Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

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   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

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   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

CHICK-fil-A, boycotted by LGBT+ communities for years because of the millions it donated to anti-gay hate groups over the years, got mercilessly lampooned in the 2018 movie, Night School, featuring Kevin Hart, above, who plays a character called Teddy.

After its release, faith-based Movieguide warned readers that the film “isn’t appropriate for children or young teenagers”, and added:

Teddy’s job at a restaurant called Christian Chicken has him wearing a chicken suit while holding a sign out front that says its food is “heavenly,’ and yelling ‘Honk once if you love chicken, honk twice if you love the Lord!’

There’s also a scene where he tries to break free from taking part in an employee prayer circle. This scene and the restaurant’s overly happy Christian boss sometimes appear to be mocking Christians.

Chick-fil-A now faces another boycott, this time by conservative Christians who are having conniptions over what they perceive as a radical change of direction by the company.

Figuring large in the row is a photo posted to Facebook of what Christian Post described “as an effeminately dressed male employee named Tavion” He works Chick-fil-A Thibodaux in Louisiana.

Those who claim that Chick-fil-A—which was ousted from the UK in 2020 following protests—had suddenly gone “woke” used as evidence the fact that the Atlanta-based company had apppointed Erick McReynolds, Vice-President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

To bigots, those last three words are like a red rag to a bull.

Image via Facebook

CP reported that, less than a week ago, missionary Spencer Smith, above, who describes himself as an “independent fundamental Baptist” questioned the Christian fast food chain’s new values.

Many of his 13,000 followers who reacted to his sharing of a post on his Facebook page raised concern about Chick-fil-A’s commitment to conservative Christian values after he asked: “What is going on with Chick-fil-A?”

He further asked in another post on Tuesday, in reaction to the company’s statement on diversity, equity and inclusion, if the leadership of the popular fast-food chain had gone gay as well.

The New York Post, in reporting on conservative Christian discontent, quoted a statement on the company’s website, which says:

Chick-fil-A, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the company said.

We make employment decisions on a non-discriminatory basis and remain committed to maintaining work environments free from any form of harassment.

The company added:

One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together. When we combine our unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging, we can discover new ways to strengthen the quality of care we deliver: to customers, to the communities we serve, and to the world.

The site quoted McReynolds, who said he is:

Committed to ensuring mutual respect, understanding, and dignity everywhere we do business.

The Post pointed out that, in 2019, the company stopped donating money to groups that were opposed to same-sex marriage, but two years ago Esquire reported that while the company did stop funding hate organisations, its devout Christian founder, billionaire Dan Cathy did not.

Justin Kirkland wrote:

To say that Cathy isn’t Chick-fil-a and that Chick-fil-a isn’t Cathy is asinine, especially considering America’s recent inability to separate man from business. A man’s product is as good as the man himself.

Beyond that, I don’t have any more words for Chick-fil-a, to be honest, because as Maya Angelou famously said, ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’ I don’t go to Red Lobster looking for Italian food, and I don’t go to Chick-fil-a looking for moral high ground.

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If you spot any typos in this report please notify me at freethinkered@aol.com