It is surprising to see how a restaurant that is known for fried
chicken, waffle fries, and illiterate cows could ignite a firestorm of
controversy over recent weeks. Dan
Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A restaurants and son of Truett Cathy, founder of
Chick-fil-A ignited a nationwide controversy when he reportedly said on a radio
program, “[W]e’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist
at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I
pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude
that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.” Later,
Cathy told the Baptist Press that he is “Guilty as charged” and is “supportive
of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” [Source: Jenna
McGregor, Washington Post, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy bites into
gay-marriage debate.]
Protests and support
rallies ensued leading both to a record sales day at Chick-fil-A as well as a “kiss
in” where members of the homosexual community were encouraged to kiss in front
of Chick-fil-A stores as a form of protest.
Perhaps the strongest reaction against Cathy’s claims comes from the
Mayors of Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago.
These mayors are enforcing zoning limitations that would forbid
Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants in these cities. Rahm Emmanuel recently went on record saying
in response to Cathy’s statements above , “Chick-fil-A values are not
Chicago values. They disrespect our
fellow neighbors and residents.” Source:
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/cities-move-to-ban-chick-fil-a-supporters-launch-day-of-support.html.
As a pastor-theologian, I am undoubtedly and unashamedly
biased towards what Scripture teaches, and I gladly applaud and fully agree
with Dan Cathy’s statements mentioned above.
However, the fact that a private business is forbidden to have the
opportunity to open its doors because of its beliefs on homosexuality and the
Bible should raise alarms throughout America no matter what side of the debate
you are on.
First, apart from theology and Christian values, let us
imagine for a moment that the situation was reversed. Assume that a CEO of an organization said, “We
fully support the gay community and believe in equality in marriage for all
persons regardless of sexual preference,” and that CEO’s corporation was denied
access to open stores and franchise out because the mayor had personal
disagreements. From the gay community
which parades the slogans of equality and fairness, could we for one moment not
see the firestorm of response against such a statement being made? Why then is it being tolerated from the other
side? If equality and fairness are what
we are after, then why is this not being reciprocated?
Second, as Christians, we must be overwhelmingly alarmed at
the response of the mayors of these cities.
I will repeat Dan Cathy’s words here for convenience. He said, “[W]e shake our fist at him (God) and
say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I pray God’s
mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks
we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.” He also said he is “supportive of the family
— the biblical definition of the family unit.”
These are all words that I would say from the pulpit and, I believe, are
reflective of the evangelical perspective and Scriptural testimony.
Now, if these are different from the values of Chicago,
Boston, San Francisco, and other places, will I not be allowed to open my
church doors there as well? Will I be
forbidden to hold services, to proclaim biblical testimony that conflicts with
culture, or will I have government officials telling me that I am forbidden to
do so because it goes against their values?
With government officials doing such a thing, one must consider
the 1st Amendment. It states:
Government shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Granted, Chick-fil-A is not a religious
organization. However, the founder said
the same things that could be heard at thousands of churches nationwide. Will we be next?
Mark my words, when freedom of speech is denied, when
Christians are not allowed to speak biblical truth without having restrictions
put upon them, when the Constitution is ignored, and when double standards
prevail, all people, regardless of where they stand on Dan Cathy’s statements,
should be worried!
No comments:
Post a Comment