Editor's Note: One of our Clarion Readers/Contributors suggested we post Ben Irwin's response to the "Duck-Phil-A Wars" as a balancing piece to the 'I'm second' interview with Phil we had posted earlier. Here it is:
The patriarch and the pope:the real difference between Phil Robertson and Pope Francis – Ben Irwin
By now, enough has been said about Duck Dynasty to make Sir Tim Berners-Lee sorry he invented the Internet.
Kristen Howerton of Rage Against the Minivan shared what I felt was the best response so far. Also worth considering: a valid question from Time about A&E’s suspension of Phil Robertson and this Atlantic piece arguing the “real scandal” is what Phil said about blacks who lived during the Jim Crow era. Also, Preston Sprinkle demonstrates what a conservative response to this controversy ought to look like.
So I have just one thing to add, and it’s about this meme, which circulated on Twitter yesterday, shaming “liberal logic” for its alleged duplicity.
On one level, just about every word is true. Both men believe sex between two individuals of the same gender is sinful. Pope Francis wasnamed Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. And while Phil was suspended rather than fired, many would say it comes to the same thing.
To read the rest of this post, click here:
Or here: https://benirwin.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/phil-robertson-and-pope-francis/
Thanks for the great article above! I have struggled on how to view people who are gay/lesbian/or bisexual for years wanting to be true to the Bible yet loving such people too. My approach wasn’t tolerant within (so I was very judgmental within) and I knew that my approach was un-loving… thankfully I never voiced my dark approach or hurt anyone that way… but it has been a slow frustrating journey for me with little ‘t’ truth building blocks needing to fall in place before God fully answered my prayer on how to love homosexual people where they are at. One can’t convert people by hitting people over their heads with the catechisms of the Catholic or Anglican churches or even with the Bible. I know that each person has some good in them and that such goodness is a preparation for the Good News: Jesus. Sexuality broken or celebrated does not determine the complete person. Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinner and they never felt condemn or judged by Him… rather it was the religious who parted company with Him. Thank you Pope Francis for your leadership and helping us to see the humanity of each person we meet a little bit more clearly. Thank you Phil for showing us the way it ought not be done! Jesus taught us to not judge or condemn… that is a difficult learning curve to navigate for those wanting to live the way Jesus commanded… Mark Virkler said in, “How To Hear God’s Voice” that “we love justice and do mercy, but God loves mercy and does justice” We love justice cause we think it gives us clear boundaries of safety and salvation or who are the saved and who are the damned… but God loves mercy because He is into restorative justice… each person will be judged by their own conscience not yours or mine! Merry Christmas everyone!