What would She say?

She'll let her intercessors deal with soccer, for She plays the game they play in heaven.

If rugby is "the game they play in heaven", then I would rather end up in the other place when I die. Anyway, today's prayers are "In Guus we trust".

I value Alan Matheson's comments . I like sport and I have been trying to work out what it is about this current World Cup fiesta that bothers me.

Sport is good, the competition can be healthy but somehow it so easily gets mixed up with nationalism, winning at all costs , putting down the other side, complaining about the umpiring etc.

It's easy to make fun of the last century focus on 'playing the game', learning to lose graciously and being humble in victory. However, I think that we were taught back then some values and attitudes towards sport which have been lost somewhere as sport has become more professional and as it has become more used by politicians as a way of identifying with winners and a a way of boosting our 'national identity.'

I find myself often questioning the whole idea of nationalism, which is after all a relatively recent phenomenon in world history. At our church recently we have been asking the question, Can one be a disciple of Christ and an enthusiastic nationalist?

Am I taking this all too seriously or is there really something a bit perverted in our fetish to be true Australians and to name things we don't like as un-Australian?

Perhaps God will scratch His head, roll His eyes, wonder where the heck He went wrong then go and water His radishes.

As soccer is based on rules, what is gradually happening worldwide with soccer is something the Americans the way they are going will never achieve in the next 100 years, that is fair play.

Just read in the latest Guardian how George W' has become like the earlier British Georges who routined the right to override laws passed by the legislature. According to journalist Martin Kettle, on April 13 the Boston globe journalist Charlie Savage wrote a report whose contents become more astonishing the more one thinks about it. President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 Congressional laws since he took office. But much worse than that - he changes the laws after he has given the okay with his signature.

You can bet your life that the above filthy strategy has not come from Georgie Boy alone but from low-class looking
offsiders like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Co, whom going by camera shots you would not feel like inviting through your door.

Certainly any American President or his retinue who tinkers with the US Constitution like this should be liable for impeachment even more than Tricky Dicky Nixon.

Finally, it might be suggested that because our Johnny Howard is even out-playing the 19th century statesman in this neo-age of Anglipholic imperialism, we might
wonder if he also has the above heinous tricks up his sleeve?

>>President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 Congressional laws since he took office.<<

bushbred, this is hardly a new position for US Presidents to adopt.

There is a famous David Frost interview with Richard Nixon dating from 1977 that went:

FROST: So what in a sense, you're saying is that there are certain situations, and the Huston Plan or that part of it was one of them, where the president can decide that it's in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal.

NIXON: Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal.

FROST: By definition.

NIXON: Exactly. Exactly. If the president, for example, approves something because of the national security, or in this case because of a threat to internal peace and order of significant magnitude, then the president's decision in that instance is one that enables those who carry it out, to carry it out without violating a law. Otherwise they're in an impossible position.

Savour that: "when the president does it that means that it is not illegal"

http://www.landmarkcases.org/nixon/nixonview.html

The noble principles of sport, teamwork, fair play etc. are like those of religion, respect for fellow man, compassion, tolerance etc.
It seems that all these principles would be wonderful if ever they were applied by their followers.

I found the fact that the Brazilians were praying for "That which brings most glory to God" and similar comments, such as the Germans asking us to pray for spiritual renewal etc... exilarating !

Such prayers/sentiments are entirely Biblical and in harmony with our Lords words and life.

B4 I read the article, I had the misguided impression they were just praying for victory.

There was much to rejoice about in the article. Perhaps some would not have tweaked to it, but clearly there is a world wide one-ness of spirit and heart emerging, seeking to break down the moral barriers we have constructed between our Creator and ourselves.

I urge all readers (myself included)
to seriously consider their position b4 God, in relation to Christ, and to take to heart Pauls words in Romans 12:1-2

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is followed with a bit of good advice for all of us:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Let 'The World' carry on careening on its downward slippery slope to Hell, but why be a part of it ? The more of us who turn from its ways, to God, the better.

"Wide is the road and easy is the way ....that leads to destruction"
said Jesus.

I sometimes wonder Boaz whether you actually read the articles published here before you use them as a trampoline for your own inimitable brand of home-town evangelizing.

>>There are prayer books, prayer calendars and prayers for multi million dollar clubs and players, but hardly a thought for the 300,000 dead and six million displaced in Darfur!

In fact there’s a pervasive silence on any kind of evil and sin, let alone the evil that surrounds a World Cup.<<

How does that sit with your twee observation:

>>There was much to rejoice about in the article. Perhaps some would not have tweaked to it, but clearly there is a world wide one-ness of spirit and heart emerging, seeking to break down the moral barriers we have constructed between our Creator and ourselves.<<

Or perhaps you chose not to read right to the end of the piece, whose last half dozen paragraphs quite comprehensively skewer the pretentious guff about the Brazilians' prayer meet that preceded them.

It is a form of intellectual blindness. You do not see the serious point made about the hypocrisy of it all, because it doesn't fit into your world view, much like those hapless South Sea islanders who, it was reported, could not see the visiting ships because they had no means by which to process the signals their eyes were sending to their brain.

Have a great day.

Thank you Pericles, I was wondering if I had read the same article as Boaz.

So how does God, Allah or whatever, allow such a potentially wonderful game to go on with such fundamental flaws? Doesn’t God strive for perfection, or don’t people strive for perfection in God’s name?

Why the hell do people across the world allow the ‘beautiful game’ to be so often enraging to its devoted fans, so inadequate, so unfair?

How can God, or people in God’s name, allow a situation where single dodgy refereeing decisions can frequently decide the outcome of a game? How can they not advocate the use of remote video playbacks and remote umpires in order to get important decisions right? How can they allow the game to be so low scoring that one goal very often decides the game, and lesser teams can often win totally against the trend of play? Why isn’t the goal bigger so that the scoring is higher, so that the better team has a much better chance of winning? Why is the game, which can get really boring due to low scoring and long periods bland ball-passing midfield, not livened up, when its very purpose is to provide entertainment? And a bucketload of more questions.

It seems that either God cherishes chronically flawed human pastimes that exhibit extraordinary unfairness and frustration….. or there is no connection whatsoever between soccer and religion….or there is no God!

Alan Matheson,
I can understand that you may be offended by these religious outbursts, influenced from your history as a Church Minster, but there are some things that it seems you are not quite coming to terms with. These football players earn a living from their line of work. They are good at what they do and it is why they have the respect of many around the world. It is also a fact that these players have made it to the top and stay there, because of their dedication and passion for what they do. It defines them as athletes and as people, and if this is what they are earning their living off, then they wish for complete success in it. The people as a whole get actively involved with it and as well hope for nothing more than their team to win, which results in chants that have religious significance like the one you shared. We as Australians are a great sporting nation, and I take great satisfaction out of our achievements considering our population ratio. I believe you are looking too deep into matters that are not necessary such as Nike and the prostitution as the football is not at fault for it. Nike for example, is a separate business that chooses to market through the soccer. Once more I understand you may be offended at the religious references these athletes and people are making, but they mean not to be blasphemous or in any way belittling Christianity.