Does God have a place in sports?
1jesus2bama said 01/21, 11:31 PM
absolutely. i'll wait for a challenger
T-Fo's Las Vegas-style Show said 01/21, 11:40 PM
I accepted this challenge jusst t point out an absurdity. God, whichever God you believe in, has a place in your life. What drives me absolutely crazy is when an athlete gets interviewed after a win, they thank God for the victory. Are you kidding me? Lets accept a few things as givens for the sake of the argument...
1. There is a God.
2. God is all-knowing and all-powerful.
3. God is the creator of heaven and earth and all things in between.
4. God pays very close attention to who wins a football game.
One of these things is not like the others...take a guess.
Each person's faith is a huge part of their life. If an athlete gains a measure of strength and composure from his/her faith, that is wonderful. But...
God does not determine who wins and who loses. If God somehow rewarded true faith, Kitna would have a fistful of Super Bowl rings. I am NOT trying to make light of this topic.
God has a place in the faith of an athlete just as in all of us. God does not care about the outcome of sports.
1jesus2bama said 01/22, 09:00 AM
Colossians 3:23 says "In EVERYTHING you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
It's not who wins, its who gives God the glory because without Him, we are nothing.
If you believe that God has given you talents and abilities, then you should be using those to advance his kingdom, and give him the credit along the way.
T-Fo's Las Vegas-style Show said 01/22, 10:30 AM
I fully understand the athlete who gives thanks to God. Same for when members of BOTH teams join together at midfield for a communal prayer at the end of the game.
My problem is with the concept of God "choosing a side". Do you honestly think God decided that the Giants should win against the Packers??? Do you feel that in God's sense, the Giants players and fans prayed harder or were more devoted to God and thus received divine intervention in the outcome of the game???
I am a Christian. But, I was always perplexed as a high school athlete when our coach would have us drop to a knee and pray for victory. At the same time, the exact scenario was taking place down the hall in the other locker room. In fact, all across America on those Friday nights, thousands of football teams were offering up the same devotion. It just isn't sensible.
God creates each person with their own set of abilities. What each person chooses to do with their abilities is of their own will. God may truly intervene on someone's behalf at times of great distress or turmoil. But to suggest that God is picking winners of sports events is to trivialize God's very being.
1jesus2bama said 01/23, 11:10 AM
Forfeited Turn
T-Fo's Las Vegas-style Show said 01/23, 12:23 PM
Well this is obviously a topic that people feel quite strongly about (14 pages and counting)...
The problem is most only are refering to the Christian God. I do have a problem with those who stand behind our protection of "religious freedom". All too often, these same individuals think that that freedom extends only to Christianity.
Consider, for the sake of argument, those who practice a religion other than yours. Would you be just as comfortable saying there is a place for "God" in sports if , (and lets take it to the extreme here) a Satanist came before the cameras and said "I'd like to thank Satan for the win today"? I think not.
God, and religion has a place within everyone who chooses to believe. If an individual athlete gains strength from their faith, that is their choice. I'll restate it again...God has a place in the athlete, I do not believe that God intervenes in sports - or in wars for that matter. If both sides are true believers, and both fervently and devoutly believe God is on their side, how can there ever be a winner and a loser. I'm told God loves us all - I think that means he doesn't choose sides among the just.
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Comments (271)
T-Fo, you've got guts. Will wait for the arguments, because that's all this really is.
LoveItHateIt | 01/21/08, 11:49 PM
Report Offensive CommentPeople look to a concept of God for inner strength. When athletes are praising God, they are not claiming that God chose them to win. They are thanking their own personal belief in God for giving them the strength to be the best they could be.
Ruby salutes President Obama! | 01/21/08, 11:55 PM
Report Offensive Commentooootay.
NCshvDavid Throwndowns: 1000 | 01/21/08, 11:57 PM
Report Offensive CommentVote to 1jesus2bama...
Big Ben68 | 01/22/08, 12:01 AM
Report Offensive CommentGood point Ruby. But don't give the argument away! :-)
LoveItHateIt | 01/22/08, 12:08 AM
Report Offensive CommentThey could be thanking God for good health / speedy recovery / no one is injured / praying for good behavior on/off field. I doubt God cares about sports, maybe the LA Angels :)
I can't speak for the athletes since I don't know what they are thanking God for
I Like Turtles | 01/22/08, 01:32 AM
Report Offensive Commentyou telling me he dosent determine it..................... 100 years and counting tell me that is a coincidence
woooooo | 01/22/08, 02:09 AM
Report Offensive CommentThis could be argued, but "absolutely. i'll wait for a challenger" isn't the way to go about it. Better come back with something better than THAT drivel.
Cowboys-Celtics-Chisox | 01/22/08, 02:31 AM
Report Offensive CommentHow come nobody flips God the bird when they strike out?
Mike Gwizdala | 01/22/08, 05:24 AM
Report Offensive CommentLooks to me like the votes thus far are going on a belief in God, not arguments.
Cowboys-Celtics-Chisox | 01/22/08, 07:12 AM
Report Offensive CommentAll those voting against me need to understand that I personally have a strong belief in God. I also believe that the outcomes of the challenges in our life whether they are passing a test in school, closing a deal on the job, or winning a sporting event are based upon the content of one's own character.
T-Fo's Las Vegas-style Show | 01/22/08, 08:26 AM
Report Offensive Commentif God exists (highly unlikely), i'm relatively certain that It has more important things to deal with than sports.
fun question: can God make a burrito so hot that even It can't eat it? it's a simplistic question but really gets at the heart of the omnipitance issue.
T-Fo--i agree with your last part there. while i have no problem with people being religious/spiritual (though i am not), i wish people would take credit for their own work. God didn't score the TD or hit the HR for you...you did. take credit for what you did.
thejetstolehome: hiatus? | 01/22/08, 08:58 AM
Report Offensive Commentoh and before peope get on myass about not calling God "He:" it's because if God exists, whatever It is, It completely transcends any concept of gender we have as human beings. there's no way that something that "big," that "powerful," etc. can be pigeonholed into a gender.
thejetstolehome: hiatus? | 01/22/08, 09:01 AM
Report Offensive CommentCowboys-Celtics-ChiSox, when i said "absolutely. i'll wait for a challenger." i wasn't saying "oh, i have the best argument ever and i dare someone to take this throwdown!" i understand how it can be seen as such so i apologize to anyone who thought thats what i meant
1jesus2bama | 01/22/08, 09:39 AM
Report Offensive CommentNice, now we have evangelists doing TDs
Rolo Tony Brown Town | 01/22/08, 10:11 AM
Report Offensive CommentGod doesn't win games for players. Obviously there are "God people" on both sides, it's not like there is a good side and a bad side and God always lets the good guys win.
Cain-Willis. In & Out... | 01/22/08, 10:12 AM
Report Offensive CommentVote to T-fo for making an argument that isn't a gospel, 1jesus2bama - I respect your view and such, you could have debated this better if you didn't include bible verses and statements of your belief.
Bentley00 - Welcome Schenner | 01/22/08, 10:14 AM
Report Offensive CommentI think that God can give athletes peace, and faith in doing the right thing, but I don't think he actually helps one team win a game just because they asked Him to.
Like that adam sandler movie, CLICK, God doesn't 'pause' the world and walk over and move that kids glove so the ball hits him in the face. lol
Cain-Willis. In & Out... | 01/22/08, 10:15 AM
Report Offensive Commentvote to t-fo / I had to go with the better arguement. Simply quoting a gospel statement is not a good arguement. jesusbama - you could have won thisone if you had actually made a more detailed and in depth arguement.
whodeyjb | 01/22/08, 10:18 AM
Report Offensive CommentLook at Tony Dungy, he is a Christian. A nicer person cannot be found. He is an honest, classy, successfull, sincere, great guy. But he didn't even make the AFC championship game this year. Did God forget there was a game? No. I think that God uses sports to spread world peace. How can we go fight canada when they have all the good hockey players?
Cain-Willis. In & Out... | 01/22/08, 10:21 AM
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