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June 28, 2008 My father used to say, "It does not pay to be a liar. You have to have a perfect memory. Each lie is built upon another lie, and no one has a memory that good." These are wise words. Rev. Flip Benham has just been caught with his own words. In the article below this one, I contend that Benham discarded the Operation Rescue name, and changed the name to Operation Save America because of lawsuits. After Benham discarded the mantle of Operation Rescue, Troy Newman was encouraged to pick it up. As soon as Newman did, Benham cried foul, and said he never dropped the name. Benham then changed the name of his organization to "Operation Rescue/ Operation Save America." (Look on the top left.) Did Benham drop the Operation Rescue name? He says he did not - but let's hear it from the man himself. Below is the transcript of him speaking on a Sunday morning service. Included below that is an audio link from his January 2001 sermon. I suspect that Benham will say this audio was taken out of context. Click the picture - and you decide. It is as I said it was.
Flip Benham - Faith Community Church
Flip Benham is great at calling others to repent. Let us see if the words of Jesus, "Physician heal thyself" have application to Flip. We already know the answer ... "No."
Steve Wetzel Dealing with the Sin of Operation Save America
June 7, 2008 (Please read the linked article above or below by Flip Benham before reading this article for context.)
The point of this article will be to focus on what is the root cause of the Benham - Newman controversy. That takes some explaining. Bad theology begets bad behavior. Every instance of bad Christian theology begins with a grain of truth. The trouble begins when that grain of truth is expanded upon, until it is no longer recognizable as truth. Enter the world of Spiritual Authority and Pastoral Abuse.
These are the kind of tactics we find Flip Benham employing. Troy Newman left the fold, and is now the enemy. He must now be crushed. Benham writes:
This is only partially true. It is one of those grains I spoke of earlier. Benham ordered Troy Newman to leave Wichita, KS, and to go elsewhere. Newman moved his entire family from California to Kansas, the year before, in order to combat the most notorious abortionist in our land, George Tiller. Newman refused to give up the battle against Tiller, pack up and leave Wichita. Thus he incurred the wrath of Flip Benham which continues to this day. Benham continues:
To coin a Glenn Beck phrase, "Not so much." When Benham decided to dump the "Operation Rescue" name and web site (ORN.org) to get out from under pro-abortion lawsuits, I asked him by phone to please pass the name on to another. I said, "Pass the name on as it was passed onto you by Keith, as he received from Randall Terry. Too much sacrifice went into that name to simply let it die." Benham's response was, "Oh no, no, no, no, no." It was at this point I contacted Troy Newman. His group's name was close with his "Operation Rescue West," and had heard of the great work they were doing in California. I asked Newman if he would pick up the banner "Operation Rescue" that Benham foolishly discarded. Newman was reluctant to do so. In fact it took two years of asking Troy, before he finally resurrected the name "Operation Rescue" so our legacy would not die. The moment Newman resurrected the name Operation Rescue, Benham came at him like a three year old child who threw away a toy he no longer wanted. Newman simply saw the toy laying in the trash, and picked it up. Benham saw Newman pick up his discarded toy, and threw a temper tantrum screaming, "Mine, mine, mine!" And that's where we are today. Recently, Randall Terry threw himself into the mix by suing Troy Newman for the Operation Rescue trademark. Terry had not been involved in rescue/anti-abortion work since 1992, when he gave the leadership of O.R. to Keith Tucci. Now, 16 years later, he wants the Operation Rescue name back. The wild card in this was Flip Benham. Where would he land in this debate? Benham has no love for either Newman or Terry - in fact he threw Terry under the bus on Feb. 1, 2000 - and here found on the OSA web site. My question was, "Who does Flip dislike more ... Randall Terry or Troy Newman?" Logically, one would suppose he would lay low, and wait for the dust to settle - as he also lays claim to the title Operation Rescue. Surprisingly, Benham has gone out of his way supporting Randall Terry - the same man he tossed under the bus 8 years prior. I guess this is a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." With the level of participation displayed by Benham - one can only conclude that Flip doesn't just dislike Troy Newman, he HATES Troy Newman.
They say ambition is blind. It must be. I would just suggest Benham not sip his own Kool-aid as he wanders about in the dark. Steve Wetzel
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