MORE and more professional sportsmen in the US are falling under the malign spell of evangelical ministries.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna leading others in prayer following an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)
According to the author of a book entitled Onward Christian Athletes, high-profile expressions of piety by athletes have become routine in pro sports.
Tom Krattenmaker said:
Some love it, some really resent it. The comedians have a field day with it.
Krattenmaker, according to this report, says the problem is that these sportsmen are reaching a sporting public with increasingly pluralistic religious convictions, or no religion at all.
There are many secular fans who really feel annoyed by that kind of religious expression. Even people who are religious themselves often resent this situation where athletes talk about God in this big moment of victory, sometimes seeming to imply God gave them the victory.
But Tennessee Titans All-Pro center Kevin Mawae said his Christianity is part of who he is, and he can’t separate it from his life as an athlete or anywhere else.
The fact that some people are jaded toward religion or faith shouldn’t stop a player from expressing his faith in public.
There’s no intent to alienate people, only to share Biblical truth, said Vince Nauss, president of Baseball Chapel, which provides chaplains to every major league baseball team.
If there’s an exclusivity, it’s because Jesus put it out there. So I don’t think there’s anything to apologize for, or to dance around in a politically correct environment.
Krattenmaker said evangelical ministries have a near-monopoly in pro clubhouses because they seized the chance, then won the teams’ trust by not exploiting their access. Other faith groups simply haven’t done the work, he said.
The conservative Christians got their upper hand in the sports world the old fashioned way. They earned it.
He isn’t asking pro athletes to stop talking about religion, just to be more sensitive in their tone and timing.
Retired NBA guard and 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, an outspoken Christian, said when athletes publicly talk about Christianity, it’s often just a reflection of the joy of the faith.
When people are excited about something, they want to share good news with people.
In the 1997 NBA playoffs, Ward was suspended after being part of an ugly brawl with the Miami Heat. In 2001, he apologized after saying Jews were “stubborn” because they didn’t accept Christ and had “blood on their hands.”
Ward said he knows that not everyone doesn’t want to hear about his faith. But he said Christians are also exposed to messages in the media they don’t want to hear, and there’s a quick solution.
They can turn off the television.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna leading others in prayer following an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
December 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Justifying blatant insults to the sane, intelligent and educated on the ground that a hunchbacked dwarf psychopath “put it out there” is like justifying antisemitism on the ground that Hitler “put it out there.”
December 19th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
“The fact that some people are jaded toward religion or faith shouldn’t stop a player from expressing his faith in public.”
I absolutely agree with this.
December 19th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
meh. never liked sports anyway.
December 19th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
So if Team A is praying for a win, and Team B is doing the same how does God decide whose prayer to grant?
” The fact that some people are jaded toward religion or faith shouldn’t stop a player from expressing his faith in public.”
Agreed. But how many of those people are the type who insist LGBT people should remain “in the closet” so as to not offend them?
December 19th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Well, pro-athletes are not known for their reason, intellectual capacity or rationality.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Well said Buffy! It’s another case of “We must be free to act just as we like, and if that annoys anyone else – tough”.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (are); for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men…But thou , when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” (Matt.6:5-6)
December 20th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Just like any other public religious display, it’s a form of evangelism
December 20th, 2009 at 9:54 am
It is particularly worrying to see black people so enthralled by Christianity. I know many evangelicals who will state privately, but not usually in public now, that the black people were cursed by God: “Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he (Noah) said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem: and Canaan shall be his servant.” (Gen.9:25-26). They believe that the African nations were also descended from Canaan, and that that is the reason for their black colour, though just why the other descendents of the same man were NOT black I never found out!
December 20th, 2009 at 10:14 am
This was a great thread:
http://thebeattitude.com/2009/.....fan-of-the orlando-magic-just-ask-dwight-howard/
(PS Dwight Howard is BLACK!)
December 20th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Here are three more interesting links:
http://proudatheists.wordpress.....licly-why/
http://proudatheists.wordpress.....gers-town/
http://proudatheists.wordpress.....ayer-case/
December 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
You can’t really take a ‘sport’ seriously when the rules are changed to ensure the periods of play are so short that there’s room for a profitable ad break every few minutes.
On the other hand, taking a cue from that nice open-minded Christian ‘sportsman’ quoted above, sports so constituted have a built-in weakness. Enough people switch off, bored of watching superstitious throwbacks run about for 30 seconds then pray for five minutes, and the sponsors walk too. End of problem.
Rugby – now that’s a proper sport, and as we’ve seen in the last few days alone, one where such attitudes are long gone.
December 20th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
How about this: If you want to be annoyingly religious and credit your god for the win, that’s fine, but you forfeit the right to train, talk to the coach, or have other players on your team, because you’re saying FUCK YOU to anyone who did any real work to help you win.
December 20th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
BTW Why do people always close their eyes when they pray? I know from personal experience that you don’t actually see any of these spirit beings when you do this – or perhaps THEY do?
December 20th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Lets see the team A is praying for Team B to lose.
These prayers are suppose to work…Jepus said so.
So Team B also believes in jepus but does not pray for the Team A to loose.
It can be claimed that is Team A wins then they cheated by having outside help and not using their on skills.
I think the mafia should put a hit on jepus for influencing the team performance levels and off setting the odds.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:53 am
You never hear: “We lost, so… Fuck you God!”
December 21st, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Praying for a win in sports is OMG, WTF really outrageous!! CAn they really believe God cares if one team wins over another, Gimme a break!!! Maybe they should pray that noone gets hurt that would make more sense. But all in all it’s crazy at best.
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Thank you for bringing up this subject. I have for a long time hated it when sports people do the sign of the cross, and then blow a kiss up to the skies. Who do they think they are, the chosen people. I say that if there is a god as they say there is surely if he is lisening to them he hasnt time to hear the prayers of the poor he is too busy watching .Sky’ tv up in his heaven.