OK, I really don’t get the way some in the Christian blog world are rallying around (against) the Super Bowl this year. I’ve ran across a number of blogs that have either been focused on over-spiritualizing the Super Bowl event or sports in general over the past week.
I can (sort of) understand where they are coming from in the sense that if idolized the game can take away from God–of course we could do the same thing with Antiques Road Show if we wanted to. After all, we have the capacity to turn everything into an idol. But we don’t do that for Antiques Road Show because it’s not such a powerful cultural event.
But I have to admit I find Ray Ortlund’s post a little mystifying this morning:
The Super Bowl is not just another NFL game. It has become an intensified concentration of vulgarity and ego, with enough athletics in the game and cleverness in the commercials to trick me into watching. It’s simply not what I’m living for.
That was my last Super Bowl.
Mike Pohlman thinks that Pastor Ortlund “may be on to something” with this post. I agree. He’s certainly on to something, but I’m not so sure that it’s something we should be onto.
Listen, I get it if you don’t like the Super Bowl. There’s certainly things about the event that are distasteful. But don’t be a hater for Christ’s sake (pun intended).
This kind of post villianizing the Super Bowl doesn’t seem to accomplish anything other than stir controversy, make Christians yet again look like joy-kills, and pit people who simply enjoy football and don’t mind having a good time watching the Super Bowl against more “spiritual” people who place the Super Bowl as some sort of event that diminishes Christ, and the Christian for watching it. “It’s simply not what I’m living for.”
To me this seems like a better idea: Let’s redeem the Super Bowl. Let’s get our neighbors together to watch the game. Let’s host parties at our house. Let’s expose people to Christian community that stops talking about what they’re not living for and instead starts talking about what they are living for.
Let’s not revert to being people known for what we’re against. We spent decades doing that, and it hasn’t served us or Christ very well.
So, what do you think? Am I over reacting here? Even worse, am I completely wrong?
No I don’t. When we have a joy in pointing out the problem with our culture without offering a solution then we have become part of problem instead of part of the solution.
We have got to learn that our culture is screwed up but love the people in it anyway. Our job is to be working out the redemption of the world in Christ. Christ is the only judge and his judgment will come in God’s good timing. Not a moment before.
We must be careful that we aren’t just boxing into the wind with all our “outrage” and “disgust.”
Jake,
Ortlund did not make his complaint in the form of a Christian who has more spiritual and Christ honoring things to do. It seems your reaction is overblown without further insight into Ortlund’s reasoning.
Anyone, Christian or not, could have said what Ortlund did. I.e. look at this Stupor Bowl Sunday post which quotes a non-Christian at the end.
You have unnecessarily made Ortlund’s post into a “Christian” objection when it is not explicitly that type of objection.
Good point, Mark. Thanks for making it. You’re right.
I’m reacting more to a number of posts I read in the Christian blogoshpere leading up to Pastor Ortlund’s (whom I respect BTW) post. I think this one just kind of became the last straw.
I would say this, however, given the context of Ortlund’s post (i.e. – one of the more influential Christian thinkers on one of the more influential Christian blogs), I don’t think it’s a stretch to come to the albeit wrong conclusion that I did that it was a Christian objection. Perhaps we’d all be better served if Pastor Ortlund expanded more fully on his thoughts.
Thanks for considering my point. I’d love to see insight to Church attendance and the Super Bowl: two questions too.
I think you are over-reacting to Mr. Ortlund’s post. He made a simple statement and you associate his post with the word “hater”. As you can judge from his post, he doesn’t say anything negative about football itself, but more so what it has become.
In true gladitorial flare, it has become a religion with the players as the gods. The NFL is a brilliant marketing machine.
To insinuate that Christians just can’t pass up this opportunity in order to demonstrate that they’re just like their neighbors is poor. I wonder what Christians do in 3rd world countries without the Superbowl?!? Don’t they know what they’re missing?
My 2 cents.
Thanks for your thoughts, Paul.
“Hater” is a colloquial term for someone who talks negatively about something. I’m not really calling Pastor Ortlund a hater in the traditional sense. I actually respect him. I just disagree with him on this topic. Also, as a clarification, I didn’t say he didn’t like football. I said he didn’t like the Super Bowl.
Also, I didn’t say that Christians should use the Super Bowl to be just like their neighbors. I said they should use it to display the differences between Christian community and community the world offers. I didn’t say take the Super Bowl as it is, I said redeem the Super Bowl instead of bailing on it.
Finally, who cares what 3rd-world Christians would do? I’m talking about where we live, and the reality is that the Super Bowl is an awesome opportunity to engage people outside the church in our culture.
I am with you on this one Jake. I enjoy Ray Ortlund’s posts, but concur with you that we should use events like the Super Bowl to get to know our neighbors better.