Full disclosure. I have always disliked Roethlisberger. I certainly was not surprised that he did well in the NFL, but I have always found him to be one of the examples of the fake Christianity that drives me crazy. I still remember him talking about how God had allowed him to start ahead of the other guy in college. Reminds me of David Carr thanking Jesus for a completion.
Of course, given how bad Carr has been as a pro, perhaps he should thank God for a completion. Except that is still stupid. Inanely stupid. And I am amazed at how Christians have allowed their faith--the one that they claim is central to their very existence--be so trivialized in the public square.
And Big Ben is back, and complete with all the God talk. Listening to his interview on ESPN the other day was sickening. It reeked of PR coaching, and front and center on that list has to be that you have to claim returning to God. I recognize that this might actually be true, but think that the "talk" about it is the trivialization part. And what annoys me is that it is only really available to right wingers. You can be accused of rape, after all, but returning to Jesus and begging forgiveness? Clean slate.
I am all for second and even third chances. And I am all for redemption. But I am tired of the right wing bastardization of the faith where only conservatives are forgiven. And in this case, we may have an abuser. I have to tell you, abusers don't stop abusing just because they discover God language. It doesn't happen.
And the amazing thing for me, is that conservative Christians seem to never follow up to hold accountability those pronouncing their God language. Accountability is part of the language too, but politicians and right wingers can claim that Jesus is their best friend, and no one shows up to check. I remember a guy who said that Jesus was his favorite political philosopher, and he went on to authorize torture. I expected (because I am naive) that Christian evangelicals would hold him accountable. Of course, they did not. They had stopped with the coded Jesus language and never bothered to inquire about how he actually lived.
If Ben is innocent, then I am sorry for his trials. I doubt he is, just because I am cynical about people who are used to being stars. I think they think they deserve what ever they want. But I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he might have actually seen the light. But spare me the God talk. Spare me the little aphorisms. Go out and treat others with respect, and then don't tell me about it.
8 comments:
that picture is very powerful, may I ask where you found it? That child and the indifference on the left side both break my heart.
We American Christians are so self centered... we need to open our eyes to the pain in so many lives around us. I pray that God would move our hearts and give us eyes to see.
Both oppresed and oppressors must be freed from this corrupt system!
I love that graphic.
A buddy of mine lived in TX for a while. He was helping negotiate the sale of a business. Negotiations became heated, and one side finally said "Hey, we're just good Christians here trying to do the right thing."
He said that was endemic of every business transaction he heard in Texas; everyone was just a simple, good Christian trying to make the right decisions.
He finally blew a gasket and said "ya, because nobody ever heard of a Christian screwing somebody."
The point was, claiming Christianity is no saving grace and is no automatic icebreaker. Guys like Ben can say it all day. But it's the meaning the lend it in their lives that counts.
I think.
You silly fools, Jasmine is a brown skinned Muslim. If she were a good Christian she would be living in Rochester Hills, not picking up trash.
Its her own damn fault.
Not everyone who claims to be a Christian really is, and I could make a long list. But everybody does not get a pass when they have proved to be a hypocrite; Ted Haggard and Mark Sanford(governor) are two examples who are basically ruined, and have no real future in their chosen fields because Christians won't support them.
I saw "Rapelisberger" jerseys for sale in a mall sporting goods store. The prisons are full of people that found the Lord. I had a relative that found the Lord in prison and committed several hideous crimes when he got out, so I am a little skeptical when anyone makes this claim.
I don't get the feeling he is getting any kind of pass. I don't claim any kind of special Christian knowledge, but the few Christian boards I go to have been pretty harsh on Ben.
but the few Christian boards I go to have been pretty harsh on Ben.
Agreed, Steve. I don't think Christians are giving him a pass. I think the NFL and the way he is treated in the MSM is giving him a pass. I think there are plenty of Christians who are fed-up with people who get to utter "I found God" and get let off of some hook; these Christians themselves work hard and fail hard and succeed hard every day at being a Christian. But Roethlisberger gets to say "Lookie I found Him" his dubious background is all but erased.
Monk, I found that image on the facebook page of the Godless Liberals (:)), but it was just too good.
I hope you guys are right that Christians are tired of this. I have not seen that, certainly with anyone that matters. Not that Roethlisberger matters, mind you, but just noting that if those Christians like that candidate, all is forgiven.
Kyle H. raises an interesting point, certainly about Mark Sanford. But I have to wonder if his affair was in the past, and he was begging for forgiveness if his fiscal conservatism would triumph. Ted Haggard and others actually fall into one area where Christians are very unforgiving--being gay. I have always joked that Bush would only get into trouble if he had sex with an intern, and that intern was male. Being gay is the one unforgivable sin.
Things worked out pretty well for Ben considering what legal action he could have been facing, and then he returned to a 3-1 team on a roll. He has been accused of this multiple times now, and I thin most people are assuming that he must be guilty of something at this point.
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