Monday, November 12, 2007

Dropkick Me, Jesus

We got to see a complete episode of The Amazing Race last night, and I enjoyed it as much as ever. And one team—the married Episcopal ministers—said something I really appreciated: “We’re very religious, of course, but we have no illusions that God cares whether or not we win this.”

Man, that’s a breath of fresh air.

One of the many reasons I don’t watch sports is that I can’t stand—literally have no stomach at all for—anyone who praises Jesus for getting a ball into a net or over a wall or past a chalk line. Because for every guy Jesus “helped” win, there’s a dozen others he did jack-all for. No one ever blames Jesus for letting him get sacked again and again. He’s either on the team or he’s not—and if he is, then the team you’re playing against are obviously infidels. If not by definition, by deduction.

Football becomes a holy war. The winners are right and just and in God’s favor, and the losers are banished from Eden. If Jesus loved them—really loved them—wouldn’t they have made that field goal?

Nah. Keep God out of games. If we can do that, maybe we’ll eventually be mature enough to keep him out of wars, too.

Rob

6 comments:

Rob said...

Ditto for entertainers. Musicians or actors who thank God in their acceptance speeches instead of the fans who watched the show/bought the album. Those are the real keys to success.

--*Rob

Andy said...

But... If God isn't a Penn State Fan why is the sky Blue and White?

Jeri said...

The Episcopal Church is the last bastion of religious sanity. But maybe I'm just saying that because they're the home team.

As for sports, Jesus doesn't take sides, with one notable exception.

Rob S. said...

Well, I think we can all agree on that.

Andy said...

My grandfather once told me that "the Sacred Heart" was with Notre Dame.

I always wondered what God did when two Catholic Schools played.

Clearly the Big Guy like Boston College more than ND.

Greg! said...

I kinda buy actors, musicans and other artists who thank God for their talents and/or inspiration in general. But I don't for an instant buy that God cares whether they win an award or produce a platinum album. If God did have any interest in awards, the Oscars and Grammys would make sense every year.