Archive for the ‘Christianity’ Category
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
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editor’s note: if you came to this page wondering if playing poker is a sin, might I suggest you read my post on that exact topic?
Is poker a sport? Honestly, I don’t know. They do put it on ESPN. But then again, they put “Who’s Now” on ESPN too, and that had as much to do with sports as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have to do with winning. Sport or not, it does involve competing, and if you know anything about the game of Poker, you know that it can make for some riveting television.
If you spent any time over the past 5 years watching televised poker, then you probably know who Daniel Negreanu is. He’s the quirky Canadian player who loves to talk at the table and has a knack for reading other players better than most. One thing you might not have known is that he is a Christian.
Aaron Todd, on his blog “Gaming Guru”, interviewed Negreanu in 2006, and said of Negreanu’s conversion:
A few months after they started dating, Negreanu’s wife Lori mentioned that she was a Christian and she felt it was important for Negreanu to explore his faith. He read A Case For Christ by Lee Strobel, and when he finished, he felt like there was “no option other than believing.”
Like he does at the table, when it came to the idea of a Christian making a living by playing poker, Negreanu had a lot to say:
“There is no reference anywhere in the Bible, not one scripture that says gambling is a sin or gambling is wrong,” Negreanu says. “There are sinful things that can come out of a love for money. If you have an addiction to money and a love of money, yeah, that’s sinful, but that doesn’t have anything to do with gambling per se. You can do that if you’re a businessman or a corporate man who is just hording his money and not sharing.
“The way I look at it, it’s not how you make your money — as long as you’re not doing anything to cheat people or hurt others — it’s what you do with it. Certainly I’m going to be at a poker table with people that shouldn’t be there — where gambling has become a problem. I think gambling only becomes sinful when it becomes a problem in your life and it impedes your walk with God or with your family. From my perspective, if I’m playing with these people that are going to lose their money anyway, I can turn (bad) money into (good) money.
“It’s no different than being a stock broker. How does one believe gambling is a sin and that playing the stock market isn’t? What is the difference? You’re making an investment on something you don’t really know what is going to happen with. You do your research, like you research a poker hand. You say ‘Well, I think this has expected value, I think I will make money with this hand.’ But you don’t always, sometimes you have some bad luck or you get the wrong read. When you research a business, you say ‘Well, I think this stock is going to go up,’ and make an investment in it. Sometimes it goes up and sometimes it goes down. Where is the difference?”
When BLUFF Magazine asked Negreanu if there were Christians who had a problem with his profession in November of 2006, he had this to say:
I think only the ignorant ones. My wife’s family are devoted conservatives to the point where she wasn’t even allowed to watch TV as a child, but they’re fine with me. They’re totally fine with what I do for a living. They understand that, you know, there is nothing in the Bible anywhere that says gambling is a sin. Nothing. I think a lot of people misunderstand gambling — OK, it’s essentially taking money from other people. Well, there isn’t a business in the world in which that doesn’t happen. When you win on the stock market, others lose. Any business deal you make, you’re going to take someone’s money. It’s what you do with that money that separates whether you’re healthy or unhealthy. If you hoard all that money for yourself, just to own a bigger home, well, I guess that might be wrong. But there’s nothing wrong with poker according to the Bible. But having said that, a lot of people misinterpret what it says and think that what I do is wrong. To those people, I just try to talk to them and explain to them. But some of them just won’t get it. But that’s OK. I’m not really a fan of conservatism anyway.
Of course, when you make your faith public, you open yourself up to criticism. When Negreanu blogged in April about the priorities in his life (1. God, 2. Family, 3. Health, 4. Poker, and 5. Stuff), some folks jumped on him, throwing scripture back in his face.
What do you think? Do you think Negreanu is wrong to make a living playing poker? If all of a sudden you realized you were an exceptional poker player, would your conscience be okay with you making a living doing it?
Show your cards in the comments…
Tags: Daniel Negreanu, gambling, Poker
Posted in Christianity, morality, sports | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Over the weekend Beliefnet.com posted their “Top 12 Evangelicals in Sports”. Who made the list? Read on to find out…
Joe Gibbs, who is no longer a two-sport athlete participant with his retirement from the Redskins. (The world feels more right with him back in NASCAR full time, doesn’t it?)
Mariano Rivera, who does a fine job juggling the seemingly oxymoronic roles of Christian and Yankee (sorry, couldn’t resist) and who has one of the strangest baseball cards ever, courtesy of 92 Bowman.
Derek Fisher, who’s known for being a sacrificial father more than anything else (as he should be.)
Shaun Alexander, who we learn in the story, was a virgin when he married his virgin wife. (Not sure that i ever want a detail so personal in any bio of mine.)
Allyson Felix, who we all know as…wait, who is Allyson Felix? (Answer: She runs really fast, she silvered in the 04 Olympics, and she should win some more hardware in Beijing this summer.)
Hunter Smith, who we’ve mentioned here before (Hey, he even left a comment to that post…how cool are we?)
Jake Peavy, who we’d love to have on our fantasy baseball team this year. (We’re involved in a complete redraft in a keeper league, so much preparation must be done between now and the draft.)
Tony Dungy, who needs to spend some time with Brett Favre teaching him the art of making timely off-season decisions.
Curt Schilling, who needs to spend some time with us, teaching us how to write thousands of words per blog post while holding down a day job.
Tim Tebow, who we mentioned on Friday, is apparently the champion of homeschoolers everywhere. (he’s got a bill named after him!)
Michael Waltrip, who isn’t the boogity! boogity! boogity! guy in case you were wondering. (that’s his older brother) .
Zach Johnson, the Joaquin Phoenix lookalike who beat Tiger Woods by 2 strokes at the 07 Masters. (1 of 3 career PGA Tour wins)
Did they leave anyone out? Offer up your additions and subtractions in the comments…
Tags: Superlatives
Posted in Christianity, sports | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Did you know CJ Mahaney started a blog recently? Well, he did, and this weekend he had some thoughts to share about the Super Bowl before and after the big game.
His thoughts before the game:
First, let me make clear the Super Bowl is the most overrated sporting event in the history of all sports dating back to the very first Olympics. The NFL thinks so highly of itself, the Super Bowl is assigned Roman numerals.
Yet despite the hype, year after year this game rarely delivers. With few exceptions, most of these games are neither exciting nor memorable (unless your team is participating). And so tomorrow we must collectively endure yet another Super Bowl.
For me, the only good thing about the Super Bowl is that it means MARCH MADNESS is fast approaching! Don’t get me started on March Madness and college basketball, because year after year college basketball always delivers.
His thoughts on Coach Belicheck’s behavior after the game:
I stayed up after the game for one reason. I knew they would interview Belichick, and I wanted to hear what he would say. I hoped he would at least congratulate the Giants on their victory. He did not. He missed yet another opportunity to provide a compelling and humble example of how to conduct oneself when one has lost the game.
Though many will write about what took place on the field during the game, I thought his actions at the end of the game and after the game were the most disappointing aspects of the game. And this is the stuff I review and emphasize with my son as we talk about the game. This is what I want him to remember and learn from this game.
But I must pay careful attention to my heart as I critique coach Belichick, because I am vulnerable to my own more serious expression of arrogance as I observe Bill Belichick. In critiquing coach Belichick and teaching my son biblical discernment and the importance of godly character, I must avoid a self-righteous attitude.
There are few pastors /leaders that we know of who are more respected than Mahaney, so it’s been a treat to read his blog, and even more so to see that he enjoys sports.
Also, if you’re interested, that first link includes CJ’s 4 tips for watching the Super Bowl to the glory of God.
Tags: CJ Mahaney, Super Bowl
Posted in Christianity, NFL | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 4th, 2008
The following post was written for PFB by Jason Boyett, author of the Pocket Guides to the Bible, the Apocalypse, and Adulthood (among other books). Jason, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, is currently NOT working on a book titled “The Pocket Guide to Dumb Baseball Curses”. His thoughts on David Tyree’s miraculous catch and subsequent comments are after the jump.
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When Tyree made the catch — that crazy, backbreaking, hand-to-helmet miracle reception with less than a minute to go in the game — I thought it might happen.
When the Giants ended up scoring and securing the win, I absolutely KNEW it would happen.
I just knew that Tyree, a religious guy who’s had his share of personal hardship (his mom died suddenly in December), would refuse to take credit for the catch but would, instead, give all the credit to God. “That wasn’t me, man,” I imagined him saying in the post-game press conference. “That was all God. Gotta give big ups to the Almighty for that one.” Because athletes have a well-documented history of attributing great plays, great games, and great seasons to God, who apparently takes great interest in the outcomes of American sporting events.
But Tyree, to his credit, kept it subtle. He sort of leaned in the direction of “it was God,” but didn’t fully camp there. Here’s his exact quote: “My opportunities are too far and few to let that one go. It was supernatural, you know? Some things just don’t make sense, and that catch is a good example.”
Thank you, Tyree. Thank you for not resorting to a cliche. Thank you for actually taking personal credit for having made an incredible 32-yard catch to rival Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” (TM) back in 1981. Because it saved the drive. And you made the catch. You. David Tyree. No person alive — not Randy Moss, not Lynn Swann, not Spiderman — should be able to jump three feet in the air, catch a ball with one hand against the back of his helmet, then hold onto that ball while being folded in half backwards by Rodney Harrison after appearing to float parallel to the ground. It just shouldn’t happen. It doesn’t make sense. It seems a little…supernatural.
But it probably didn’t have much to do with God, so I’m glad you didn’t just come right out and say that. Because when it come to pro athletes, it’s always “God” when they make a great catch, or return a punt for a touchdown, or throw a pinpoint game-winning pass. But it’s never “God” when they get tackled on the previous play, or when they fumble in the first quarter. And what if they guy on the opposite team who caused the fumble also gives credit to God? What you end up having is God causing Himself to fumble, and at that point the theology gets so circular and weird that N.T. Wright can’t even make sense of it.
I’m all for more spirituality in the sporting world when it comes to being good examples for the children and saying no to performance-enhancing drugs and doing something with your millions of dollars other than buying blingy toys and overly big homes. But when it comes to the winning and losing of games, it’s probably better to leave God off the scoreboard.
Thanks, David Tyree, for taking a good step in that direction. May “supernatural” become the new “it was God.”
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Jason could be contributing more to PFB in the future, so if you haven’t added this site to your feedreader yet, now might be the time to do it.
Tags: God, post-game interviews, Super Bowl
Posted in Christianity, NFL | 1 Comment »
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
NPR has a 4-minute clip up of some nuns from Arizona who are “renting out rooms, offering an oasis of quiet amidst the bright lights and fast living that swirls around the big game.”
That being said, the Super Bowl kicks off in about an hour. Though the dreaded February SportsLull awaits following its conclusion, I’m excited to see how this 2007/08 NFL Season ends. I feel like we’re at the end of a great book, and our hero has confronted his nemesis for one last epic battle. To the winner: everything. To the loser: nothing. Which side is good and evil? I guess it depends on how you feel about Bill Belicheck and Eli Manning.
One thing’s for sure though, we’ll have a Super Bowl Champion in about 5 hours.
(h/t: Geof Morris)
Tags: Nuns, Super Bowl
Posted in Christianity, NFL | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 1st, 2008
Here’s a few small stories circulating around the interwebs…
+ It’s hard not to like Heisman Winner Tim Tebow after reading this BreakawayTV.com piece about the son of missionary parents who ran an orphanage in the Philippines.
+ The Houston Chronicle has a brief piece on Christian extreme athletes becoming more visible at this year’s Winter X Games in Aspen, including Tommy Czeschin, Daniel Ralph, and Kelly Clark.
+ Art Stricklin, writing for the Baptist Press, quotes a few NFL Team chaplains in regards to the strict conduct policies that Roger Goodell is enacting in the NFL. While the NFL claims that the policies have nothing to do with Christianity, some chaplains think otherwise. Interesting read, though i don’t think the policies have anything to do with religion. like someone says in the article, bad behavior is bad business for the NFL.
Tags: Tim Tebow, X Games
Posted in Christianity, NFL, Sports Media | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
The Boston Herald has a great piece up about Patriots Tight End Ben Watson, who has wanted to be a football player and a missionary since he was 4 years old. (When he was just 4, his dad would announce his name as a player for the Redskins and he would run out of the closet as if running on the field.)
There’s a great quote in here from Ben’s father, who is a pastor, who says,
“If you are pointing your finger to the sky and praising the Lord after you score a touchdown, then you get off the field and you’re a bum, well, who is going to believe in you?”
Watson also talks about the midfield prayers immediately after a game,
“We thank God for the opportunity to let us play in the NFL, we thank him for our physical gifts, and we pray for the safety of the traveling team. Now, everyone in that huddle isn’t necessarily Christian, just as everyone outside that huddle is not necessarily a heathen. We’re all human. We all make mistakes.”
It’s a fascinating piece written by a great writer (Jackie MacMullan). Well worth the 5 minutes.
Tags: Ben Watson
Posted in Christianity, Sports Media | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
The Dallas News has a riveting piece on Texas Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton, and the hard journey that has led him to God. This guy tried pretty hard to throw away some amazing God-given talents, but apparently God had other plans.
Worth a few minutes to read the whole thing if you have the time. I especially like this quote from Josh’s wife Katie,
“God told me he was going to give Josh baseball back, but it wasn’t going to be for baseball…It was going to be for something much bigger. He was going to give Josh a platform to help others. He is the most beautiful choreographer. It’s not by accident that all the things that have happened in our lives have happened.”
(H/T: reader Aaron Lewis)
Tags: Josh Hamilton
Posted in Christianity, Sports Media | 5 Comments »
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Perhaps you remember a couple of months ago when we mentioned Alex Legion’s mom, the woman who prophesied that her son’s Kentucky Wildcat basketball team would make the final four “providing they play together”?
Well, if you missed it last month, Alex announced he was leaving Kentucky, possibly for Michigan. Then he wasn’t so sure and considered going back to Kentucky. Then his mom wanted him to go to Notre Dame. Then Alex announced he was transferring to Illinois, probably so he could spend hours at a time staring at Bruce Weber’s orange sportcoat.
It’s easy to gloss over the details of this story and assume that Annette Legion is no prophet at all, but if you think about it, The Prophet Legion was actually right all along.
Originally we thought her “providing they play together” comment was a qualifier meant to hedge the bet of her prophecy. But now we see it for what it really was: her subtle way of telling us that Alex wouldn’t be playing with these guys all year, and that as a result, they would not make the Final Four. Of course, if Kentucky does make the Final Four without Alex, well, then we know she’s a fraud.
But at this point, I think she’s pretty safe on that one.
(h/t: Deadspin.com)
Tags: college basketball, prophecy
Posted in Christianity, sports | No Comments »
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Though I know none of you were out there with baited breath waiting for my 2 cents on the Mitchell Report, I still feel like I should offer something up. The problem is, I don’t have much of an opinion on it. 86 players cheated in different ways and for different reasons. A few of them were outspoken Christians; namely Andy Pettite, Paul Byrd, and Brian Roberts.
Am i surprised that these Christian men were on the report? Not at all. Most Christians I know have cheated at something before. Maybe it was the foot wedge they used on the golf course, a shortcut they took at work to avoid tedious paperwork, going over the speed limit for a good (or bad) reason, or peering over at somebody else’s cards while playing poker.
Am i saying that cheating is okay because we’ve all done it? Of course not. I’m just saying that I wasn’t surprised. I’m guessing you weren’t either.
Kudos to Byrd, Pettitte, and Roberts for addressing the issue right away instead of waiting. Whatever their reasons for using the stuff they used, whether they were legitimate, illegal, or otherwise, I hope they learned something from it all. I guess I can say that about the whole league, not just about these guys. Sadly, I think the only thing that most players learned was that if you are going to do this stuff, don’t pay with a personal check and leave the clubhouse attendant out of the transaction.
Here’s 3 other things I thought about the Mitchell Report and its subsequent fallout:
1. Personally, I don’t believe Clemens for a second now that he is denying the claims. I just don’t. Does anyone? Why would McNamee lie about injecting Clemens over the course of many years? And now that Pettite has admitted that what McNamee said was true, we can take this question further: Wy would McNamee tell the truth about Pettitte, but lie about Clemens? Makes no sense.
2. I liked Bill Simmons’ point about the Clemens-Piazza bat throwing incident from the 2000 World Series. We never understood why he did that until now: Roid Rage.
3. Considering this document was constructed with only a handful of sources, I gotta believe that there were hundreds more players who tried this stuff at one time or another. Not only that, but it was both pitchers and hitters, stars and scrubs, young and old who were using it. When you think about it in those terms, maybe the steroid numbers (aside from HRs) aren’t nearly as inflated as we thought.
I won’t bore you any more with thoughts on this 409-page borefest (yes, i did skim through most of it). If you want to read some other interesting takes on it, try Tim Ellsworth’s take on things at the BP Press, Jordan Green’s humorous angle over at Burnside, or Bill Simmons’ thoughts in the first few paragraphs of this mailbag piece on ESPN.com.
Hope your holidays were, and continue to be, a smashing success.
Tags: Andy Pettitte, HGH, Mitchell Report, Steroids
Posted in Christianity, MLB | 2 Comments »
