YOU ARE
NOT BEING
PERSECUTED
MORE ADVENTUROUS
by Jessica Novello
WHY SHOULD
THE CUPS BE
ADORNED WITH
MESSAGES OF
CHRISTMAS?
friend showed me a video last
night of a loud, aggressive,
“Christian” man claiming that
the new holiday Starbucks
cups were an intentional
movement on behalf
of Starbucks to take the “Christ” out of
Christmas. Now, Christians all over are
equating this act with persecution because there aren’t any overt references to
Christmas on the cups.
Yeah, I’m being entirely serious. I could
not wrap my mind around the argument he was trying to make. Red cups
are persecution? He also commented
that Starbucks employees are banned
from saying “Merry Christmas” and that
Starbucks “hates Jesus.” Those are some
pretty lofty, completely unfounded claims.
I’m not writing this because I love Starbucks or I want those sweet, sweet Creme
Brûlée lattes protected: I’m writing this
because American Christians need to stop
claiming that they are being persecuted.
Starbucks is a company. It is run by
a CEO. It is composed of almost two
hundred thousand employees who work
in stores all over the world. Corporations
aren’t religious. When we all die and get to
those pearly gates, I don’t think Starbucks
will be standing alongside Chick Fil A
waiting to hear if they get to spend eternity
worshipping the good Lord. The people
who compose the corporation can be
religious, but in and of itself, the corporation is not. Why should Starbucks honor
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one faith above another, when it is not a
religious entity? Why should the cups be
adorned with messages of Christmas?
What about Kwanzaa, Hannukah, or
Mawlid? These are all holidays that are
incredibly important to individuals from
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