A Slice of Intolerance

We are called to maintain a good conscience before God, and recognize that we may encounter suffering as we seek to uphold the truth of Christ. Here are some words from 1st Peter 3:
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit...

The Bible contains the tools by which we can train our consciences - we can know what pleases God and what does not; we can discern the difference between right and wrong; and we can experience the direction of the Holy Spirit as we yield to His instruction.  In the quest to live the Christian life, we have powerful resources, and even when we encounter opposition, we can be reminded that Christ suffered for us - He is our powerful friend and ally as we may face ridicule and hostility in this world because of our faith.

+++++

While the Christian life offers us the opportunity to experience God's unlimited love and abundant joy, He does not promise us that life will necessarily be easy at all times. That's the point driven home in 2nd Timothy 3:
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them...

Perhaps by now you are familiar, or at least have heard about, the plight of a pizza shop in a small town in Indiana.  It's called Memories Pizza, or at least that was the name when it was open.  To my knowledge, it's closed now, and I hope they reopen.  I'm pretty sure they won't deliver to Montgomery, but if I'm ever in that neck of the woods, I might have to stop by.

Memories Pizza is owned by a Christian father and daughter named Kevin and Crystal O'Connor. Recently, in the midst of the hubbub surrounding the bill passed by the Indiana state assembly intended to protect the religious rights of individuals and businesses, the media, marching lockstep with those in the gay activist community, "discovered" this pizza store in a town called Walkerton, outside of South Bend.   I want to share some points made by Al Perrotta on TheStream.org website - he had read a piece on The Hill website, which said:

“If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,” Crystal O’Connor of Memories Pizza in Walkerton told the local ABC affiliate on Tuesday.

Perrotta writes:

Catering choices aside, a more serious question came to mind: How would that local ABC affiliate come to know the RFRA position of a tiny pizza shop in the middle of nowhere? Did Memories Pizza post it on their Facebook page? Boldly declare it with a Tweet? Post a picture of a rainbow-colored pizza with a slash through it on Pinterest? Did a local call up complaining about a sign on the door, “No Traditional Marriage, No Service”?

Curious, I followed the link to the original news report on ABC57 in South Bend. What a stunning exposé, not of Memories Pizza, but of how the media work. We know about Memories Pizza because, anchor Brian Dorman informs us, “we went into small towns tonight” to get reaction to the RFRA and found one business “just 20 miles from welcoming South Bend that has a much different view.” We haven’t even gone to the live remote yet, and already we’re told these folks are unwelcoming.

Then, as Perrotta says, the story cut to reporter Alyssa Marino, who claimed to have gone to several businesses.  He poses the question,"Why didn’t we get to hear from them? Easy. Their answers didn’t fit the narrative."  But, then he relates that Marino hit pay dirt at Memories, where she found a "Christian business — though curiously not one usually associated with the wedding industry — willing to answer a hypothetical in a manner fitting the media storyline."

The graphic ran: "Restaurant denies some service to same-sex couples." There were reportedly shots of crosses and prayers on the walls.  Kevin O'Connor, the father, is quoted as saying, "That lifestyle is something they choose. I choose to be heterosexual...They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?”

Perrotta wrote in this story, published last Thursday:

Beat over the head is right. Since the story aired Tuesday night, the Memories Pizza entry on Yelp! has been deluged with hostile reviews. Almost 2,000, as of Wednesday evening – in a town of only 2,248. Before Tuesday, the pizza shop had been only given two reviews on Yelp total.

How's that for love, tolerance, and acceptance?   Why are the people who are supposedly against "hate" so "hateful" toward people with whom they disagree?  Oh, and by the way, as even the liberal-leaning Daily Beast reports, Mr. O'Connor said, “I don’t have a problem with gay people. I do not condone gay marriage and that’s what I said,” adding, “I don’t turn anybody away from the store, I don’t have a problem with gay people. I just don’t condone the marriage.”  Oh, and O'Conner has never been asked to cater a wedding.

And, then we have the high school coach that tweeted out, according to LifeSiteNews.com, "Who's going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza w me?” It goes on: “Agree with #FreedomofReligion bill? "That's a lifestyle they CHOOSE" Ignorant"

Well, be encouraged by the response to help the O'Connors, who had closed their doors in the midst of the controversy.  Talk show host Dana Loesch helped set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign, and she reported last Friday that, "A total of $842,387 has been raised because of your generosity." She says that GoFundMe will now work with the family, and a respected financial advisor has agreed to work with them.

And, I do want to refer to a survey from WPA Opinion Research, the results of which were released by the Family Research Council during the recent NRB convention, where I had a chance to talk face-to-face with Aaron and Melissa Klein, who face heavy fines because of their polite refusal to provide cupcakes for a gay wedding, Craig James, who lost his job at a regional Fox Sports network due to comments about his support for traditional marriage, and David and Jason Benham, whose Christian views resulted in their loss of a cable network reality show.   The survey found that, "the overwhelming majority, (81%) of Americans agree that government should leave people free to follow their beliefs about marriage as they live their daily lives at work and in the way they run their businesses."

The Daily Mail website reported that the pizza place was scheduled to reopen today.  I think it's possible that a repeat of "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" could be occurring in Walkerton.

What a story!  I do feel for the O'Connors and what they have had to endure.  No one should face denigration for what they believe - and that includes people of faith who have made a Biblically-informed choice to support traditional marriage and who believe that homosexuality is a sin.

But, I think that there is a human tendency, that perhaps not all of us possess, to retaliate against those with whom we disagree, those who have wronged us, and those who speak harshly to us.
In the flesh we want to lash out, we want to win, we want to uphold our right to be right.  But, in the Spirit, God is calling us to a different walk.  In life, the important thing is not about winning, but about glorifying God - if our point of view wins the day, so be it, but we have to make sure we are being faithful to Christ.

And, that may involve taking a strong stand on controversial issues.   Who would have thought even 10 years ago that marriage, real marriage, one-man-one-woman-one-flesh marriage would be "controversial"?  But that is how the culture has evolved, or should I say, devolved.   I believe that marriage is one of those key, foundational issues that should be protected and defended.

Finally, when we stand, perhaps we will receive opposition, or even as Jesus said, persecution. And, in the midst of this type of suffering, we can rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and our words.  In a society that generally has grown more hostile toward people of faith, a society that has become more willing to embrace ideals that do not line up with Scripture, we have to make sure we are properly aligned with God, living by the Word, praying in the Spirit, and devoted to truth.