Starbucks Quotes

If you have gotten a cup of Starbucks coffee in the last couple of years, you have probably noticed that they each have quotes on them about any number of things. I have become fond of reading them since they often say thoughtful things even if I do not always agree with them. Recently, however, I had an experience that made me question the degree to which the corporate leaders within Starbucks are simply using these quotes to push THEIR views onto us rather than simply giving a platform to a diverse range of intelligent voices.

This story involves three statements I recently found on Starbucks' cups. I was getting a cup of coffee, and they had run out of the sleeves they put on them to keep you from burning your hands. The employees at this Starbucks simply stacked a cup into a cup instead to provide the same affect. As usual, I looked to see what the quote said. One cup was "The way I see it" #250---"In reality, hell is not such an intention of God as it is an invention of man. God is love and people are precious. Authentic truth is not so much taught or learned as it is remembered. Somewhere in your pre-incarnate consciousness you were loved absolutely because you were. Loved absolutely, and in reality, you still are! Remember who you are!"-Bishop Carlton Pearson (Author, speaker, spiritual leader, and recording artist.

Well, if you didn't care for that one too much, check the one that was on the other cup out. "The way I see it #247"---"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."--Bill Scheel (Starbucks customer from London, Ontario. He describes himself as a "modern day nobody")

Finally, the third quote that I saw was the one I had the most trouble believing. This statement was actually in smaller print on the bottom of both cups. "This is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks."

Just curious, do YOU believe the third statement? Have you read a quote from C.S. Lewis on one of their cups yet? Martin Luther? Augustine? Jesus? I'm pretty sure they have a fairly large pool of pithy quotes to choose from that would make great points regarding the existence of and awesome nature of God. Interestingly, when I mentioned this to a friend, he informed me that he had heard something about this, though he had not seen the actual quotes yet. He then informed me that there was an ongoing campaign to submit quotes to Starbucks to print on their cups that might serve to balance this seemingly one sided approach to that teensy little belief that 90% of us have in God. The web address is www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit if you're interested in submitting your personal favorite quote. I know I'll be visiting it quite frequently. Please do so respectfully and remember we represent Christ in the way we say things as well as the things we say.