Stephen Bennett Meets Bill O'Reilly "Factor" - Before and After

Stephen Bennett Meets Bill O'Reilly "Factor" - Before and After

Written September 3, 2002 (before the interview)

"For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?'" (Malachi 3:6-7)

"Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is always the same, yesterday, today, yes and forever (to the ages)." (Hebrews 13:8, Amplified Bible)

Tonight at 7 PM Central, nationally known Christian song writer and recording artist Stephen Bennett will appear on the "O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel in what Bill O'Reilly calls his "No Spin Zone." For 28 years Stephen Bennett lived believing the lie that he was born homosexual. Over an 11-year period, he lived with over 100 men, many of whom have since died of AIDS. That all changed in 1992 when Stephen walked away from it all.

Stephen Bennett was delivered out of homosexuality and alcoholism by the Lord Jesus Christ and by living the Word of God. Since then God has given him a Christian wife and 2 beautiful children in 9 years of happy marriage. Stephen is becoming the leading voice in reaching out to those trapped in the homosexual lifestyle in love with the simple message that "NO-ONE is born 'gay,' and in most all cases is having EVERYTHING to do with one's childhood, and COMPLETE change is possible!"

Mr. O'Reilly calls his hour-long show the "No-Spin" Zone but as an interview with the "Advocate," a sodomite magazine, (September issue) hitting the stands today reveals, O'Reilly is clearly a captive and combatant in the "Gay Spin Zone" pushing the sodomite agenda. The web site for Stephen Bennett Ministries has an excerpt of this interview taken from the August 27 Washington Times.

"The "The Gay Spin Zone" can be read in whole at: http://www.SBMinistries.org/commentary082002.html

O'Reilly tells homosexuals (those that practice sodomy), "The only heat I take on the gay stuff is from very, very religious-driven people. Ninety percent of Americans don't care what [homosexuals] do. Ten percent are fanatics. They think you're going to hell, and they want you to go to hell." Of course O'Reilly is wrong on this spin point as any biblical Christian is in sin if they hate anyone. “Dear friends, let us love one another; for love has its origin in God, and every one who loves has become a child of God and is beginning to know God. He who is destitute of love has never had any knowledge of God; because God is love.” (1 John 4:8 Weymouth New Testament) I know men that have been delivered out of this deadly lifestyle and have reached out in love myself to hundreds of others that did not repent and let Jesus free them.

O'Reilly says to "The Advocate's" readers, "There are millions of Americans who are never going to accept [homosexuals], primarily on religious grounds. You're never going to convince the holy rollers that you're not an abomination, because they're going to quote the Old Testament."

O'Reilly is wrong here too because deliverance from the sinful lifestyle by God is found in the New Testament - and also judgment of sin. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Likewise the book of Jude urges Christians to contend for the faith earnestly since there are ungodly persons turning the grace of God into licentiousness thus denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Speaking on God's warning to unrepentant homosexuals Jude writes, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire." (verse 7)

Stephen Bennett has his ministry set before him as he presents the truth to Bill O'Reilly on the "Factor" tonight. O'Reilly approves of same-sex "marriage" and adoption by homosexuals. But O'Reilly's beliefs go further than just his opinion. Both Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren of Fox News are scheduled panelists at the upcoming National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association National 2002 Convention, Sept. 12-15 in Philadelphia, PA. Among the NLGJA's objectives are to "Advocate for the highest journalistic and ethical standards in the coverage of lesbian, gay, bi- sexual and transgender issues [in the news], and Strengthen the identity, respect and status of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender journalists in the newsroom)."

Many Americans have never heard of this subversive organization. Fewer still realize that nearly every major newspaper and TV station are run by journalists that belong to this group. At their 2000 convention in San Francisco, one of the issues discussed was, "Why do we even bother covering the other side [those opposed to the homosexual agenda] when we already know what they think?"

In his August commentary, "The Gay Spin Zone" (link above) Stephen Bennett writes, "There is a calculated agenda out there.They are after you, but more importantly, they are after your children. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet - the media is the means. Marshal Kirk and Hunter Madsen have succeeded in their homosexualization of America agenda set forth in their book "'After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90's" (1989, Doubleday/Bantam.) - [Empasis added]

Stephen Bennett is not going on to the O'Reilly Factor alone. The Holy Spirit will be with him as he testifies of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and shines the light of truth on the "Gay Spin Zone" that helps promote the agenda of militant sodomites.

Pray for Stephen and the viewers at both 7 and at 10 when the show repeats. In an interview Stephen and his wife did earlier this year on CBS/KingWorld's "The Ananda Lewis Show," the secular media censored and deliberately misrepresented them.

Stephen writes "They didn't like our message homosexuality was not something one was born with and that all homosexuals could completely change. They didn't like the fact that I said I was 'gay' and I completely changed. What even bothered them more was on national television I had the 'audacity' to use those vile and 'forbidden' words Jesus, God and the Bible. Thus, the pro-gay hammer fell and they deleted the most important part of my story - how I went from 'gay to straight.' Millions waited to hear how one could change - and CBS/KingWorld left America hanging."

"ABC's Nightline and Ted Koppel refuse to have me on. MSNBC's godfather of talk television Phil Donahue says, 'Thanks anyways.' CNN's Larry King, 'No thanks.' Connie Chung says, 'We're not interested.' CNN's Crossfire: 'Don't call us, we'll call you.'

But God opened this door to Stephen Bennett to go on national TV live with Bill O'Reilly tonight.

Jesus is Lord!

"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." (1 John 5:11)

Written after the interview September 4

"Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is good will." (Proverbs 14:9)

(Wednesday) Yesterday was an eye-opening experience. I always knew Bill O'Reilly was of a Libertarian worldview, that Man is sovereign above all - not God - and determines what is good or evil in his own mind. I prayed about a term to describe Bill O'Reilly last week in an article before I had read any of his stands on the sodomite agenda and the word antinomian came forth. The word is a combination of the Latin word, "anti" - and the Greek, "nomos" or law. In the context of theology it means anti-law, especially God's Law.

I listened to O'Reilly's radio program for the first time yesterday and the issue of Stephen Bennett and homosexuals came up about half an hour before O'Reilly's TV show on the Fox News Channel. Mr. O'Reilly stated, "The entire Old Testament is allegorical." He then proceeded to point out how vicious and violent passages were saying stuff like "There's people plucking eyes out in there..."

Next, Mr. O'Reilly stated, "Then you have the 4 gospels - gospel meaning 'the Word of God.' Everything after that, the writings of Paul, the other Epistles etc. are merely a guide to live by. It's a good guide to live by but those writings have nothing to do with God." This self-professed "lapsed Catholic" doesn't even know that gospel means "good news."

It is easy to see how he just makes up definitions of right or wrong, good or evil, as he goes. To Bill O'Reilly, there are no absolutes except what he declares an absolute in his own mind. Nowhere is this more evident than how he treated those calling in to his radio show. Callers would get a sentence out and it was O'Reilly's law after that. He set a rule that homosexuality is only mentioned in the Old Testament and trashed any other view. Callers did call in Mr. O'Reilly to cite 2 of the New Testament passages I cited in Tuesday's column: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Hebrews 13:8.

O'Reilly scoffed at the very notion that Jesus existed in the Old Testament (Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever) and mocked the mention of homosexuals and other practicing sinners (mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6) not inheriting the Kingdom of God. As, "If that were true, almost no one would be in heaven except maybe the Apostles or Mother Teresa." He seemed to lay down the law that "no one can judge another person and say whether they're going to hell or not." To a point he is correct [on saying a person is going to hell].

The axiom of "don't you dare judge me" is Mr. O'Reilly's creed. O'Reilly then said of Stephen Bennett, "I think he's an idiot!" Now what is that if not a judgment? Mr. O'Reilly cut off his callers more abruptly than either Larry King or Alan Colme's radio programs before they dropped off the national radio scene. I thought, man, he is really getting worked up before the Stephen Bennett live interview. Whew!

On TV at last... Live, Stephen Bennett with Bill O'Reilly

Stephen did get the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ out. He confronted Bill O'Reilly in love pointing out where he was wrong on the Bible and homosexuals. Mr. O'Reilly had the sole aim of getting Stephen to say that all homosexuals are going to hell. He did not succeed. Instead he heard Stephen refer to God's love for sinners and salvation only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Stephen Bennett and anyone else that believes that the entire Bible is the inerrant Word of God are "fanatics" in O'Reilly's world. He looked at Stephen and said on national TV, "You're a fanatic!" It was over rather quick.

By the Scriptures, especially the words of the Lord Jesus, we can see the road Bill O'Reilly is on. When the Jews questioned Jesus on His identity and judgment of them, Jesus replied,

"And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." (John 5:37-40)

Mr. O'Reilly and other antinomians that deny the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures are more than just ignorant of the fact that the only Scriptures even in the early Church were those in the Old Testament. Bill O'Reilly's root problem is the same as all other lost sinners including the Jewish leaders Jesus addressed. They are unwilling to come to Jesus as God, Master, Savior and Lord that they might find eternal life.

Written September 6 at 1 AM

Wednesday night I saw an example of man deifying himself as I watched the O'Reilly Factor for the last time just for news or pleasure. Bill O'Reilly was still steamed over Stephen Bennett's testimony of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God and the message that the Lord Jesus offers the hope of complete change for homosexuals. So he invited Charles Kimball, a professor at Wake Forest University and author of "When Religion Becomes Evil," to be a guest on the "Factor" Wednesday night.

O'Reilly introduced him as a Baptist pastor and then began to spin saying, "I got all kinds of email after last night's Stephen Bennett interview. They all said I was going to hell. But hey, that's OK because all my friends will be there <laugh>!" Kimball did not correct him but chuckled too. That is worse than spin, it is an outright lie. O'Reilly is convinced that anyone that believes the Bible is the Word of God (and thereby believe that God condemns the practice of homosexuality and other willful sins) are saying he's going to hell.

I think deep down, O'Reilly knows what Jesus has said about sin and hell is true. But he must mock Christians to keep his mind off dealing with Jesus.

Kimball was going along with O'Reilly's spin that Stephen Bennett and millions of Christians believing the same have become evil. At least he was until O'Reilly said Baptist once too often and used the words "Southern Baptist." Even Kimball drew the line here. Interrupting he said,"Bill I think it's only fair that your viewers understand that I am a pastor from the south but not a Southern Baptist." O'Reilly's countenance fell as the air left his balloon. Spin exposed - it was time to say, "Our next guest is..."

"Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard..." 2 Timothy 1:13

Pastor Stephen Mashburn
Wichita, KS