Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
September 2014 – In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s magnum opus, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet A on her clothing as a public declaration of her sin, adultery. Modern America has a new scarlet letter – I, for intolerant. Intolerance is the great cultural sin of our day, and many are forced to wear the scarlet I not because they were objectively wrong, but because they stood for their beliefs.
Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, was asked to make a cake for a same sex wedding. He declined for religious reasons. For his intolerance, the state of Colorado is requiring Phillips and his employees to attend sensitivity seminars. Phillips must also submit quarterly reports to the Civil Rights Commission proving he has not turned away customers based on their sexual orientation. Refusal to comply with the penance for his intolerance will land him in jail.
Elaine Huguenin, owner of Elaine Photography in New Mexico, was asked to photograph a same sex commitment ceremony. (New Mexico does not recognize same sex marriage.) She declined for religious reasons. For her intolerance she was fined $6,637. The New Mexico Supreme Court told her that participating in the ceremony, even if she disagreed with it, was her “price for citizenship.”
Baronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Washington, was asked to make a floral arrangement for a long-time customer’s same sex wedding ceremony. She declined for religious reasons. For her intolerance, if she loses her case, Stutzman can be forced to pay over $5,000, write a letter of apology to be published in her local newspaper, lose her business, and (because she is also being sued personally) lose her home.
Dan Cathy, chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, said in an interview that his family supports traditional marriage. For his intolerance, people across the country boycotted the fast food chain, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee all stated the chain was not welcome in their respective cities.
Many in the media and culture told these stories in a way that labeled each business leader homophobic, bigoted and intolerant. Listening to the media, it would seem they turned homosexual customers away on a daily basis. It sounds as though the baker wouldn’t even sell a cupcake to a lesbian, the photographer refused to take senior pictures of a teenage homosexual, and Chick-fil-A refused to sell its delicious waffle fries to a gay couple.
As is common with today’s secular media, facts are often an inconvenient obstacle to their liberal agenda. These cases were no exception. In truth, Stutzman has hired several homosexual employees throughout her 40-year career and had several homosexual customers. She had been serving Rob Ingersoll, a man in a homosexual relationship, for almost 10 years. Stutzman said Ingersoll would come in regularly with ideas for bouquets for his partner. Ingersoll and Stutzman had become good friends who spoke to one another on a first-name basis. It wasn’t until he asked her to celebrate his wedding that she had to say no to one of his requests. Stutzman said when she told Ingersoll he seemed to understand, and the two hugged before he left her shop.
Once he got home, Ingersoll took to social media with his story. It didn’t take long for the state attorney general to get wind of the story and file suit against Stutzman. Shortly after, the ACLU also filed suit. Not content to just pursue her business, the attorney general and the ACLU also filed a suit against her personally, putting her house and personal assets at risk.
Wearing the new scarlet I isn’t enough for Stutzman. Her price may be her 40-year career, life savings and home.
Cathy experienced similar ire. He was asked by Allan Blume, writer for Baptist Press, about his support of traditional marriage. He answered, “Guilty as charged.” He went on to say, “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit … We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that. We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.” Or so he thought.
Days after the article ran in Baptist Press, homosexual activists organized a boycott, and politicians spoke openly that they would do everything in their power to keep Chick-fil-A out of their towns. The culture’s collective anger was in response to company policies of “intolerance.” It was fueled by the company leaders not celebrating homosexual marriage.
And the trend continues.
Dr. Ben Carson, who came to national attention after his speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, wrote in his book, One Nation, that he was invited to speak during a commencement ceremony at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins School of Education.
He decided to withdraw from both engagements because of controversy surrounding his views on traditional marriage. What were his intolerant views? During an interview with Sean Hannity, Carson had said, “Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.”
Because he refused to give any room for the redefinition of marriage, Carson was forced to publicly wear a scarlet I. In his book, he recounts having a discussion with homosexual leaders at Johns Hopkins before he withdrew from the commencement ceremonies. He said he learned two things during the experience. First was the fact that bestiality is particularly abhorrent to the gay community. He said that if he had known that, he would not have brought the topic up at all.
Second, he said, “I asked if there was any position a person could take that did not include approval of gay marriage that would be acceptable to the gay community. After some consideration, I was told that there really was no other acceptable position.” (Emphasis added.)
In headline after headline, Christians are denounced as bigoted and intolerant not because they speak out against the rights of homosexuals to be in a relationship, nor because they seek violence against people different than themselves. They are being forced to choose between violating their convictions in order to keep their businesses, and standing for what they believe in, only to lose everything.
By the end of The Scarlet Letter, Prynne changed the ugly, rough letter into something beautiful by adorning it with gold embroidery. She wore the mark with pride. When visitors came and saw how she served people and how the town respected her, they believed the A was a mark of leadership. Hawthorne says in the book the A’s meaning changed from “adultery” to “able.”
It is time for Christians to begin wearing the scarlet I without shame or blushing. Like Prynne, believers should strive to serve those who seek to hurt. They must exemplify love, especially to those who spew hate. With time, the scarlet I could gain a new meaning: integrity. 
