The current vicious attack on Chick-fil-A is against much more than one family and their business. It is a blatant assault on faith, Judeo-Christian morality and freedom itself. Believers must no longer stand down and remain silent. Now is the time to boldly stand together as soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus made it clear that He is sending His followers out as "sheep in the midst of wolves." How true this is! He did not, however, say we are sent as sheep to the slaughter. We are commanded to suit up in the "whole armor of God" and become "more than conquerors" because "the Lord is our shepherd" and promises to care for us even in the presence of our enemies. We are not to give one inch of our lives or our land to the predatory tactics of the father of all lies and the enemy of truth and life.
When Dan Cathy, a strong believer and president of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, was on the Ken Coleman radio program talking about the importance of the family in society, he had the courage to uphold the values that every Bible-believing Christian professes:
"I think we are 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 to think that we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is about."
Now, homosexual activists and others intolerant of biblical views want to roast him. The mayor of Boston, where the restaurant is considering opening a store, declared, "Chick-fil-A doesn't belong in Boston." HuffPost blogger Christina Pesoli, who is a vegetarian and doesn't eat at Chick-fil-A, wrote, "I'm glad -- not about the hate, but that Cathy is so out and proud about it. ... Congratulations, Chick-fil-A! When it comes to the intolerance-and-bad-business combo, you really rule the roost!" Others have been much harsher. Even the Muppets have declared a boycott.
I confess I don't understand how people such as this can call others "intolerant" with a straight face. Who is trying to silence diverse views? Who is bullying others into hiding their opinions? Who insists that everyone believe as they do or be thrown out of town? There is no place for bullying, mockery, making fun of or belittling anyone for any reason -- period.
I appreciate Mr. Cathy's stance and the tenor with which he has conducted himself. He never "bashed gays" or defamed anyone. His restaurants serve everyone without harassment or discrimination. He didn't utter a single unkind word or incite hatred in any way. He simply says he prays for God's mercy while unashamedly supporting the family. Guess what? I do, too!
I reach out to everyone with the same invitation: God wants to know you, love you and conform you to His image. I don't encourage unbiblical practices any more than I encourage young men to spend all their money on parties and take up lodging in a pig pen, but like the father of the prodigal son, I hope and pray everyone will return to the heavenly Father to live now and forever in His presence. I will with a broken heart continually offer love and forgiveness to those who have chosen to live in rebellion and miss out on the blessings of abundant life in the Father's house. Jesus made it very clear, "The wide road leads to destruction and the narrow road leads to life." I would be compromising if I withheld what I know to be God's truth!
The reality is that God tells us in His word that there are two choices we all must make: life or death. Jesus urges us to choose the narrow path to life. He doesn't force us to choose it, so I don't believe Christians should ever force others to conform to God's standards. Some people don't like to hear it, but we must faithfully speak God's truth in love. With kindness in our hearts, and firmness in our convictions, we must declare the truth of His word, not the popular preferences of the world.
Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press,"[We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us."
When we seek God's wisdom and guidance, He does bless us. And even if Chick-fil-A is thrown out of every city that has an intolerant mayor, God will continue to bless Dan Cathy. In fact, He already has. Gov. Mike Huckabee, who worked at my side with our ministry for four years, has stood up against the bullying and declared Wednesday (Aug. 1) to be "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." His proposition is simple: Support Dan Cathy's loyalty to God's truth by eating a nugget or two. Maybe even tweet about it or post it on your Facebook page. I'd suggest you go the extra mile and invite a needy family and buy their meal.
Late Wednesday night I received another email from Gov. Huckabee. He asked me to urge the 6,000 church leaders and believers registered for the "Under God INDIVISIBLE" conference to stand with the Cathy family and Chick-fil-A. "With the mayors of both Boston and Chicago saying they will block the company from even opening a store in their cities, it's a stunning revelation of how far the culture has fallen," he said. "What's next? Will the mayors evict Catholic and Evangelical churches because they preach Biblical marriage?" He challenged Christians to stand up not by carrying signs or getting in someone's face, but just to show affirmation and encouragement to a Christian family who are under a hateful, vile attack.
We cannot prevent people from choosing the wide road that leads to hell or creating their own hellish circumstances, but we can boldly stand together against their attempts to create a hell on earth for us, our children and those we love. As I have consistently shared in this weekly commentary, on LIFE Today, and everywhere I speak, we are indeed fighting for the future of our nation and freedom around the world.
Follow James Robison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/revjamesrobison
Michelangelo Signorile: Amazon vs. Chick-fil-A: Who Wins?
James Peron: Are Liberals Intolerant of Chick-fil-A?
Melissa Browning: Chicken Nuggets and Family Values
Warren J. Blumenfeld: Boycotting Chick-Fil-A While Conservative Christians Play "Victim" Card
Lol, oxymoron. Religion has always been one of the world's most divisive institutions. How is denying a liberty to a group of people solely because of your religious beliefs not divisive?
We're also tired of the violent rhetoric of "God's wrath" on us simply because fair-minded ethical and good people think your religious view is just made up to create a business for the priestly class of which you are leading spokesman. You make a very nice living from scaring people, and we're tired of it. Jesus was a servant of people, not a con man who fleeced them so he could live in a big house.
Nine million children under the age of 5 die every year and if your God allows that to happen because he doesn't like gay people, then there is something seriously wrong with your God. 25,000 people die each day from malnutrition somewhere in the world, and if your God can't seem to find it in his grand plan of salvation to spare that agony, then He isn't someone the rest of us deem worthy of worship.
A God of love is filled with tolerance and compassion, not pettiness and vengeance. And people who claim they are Christians, as you apparently do, will find ways to encourage respect and love instead of fueling bigotry.
Jesus was known as a friend of sinners, too...Not only that, He was truthful to others about their sin condition. For example, when He saved the woman caught in adultery from stoning, He stated, "Neither do I condemn you. Go & sin no more..." He didn't admonish her to keep on going as she had been, but to turn away from sin (Repent). On another occasion, He met a Samaritan woman at the well...& He said to her: "16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
Once again, her sin was pointed out. On another occasion, He'd healed a man, & later said to him:
John 5:14
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
It is NOT hateful to speak the truth in love.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beck-most-people-are-bed-absolute-evil-and-worshiping-baal
Also, if people support the LGBT community, I do not understand why you rarely see people that have chosen that lifestyle stand up and state to the world that this is my decision. It seems like the world will respect their decision to choose to live under any sexual orientation.
We all have the power over our choices in life.
The message that is sent with the “I was born like this” sounds like ' I would not choose this - if it were my choice!' That is unfortunate because when an individual takes that stance he/she believes that he/she does not have control over his/her own destiny. This is so untrue. Furthermore, there are many cases where some people in the LGBT community are now trying to encourage kids to make the same choice, by telling them they were born that way - without proof of that. They are not allowing those kids to make the choice about their own sexual orientations. The golden rule is treat people how you want to be treated.
The only people who think sexual orientation is a choice, or that it requires a gene to be real, are people who don't know much on the subjects of sexual orientation and genetics. Here's a hint: there is no gene to the best of our knowledge for left-handedness.
These are also merely people: 1) who desperately wish to choose a different sexual orientation for themselves, but don't seem to be able to, or 2) who would choose it for someone else because part of the nonsense they believe includes dominion over other people who don't share those beliefs, or 3) use the choice argument as a part of their means to power and money.
I knew I was gay when I was three. No one had to convince me. what always amazes me is that people who are not gay, who are clearly completely ignorant but nevertheless well read on the subject, feel perfectly free to tell us exactly what our lives are about.
You're right. you do have rights 2. Unfortunately, those rights include believing ignorance, spreading ignorance, and not caring about your ignorance.
The tragedy of this situation is that X-tians left their First Love long ago to chase after political power and causes. They can no longer hear The Shepherd's voice at all as it is drowned out by politicians proclaiming them as martyrs.
Religion is horribly divisive and there is a reason not to bring up politics and religion in polite society. Also, remember that power corrupts, and X-tians are very vulnerable to this as history has demonstrated to us.
Persecuting any group will only help them to grow. As X-tians persecute others that don't agree with them and bully the gay community, they are only helping the gay community flourish. X-tians are their own worst enemy.
JC Penney, because they made Ellen DeGenerous their spokesperson
MillerCoors and Pepsico, for supporting the LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Google, because they announced they will work to advance LGBT rights
Starbucks, because they support marriage equality
Oreo Cookies, for supporting Pride month
General Mills, for going against a gay marriage ban
Urban Outfitters, for having gay people in their advertisements
There isn't one. Is this an attack on your evangelical bible cult and all it stands for? If it stands against the free rights of American citizens to be treated equally regardless of race, gender or sexuality, the answer is YES.
Wake up, folks. Your ideology is being threatened, but you're not losing any freedoms.