The COG numbnuts are out in full force today! Prophet Thiel has this to say about American football:
Should Christians support violent sports like American football?
The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:
All Sports Not Wrong
Competition and not cooperation, is the attitude which Satan inculcates human minds. But that does not mean that all sports are wrong or to be banned. The law of God is based on the way of righteousness…The basic law is love, out flowing toward God above all else, and secondarily, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
To harm the other fellow and to gain by doing so for self is a kind of competition that is wrong. Hostility toward the other is sin…
Boxing at Ambassador College is definitely banned. God did not create the human brain and head to be pummeled and knocked senseless by an antagonist.
Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good…
Football (American football) is a violent body-contact sport. It is often played with an attitude of hostility and is dangerous and is fraught with physical injury. (Plain Truth, July-August 1984)
I guess Prophet Thiel conveniently forgets that HWA loved to sit in front of his TV on Friday nights and Saturdays watching WWF Wrestling and old classic Westerns. I guess body slams, headlocks, shooting cowboys and Indians scalping settlers was great Sabbath entertainment! But according to The Prophet since these are all fake, it is OK. However football play involves injuries and injuring an opponent is a sin. Plus, football involves competitiveness which is a major sin. I see the Lake of Fire smoldering in eager anticipation......
The Prophet goes on to say:
After seeing the injuries that some of my high school football-playing colleagues suffered, I could not reconcile the scriptures with American football. There are better ways for Christians to learn principles like teamwork from other sports or activities than watching actual violence.
John the Baptist taught, “Do violence to no man” (Luke 3:14, KJV), so what about violent sports? The New Testament also warns Christians against being violent or approving of those that are (Romans 1:28-32), while history records that early Christians would not watch violent sports (e.g. Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus).
Years ago, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote that avoiding bodily harm was an important health law (Seven Laws of Radiant Health). Since it is best to avoid bodily injury, should Christians encourage others to put themselves in harm’s way?
Unlike stories of violence in books or movies, American football involves actual violence and often physical injury–including brain damaging ones that are often not obvious for years...
Now how widespread brain damage from playing football is can be debated (and probably will be). But everyone has to know that crashing into other human beings in order to knock them down and/or stop them from running or throwing is not harmless.
While “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:9), what do sports like American football and boxing do?
This is something that Christians, and others, should think about.
17 comments:
But the full body contact sport, with traumatic injuries, is probably OK to watch and play in: Basketball.
Herbert Armstrong loved to watch Pro Wrestling on the Sabbath?
Wait! What?!??!
It's hard to picture him watching Pro Wrestling at any time.
When I was at AC in the '70's NFL games were watched every Sunday during football season in the TV lounges in Grove Terrace men's dorm.
Oh, but I suppose the church was off the tracks then.
American Football is brutally violent and like boxing leads to much suffering and misery, and many unpublicized early deaths. Modern gladiators. The gamblers and the cult of death must have its offerings.
The crowds going to see these games are also becoming increasingly unpredictable and violent, in increasing 'flash mob' behavior, like the high school team and coaches who recently mercilessly pummeled a referee.
Teddy Roosevelt outlawed it from the rising death toll in an earlier age.
We and our children were taught that it promotes teamwork, healthy competition, and a strong successful work ethic. More serpentine BS, it goes down so good!
But it should cause someone who REALLY values human life to pause and re-evaluate this 'great' AMERICAN game.
Would you want your son to 'go PRO,' if you knew that he was likely to live the remaining 2/3s of his life physically, mentally impaired, just because the bank gives him a large empty house and all the drugs and prostitutes he wanted?
The American Dream has become an American Nightmare and there is no waking up this time.
Maybe Dave Pack should get into Pro Wrestling.
His character could be called, "The Apostle", and have his very own patented moves, such as "the Passover", "the Missing Dimension in Sex", and "the Sabbath Slam"
Herbert (the W stands for nothing) Armstrong wrote: ..."Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good"...
Sounds just like Basketball to me, yet the Armstronsists love their Basketball, as they strive to "get" the ball and drive to "get a goal" and win the game by "defeating" the others. Hypocrites all.
Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good
Ah, the line up. Competitors all over the world! A true International competition! The competition is fierce, hot and heavy! A real spectator sport!
That sounds like the sport of Armstrongism!
Tell me this.
Is it a sin to regularly watch teenage girls beat up and mercilessly kick another girl at school via cellphone recordings on YouTube?
This popular pastime of many adolescents (and adults?) is becoming a competition to see who can produce the worst.
This growing love of violence is societal sickness which comes from such sin.
Does it make it OK if we pay the participants millions of dollars?
Does it make it OK if we pay the participants millions of dollars?
No, of course not. We should stop paying the CoGs (Covens of Guile) millions of dollars a year, so their covens will diminish and the magic of their warlock witchcraft will have no more power over the people.
Certainly its a sin. Now if you watch Canadian Football which is far more exciting, that should be okay
Likely a sin. But Canadian football should be okay.
If you're a man after God's own heart you do not play American football.
You go and cut off the foreskins of Philistines in order to get married. (And present them in a nice basket to the king...)
"Satan inculcates human minds."
I hate it when satan inculcates me. It's annoying
That's a real WCG wordy from the past.
M.T.Cranium
Re: Is It A Sin To Watch American Football?"
It is more than just a sin [a missing of the mark]. It is a tremendous waste of precious time. What is the point of watching a bunch of overpaid, thick-skinned louts banging their heads together in some meaningless game?
In the various sports, too many people have gotten too carried away paying too much money and too much attention to a bunch of hooligans who are mentally and morally bankrupt. These bums should get a job on a farm, or in a factory, or at some retail establishment, and do something useful with their lives. Of course, with useful work might come lower pay, and how then could they afford their illegal drugs and prostitutes?
Don't worry about the risk of injury or brain damage. Their brains are already defective. Encourage them to bang their heads together even harder.
Is it just the Americans that are becoming pussies or the COG's that found another rule to add to their Talmud?
In America you have choices. In the COG'lets you have abject slavery and sycophant responses from brain dead members of mind control cults.
If the economy went belly up tomorrow, would you people support your cult leader and let your children starve?
I wouldn't count on some god to save your idolatrous ass. I would pray to HWA for your salvation.See what that gets you!
I neveer was much for sports. Never could see the point of risking bodily good health to show off physical prowess in a dangerous sort of way.
As a little kid, seeing movies of football and the obvious danger turned me off. I never thought it was glorious to hurt, no matter how much one was paid.
Maybe I would have gotten caught up in basketball if I hadn't gotten high school by correspondence course. The pressure at my height of 6' 6" would have been overwhelming and I probably wouldn't have been able to get down on my knees and kick carpet today because my knees would probably be a wreck at nearly 77.
But, if people get joy out of sports, that's their business. Just because I basically ignore all of it doesn't mean it's sinful for someone else to enjoy and even pay to see it.
What is "sinful" anyway? As far as I'm concerned, it's the just the judgmentalism of other people. It has different definiitions between different groups of humans and at different times in history.
These are the people who actually believe it's a sin to waste a $5 bill by giving it to some poor, beaten down homeless person, rather than sending it in to their splinter group. Forget the cloak, these folks wouldn't even give their coat!
At our church, (not an ACOG!), we have flat screen TV's in the family barbecue pavillion, and the pastor suggested that we bring our neighbors to church, then buy them lunch, and watch the Cardinals' games together with them! Excellent personal evangelism, and also good Christian family activity! Kurt Warner and his wife have actually addressed our congregation and have shared their testimony with us.
Of course, to legalistic Pharisees, this example would be of no value, even if the end result was that someone were led to make Jesus Christ their Lord and Master.
BB
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