My first post was deleted by the miracle of modern technology, so let's try this again...
Yes, I will be going to support Chic-Fil-A on August 1st. But before some of you start to judge me and call me a "homophobe," you need to understand where I'm coming from...
Admissions:
1.) Yes, I agree with Dan Cathy that marriage is a union between a man and a woman only. I've shared before my views on the difference between marriage and a civil union. Governments can make whatever rules they want to about civil unions, because government is authority on that. But when it comes to marriage, the only authority on the issue is God.
2.) Yes, I think Dan Cathy has every right to say what he wants, and he has every right to decide whether or not his business will support a political or social movement. It's freedom of speech. It's the same freedom that protects those who burn American flags in protest, write entire books on how on president or the other caused the decline of American power, and make jokes like "the opposite of PROgress is CONgress." But don't take my word for it. Read the Constitution. I promise you, it's in there.
Clarifications:
1.) I AM NOT A HOMOPHOBE. I do not agree with the LGBT social or political platform, but that does not mean I think they are somehow sub-human. I think they are regular people just like you and me. I've had co-workers and friends who were gay, and we got along great!! I even went out to eat with one of them on a monthly basis. And no, those outings were not so I could convert him. Those outings were so we could hang out and enjoy the company of friends. I'm a fan of George Takei. I don't agree with his social and political ideas, but I still like him, because he shares the funniest pictures on Facebook, he was Hiro's father in Heroes, and he was Sulu in Star Trek. His sexual orientation is only a small part of who he is, and I think that is the case with everyone, heterosexual or homosexual.
2.) I AM NOT LIKE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH. As I said before, civil unions are determined by the government. And if the American people vote to extend the rights of a civil union to same sex partners, then as an American citizen, I am obligated to honor that decision. I will not be one of those people with a picket sign at a gay wedding, screaming how America is going to burn because of what's happening. I won't change my opinions on the issue, but I will honor the voice of the American people.
The Real Reason:
I'm supporting Chic-Fil-A because I don't like the fact that the Boston mayor thinks he can block Chic-Fil-A out of "his" city. He is a government official. It's his job to represent the people, not his own interests. If he personally wants to boycott Chic-Fil-A, then he and his family and his friends may choose to do so. But it is wrong for him to try and use his influence as the mayor to try and block a business. That's called discrimination, which is kind of the main reason we wrote the Constitution in the first place.
So yeah...."EAT MOR CHIKIN!!"
Keep Soaring,
Branson
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Batman and the Body...
I never meant for this blog to be a rant blog, but it seems like the only time I sit down to write is when I have a bone to pick. Note for the future, write about more positive things...
Concerning the tragedy that occured in Aurora, CO, last night, my head's been in a weird place. It was hard for me to sit through The Dark Knight Rises today without jumping at every person that stood up and went to go to the bathroom. I get on facebook and see the response. Scott McDaniel, a free lance artist whose drawn a lot of the Bat family over the years, puts up a special Bat symbol with a ribbon in memory of those who died. I thought it was cool, so I started to look and see what other people have done. I find a thread of discussion where these people, most if not all of them professing Christians, are discussing everything from how this will affect gun control to how comic books are evil to whether or not the killer was possessed.
At least 12 people died!!!! Are we so heartless that we waste time debating meaningless points when people are hurting?!? This is a time to shine as lights in a dark world, to be the body of Christ like we're supposed to be!! But no, we can't do that, because it's really important to decide whether or not a man in custody is possessed or not.
I think we're possessed...possessed by our own self-importance and fallen nature. We must be if we can so flippantly dismiss the pain of others because we want to prove a point about theology or gun control. We must be if negative comments about society and comic books come out of our mouths when people around us are hurting.
Something's wrong, brothers and sisters. We are not the people of God we should be if this is the best we can do when tragedy strikes.
I'm done.
Keep Soaring,
Branson
Concerning the tragedy that occured in Aurora, CO, last night, my head's been in a weird place. It was hard for me to sit through The Dark Knight Rises today without jumping at every person that stood up and went to go to the bathroom. I get on facebook and see the response. Scott McDaniel, a free lance artist whose drawn a lot of the Bat family over the years, puts up a special Bat symbol with a ribbon in memory of those who died. I thought it was cool, so I started to look and see what other people have done. I find a thread of discussion where these people, most if not all of them professing Christians, are discussing everything from how this will affect gun control to how comic books are evil to whether or not the killer was possessed.
At least 12 people died!!!! Are we so heartless that we waste time debating meaningless points when people are hurting?!? This is a time to shine as lights in a dark world, to be the body of Christ like we're supposed to be!! But no, we can't do that, because it's really important to decide whether or not a man in custody is possessed or not.
I think we're possessed...possessed by our own self-importance and fallen nature. We must be if we can so flippantly dismiss the pain of others because we want to prove a point about theology or gun control. We must be if negative comments about society and comic books come out of our mouths when people around us are hurting.
Something's wrong, brothers and sisters. We are not the people of God we should be if this is the best we can do when tragedy strikes.
I'm done.
Keep Soaring,
Branson
Sunday, July 15, 2012
I await the words that You say...
Got a lot on my mind this morning. There's a lot that the Lord is dealing with me about. Things that I've always known, some things I am only recently understanding, and some things I never will understand. My head fills like a suitcase that someone tried to pack too many clothes in, and I'm trying to sort through it all to find out what's necessary and what I can just let go of.
I've been going through a complete paradigm shift in my faith. It started three years ago, but it has really been going on the past year. Not to worry, I still hold to my faith in Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. I still hold to being saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. I still believe that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself to man, and that anything anyone claims to be from God, if it truly is, should be in alignment with what the Bible says. I just wonder if some of the things in churchdom we hold to so dearly today are really all that important in the eyes of God. Or, even worse, do they actually hinder our growing relationship with God?
It's been no great surprise that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for people who left the church because they were hurt by the church. I still have all the posts from my Advocate for the Outcast blog saved. But when I sit down and talk with these people and discover what it is that hurt them, I'm ashamed. Most of the time, they weren't sent away on matters of doctrine and theology. They weren't in the middle of grievous sin and were held accountable to it. Most of the people I see that leave the church leave it because what they hear preached and what they see do not go together. I won't discuss them in detail here....no one would have the time to read it. But I have to say....I really couldn't defend us to them, other than to say, "We're not all like that."
I think of my son, and how I am supposed to be a representation of God to him. When he sees me, he is to see an example of how a follower of Christ should live. And I fear for what my example may show him. I don't want to teach him a Christianity where geographical location on Sunday and financial support of an institution is all there is to following Christ. That shouldn't be the end all and be all for him. I want him to have a faith so powerful that it spurs him on to live for the Lord. I want to see him so amazed by God's power that he falls to his knees in worship. I want to see him so desperate for God's presence that he closes himself off in his room so that he can read and pray. I want to see his faith affect more than what he does on Sunday. And I have to face the realization that, unless I model that for him, he may never know what that's like.
I covet your prayers. I seek the Lord's wisdom as to what my response should be, what changes in my life I need to make. I seek the Lord's wisdom as to this paradigm shift, and whether or not its Him drawing me close or my own head getting me farther away. I don't want to take one step without knowing its in God's will. But at the same time, I don't want to miss an opportunity to live like God intended me to.
Keep Soaring,
B
I've been going through a complete paradigm shift in my faith. It started three years ago, but it has really been going on the past year. Not to worry, I still hold to my faith in Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. I still hold to being saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. I still believe that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself to man, and that anything anyone claims to be from God, if it truly is, should be in alignment with what the Bible says. I just wonder if some of the things in churchdom we hold to so dearly today are really all that important in the eyes of God. Or, even worse, do they actually hinder our growing relationship with God?
It's been no great surprise that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for people who left the church because they were hurt by the church. I still have all the posts from my Advocate for the Outcast blog saved. But when I sit down and talk with these people and discover what it is that hurt them, I'm ashamed. Most of the time, they weren't sent away on matters of doctrine and theology. They weren't in the middle of grievous sin and were held accountable to it. Most of the people I see that leave the church leave it because what they hear preached and what they see do not go together. I won't discuss them in detail here....no one would have the time to read it. But I have to say....I really couldn't defend us to them, other than to say, "We're not all like that."
I think of my son, and how I am supposed to be a representation of God to him. When he sees me, he is to see an example of how a follower of Christ should live. And I fear for what my example may show him. I don't want to teach him a Christianity where geographical location on Sunday and financial support of an institution is all there is to following Christ. That shouldn't be the end all and be all for him. I want him to have a faith so powerful that it spurs him on to live for the Lord. I want to see him so amazed by God's power that he falls to his knees in worship. I want to see him so desperate for God's presence that he closes himself off in his room so that he can read and pray. I want to see his faith affect more than what he does on Sunday. And I have to face the realization that, unless I model that for him, he may never know what that's like.
I covet your prayers. I seek the Lord's wisdom as to what my response should be, what changes in my life I need to make. I seek the Lord's wisdom as to this paradigm shift, and whether or not its Him drawing me close or my own head getting me farther away. I don't want to take one step without knowing its in God's will. But at the same time, I don't want to miss an opportunity to live like God intended me to.
Keep Soaring,
B
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