A “Chik-Fil-A” of Controversy

Welcome to my blog. The goal of this blog is to start conversation, to bring back the conversations to the church. Conversations of the scriptures and how we as followers of Christ and ,not Christianity, change the world that we live in. Things that wil be posted might sound odd coming from a follower of Christ, and if you disagree please let me know , and the reason why. I hope to talk to you all about all the topics posted. A new topic will be posted every Saturday. 

Intro 

         Chi-fil-a has been in the news recently over a controversy. The sad thing is that people in the media (Gov. Mike Huckabee, Fox News, and more) have taken this controversy and run with it. Furthermore many of my friend and fellow followers of Christ have leaped on to this bandwagon. This is not saying that they are bad or anything, quite the opposite. They are very knowledgeable, they want to rally with an organization they they feel shares there believes. What is this controversy you might ask? It the assumption that Chick-fil-a is against homosexual marriage. That the company is taking a stand on the matter. The truth is not as clear as that. In this article we will take a look at the truth and you can let me know what you think. 

The Controversy:

Let start with where this all started. It started with an interview with the Biblical Recorder writer K. Allan Blume.  In this interview the Dan Cathy the CEO of Chick-fil-a talked about how he runs the business with christian principles (Blume). That is has been this way for years. Which is very true since it founding in 1946 it has operated with christian principles. These include being closed on sunday, giving back to the community, and more. Also in the interview Cathy defend the company support of traditional  families, but also for strengthening the family period. 

“We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families – some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized (BR, Blume). 

This statement shows that he would rather the family be traditional but all families are welcomed. This is where it all started the controversy that is. 

The fact of the matter this is nothing new for Chik-fil-a. They have always held this stance. They given to many Christian organizations that hold the same views since it founding. So why the controversy because it was misinterpreted. It was made to look like the only traditional families ( mother and father) were welcomed and supported by Chick-fil-a. Which is not true. Granted the the CEO can choose who the company does business with based on his beliefs. Which means that homosexual families will not be owning Chick-fil-a any time soon. This the the direction the CEO leading the company.

The Company 

So where does that leave Chick-fil-a as a corporation? That a good question. First here is the official statement from the company. 

 Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our Restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.

Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.

There are many things to point out in this article. 

The first the statement shows the main Christian principles that guide the company. 

“For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.”

The second thing is that they will treat ervey one equaliy no matter what, including sexual orientation.

“:is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender”

The third thing is that the company is not wanting to be apart of the marriage equality act. They will leave it up to the government to choose the fate of that topic. 

“Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

The last thing is that no matter what kind of person they will encounter they will treat the person with the same respect and dignity across the board. 

“Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

So now that we have broke down the company official policy let look at there hiring application process. In looking at all the hiring options it states nothing about needing to be a christian to work at Chick-fil-a. There is nothing that states states that you have to be straight either. This goes to show that just cause the CEO of company supports on thing does not meant that every one underneath him does. There are many different types of people that work at Chick-fil-a. 

The Facts:

So we know the facts. We now know that Chick-fil-a’s CEO is leading the company to support heterosexual marriage. He uses the money of the company to support other organizations that believe that as well. He personally is not afraid to get involved in the political debate on the issue. 

We now know is that the company stand it to treat everyone fairly. To treat all customers with dignity and respect. 

With this information we can tell that the views and the leadership of the CEO does not necessarily reflect in all accepts of the business. 

So now what: 

So now what do we do? As followers of Christ what should we do? That is a very good question. One thing that we can do is respect the wished of the Chick-fil-a company and leave them out of the marriage debate. This campaign of supporting Chick-fil-a on August 1st is something that we should not participate in. Cause it makes  Now I am not suggesting that you should not eat there either. What I am trying to say is that the whole situation is out of portion. They don’t want to be a “religious” banner they want to be a company that provides good food to everyone. Secondly we as believers can follow there example with is treating every one with dignity or respect no matter who they are. This is a Biblical principal that not only does chick-fil-a follows it something we all should do. 

We need to look at all the facts before we jump on the band wagon. We hear things on the media and we take them at face value. The fact of the matter is that nothing is as black and white as it seems. So let us love and show repeat to every one and let this while thing die down. 

So what do you think I would like to hear your response. 

Millbank, Dan. "Ckich-fil-A and Mike Huchabee: A Christian Food Fight." The Chicago Tribune Opinion . The Chicago Tribune, 27 July 12. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0727-milbank-20120727,0,6897328.story?dssReturn>.

. "Ckich-fil-A:FAQ." Ckich-fil-A.com. Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/FAQ

. "Ckich-fil-A:Careers Guide." Ckich-fil-A.com . Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Careers-Guide>.

. "Ckich-fil-A:Closed on Sundays." Ckich-fil-A.com. Ckich-fil-A, July 2012. Web. 30 Jul 2012. <http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Company/Highlights-Sunday>.

Nothing Works

Recently I have heard a lot about pacifism and how it is the best option to stop pain. My discussions about this topic have left me with a firm belief that pacifism does not work. Now I know a lot of people state that violence does not work either, and they’re right. There is no long term solution. When possible one must find a peaceful solution to a situation. On the other hand, that is not always the option and violence is necessary. I will tell you how I came to this conclusion.

I went to an event sponsored by the philosophy house on my campus at Tabor College. The gentleman was a pacifist and the topic came up on how there would be peace in the Middle East. His statement was, “The international powers need to intervene and split Israel and Palestine up saying here is Israel and here is Palestine. Furthermore we should keep them from fighting till peace happens.” In a nutshell, strip the governments of their rights to govern and force them to get a long. At least there would be no fighting, right? The killing would stop? Nope. When asked how he would do this with out violence he stated, “It is a stupid idea that will never work. The reason being that you would have to do it with out violence.” See even that will not work because to have that work you would need violence. Furthermore taking away the free will of a nation because they can’t get along is not right. Help them reconcile yes, but we do not need to strip them of there sovereign right. So what do you do forcing them to stop won’t work, Violence has not worked so now what?
What if one side stopped fighting and resisted with out violence, slaughter house. There comes a point to where the aggressor doesn’t give a care about what they are doing. Well what about the world; they would care. Nope - there is genocide going on every day in Africa. Hear anything about it on the news? The world couldn’t care less. So where does that leave the nations that are caught in this struggle? They are left to fight, to defend one self.
Trent Voth said give him a million counselors and he could have peace in the Middle East. Nice thought but it kind of hard to do that when you’re dead. Now he would state Christ willingly died to save us and so we should be willing to do the same thing. Christ new that he would save lives. I rather harm one person and save thousands, have thousands killed to save one.
So where does this leave us Christians? In an interesting predicament. When the situation arises it is up to you. I firmly believe violence is the last option and as little as violence as possible to stop the situation. But furthermore it is a matter of the heart; what is the condition of your heart? Why are you committing this act of violence? Is it because of rage or is it because you are protecting people?
Pacifism has not worked neither has violence. Neither of these options are long term solutions. If they were we would be at peace now. So we need to come up with a new solution to the problem. If we really want peace we will find it. Christ showed us freedom and peace comes at the highest price - the price of blood. What will this mean for the world of the future? I welcome your thoughts and comments, please.

Visiting Love

This past week I have been thinking alot about love, and my view on it. As I have said before what scares me the most is the I am scared of choosing the wrong one. A friend of mine stated, "that if there is only one person for you then it is somewhat taking from free will." So as I thought on this I realized that he is write and so have other friends that have said this. I have come to the realization that love has an aspect of choice in it. There are many people that you can love and that are compatible with each other. However you in your life chose to be with this person. The ideology that Christians state that there is only one person for you I believe has caused a lot of divorce. Let me explain the marriage is getting rough and hard well I guess I messed up and this is not the right one, there person then get a divorce to find the right one. This is wrong of course because marriage is hard and it takes work. My parents have had hard times, even thought they were going ot split every now and then, however they have made it work. They reason being is that they chose to make it work. So is there really only one person for you, or is it that there are many people that God has for you, and you chose to be with just one? 

Here is another question I ask and would like your opinion. Is it possible for to people to meet and fall in love but not be ready for a relationship?