Chick-Fil-A has apparently struck a nerve. Or, perhaps more accurately, its chief executive officer Dan Cathy has done so.
The Atlanta-based fast-food firm, probably best-known for keeping its stores closed on Sundays in line with Cathy's Christian commitment, has recently drawn the ire of the mayor of Boston, Mass., for being anti-gay-rights. Specifically, Cathy supports organizations that oppose "gay marriage" and, if my facts are correct, at least one that supports controversial "reparative therapy" for gays to change their orientation; as a result, the mayor is trying to keep Chick-Fil-A stores from opening in that city.
I don't pretend to know his motives -- whether those are his true convictions or thinks he will win gay votes in the process -- but he's wasting his time and energy.
The reason is simple: Probably most of the folks who oppose same-gender matrimony consider that conviction bedrock and, on this issue, won't bend to the whims of popular culture. And I mean absolutely never. From a conservative Christian perspective, it's an issue of improper behavior, not one of "orientation."
Some on the political left have tried to frame same-gender matrimony as a civil-rights issue and especially comparing it with the oppression of African-Americans in the South. But the analogy fails because sex, sexual expression and marriage simply aren't Constitutional rights. Besides, one's race is often obvious, while sexual orientation doesn't have to be.
One contributor and a number of posters to Sojourners' left-leaning "God's Politics" blog have said that they would no longer patronize Chick-Fil-A. They have that right. They ought to understand, however, that not only will a boycott be ineffective but that it has already sparked a backlash, with supporters targeting Aug. 1 as a day they will specifically patronize the store.
In addition, as I mentioned, Cathy will not change his stance; remember that he keeps his stores closed on Sundays even though he could probably make way more money with an "after-church" rush. So I don't know what the mayor of Boston is trying to prove.
2 comments:
I am surprised at the number of people siding with Boston and Chicago's Mayors, who you think would support Dan Cathy . How many Christians keep their businesses open on Sundays. So Mr. Cathy is not just peddling some Karl Rove mantra . But, It shows evidence , you can be Republican ,and Conservative, or Democrat and still be secular. We have to seek God to read the signs of the times. There will appear to be a time in the immediate future ( Jesus told us) when men will say "Peace and Safety, after the time "when men's hearts will fail them" . It will be by design , "If it were possible to deceive the elect." Christians live in this life between "The Rock " and a hard place . If we don't know the Bible , because we find it boring; we will not know. When the choice is The Rock of our Salvation or the hard way of the World ( with it's enticements) we must choose Jesus. I looked at my Daughter's Astronomy book of the "Region of Galaxies" ( 66 million light years away ) and I was reminded , there is a 66million years from now.
It seems similarly unfruitful to explain this to people who disagree with the position; I've tried. Since questioning many of my opinions, I've decided this particular issue isn't much of an issue for me. But when I encounter someone who is pro-LGBT, I am compelled to be an ambassador from my native culture. It doesn't seem to work very well.
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