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Not everyone living in NC is Christian. While I respect everyone's belief and their right to run their businesses as they see fit, I avoid the religious hyperbole like the plague.
this isn't about the number of those who are Christian, it is about those
who ARE.
Not everyone living in NC is Christian. While I respect everyone's belief and their right to run their businesses as they see fit, I avoid the religious hyperbole like the plague.
You are correct, and you are certainly afforded the opportunity in our free market to do business with the companies you wish.
While our founding fathers did not wish to have a state established religion, they did all believe in a God or universal creator, they believed in something much larger than themselves. 'The Providence of God' is a phrase which is frequent in early documents.
The businesses in the article are small, and NC is a right to work state.
People can choose to work there or not, and the owner is free to run his business in such a manner.
Just curious if the people complaining ever eat at Chick-fil-A, or do you also avoid it like the plague?
How refreshing and encouraging that a business owner doesn't just want your money, but feels the need to share the Good News.
If you don't like his message, then you are free to not use his services, it is not that complicated.
And this is far from a Christian thing.
The Charlotte Jewish community is very tight knit where people who worship at the Temple together do business together.
Same for the Charlotte Greek community.
Nothing wrong with this, IMHO.
And it is this religious tribalism and close-minded xenophopbia that underlies virtually every major confilict in the world today. If you can only be "saved" if you accept Christ as your saviour, if only the Jews are the "chosen people", if there in "no God but Allah", how are we supposed to all get along. (Never mind the schisms between Protestants and Catholics, Reform Jews and Chasidic Jews, Sunnis and Shiitess.) Even if you profess openmindedness, deep down you believe people of other faiths are at best misguided, and at worse heretics.
LoveMountains, I didn't go to your website, but I will agree that living amoung Christians is definitely what makes our area the very best place to be. No, most Christians will be the first to tell you that they are not perfect, but it is so nice being around those that are at least trying to be.
I don't know what businesses are listed but I had a root canal that acted up and with most businesses I would have been paying for the fix, but my Christian dentist paid for mine to be fixed. I did not expect him to, and felt a little uncomfortable that he did, but he insisted. My husband was really happy about it.
moderator note:
Im trying something new Im turning a blind eye to this or any other controversial threads that pop up this year. I will be moderating for personal attacks but i'm not your nanny if you dont like
this thread in the Charlotte forum then do yourself a favor click that x in upper right corner.
It is up to the original poster to manage her thread and try to keep it local.
It can be done it was done in this thread //www.city-data.com/forum/charl...ork-sorta.html
all the best
HAPPY VD!
"Not sure this is warranted.
I respect and acknowledge your different faith or complete lack thereof.
And it is the 'Christians' that are close-minded? Hmm."
Had I been the original poster, my remarks may not have been warranted. Had I created a new thread entitled "Theists are morons", I would fully expect responses such as "this isn't the place for this", or "take your hatred elsewhere".
And yet, the original poster was essentially saying "Isn't it great how people overtly express their religious doctrines". And apparently it was posted with the expectations that there would be nothing controversial about the post.
Therefore, I have the right to respond and express MY opinions on the subject. I consider theism to be hideously immoral. Sorry.
The Constitution provides safeguards for people to believe as they want, while protecting people from having the religious viewpoints of others foisted upon them.
You have the right to believe anything you want. Don't be surprised if you elicit resistance if you try to shove it down other people's throats.
Just curious if the people complaining ever eat at Chick-fil-A, or do you also avoid it like the plague?
I do not eat at Chick-fil-A for this very reason. I strongly uphold everyone's rights to free speech and religious freedom. The owners have every right to run their businesses the way they wish.
I dont have a problem with business owners advertising their beliefs in some way, except when it might spill over and affect employee rights. That is why I would advise my clients to stay "religion neutral." If it is a sole proprietorship or a company where only family members work, then no one else is affected. But you get on a slippery slope when you bring any type of "expectation" into the mix if employees are affected/involved.
Religious beliefs already affect businesses more than folks may realize unless they have been on the human resources/operations end of management. For ex., some folks can't work on Saturdays. Now how do you handle that upfront with an employee who is expected to work on Saturdays? And is that fair to other employees to hire someone who never has to pull Saturday duty? And what about folks who need to take time out of the day to worship/pray? How do you integrate that into what is fair with break time for everyone in the company? So religious beliefs have to be very thoughtfully approached (and respected).
The place where we should all be concerned about remaining "religion neutral" is with the laws of the land. There is supposed to be a separation between church and state in this country. I think we sometimes get it mixed up as far as what is moral and what is a dictate or tenet of a particular religion or particular branch of a religion. One can be moral and not be religious. :-)
But back to folks who enjoy professing their faith in a public way. I am just not going to judge that unless it affects employees in some potentially adverse manner.
I base my judgment about a business's reputation solely on performance. But if they wish to have their public "persona" be based on a religious affiliation, I surely am not going to reject them b/c of that, either, or assume they are "using" their religious affiliation to hide behind.
And let's face it: many folks like dealing with others who share their general beliefs, something that is very common in smaller towns all across the country (not just the South). By that I mean - it could be something as simple as knowing a person is a big supporter of high school sports, if that is dear to your heart, or that someone is a regular volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. All these things become our public persona and for a small business - part of their business promotion. One should not assume that this is done just for "marketing" reasons . . . but neither should one assume that a person who has an Ichthus on their car is the best person for the job, lol!
Doing business w/ someone you know shares your religious belief can be comforting to a lot of folks - just as it can create skepticism for others.
Ani, as you do on a regular basis, you offer a clear neutral response that doesn't flame or incite one way or the other (which a majority of posts on both sides of this thread do).
Hey, lets face it, very rarely is one going to change their opinions on this subject (just like politics).
I think the point that many on here fail to acknowledge is that we are ALLOWED to put a cross or a star or any type of religious symbol in this great country of ours (unlike N Korea or China for that matter). Everyone claims that their religion is "best" but again, the main thing is that the government won't persocute us for our beliefs or non-beliefs.
If we weren't allowed that freedom, all this would be moot!
And it is this religious tribalism and close-minded xenophopbia that underlies virtually every major confilict in the world today. If you can only be "saved" if you accept Christ as your saviour, if only the Jews are the "chosen people", if there in "no God but Allah", how are we supposed to all get along.
Just curious if the people complaining ever eat at Chick-fil-A, or do you also avoid it like the plague?
Hmm. Last time I went to one of these establishments, I didn't notice any signs, crosses or anything else that would give an indication as to the religious nature of this place. It's not an equivalent situation. If anything, it's an example that you don't have to be a walking billboard for your religion 24 hours/day.
I rarely eat in this restaurant mainly because I find the sandwiches extremely dry and bland. It's a bit ironic as every church dinner that I have been to had people who knew how to fry up a chicken. This bit seems lost on Chic-fil-a.
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