Food Fight.

Dan Cathy, grand poobah of Chick-fil-A, has opined that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. If the leader of a chicken empire says it, I guess it must be so. Of course, he's not the only food vendor with opinions on matters of national import: Pizza man Herman Cain had plenty of opinions. If it turns out he's right, maybe we should seek the advice of other food vendors in other things: Want to know what to do about nuclear weapons advances in Iran? Consult with, oh, I don't know, Famous Amos? For the record: I like Chick-fil-A's chicken, and I like Chick-fil-A. Do I like their theology? Not so much. I'm no scientist, but my anecdotal observation leads me to believe that homosexuality is not a choice. Is it a sin? Guess that depends on how you read Chapter 15 in Matthew's Gospel, and how much of the list of "unclean" activities Jesus declared no longer verboten. I'm inclined to believe that homosexuality is not a sin. Although Jesus does mention "sexual immorality" in Matthew, he spent a lot more time putting down the establishment's abuse of traditionally disenfranchised folks than he did peeking under people's sheets. I'm inclined to agree with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Wills
that Jesus would've sided with the outcasts instead of the establishment on that one. I gotta say I'm relieved that I don't have millions of people relying on my interpretation of Gospel, as the leaders of the Episcopal Church and as the Catholic Church, and all the Protestant churches do.

I may not totally agree with the Cathys' politics, but I don't doubt their sincerity. I worked for Chick-fil-A back in the day, both back home in Tampa (thanks to my old Chick-fil-A supervisor, Dan P.,  for the picture at left, circa 1978), and also for the mothership in Hapeville, Georgia. They always treated their employees well, including me, and my experience in the Summer of 1979 (including a "witnessing" story that I might or might not blog one day) is what led me to seek another Christian employer in 1980 (see Alpine Camp for Boys, two posts ago). Dan Cathy is saying the same things he and his family have always said. They're not hypocrites. In fact, his father, Truett, took about thirty of us who were working for the "Blitz team" to his church, bought minibikes for us to ride on his ranch outside of Atlanta, and paid us to go to a Christian seminar, not to help sales, but because he cared about our souls. 


So, will I eat at Chick-fil-A? Of course I will; they make great chicken sandwiches... but I didn't go Wednesday.