I wonder if part of the extreme reaction to (CFA president) Dan Cathy’s words aren’t necessarily from what we already knew (that he is Christian, that he opposes same-sex marriage, that he runs his company by Biblical principals), but from the words he chose, that people advocating for same-sex marriage are “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.”
“As it relates to society in general I think we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake out fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” Cathy said. “And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about.” *
It smacks of Pat Robertson and others who place the blame for things unrelated at the feet of a this or that group of people. It also smacks of folk who continue to insist that America is / was a Christian nation, and that somehow our state / federal laws are all derived purely from the Bible or that Christian standpoint.
Does that make sense? I’m not saying that this is exactly what was intended, or that this is what people are reacting to, but this is what I take from the articles I’ve read in a couple newspapers since last night (I’ve been completely out of the loop on this). Nothing else about the situation surprised me except the extreme nature of Cathy’s comments regarding God’s judgement against America because gay people want the right to be legally married.
It seems that there would be a more graceful way of saying: I (and by proxy, my company) oppose the right for gays to be legally married.
But even as I type that, irony washes over me as I begin to wonder, “Which company will be FIRST to come out and say, ‘We completely support gay marriage! Come, eat our chicken sandwiches instead!!’”
McD’s is my bet.
*(I took Cathy’s quote from this article in the Washington Post: http://goo.gl/3LC0A)
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(an aside): The question of marriage in America in regards to this issue seems to come down to whether we’re a religious (Christian) nation or not. If we are, then by golly, we shouldn’t let gay couples marry. But if we’re gonna champion equal rights for all (and most other areas that are controlled by the government are, at least in theory, set up this way), then gays should be allowed to marry.
Are we a Christian nation? No. Therefore, gays being allowed to marry in America should not come down to a question of religion.
