tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539489919646511982.post8628577180724847771..comments2023-10-26T07:01:49.446-07:00Comments on Gripped by the Gospel: The Michael Sam Story: Brothers and Sisters, We Must Be ConsistentAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04123085767463069982noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539489919646511982.post-9613415358854992172014-02-15T08:50:24.839-08:002014-02-15T08:50:24.839-08:00Pastor you hit the nail on the head. I think hypoc...Pastor you hit the nail on the head. I think hypocrisy is a big one when it comes to sports which all Christian men should really stop and evaluate themselves I being one as well. Like the NBA is a big one for me yet I know that I celebrate my favorite players and teams and these men are publicly sinful men... At the end of the day I think we should five God the glory for his diversity and blessing these men with the talents and genetic uniqueness they possess and when guys like Michael Sam or any other athlete publicly displays their sinfulness to the world Christians should stand up and declare Christ. I personally do not like the fact that ESPN is stoppin regular programming for breaking news about a man "coming out of the closet". They didnt stop regular programming to allow Michael Jordan to get up and declare he loved women has a wife and new born twin girls.. The honosexual agenda is crazy in America right now and there is a lot of hypocrisy going on and we should be filled with mercy grace and love as well as be compelled to declare the cross of Christ to a dying world.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12772277248501443891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539489919646511982.post-74897321820019511072014-02-14T10:55:27.854-08:002014-02-14T10:55:27.854-08:00The rest of your article I understand and totally ...The rest of your article I understand and totally agree with such as the "winning is all that matters" portion and the main premise of the article which was summed up in the last paragraph. Maybe just some clarification your 3rd and 4th paragraphs. I like blogs for this reason :))) Andrew C. Ayershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064090305608559636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539489919646511982.post-15008165451193090962014-02-14T10:48:24.358-08:002014-02-14T10:48:24.358-08:00Maybe the word "root" or "cheer&quo...Maybe the word "root" or "cheer" here needs to be defined. In a sense I "root" for Barack Obama. I "root" that he would make godly decisions and lead our country in the right direction. I "root" that he would know true morality and Jesus Christ specifically. I laud him when he makes a good decision and protest when he makes a bad one. I cheer him for some diplomacy, but I boo him on homosexuality and abortion. I think maybe here you are defining "root" or "cheer" as worship. As the Psalmist cheers when justice goes forth he also laments when justice is perverted. He worships God alone. Likewise I cheer when any sort of true morality breaks forth in our country, but I boo and weep when it is perverted. <br /><br />You see, I root for no man in a particular way. I see no man as morally good and therefore I cannot root for even Peyton Manning in this respect. I do not "root" for the Broncos as a whole, in and of themselves, and say what good boys they are. I cannot root or worship Peyton Manning in and of himself. The degree to which Peyton Manning reflects Christlike character is something I can encourage and something I can worship God for, but I cannot even give Peyton Manning the credit for this. However, I can boast and cheer in the cross of Jesus Christ. <br /><br />I think that football shows the Church the enthusiasm with which we should cheer and root on Sunday morning. The secularists worship football in a way which looks attractive. I think the Church's worship should put college student sections to shame. And I think it does if we would let it. Maybe we can all lift our hands in worship a little more,and do it a little less at the game.Andrew C. Ayershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064090305608559636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5539489919646511982.post-55505972382793006132014-02-14T10:46:45.803-08:002014-02-14T10:46:45.803-08:00Pastor Ryan,
Thank you for the blog. I've bee...Pastor Ryan,<br /><br />Thank you for the blog. I've been waiting to hear how orthodox Christians would respond to this. I agree with your call for consistency. However, I think I personally need to understand how better to proceed forward with this issue. You said above:<br /><br />"Before we cry out against the homosexual boast of a would-be NFL draft pick, let us consider the log in our eye that cheers for players who are boasting of/committing sins that aren’t made public (because those sins are either [a] not head-line worthy – but "just the way it is in the life of a famous athlete" – or [b] not made known to protect the athlete committing those sins as well as the organization he represents). Even worse, sometimes we cheer men whose sins are made public (I'll refrain from listing examples for brevity's sake). Would we wear his jersey if we knew he was a serial adulterer? a man who regularly gets drunk? a man who who sometimes verbally or physically abuses his wife/girfriend? who is addicted to illegal drugs? Would we, as Christians, cheer him during the fall any different knowing such things? This requires pensive thinking in our hearts and regular conversations in our local churches – and maybe even repenting for many of us whose enjoyment of pigskin competition has blinded us to such hypocrisy (I being one). <br /><br />I think I understand what you are saying about sin that isn't made public. For example, oftentimes rampant greed and power trips are dismissed as the "free market" or "capitalism" . I see this often on ESPN and in popular culture about this "going and getting mine" attitude or when athletes or other people of renown by cars that cost more than a persons total net value. It would be impossible to keep up with the spending habits and lifestyles of major athletes on an individual basis. But I understand when you say that we endorse these things with a blind eye, as a whole.<br /><br />My question is should I endorse the Broncos for having Von Miller in their lineup? Obviously his character over the past year isn't to be lauded. Am I to be a patriot if there are certain people in America who misrepresent it and are just as corrupt as athletes? I used to root for Bruce Irvin at WVU and he had character problems in the past and currently with Seattle. Have they repented? I don't know. I find that when I root for players on Saturday or Sunday I root for them in particular with regard to the outcome of the game. I say that they made a "good tackle". In a sense I root for a player because he is a "skilled tackler" not because he is a morally good, skilled tackler. I think if one is going to be consistent about the issue of not rooting for players or organizations that contain bad morality in this way, across the board, they may need to boycott Football as a whole.<br /><br />Andrew C. Ayershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064090305608559636noreply@blogger.com