@St. Swithin
Let the conservatism grow within you. It feels good to be Right. :)

My conservatism hasn't changed in years. I am just waiting for Republicans to practice some.
And I have always been a sucker for those CFA calendars.

@Lyle -

Where exactly do you get that the Cathy's are trying "to deny others rights and their pursuit of happiness," from the following quote:

"“We are very much supportive of the family -- 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. We give God thanks for that. We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Brilliant

That does bring up an interesting point. It seems that Rahm Emmanuel is quite the hypocrite for not calling out his former boss (Obama) for his stated opposition to gay marriage.

@ Luke
It is due to the biblical "remember the sabbath day and keep it holy." Chick-fil-a restaurants have always remained closed on Sundays.

@Bren -

What's the point of your comment?

1) Prove where Cathy has engaged in any kind of questionably discriminatory activity or has even taken an anti-gay stance. From the comment quoted, all Hoffa sees is a man supporting the traditional family model and its corresponding values. I don't see where he attacks, diminishes, or discredits the LGBT community in any way.

2) The SCOTUS, nor has the legislature, provided the LGBT community with protected class status as of this posting. So there goes that supposition.

3) Why are you inferring that Cathy or his company every received, has applied for, or is anticipating applying for "taxpayer-funded contracts, subsidies, grants, etc" without providing a link to support such a conjecture?

You're becoming about as valuable to the discussion on these boards as morninmist and Bucky.

Bren The so called anti gay stance isnt not a stance at all . Its a Christian view That marriage is between a man and a women . It is the Majority view when you look at every state that puts it on the ballot. It is the view to Love thy sinner but hate thy sin. If this view is foreign to you I wonder what cave you been hiding in all these years. If the the choice in the country is between Christian values or the Liberal Stance of No values I think the American people will make the right choice. This is not a discrimination issue . Chick fil a believes in ALL people but as a private business they are guided by the values of Christians. What if a Muslim owned Chick fil a and practiced his faith would this be an issue? Islamic law teaches that homosexuality is a vile form of fornication, punishable by death. This isnt an issue on the left. Amazingly its Only Christian values. The left attack on Christians and the nations actual foundation of beliefs is astonishingly Ignorant.

Hi Jimmy the Skimmer! Focus and read the last sentence of my comment.

skinnyDUDE, I'm a Christian. My Christian education taught me, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (NIV, Matthew 7:3); "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (NIV, John 8:7), etc.

My takeaway from Jesus' words is that yes, people may do things with which we may not agree, whatever that may be; but if they are not breaking a law we should focus instead on improving our own attitudes and behaviors.

I do confess to a measure of skepticism when confronted with individuals who try to force their version of Christianity on others and who do not practice Christian behavior as an example. Jesus had counsel for people such as these:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." (NIV, Matthew 23:27)

"He replied, Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" (NIV, Mark 7:6)

@Bren -

"Hi Jimmy the Skimmer! Focus and read the last sentence of my comment."

Hoffa did - that's why in his response to your posting, Hoffa opened by asking what the point of your comment was. If you already realized the answers to the hypotheticals that you raised, whereby such answers diminished the significance of the posed hypotheticals into a non-issue, then one has to ponder why you even bothered to make such a comment in first place.

Unless of course you were deceitfully trying to be divisive in perpetuating such unfounded propaganda and rhetoric.

Thus, just as Hoffa concluded earlier, you're becoming about as valuable to the discussion on these boards as morninmist and Bucky.

And that's a fact jack ;-)

The CEO of Chick-fil-a is free to express his opinion ► insert some wild liberal hypothetical lie to frame a story around my desire that he fail

Brenda- You could make a great career at the Journal Sentinel. You already have the format down pat.

Mr. Hoffa, did you write something? I must have skimmed right past it!

@Bren -

If that's the case, then your skimming skills must be so poor, that I honestly can't fathom what good they actually provide you! Studies have shown that those with fourth grade reading level or lower may not possess the ability to effectively skim.

It's OK Bren, some people are just less capable than others. It's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. As you're not an effective skimmer, then Hoffa suggests that you actually commit the time in the future to reading for detail - your takeaway and comprehension of the things you read will be vastly improved!

In fact, if you take Hoffa's advice to heart, I'm sure that it'll reduce your tendency to embrace unfounded conspiracy theories and perpetuate them here on the Patch. Or at least one would hope that with a better understanding, you'd at least vastly reduce engaging in such nonsense!

The truth shall set you free Bren! It'll be like looking upon the world with a fresh set of eyes.

Of course, Hoffa's not rushing to call his bookie any time soon ;-)

Or from Deuteronomy 24:1: "Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes her a letter of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house." (NLT)

How many attorneys would lose income if divorce were still this simple? ; )

Hoffa prefers Mark 13:20 wherein it states "no flesh shall be spared."

Get ready for Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites because Hellraiser is coming soon to an earth near you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgWnbGNClQ0

@jason

Your question is one of ignorance, which liberals often throw out. Cathy is a Christian, which means that he is not bound to the Torah (i.e. Jewish law / Levitical law).

Think about it.

Jason what if Chick - Fil - a was owned by a Muslim .He believed in the muslim teachings and Islamic law. That law forbids Homosexuality and the penalty is death . Do you think the liberal left would say a peep? There are muslim owned Businesses you know.....I avent herd a peep on there views of Homosexuality . Its only attacks on Christians. The country was founded in Christian views so that is why the left hates them. Who really is being intolerent here? Get a clue! You are the one's with the inconsistant views on all matters.

@Jason,

Still waiting for you to inform us why 50% of the religious right should be concerned about Levitical law.........

After all, you wrote with such confidence........

@Brian,

I believe your other questions were answered elsewhere. But in response to your last one, what business is owned by people that are not already selling to people that disagree with them on a regular basis? Is there such thing as a business owner that agrees with everyone? Do YOU agree with everyone?

Finally, most states already have laws that allow privately owned restaurants to kick people out for any reason. But who does it? Most owners want the business.

The Old Testament tells the story of human awareness, the evolution of intellect and the search for purpose--why are we here? The New Testament deepens that exploration, including the introduction of the Savior who provides context and also introduces inclusiveness. Unfortunately, the New Testament also introduces the politicization of Christianity; we see the nucleus of diverging opinions (Peter/Paul), the genesis of a "church" never advocated for by Christ (where three or more of you are gathered together...) and which was doomed to schism.

I'll point out that 1 Corinthians and 1 Romans were written by Paul, who never met Christ; he writes his own opinions and interpretations. Likewise, Luke writes in Acts 6:2, 3, 4: "So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

Jesus never placed himself above others. Therefore, I have long held the view that the New Testament, beyond the books of Matthew, Mark, and John, are apocrypha.

J.B. you are correct. The Christian's job is not to condemn, it is to lead in love. Leading is not forcing. Cathy's opinions do not reflect Christ's teachings.

@Bren
First, please point out in Cathy's quotes where he is being A) forcing or B) non-Christian. He simply stats facts and then thanks God for his family.

You understanding of the New Testament church is incorrect. There was no divergence and in Peter's letters he reinforces Paul's opinions. Since, Peter also writes about he subjects that Paul does, then the writing of Paul is obviously not simply his own opinion and therefore able to be dismissed. Not to mention that entire Christian church recognizes Paul's writing to be as inspired as the rest of the bible.

As for your ideas on the politicization of Christianity, please explain. As with most subjects, you appear to only have half the story and yet speak from a position of authority.

J.B., I was responding to your comment about "Christians," in terms of leadership/forcing. I understood your comment to be generalized within a religious subset rather than Cathy's specific opinions. If I misunderstood, my apologies.

I do not believe that my interpretation of the New Testament is incorrect. The schism between Rome and what became Constantinople/Byzantium, due to theological disagreements, came to an early head over the words of the Nicene creed as early as A.D. 381 (2nd Ecumenical Council). Arianism was not yet resolved, discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, and the fact that the 2nd Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople. Peter and Paul were definitely the two "personality stars" of the early Christian Church.

As far as all Christianity revering Paul's words, that is true. There are also synods and faiths that worship what they call the "literal" Bible; that is to say as printed. It is known that edits were made to Bible texts in both the Old and New Testaments to make them more interesting (such as the addition of camels to trade routes which did not occur until much later than the time of writing), etc. A number of Books originally included in what was called the Bible were removed at points (apocrypha).

I surmise the other "half of the story" is where I agree with you? ; )

The federal 'protected classes' laws prohibit employers and business from discriminating against people based upon the following grounds:

Race
Color
Religion
National Origin
Age
Gender
Familial Status
Disability
Veteran Status
Genetic Information

You'll notice that sexual orientation is not on the list.

Of course, there are always exceptions, such as in tv/film/stage acting, etc.