Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Sportin' a faith

We've talked about Christian athletes on this blog before. A friend sent me an interesting article yesterday. Click here and have a read - then come on back. There is so much fodder here to discuss, it's hard to know where to start.
The writer's perspective?
The "science" of faith?
Self-control and discipline a product of what?
American evangelism?
Sheesh. Any thoughts?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My first thought while reading this article was how sad that the author views prayer, Bible reading, and religious adherence as merely a means to create a more disciplined athlete. Secondly, unlike the author, I am so glad that God does not differentiate between what prayer is more worthy than another for his attention. What a great God we serve who is interested in the tiny minutia of our lives, whether it be the situation in Darfur or whether it be performance in a high school sporting event. Lastly, I have a concern regarding athletes or others in the spotlight who make public displays of piety despite their blatantly disrespectful behavior. In that instance, I would prefer that they remain silent.

Maureen said...

I don't have a problem with public displays of faith....God is so rarely displayed positively on television...but there is an inherent danger in professing your Christianity in a public arena.

When our son was a senior he played football against the local Christian High school and after the game told us that they were the dirtiest, most foul-mouthed team he had played against all season. So when the gun signaling the end of the contest went off and the team gathered around to thank God for their win....he and his 'public school' teammates were a bit confused.

I realize that trash-talking is a part of the game of football (or so I've been told) but if that is the reality, then please save the 'Jesus praising' till you get in the locker room because it reeks of hypocrisy.

Maureen said...

And ditto on anonymous's comment....

"I am so glad that God does not differentiate between what prayer is more worthy than another for his attention. What a great God we serve who is interested in the tiny minutia of our lives, whether it be the situation in Darfur or whether it be performance in a high school sporting event."

Well said!!!