Well, Super Church Sunday was Awesome!

United States
February 4, 2013 2:17am CST
Yeah. After CBS turned players into the Flash, and after the abysmal halftime show and the power outage, the Super Bowl still managed to turn out pretty good. And for the post-game, well, I suppose that was good too, if you're a Christian. There were prayers and players thanking god and singing his praises and saying that god wanted them to win, etc, etc, etc. I'm not bothered by this, mind you. I just find it funny at times what people attribute to their god. What? No one for the 49ers is religious? [i]"Hey, coach, why didn't y'all win?" "We don't believe hard enough." [/i] With "god" this and "god" that, it got me to wondering. Now, I suppose there will be a few troll atheists up in arms about this, taking to the blogosphere (if they haven't taken there already), complaining about this. I don't wish to lodge a complaint. If people believe and want to express those beliefs, they're not hurting me. But I always wonder at times like these how mainstream America would act if the views expressed weren't views they agreed with. So, for instance, you, the average American religious citizen, might not even blink when you hear something like "god willed it to happen," as you probably fundamentally agree. But what if it was "I'm thanking no god for this; we did it on our own." Would that offend? "There is no great god" or something along those lines. Or, Pete forbid, the players dropped Allah's name 905 times instead of the Christian God's name. Would you feel a little peeved and emphatically proclaim that this is "God's country" and that, while they're "free" to say it, it still bugs you? Would you say--or possibly think--that the atheists and heathens were out to brainwash your children? I already know the answer to this by and large. I actually live in America and am not blind nor deaf. I'm just wondering how many people will bother to satisfy my curiosity with honesty. Congrats to Ray Lewis. Good note for him to retire on. But I do think it's insulting to other Christians playing for the 49ers, Patriots, Broncos and Colts that Ray-Ray's stance is that God wanted his Ravens to win more than other teams. I don't picture God rooting for Lewis, much less for a team from Baltimore, but that's just me.
1 person likes this
7 responses
bestboy19
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
4 Feb 13
I can't imagine any football player, whether he's atheist or not, saying he doesn't thank any god because they (the team) did it all on their own. I believe they would leave God out of it all together. As far as God wanting the Ravens to win, I wouldn't think God would get involved in any game. A more appropriate praise to God would be to thank Him for the abilities He has given the players and for keeping them strong and in good health.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
"I can't imagine..." Maybe not. For me, I can't imagine why people would go to that level in proclaiming that their god destined the win. I wouldn't expect a nonbeliever to get up there and slam god or religion. It would be stupid. I'm just curious as to what the reaction would be if, instead of saying something about god, they would say "no god" or another god that isn't the majority of America's god. Ben Roethlisberger (mighta misspelled that) said in an interview a while ago that, "If you can look at a baby being born and not believe in god, something's wrong with you." To which there was nothing said of note about the statement. It's fairly innocuous, and the majority outweighs the minority. Guys like me know that I'm surrounded by a majority of Christians, and I don't rightly care that Big Ben insulted me and basically called me stupid because I don't believe. But had that shoe been on the other foot; had someone had the misfortune of seeing a child born with a defect and said, "If you can watch this and believe that god exists, there's something wrong with you." Well, I just can't help but to be curious as to the reaction. He would probably be chased out of football and hounded in America until his extended 15 minutes were up. So I can't help but to be curious. Just once I'd love to see a player stand up there and say things in reverse to see what the reaction would be. To many atheists, the god you guys believe in isn't a good, loving thing. We don't need to get into all that; suffice it to say that many believe religions like Christianity and Islam foster hate and bigotry and indoctrinate children. So while it's a freedom issue, and while very few people really gripe about it, I just wonder how cordial Christians would be if the shoe ever winds up on the other foot. My guess: Not so cordial. Thanks for the response.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
So you're saying that if a kid's sick, tell him a story to comfort him? Well, I'd much rather give him medicine to comfort him, tell him he's loved, tell him he will be okay, tell him to be strong to try to pull through, etc. Some others might refuse him all that and preach the wonders of God to make him perhaps a little less bummed out about dying. That person may become a saint one day, no matter how sadistic I personally find it. Ola, Agnes. And, I'm sorry, I'm not vain or quite cruel-hearted enough to believe that maybe some god is making that kid suffer in order to open my eyes. That's sickening. You know I love going back and forth with you in these types of discussions. It helps me cure boredom when work is getting tedious. But I won't be responding to any type of nonsense like this again. Using a dying kid to make your point and saying that maybe this kid was made to suffer to save someone else makes what you stand for seem eviler than ever to me, so much so that I can't wrap my head around how or why an individual would have that thought process.
iuliuxd
@iuliuxd (4453)
• Romania
6 Feb 13
Look here put these things inside your system of thinking : 1)God exists 2)He promised all his followers eternal life in the Kingdom of heaven which is not from this world (universe) 3)He said : "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." Now judge someone`s suffering according with these things.
Fatcat44
@Fatcat44 (1141)
• United States
4 Feb 13
I personally feel God is natural on things like this. Why would he want one team to win over the other? This doesn't make sense to me. I think it is more that people who believe, but do not understand, say things that are not correct, but they try. The statement could be more like, "thank him for the talents, and the abilities, and helping us be safe while playing." This fits in better.
iuliuxd
@iuliuxd (4453)
• Romania
4 Feb 13
Nice, they should also have a chapel in each target area.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
Well, this is what always confuses me about people who believe. See, Ray Lewis might say that it's you who's not understanding right, and that his faith in his god rewards him. Faith, no matter how much it's in the public arena, is always personal. Ask 5 people what or who "God" is, get 17 different answers. But each person will say that their way is right, primarily because their way has to be right. There's no reward for being wrong, but one hell of a punishment. For me, what fits better is to keep personal faith personal. But I don't mind that people make it so incredibly public. I just often wonder what the reactions would be if Allah or Thor were praised instead of the Christian God. Thanks for the response.
Fatcat44
@Fatcat44 (1141)
• United States
6 Feb 13
Jesus reverenced the Jews who would laminate in ash and rags so other people would see them publicly, and to make other think they were so religious, while their heart was far from it. Praise god in your heart and don't worry about the public. If you will be rewarded justly. If you the public reward, that is what you will get, just that. The book "the Mansion" written by Henry van Dyk* (mylot won't let me write his name) explains it very well.
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (157691)
• United States
7 Feb 13
I am not offended by them speaking of their personal faith, I am a Christian. I have heard of athletes who worshiped in other ways. I am in the same boat with you though in that I do not think God chooses up sides in sports. I believe that God puts certain natural laws in place and allows things to happen. If you train well, and are in good health, you will demonstrate athletic prowess, no matter who you play for. Maybe it would have been in better taste if people would just be thankful for what God gives them in the way of ability and being a team member, and not assume that their victory means God favored them. Not sure I am making sense here, but I guess mostly I am saying that I get what you are saying.
Heather Echola
@GardenGerty (157691)
• United States
7 Feb 13
I know that even though you were raised in a Christian home ( I believe that is what you said once) that you are not a believer at this time. I find this public display of religion to be no less "sad" than both sides of the Civil War proclaiming "God is on our side". God is on the side of righteousness, not teams and armies. He sometimes uses "foreign" armies to prove his point. I do not claim to know what Gog thinks of us, but sometimes I am pretty sure he finds us to be pathetically funny. I see nothing wrong with a football or other sports person being thankful to God for his health and abilities, but as you say, there are Christians on both sides, and probably Muslims, Buddhists, and Bahai and Pagans and atheists. So I get what you are saying.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
7 Feb 13
Yeah, I know a few Muslim athletes, and I know of a Buddhist athlete or two (possibly). But I don't know any other athlete except for Christians who wear their religion on their sleeve, like a Tim Tebow or Ray Lewis or Tony Dungy (former coach), etc. That's not to say it's a Christian thing to be outspoken. It's just that it's rare to find people that outspoken, but it's incredibly common to find a Christian athlete. So it's a numbers game. I do suspect that there would be many Christians who wouldn't care. But I also know--and I'm willing to say "for a fact"--that there would be some outrage brewing if the Christian God were insulted or if Allah were put in its place. What gets me partly in this is that I do find it to be rather insulting to the other Christians whose teams the Ravens en route to a Super Bowl championship. If you're a fervent believer, it has to be a little like salt in the wound. But maybe they hold the opinion that it's just bloviating. Thanks for the response.
1 person likes this
Christoph56
@Christoph56 (1504)
• Canada
4 Feb 13
I would bet that the loosing team's manager would be saying more of, "God has bigger plans for us, and this is just a stepping stone..." Would have been crazier if they just said, "God didn't like us." Or I wonder what would have happened if just one of the players was thanking Allah rather then the Christian God? Something tells me they wouldn't have stayed on the team for long... There is one good thing that goes into religious people on the same sports team, and that is comradery. When they score a point, they all get together and thank the wonderful power that got them there, when they loose a point they all get together to fight off the evil of loosing... either way, it keeps them together more, and there's this compassion they have for eachother because they don't see it as something they did, they see it as the power of everything coming together for them. Of course, it could have been allah, it could have been vishnu, it could have been Charles Darwin... but I guess in this case, they were thanking their own God.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
If Allah was thanked instead of the Christian God, I'm assuming that person wouldn't be treated well throughout the league. They might not be run out. Two very famous basketball players, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Rasheed Wallace, are Muslim men. But they're also not really outspoken. I don't hear them praise their god in interviews. So maybe they have an inkling that it wouldn't go over well, or maybe they just aren't the types to make their faith public. There are a lot of Christians in sport who also don't make their faith public. The ones who do just happen to be Christians it seems like. So, maybe they would be chased out if they went public with Allah. I really don't know. But I am curious to find out! As I said to bestboy up top: For many people in America, "God" isn't a loving thing. It's a bad thing. It's a thing they want to keep their children away from and want out of their lives. But very, very, very few people mind to the point of protest when they hear it in public. I just have a feeling Christians wouldn't take it lying down so well. Thanks for the response.
iuliuxd
@iuliuxd (4453)
• Romania
4 Feb 13
I will be fine if i hear someone saying " I`m thanking no god for this" even if that is already too much atheist crap for a football game.It sounds like someone is asking you to thank god and that makes you mad. "We worked hard and we won because of that, there is no reason to say thanks to any supernatural being" sounds much better. "There is no great God " also sounds weird, it`s like someone asked you if there is any God. so who won on this mentioning God game ?
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
4 Feb 13
Ravens won. Apparently they believe harder than the 49ers. And the point I was trying to make is in an American context. You might not be aware of the inane horsecrap that happens here in public dialogue about religion. Like, for instance, if someone calls a tree a "holiday" tree instead of a "Christmas" tree, a lot of people get up in arms and insist that atheists are trying to take their god away. But the atheists aren't saying "We demand to call it a NOT-Christmas tree!" But that's the way it's presented. So, in this context, I'm just asking what if those dirty, rotten, children-indoctrinating atheists did put it like that and actually gave Christians cause to think that their god was under attack. Since you're a believer, you probably don't view a hundred different prayers and praises as pushing beliefs on anyone. But I know already from many discussions with you that you believe people NOT believing as you to be pushing their beliefs on everyone just for the simple fact that they exist and dare to speak in public. It works in reverse as well. A lot of nonbelievers feel as if religion is being pushed on them. Most don't care. Only some gripe about it. But the correct rebuttal would be "no god" or a different god instead of simply failing to mention the Christian God. Maybe you'd have to YouTube Ray Lewis' comments to understand what I mean. Not sure they'd be up yet. You might be fine with it catching it on the TV, though I doubt it. You don't seem fine with it when that type of subject is broached on myLot. And I coulda used a lot of different examples and not just those particular phrases, hence "etc, etc, etc." But I just used the "no god" in response to the hours-long sermon which took place. It's just one view and lifestyle that obviously doesn't offend Christians vs. other views and lifestyles which obviously do offend Christians. So, what if? It's expected and ignored when all praise goes to God. But I just want to know how panicked the country would be if it went to no god explicitly or to Allah instead. Thanks for the response.
teotimoponcerosacena
@teotimoponcerosacena (1552)
• Philippines
5 Feb 13
Their reactions is part of human functions to be emotional. They won because they are worth of the winning.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
Yeah, I'm not knocking them for being emotional and praising whatever they want to praise. It doesn't get under my skin. And it doesn't get under anyone else's skin either, but probably because most in America believe as they believe. Thanks for the response.
Hopefull90
@Hopefull90 (921)
• United States
4 Feb 13
I have been under the opinion that God's doesn't approve of competition so I don't think he helped the winning team to win. They were just better.
matersfish
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
6 Feb 13
That last statement is my thought on it too. They were the better team. As to the first statement, I wouldn't know anything about that. Thanks for the response.