The Little Brown Church in the Vale, Chick-fil-A, & Gay Marriage

In an interview with Baptist Press, Cathy said the company was "guilty as charged" in supporting the "biblical definition of the family unit."

“We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives,” said Cathy, the son of company founder S. Truett Cathy.  

Recently, the issue went even further when Boston's mayor said that he would block Chick-Fil-A from opening in his city. 

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald he would work to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in the city. “You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population,” Menino said.

The Little Brown Church in the Vale, Chick-fil-A, & Gay Marriage

I went to a wedding in Iowa a couple years ago, and found that the Church was this small chapel with some ZZ Top looking ministers who have been doing weddings since 1864. Over 40,000 visitors come to the Little Brown Church each year, and over 400 weddings are performed annually. 

Anyways, there was a statement on homosexuality and marriage posted on the outside of the chapel & on their website (Here: http://goo.gl/kftQO) which i respected and thought went with this discussion. 

"There will be no same sex marriages at The Little Brown Church in the Vale. We are an old country Church and prefer to remain as such. Please understand that we harbor no malice toward, nor wish harm upon anyone. The message we are receiving from the gay community is that we should accept them for whom they are. We would appreciate the same courtesy being extended to us." 

i think the word bigot gets tossed out incorrectly in this sort of instance:

The origin of the word bigot and bigoterie (bigotry) in English dates back to at least 1598, via Middle French, and started with the sense of "religious hypocrite" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigotry

I believe the LGBT community should be allowed to marry, and harbor no ill will towards them - but often times i find many women and LGBT members push this idea that we (or anyone for that matter) has to believe what they believe or we are idiots - and that's kinda rude]. I am a firm believer of the kind of religious pluralism that Chuck Coleson preached on, and I don't think it is through hatred that we will reach people who do not live a Christian life, but by living in Christ, and delivering his message with LOVE.  

In a recent Bible study group-discussion, we were studying the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37). This parable may be seen to primarily highlight that we are to show mercy to our neighbours… to love them as ourselves, as God commands us. Clearly, this is true and vital. However, a closer look at this parable seems to highlight a crucial part of the Gospel message that is becoming more and more void within the western church – realising how sinful we are. http://goo.gl/wak1k

Chick-Fil-A 

By speaking out against homosexuals, the owner of Chick-Fil-A thought that he was operating within a Christian view, however on further reflection, I would have to disagree. He was not enriching gay people's lives by offering grace, but disenfranchising them by taking a stance that puts them in a position of second class citizens. By not allowing Gays and Lesbians to marry the people they love, we as people are operating from a sense of fear. We feel that something is threatened. Soon they will be adopting kids, and their vicious (because just as neo-atheists attacks on people of faith are often times vicious so too can be the onslaught of those of the LGBT commuinity) and political push towards changing laws to include those who don't fit within the nuclear family is someting that is enevitable. But we haven't been pious either. 


The family is in jeopardy not because gay people are being gay, but because everyone else is also contributing in their own sinful ways. We have taken the arguement and collectively made it about civil rights, when it is actually about what we are going to allow in our school systems, in our children's curriculums and in our laws.  Of course there are many gay people who reject the way of life and principles that Christians and other persons of faith live by, but hitherto redefining what a family is has not put us in such a twist as it has now. We stand upon the precipice looking over the future of our education, and the values of our nation. Sure, we are individuals, but we are also communities. 


And some things are not right, and when that happens, there needs to be recourse. If there is no God, in the eyes of atheists, we need to be able to come together and decide what is morale. If there is a new definition of the family, we need to come together with the LGBT community and decide what is morale. We can't have our children being molested, or arms twisted into a system that will make them gay; nor should we subject them to a world where they can't decide whether or not they believe in God or not. 



There is a difference, I think between the fear that we have that gay people are just going to do whatever they want, and our world is going to continue to become open to more and more influences that we cannot control. Our children will be subjected to philosophies, and laws, even other people's beliefs that aren't aline with our own, and this continual resentment against anything faith based, or from a higher power will erode into a world of self-deprecation.  As if that hasn't already happened.  But WE have done this to ourselves! The gays are kind of right on this point. We have more divorces, and make more bad decisions than monks, or pious people, and yet when we are comfortable stating our opinions we hide behind the fact that nobody is going to keep us accountable. We can still watch our rated-r movies and listen to our rock music - because - God likes that stuff now. 


God doesn't like sin. He loves it when we obey him and the teachings of the Bible. He wants us to honor and obey Him. But, ultimately, the message of Christianity is that we were given free choice. If we take away the right to live a life that doesn't follow God, we are not honoring God's choice in giving us free choice. This is an interesting move here, because we are choosing to give up the power, knowing full well that the gays aren't likely to do the same. Thus, Christians will then have to find their way into and around the world. It's happened this way before. The pattern is there. Christians, loose the way sometimes. But God will provide. God will see us to the promised land. God will be our rock. We just have to believe, and follow Him.

No longer are we Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God

There is an ever more present lazy Christianity which has developed. We aren't talking about men waiting in the wilderness eating honey and communizing with God in nature anymore with a scruffy beard and a fervent knowledge of the Bible. No, now we have politicians Christians, and i don't read the Bible, but i know what's in there kind of Christians.  We are no longer students and scholars of our faith. And we wonder why "science" has us with their socratic methods and their scientific methods.  Science isn't a person. And science can be wrong, and often times it is wrong for decades, and doesn't apologize for being so.  So if science is wrong, no biggie. But if God is wrong, that's a deal breaker.


God has to remain perfect, and that scares some people. Because if you don't like what God says, you are caught in a deception of trying to make the Bible work for your purposes. That's how we are getting caught. That's how we as Christians are being portrayed. First of all, anyone can say they are Christian, and they could be detrimental to the faith by not acting Christ like. And secondly, we try and rationalize our own actions when we are doing something we probably shouldn't be doing, but would still like to do. 

Repentance means a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God.

Our watered down version of Christianity is disempowering our message. With our tongues confessing one thing, and our bodies confessing another, we would like to think that we belong to Jesus, but are we really acting like Children of the Light. Christianity so watered down nowadays that it has become a brand. Many people use it for power, for money, or for social status. We are preaching the wrong message. Instead of trying to bring heaven to earth, we should be focused on loving each other passionately and honestly. You have seen so-called Christians confess their sins, and then just jump right back into the lake of fire with waders on and tote a towel with a belief that they will be saved no matter how bad they live. Their walk with Jesus has become just words that fly off our tongues. I'm guilty of this sometimes, too. The pull of the secular world is strong.


In a recent argument I had with my brother regarding Christianity, and some of the things we should and shouldn't be doing, I realized that among Christians, the way that we believe that we should live, and the way that the Bible (and thus, Jesus) says that we should live are two totally different things entirely.


When we hear Jesus preaching on how we are to live, He always comes from love and respect. He doesn't have to bend and give credence towards sin, but he doesn't let those who are sinners back out of the world. He is also very okay with going against the laws if they are not in line with God's laws. Remember, that the disciples and martyrs of Christianity were killed, spent time in prison delivering Jesus' message. These were individuals who were powerfully committed to living a life in Christ. It was never the goal to eliminate freedom of choice. We are supposed to be concerned with our place in heaven, our salvation, and earth is a place where we are going to meet others, who do not believe. Remember the golden rule, (and no, not the one in Alladin):

The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12-14
12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easyt that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  

14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Although Chik-Fil-A identifies themselves as a Christian organization, this is probably another example of something Jesus wouldn't have done. BOYCOTT AWAY!! (i certainly will be).

UPDATE: The Muppets Drop Partnership with Chick-Fil-A

As an update, the Jim Henson Company has ended any and all partnership they have had with Chick-fil-A. They released the statement that follows:

The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD.

• https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-jim-henson-company/july-20-2012/10150928864755563
• http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/07/muppets-end-its-partnership-with-chick-fil-a-over-anti-gay-sentiments/

The mayor of Boston is vowing to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in the city after the company's president spoke out publicly against gay marriage. 

Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald on Thursday that he doesn't want a business in the city "that discriminates against a population."
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press this week that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family. 

The fast-food chicken sandwich chain later said that it strives to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender."
Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has more than 1,600 stores nationwide but just two in Massachusetts, both located in suburban malls.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78765.html#ixzz21ObNd3Fd