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.
