Josh Benner

Tag: Twitter

  • ACB’s sorority shows inclusion by apologizing for congratulating her

    ACB’s sorority shows inclusion by apologizing for congratulating her

    Only women who support killing babies are capable of accomplishing things which should be acknowledged in society.

    This week, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

    In the lead-up to Barrett’s confirmation, Kappa Delta – ACB’s college sorority – congratulated their famous alumna on her nomination with a Tweet which said: “KD alumna Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to serve on the Supreme Court. While we do not take a stand on political appointments, we recognize Judge Coney Barrett’s significant accomplishment. We acknowledge our members have a variety of views and a right to their own beliefs.

    Reasonable. Trying to tiptoe around the politics. They faced a backlash from pro-choice members who could not believe the sorority would acknowledge a monumental accomplishment of a famous member. As many organizations do when facing pushback, KD folded.

    Where’s the apology for their sisters who approved of the post? The post says that they “began an intentional journey for the betterment of our organization, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

    How is it inclusive to post about a historical moment and then apologize for that acknowledgement when some people get offended? Inclusion only goes one way. It’s inclusive when it includes a progressive viewpoint. But other views are not welcomed at the table of inclusivity. The KD statement went on to say that they’ve been working on “recognizing we always need to have a more diverse group.” And the solution is to ignore a position shared by a large swath of their members in the name of bowing to the outrage mob?

    Again, Kappa Delta was not endorsing ACB. But even acknowledging her ascendancy onto the nation’s highest court is forbidden.

    This isn’t the only such example .

    The Girl Scouts also had the audacity to acknowledge the fifth woman in U.S. history being confirmed to the Supreme Court. Once again, the outrage mob responded.

    The Girl Scouts quickly backtracked and Tweeted: “Earlier today, we shared a post highlighting the five women who have been appointed to the Supreme Court. It was quickly viewed as a political and partisan statement which was not our intent and we have removed the post.”

    Insanity.

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  • Political correctness shows why we need the gospel

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    Comedian Kevin Hart. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

    Last week, it was announced that Kevin Hart would host the Academy Awards in February. But then some Tweets were unearthed that used the word “gay” in a negative light. The Tweets were several years old, but as a result of the backlash, Hart withdrew from hosting the awards show two days later.

    I notice several theological themes in our current social discourse.

    Law 

    With modern political correctness, there are a dizzying amount of rules. And there is no consideration given to historical context or accepted norms. The rules are treated as universally binding. In June, an award named after famed writer Laura Ingalls Wilder was changed due to the fact that Wilder used terms for Native Americans that were common in her time and vernacular.

    The modern PC movement reminds me of the Pharisees in the gospels. The Old Testament had laws, but then the Pharisees added laws on top of laws. So many rules and laws that it became impossible to follow. It was crushing. Jesus railed against the pharisees for placing crippling burdens upon people. Constantly changing language. (more…)

  • Tim Keller Tweets about the incarnation: disagreement ensues

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    Pastor and theologian Tim Keller made a Tweet in regards to the incarnation of Jesus this week. Keller said: “The God of the universe became a wiggling baby in order to get close to you.”

    James White, another theologian, was critical of Keller’s comment: “No sir, the second person of the Trinity took on a perfect human nature first and foremost to bring glory to the Triune God in the redemption of a completely unworthy people upon whom the Triune God had decreed mercy and grace in eternity past. That’s not getting ‘close to you.”

    I’m a huge fan of Keller, but I also really enjoy White’s work, but I disagree with the criticism that White is raising here. Both men are in the Reformed camp, and one of the great strengths of Reformed theology is its emphasis on the glory of God. As part of this idea, everything that God does is for his own glory. I affirm that belief.

    However I do think that people in the Reformed camp can sometimes emphasize the glory of God to the point where I feel that it can also undermine the love of God and that God is relational. It’s because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (John 3:16). Yes, God is glorious and we need to live to glorify God.

    I feel like we can treat glory almost like a utilitarian idea, that glory is the only thing that matters to God, and we act like the things that God does which happen to benefit humanity have nothing to do with God’s love for humanity. But we can’t reduce the attributes of God. Everything that the Lord is, the Lord is always, and to the superlative decree. So it’s not that God is sometimes glorious, sometimes loving, sometimes more or less loving, sometimes powerful. But it’s that everything God is, God always is.

    I’m not suggesting that White has a low view of the love of God.

    I do think that staunchly Reformed Evangelicals can communicate theological ideas which very much give that impression.

    Yes, Jesus came into the world to bring glory to God. But he also came so that everyone who believes in him can be with him. That’s the heart of the gospel. The God who created the world came into the world to save the world.

    Why go to theological battle over that?

    It’s not an either/or. It’s both/and.

    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.

  • Doritos under fire for humanizing humans

     

    The above Super Bowl commercial for Doritos which depicts a man and woman viewing a sonogram, as the man is eating the corn chips. The fetus becomes aware of the chips and reacts, the man’s amusement. Eventually in frustration, the mother grabs the chip and throws it to the ground. And the baby forces himself or herself out of the womb.

    It’s silly. Not the funniest commercial ever. But it attracted the ire of NARAL, a women’s rights organization who promotes a pro-choice ideology. (more…)

  • President’s surprise trip to Afghanistan: how Twitter almost blew his cover


    I originally read about this on Mashable

    Usually when the president travels somewhere, the trip is known about in advance and his arrival is highly anticipated. Even when the president travels overseas, these visits are typically public knowledge. Today, President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on the one year anniversary of Navy SEALS killing Osama bin Laden.

    A journalist in Afghanistan reported having seen Air Force One and took to twitter. Soon, American journalists caught wind of this and started reporting of the unannounced visit. As Mashale noted, Josh Hirsch from Huffington Post was the first: (more…)