- Little Theological Corner deals with Comparative religions, specially Abrahamic faiths and I try to keep it as neutral as possible, beating people over the head with their own holy books and quoting as often as I can
- I've had Christianity on the spotlight before, but if you read the one above, the Christians that I usually address in my comments are the ones that deserve a beating over the head with the Good Shepperd Staff.
Today I'll talk about decent, worthy people and I care not to be neutral.
I'll start saying that, by experience, Christians in this wonderful US of A are starting to find themselves between a rock and a hard place... if we worship openly, people take us for crazy Jesus freaks and ask us to please keep it to ourselves, which we usually do. If there is ever an outburst of indignation towards certain matters, everyone will be kind enough to remind us their favorite biblical passage (the most misquoted, out of context of them all ... aren't you guys supposed to turn the other cheek?). This usually brings Christians to a point in which we would rather keep our mouth shut and go with the flow. This weekend some people decided that is was OK to give praise where is needed.
This weekend Florida was on the news for two different reasons, one being the biggest US Sports event ever, the Super Bowl, the other the terrible aftermath of Category 3 Tornadoes in the central region of our State.
Tornadoes brought about destruction as we are not used to seen on a daily basis, ground zero for this devastation was Lady Lake in which lives were lost and buildings were torn off their foundation. One of the affected buildings was the Church of God, which was considered one of the town's safest buildings and had served as hurricane shelter countless times before. The path of the tornado was set right through it, for those with an observant eye, there are photos that show twisted metal, and that a lot to say.
Ms. Katie Couric went to cover the event for prime time, as did every other Network. Couric, though, did something that really annoyed me. In a shot that was evidently staged, a hymn book is opened on top of the rubble right on the page for " I surrender to Thee". Ms. Couric said, with a bit of an ironic tone, that in fact the church had surrendered... leaving between the lines the question that every non believer tries to shove down our throats every time something like this happens.... how could the God you serve allow this? I am, as I've said before a work in progress and unfortunately, I am not at the same level as the pastor of that church. I would have happily tell Ms. Couric to go to hell in roller skates, but the pastor gave the answer needed, the building was lost, but the church would be there on Sunday, and he proceeded to invite her to Sunday Worship, in a pile of rubble, with high percentage of rain coming their way.
As I write this, I don't know whether she took them on their offer or not. She should, but then, people who don't question or regret belief in the first sign of adversity and keep going on with a smile are no news... I hope she proves me wrong.
The other big spotlight for Florida was of course, the Superbowl, where Christians and Heathens alike reunite to watch pigskin in motion. Some Christians, depending on their denomination will have a cold beer along with their BBQ (praise the Lord!)... after quite an exciting match Colts won over Bears (some would say with the assistance of Chicago's own Grossman). Coach Tony Dungy became the first African-American to coach a team into winning a Superbowl. Good for him, the guy is loved and respected in the league for his integrity and has the sometimes perceived as dubious honor of being the coach who never curses... As I was impressed with the pastor's display of faith in Lady lake, I was equally moved by Coach Dungy's statement, in which he said that he was grateful for the social significance of his achievement, but wanted to add a spiritual dimension to it by asserting that it felt equally good to be the first Christian coach to win the Superbowl through God's vision... for those who have no idea, Coach Dungy had a rough year, quite a bumpy ride that included the death of his son James, which was ruled a suicide. A blow like that is enough for many to shake the foundations of their faith, is more than enough for those who don't understand a faith based life to wait for it to crumble, but this man shined through yesterday and on his turn on the spotlight, he looked upwards and thanked the Guy Upstairs.
Fact is, I just felt like shouting out to those who believe, even against the odds, the people who make it worth while to share Christian Fellowship and Testimony.
"I really wanted to show people you can win all kinds of ways. I always coached the way I've wanted to be coached. For guys to have success where it maybe goes against the grain, against the culture ... I know I probably didn't get a couple of jobs in my career because people could not see my personality or the way I was going to do it ... For your faith to be more important than your job, for your family to be more important than that job ... We all know that's the way it should be, but we're afraid to say that sometimes... I'm not afraid to say it."- Tony Dungy on Coaching
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