Lori's Football Analogy

[GeoBQn]

Lori compares undeserving sinners to the San Diego Chargers. I think. This is approaching word salad territory for me.

We are all undeserving like the San Diego Chargers. Before last Sunday's games, the Chargers had less than a 2% chance of making the playoffs. They were handed the playoffs on a silver platter by the Dolphins losing to the Jets, the Ravens losing to the Bengals, and the Chiefs losing to the Chargers with a couple of very bad referees' calls. They didn't earn a playoff spot. They were given it. The picture above proves it with more than six players lined up on one side of a critical missed field goal attempt.

We don't earn eternal life. We were given it. There is nothing we can do to earn eternal life. God gave it freely and unearned to us by His Son Jesus Christ. We can try all we want to earn it, but it is simply impossible by our own works. We would never be good enough with all the mistakes we make in life. Thank God we can do nothing but to believe Him.

All other religions teach that you have to work hard to gain eternal life. By being good and by doing good, they are told they will get to heaven. We will never be good enough or do enough good deeds to get into heaven. But someone did in Jesus Christ, who took our punishment, paid our penalty, and made a way for all who believe to inherit eternal life.

Will you join the winning team so that when the Great Ref in the Sky evaluates your life all He will see is Jesus living in and through you?

lorialexander.blogspot.com/2014/01/undeserving-san-diego-chargers.html

Sports metaphors just don't work for me when it comes to religion. It reminds me of the King of the Hill episode when Luanne is in a "born again virgin" program and the minister wants Hank to join the class as her "sponsor."

Hank: Sponsor? You mean like what the drunks have?

Minister: Hank, a sponsor is like an offensive lineman for the virgin quarterback. Luanne needs you to get in there and block, or she may very well get sacked.

Hank: Well, that's not in the Bible, but it should be.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Well, I didn't believe in the whole unearned grace via belief thing before - but the football analogy certainly doesn't help the argument.

Yes, sometimes in sports, random stuff happens and the favored team does not win. Unless you are arguing that the hidden hand of God is always busy picking winning teams and horses and suddenly decided to bless the Chargers, then you are describing the fact that in life, sometimes you just get lucky because of random chance or fluke of nature. How on earth does that add up to a religious argument?

[argypargy]

I don't give a flying fuck about what Lori has to say. All I care about is the fact that my Cincinnati Bengals should have an easy time with the Chargers this weekend. Who-dey!

Also, it wasn't that outside of a chance. The Bengals were supposed to beat the Ravens and the Dolphins had been playing like crap in the last two weeks. The Chargers were supposed to beat the Chiefs (Chiefs were playing their second string and the Chargers beat the Chiefs in KC earlier in the year). Yeah, it was a close game and the refs blew the illegal formation call on Succup's missed field goal, which would have allowed him to rekick, but whatever. I'm glad the Steelers got screwed.

[lilwriter85]

I don't give a flying fuck about what Lori has to say. All I care about is the fact that my Cincinnati Bengals should have an easy time with the Chargers this weekend. Who-dey!

Also, it wasn't that outside of a chance. The Bengals were supposed to beat the Ravens and the Dolphins had been playing like crap in the last two weeks. The Chargers were supposed to beat the Chiefs (Chiefs were playing their second string and the Chargers beat the Chiefs in KC earlier in the year). Yeah, it was a close game and the refs blew the illegal formation call on Succup's missed field goal, which would have allowed him to rekick, but whatever. I'm glad the Steelers got screwed.

I agree with all of this. Lori's entire posting was pretty stupid and I don't think she realized the other factors that you mentioned especially the Chiefs playing their second string. I'm surprised Lori is calling the Chargers undeserving, there have been pics of her sons wearing Chargers shirts on her blog. I bet her sons are happy that the Chargers are in the playoffs.

[debrand]

Football teams don't get to the playoffs unless they have worked hard. Yeah, maybe the Chargers got lucky but it isn't as if the other team forfeited.

[Guest]

See, I might liken it to be a football fan. You didn't do anything to experience the joy of your team being in the playoffs, but because your team worked their asses off, you get to celebrate. It doesn't matter what you do at home, despite what you might think (I'll change my spot on the couch if my team is losing, I honestly can't tell you why), but you get to feel like a winner anyway.

Take that, Lori.

[argypargy]

See, I might liken it to be a football fan. You didn't do anything to experience the joy of your team being in the playoffs, but because your team worked their asses off, you get to celebrate. It doesn't matter what you do at home, despite what you might think (I'll change my spot on the couch if my team is losing, I honestly can't tell you why), but you get to feel like a winner anyway.

Take that, Lori.

We are the same way. I have to be in my spot and in the correct clothes, having eaten Skyline Chili Cheese Coneys the night before. We have our rituals...what's that Bud Light commercial..."it's only weird if it doesn't work".

[Maggie Mae]

We don't earn eternal life. We were given it. There is nothing we can do to earn eternal life.

But someone did in Jesus Christ, who took our punishment, paid our penalty, and made a way for all who believe to inherit eternal life.

So to receive the "gift" of "eternal life" I have to believe in Jesus Christ the son of God. That to me sounds like something I HAVE to do to EARN this "eternal life."

Also this:

All other religions teach that you have to work hard to gain eternal life. By being good and by doing good, they are told they will get to heaven. We will never be good enough or do enough good deeds to get into heaven.

Is ignorant and selfish. If I understand this version of Christianity correctly, all I have to do to get into heaven is believe. I can be the worst person on the planet. I can be selfish and gluttonous and sexually harass people. I can spit on the poor and hold homeless fights and none of that matters, because I "believe."

Fucking bitch.

[GeoBQn]

If I understand this version of Christianity correctly, all I have to do to get into heaven is believe. I can be the worst person on the planet. I can be selfish and gluttonous and sexually harass people. I can spit on the poor and hold homeless fights and none of that matters, because I "believe."

For a brilliant deconstruction of this idea, I highly recommend the film "The Rapture" with Mimi Rogers.

[NoneandDoneinCali]

Just one more way to sock it to the Catholics and Buddhists - yes, Lori. Some people believe you have to WORK to EARN your salvation. Preferably by good and charitable acts. The horror!

[debrand]

So to receive the "gift" of "eternal life" I have to believe in Jesus Christ the son of God. That to me sounds like something I HAVE to do to EARN this "eternal life."

Also this:

Is ignorant and selfish. If I understand this version of Christianity correctly, all I have to do to get into heaven is believe. I can be the worst person on the planet. I can be selfish and gluttonous and sexually harass people. I can spit on the poor and hold homeless fights and none of that matters, because I "believe."

Fucking bitch.

I actually found this form of Christianity more stressful than the 'works' based Catholicism. The idea is that if you are saved the Holy Spirit will convince you to do good works. However, this led me to constantly question if I was really saved . All humans do things that they know are wrong. Does this mean that the individual isn't saved? When I would ask my friends, they would tell me that salvation didn't take away my humanity. The same friends were quick to term someone else they disliked as a nonChristian based on sometimes very small infractions. My former pastor told us that a real Christian would want to be in church every time the doors opened. I never really liked attending church. Plus there seemed a host of unspoken rules that could suddenly mark someone as not having been really saved.