This Should Piss off Mikey even more – Praise God!!
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This post was created on the previous version of the MRFF website, and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need help accessing this content, please reach out via email.Air Force JV players praying with our own Arizona Christian University players after a game!!
As reference to the first part of my question — “He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (MT 6:5-6)
And as reference to the second part of my question — “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (MT 22:37-40)
Peace, Mike
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Mike, yes I get a little militant at times in my faith, and your right I need to love my neighbor and to bless my enemies, and I think God is blessed by His children honoring Him on or off the field. These players whatever football field you will find them on, are not trying to bring any attention to themselves, do you really think that while they are praying they are thinking, “I wonder what the people think of us or we are so special?” of course not, they are doing it to glorify God!! I can guarantee as a former pro sport chaplain, these cadets or any football player or baseball player etc, are not praying that God would allow them to win, rather they are praying that they will glorify God and thank Him for the gifts and talents to play the game, as well as praying that no player would be injured seriously. When the varsity cheerleaders, of which my daughter is one, at her public high school pray before a game, they are praying that there would be no injuries when they perform their routines and that they would hit them like they practiced them.
Secondly Mike, everyone non believer uses that passage from Matthew to say “see, Jesus forbids praying public.” If you look at the context of the verse, who is He talking to, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day for they loved to pray in public to call attention to themselves only! Why would Jesus tell His disciples not to pray in public when He did while thanking God and blessing the bread and fish before feeding the 5,000 or why did he pray to His Father while on the cross to forgive those who were crucifying Him. Also, Christ’s disciples in Acts were praying in public, so were they disobeying the Matthew passage, by no means!! Did not Jesus say that when 2 or 3 gather in my name, there am I in the midst of them!! Does not say that is is only when the 2 or 3 are secluded in private and no one can see them.
When any athlete raises one finger in the air after scoring a touchdown or hitting a home run, they have the Constitutional right to do so as an expression or their faith in glorifying God on the field. I bet any Air Force, Naval Academy or West Point baseball player who is a Christian hits a home run they raise one finger towards heaven to thank God while crossing home plate!!
Blessings in Yeshua!!
Why do you omit the names of the rude people who email you? If they’re concerned enough about your “eternal damnation” or are just being rude, why not publish their names? If they’re proud enough to write you they should be just as proud to have people know who they are. Give them the same amount of comfort and respect as they’ve show you.
if one wants to proclaim his/her ignorance of course that individual must be allowed to do so. But sadly this infection is being fed by the networks, including and especially fux and espn and the nfl network. This is pure deceit, part of the lies expected from those who use religion to gain power. I would ask you what comes first in your life, your gods or the United States Constitution. I would ask because you are liars, and you cannot be trusted in anything you do. It takes personal integrity to be an American, you have none.
Jimbo, that is a very easy question, my God always comes first, everything comes second to Him. I will neither bow my knee or my heart to any king or human ruler, but only to the King of Kings and Lord or lords, Jesus Christ!
It takes more integrity to be a man of God than it does to be an American. There is more integrity in the pulpits of America than there is in Washington DC!
Yeshua presumes to know what is in everyone’s mind when they pray. Wow. If that preaching thing falls through I’m sure he has a career with the Psychic Hotline.
It amuses me when folks quote the Bible explaining why certain behaviors are not to be done in public and YW (or other Dominionists) run in to claim “…but you aren’t a TWUE believer so you can’t quote our book or use it against us!” Honestly, my opinion is if you want to live by the Bible then be ready to be defined by it too – for positive or negative.
These are bully practices which I am certain worked back when social media was meeting at the local diner. Now? Yeah, not so much – at least for anyone with a smidge of critical thinking skills.
So let’s play a game, shall we? Does anyone imagine YW would be so supportive if a coven of Wiccans cast quarters before a game while on the field? I mean, they are doing the same thing YW claims the players are doing in all the photos above. So let’s hear it YW – would you support a Pagan’s right to do what your folk do now?
(spoiler alert – nope. YW believes he alone holds the answers to the mysteries of the Universe. Since witches are not suffered to live under his book I look forward to one of his famous ‘yes but’ answers – if he acknowledges me at all).
Yeshua:
Secularism is for grownups.
Yeshua Warrior, my funny hide-behind-an-online-name friend (and I’ll continue to respect your anonymity even if I don’t respect your propensity for sniping from the shadows) —
To the first point, if you honestly can’t see that the vast majority of those performing this spectacle of mass public prayer are doing it for the express purpose of being seen doing it, then you are a fool.
Second, I find it laughable that you would suggest that any of the lessons of Jesus are ONLY intended for the audience with whom He was speaking at the time. But I can see how that conveniently allows you to ignore the hard lessons, like the one about making a public spectacle of your faith.
Peace, Mike
Ok Mike, you want me to come out of anonymity, you can call me then Biola Bob.
Mike, do you really presume to know what is in the hearts of man and their motives for doing what they do by praying on the field, if so, then you must be God, because only God knows what is in the hearts of men and their motives or intentions, anything else is just second guessing or judging.
Well Mike, I guess you have never taken a class in hermeneutics which is the science of how to interrupt scripture which every seminary student must take. You need to know the context of the passage and the audience that it is speaking too. Was Jesus speaking to the disciples when saying that they need to go into their closet and pray or was He talking to the religious leaders of the day who wanted to make a spectacle of their faith?
Let me ask you Mike, if Jesus said that when we pray we need to go into out prayer closets, then how literal are you going to take that? Does that mean we should not bless our food in public, and as a good Catholic I am sure you do that while also crossing yourself as well, isn’t that making a spectacle of your faith? Should the pastor then not prayer in church before all his congregants? I know that there would not be enough “prayer closets” that would allow 100 or more people at my church to all pray in! Should the House of Representatives or Senate chaplains in DC not pray to open their session each day because that violates Christ’s teaching not to pray in public. So, if Christ said that we are not to pray in public, then why Mike, did He pray in public on the cross asking His Father to forgive them for what they were doing to him. Why do Christ’s disciples in Acts are praying in public if Christ said that we are not too? Were His disciples disobey His own commands? NO! Am I not allowed to pray out loud in my car while driving because technically I a out in public while doing it and people can see me moving my lips?
Mike, as I said before, praying on a football field is not suddenly a new thing, this was started in the NFL 25 years ago, and for the last 25 years, NFL players have been gathering for prayer on the field after the game. Now it is a problem??? It is only a problem because atheists want to remove our Constitution rights to practice or express our faith as we see fit! Or, someone gets bent out of shape or offended, well boo hoo if people get offended by players expressing their faith on a football for baseball field. Time for them to put their big boy or big girl panties on and get over it because we will not stop because someone gets offended or bent out of shape.