

    There’s a lot going on within the SBC.

    It seems that another significant question among Baptists is the role of politics within the church.

    Christian historian Thomas Kidd traces politicians addressing the meeting. There was a resurgence of American Protestants to the GOP in 1979. Richard Nixon addressed the Southern Baptists in 1956 when he was vice president. In 1976, Gerald Ford was the first sitting president to speak at the meeting. Jimmy Carter in 1978. Ronald Reagan while he was running for president in 1980. George H.W. Bush in 1991. His vice president Dan Quayle in 1992. George W. Bush in 2002.

    There’s a history to it.

    So it isn’t shocking that vice president Pence would address the meeting this year. And the fact that his speech delved into both faith and politics should not be a surprise. That’s always going to be the case with any politician.

    I guess a question that I have would be, “what’s the purpose of a politician addressing the meeting?” It’s always going to be something that gets used for political purposes by the speaker. There are enough things that churches divide over. It seems unnecessary to add political viewpoints into that mix, especially in the current polarized climate. There are a lot of important gospel issues that the SBC is addressing. Having a political at this time seems like an unnecessary spectacle with respect to more pressing issues.

    The fact that there was some opposition to Pence speaking, some look at as a political shift among some in the SBC. Perhaps, to a small extent. However, with he size of the denomination, given what we’ve seen in other American Protestant denominations, I think it’s more likely that some (relatively small number with respect to the size of the denomination) churches would start walking away from the SBC before there be a major political divide within the denomination.

    I love the SBC, and I do hope and pray for what’s best for the denomination.

    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.

  • President Trump meets with Kim Jong-un: let’s see what happens

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    Yesterday, President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
    Some are mocking this, others are celebrating it as a great political and diplomatic victory.
    At this point, it’s too early to tell of any longterm success in this meeting. Regardless of what Kim Jong-un has agreed to, the North Korean leadership has a history of not living up to agreements that they make.
    Time will tell.
    But regardless of a person’s politics, regardless of if someone likes or dislikes President Trump, we should all hope and pray that this meeting will lead to diplomatic success. For the sake of the North Korean people who are suffering under an iron fisted tyranny, for the security of the region, and for the overall safety of the world, we should all want this meeting to lead to good results.
    The welfare of the Korean people who are kept in abject poverty, who are fed propaganda and not food, who are kept in Soviet style gulags by the tens of thousands, needs to improve. And we need to see North Korea finally honor their commitments to dismantle their nuclear program. If those things don’t happen, the photo op, the political goodwill, it’s all meaningless.
    If this meeting doesn’t help lead to significant change, the photos will be infamous of a sitting president and a dictator. Sound bites of the president complimenting Kim for his leadership will forever be to Trump’s mockery.
    As others have pointed out, there is no middle ground in this deal. It will be a success or a total failure.
    Time will tell. Prayers for North Korea.


    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.