SPIRITUAL METAPHORS FROM A SPORTS FAN
SPIRITUAL METAPHORS FROM A SPORTS FAN
By Dr. Bruce Atkinson
(with a thank you to Bill Crowder)
Special to virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
January 20, 2013
With the Super Bowl approaching, I thought I would write a piece for the sports fans out there. Although many people make an idol out of their team or of the sport itself (not good), there are still many believers like me who enjoy the games and are actually taught important principles (or they are confirmed) by some aspects of the contest. We know that the apostle Paul used athletic examples in his own teaching.
The Contrast Effect
When the games are close and I have a favorite team to which I strongly identify (like the hometown team), I watch with some tension and anxiety. The tension is part of what makes these games enjoyable. When the game goes from being in doubt to my team having won, I have both feelings of relief (we did not lose.) and also triumph (we won.). These winning moments are so exhilarating and uplifting that it is worth enduring the disappointment of those other games where my team loses. Up to a point. When I lived in the Chicago area, I eventually gave up watching Cubs baseball. I'm a sports fan, not a masochist.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By Dr. Bruce Atkinson
(with a thank you to Bill Crowder)
Special to virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
January 20, 2013
With the Super Bowl approaching, I thought I would write a piece for the sports fans out there. Although many people make an idol out of their team or of the sport itself (not good), there are still many believers like me who enjoy the games and are actually taught important principles (or they are confirmed) by some aspects of the contest. We know that the apostle Paul used athletic examples in his own teaching.
The Contrast Effect
When the games are close and I have a favorite team to which I strongly identify (like the hometown team), I watch with some tension and anxiety. The tension is part of what makes these games enjoyable. When the game goes from being in doubt to my team having won, I have both feelings of relief (we did not lose.) and also triumph (we won.). These winning moments are so exhilarating and uplifting that it is worth enduring the disappointment of those other games where my team loses. Up to a point. When I lived in the Chicago area, I eventually gave up watching Cubs baseball. I'm a sports fan, not a masochist.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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