What Chick-fil-A Said and Didn't Say

      Dan Cathy, COO of Chick-fil-A, stated very plainly that he subscribes to the Biblical definition of marriage first revealed in Genesis.

     “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they (the two) shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24

     The word ‘wife’ is from the Hebrew ishsheh which unequivocally means female.

     The above verse was subsequently reinforced by Jesus Himself as well as the Apostle Paul.

     What Mr. Cathy didn’t say was that he condemned any other position.  He just stated where he stood on the matter.  Perhaps he had additional teachings of Jesus in mind when he spoke.

     “Judge (condemn) not, that you be not judged (condemned).  For with what judgment (condemnation) you judge (condemn), you will be judged (condemned)…”  Matthew 7:1-2

     While many believe the issue is political or a matter of freedom of speech, it is clearly an example of religious persecution.  Such persecution is to be expected according to Paul.

     “…and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” 2 Timothy 3:12

     Mr. Cathy did exactly as the New Testament teaches, i.e. he took a stand for Biblical principles without condemning those who don’t.

     “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  Let all that you do be done with love.”  I Corinthians 16:13-14

     “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…”  Ephesians 6:13-14

     The Greek term for ‘stand’ in the above has many synonyms including steadfast, continue, endure, persist, and remain.  Mr. Cathy no doubt realized God would be pleased with his stand.

     “If you are reproached (reviled) for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” I Peter 4:14

     Mr. Cathy, being knowledgeable of the scriptures would be confident that the persecution he experienced would be reckoned with in due time.

     “…since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation (affliction) those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest…” 2 Thessalonians 1:6

     Thus Mr. Cathy has done well according to the Bible.

     There are several interesting subsidiary issues accompanying the Chick-fil-A story.

     The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, the former Whitehouse Chief of Staff in the Obama administration, announced nationally that Mr. Cathy’s values were not the values of the people of Chicago.  Therefore, Emanuel clearly acknowledged that he and the people of Chicago were either unaware or didn’t care about Biblical teachings.  Does he really think he is better off by coddling Louis Farrakhan?

     And how about Tom Menino, Mayor of Boston.  Mr. Menino wanted no part of Chick-fil-A in Boston but was more than willing to court imam Yusef al-Qaradawi to build a mosque in his city.  Yusef al-Qaradawi believes that gays should be stoned.

     Even the ACLU sided with Chick-fil-A.  There is no doubt Mr. Cathy was well within his first amendment rights.

     President Obama, a self professed Christian, began his presidency by espousing the Biblical definition of marriage.  However, just three months ago he changed his mind on gay marriage and openly voiced his support for such.  There will be those who will say that the President’s change of heart was politically motivated to stimulate his base.  A recent Pew Research Center study indicated an overall increase in favor of gay marriages, i.e. 48% favor while 44% oppose compared to 2004 statistics where only 31% favored while 60% opposed.  According to the study 65% of democrats currently favor gay marriage while 29% oppose.  Republicans on the other hand favor gay marriage by just 24% while 70% oppose. 

     The bottom line is that Christians had better prepare for religious persecution to increase drastically.

      According to the Bible there will be a steady decline in reliance on scriptural teachings until God’s patience runs out as it did with Israel prior to their deportation to Babylon.  Israel’s problem?  They strayed from God’s commands and thought they could do better on their own.

     Note: My blog has been reactivated in an ‘easier to read’ format.   Comments welcome www.bibleandcurrentevents.blogspot.com