Throwdowns > Closed

Saint T-Fo 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.

Saint T-Fo 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.

Saint T-Fo 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.