Ha!! Funny. That guy was the head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. His role, IMO, for the ministry of the movie was saying "You won the big one when you accepted Christ into your life".
I really like the movie because I really liked the message it sent. What I didn't like was the over-the-top ending where God seemingly actually got involved in the game, getting the head-coach, Bobby Lee Childress, to call a time-out, turning the wind, and then the kicker, David Childress asking God to help him make this kick. I found that quite a bit over-the-top and did not fit with the rest of the movie. The jist of God caring about football came very early in the movie when in the locker room when Grant Taylor is giving his new team philosophy, asks after some back-and-forths, Matt Prader asks in a tone very much like you asked, "So, you think God cares about football?" and coach says, "I think God cares about your faith and if you show your faith on the football field, then, yes, I think he cares about football because he cares about you". Then the movie moves forward and great things happen but none of it is over the top, at all, except at the end, which, seemingly is where you picked the movie up.
If I saw the last 20 minutes of this movie only, I would have been quoting George Carlin who says, "What is it with these Christian Athletes who praise God whenever they lose but never mention his name when they win?"
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Wokel
14 years ago
"So, you think God cares about football?" and coach says, "I think God cares about your faith and if you show your faith on the football field, then, yes, I think he cares about football because he cares about you".
Okay, I might have written this differently had I seen the whole film then. But while that is an answer, it's not a good answer.
I don't even know what that means. How do you show your faith on the football field?
If you REALLY believed that you won the big one when you accepted Christ in your heart then it REALLY wouldn't matter if you won or lose. I don't think these guys REALLY believe that. If they did, it would undermine the tension of the film.
If you were a Christian on the football field you wouldn't pay competively because you would know that it doesn't matter if you win or not. Or you wouldn't want your winning to come at the expense of somebody else losing. And you wouldn't give it your best because you would know that defining your sense of worth through your prowess on the football field is exactly the sort of thing that innoculates people against Christ.
Possibly a Christian would play football well if there were people on his team who were not Christian and he didn't want them to go through the agony of losing. But even that is a little like giving a bum a few dollars so he could buy some wine and not get the shakes.
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Wokel
14 years ago
Looked at that "God cares about football because he cares about you" line. I think that espouses tribalism. The reason they win and the Giants lose is because the Giants don't have faith and they do. Their faith in Christ makes them the superior race.
We're getting a little close to antinomianism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomian)
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antoineze
14 years ago
Close to antinomianism? Probably just a bit of a misunderstanding with the word - it is based on a principle that some Christian churches teach. It's an extreme version of saved by faith, not by works. Other Christian religions teach that REAL faith REQUIRES work, or it is not real faith (James 1:22-27, James 2). Clearly the moral of the movie is to give God your best (work), and then let him do the rest (faith).
Tribalism? Superior race? Bringing this up suggests that I'm practicing tribalism because I go home to my family and only sleep with my wife, and not all the neighbors. There's nothing of tribalism in this movie - they are a team, learning to play for God's glory for heaven's sake. Can my family "play" for God's glory? Or does that mean are trying to become a superior race? This was not about race, creed or color. Was David a tribalist fighting Goliath? Is that what Moses was trying to start when he acted as a tool for God as he led the children of Israel out of Egypt?
This movie was more about being on God's team in real life, and always praising him in life, even when you lose a job or your crop fails. It's also about fighting the "Goliaths" in our life - or in the movie's words, "let's go fight some giants!".
Do you have any giants to fight in your life? Cancer? Depression? Gangs? A poor school system? Your child's anti-social behavior? Bad politics? Obesity? The list goes on and on - don't think that any of these involve tribalism or a superior race. Just life. And asking for God's help to do what we cannot.
I went camping with my son in our trailer recently. My son said he felt inspired to tell me we needed to look at the tire before we left, so we did - it had a nasty bulge in it and would have probably blown on the freeway, causing a very bad accident. I was in a hurry to get back for a very important appointment, and would not have time to get the tire fixed before the tire stores closed. The camp site is 100 miles from my house where the appointment was. We prayed that God would help take care of our trailer while we were gone, would keep us safe while driving, and would help provide a way for us to fix the tire - all 3 were out of my hands. I went to my scheduled engagement with my wife, and after was able to find a friend that had the exact kind of tire we needed from his trailer. God did not take away the drive, or the difficulty, but he provided what I could not - a spare tire. He also kept me from falling asleep on the road AND provided a nice drive for my wife and I to have a good conversation. He did way more than I prayed for. There was a lot of work on my part with the drive (300 miles) and replacing the tire, but it also required a lot of faith for me to trust that somehow God would work out the details with the tire so I could go to my appointment. This was my giant.
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goonersteve
14 years ago
And you don't think that it is an absolutly disgusting message? "Believe in what we do otherwise bad things will happen to you". Seriously, this is pure BS, when have you ever seen "god" intervene in any sporting event? This is just some rubbish for middle class american Christians to re-enforce the already twisted falacy that because they believe in something good things wil almost certainly happen.
This movie is for dumb redneck morons stuck worshipping bronze age texts.
"This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time"
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galendboyer
14 years ago
That says then, that Christianity cannot be together with any sports. One cannot want to win at anything and also be called a Christian. I don't believe that to be the case, at all. And just because one wins, does not mean they are doing that to dishonor the competition. To me, competition is very honorable, whether one wins or loses. In either, honoring your competitor, is very akin to loving your neighbor, and, so, in many ways is very much honoring God. This is sort of the Christian theory that the movie is trying to get to. Giving your best in competing can very much be in honor of God. As Larry Childers answers his son David's Childer's question, "If God wanted me to do great things, how come he made me so small and weak?" The answer was "To show how mighty he is".
One gives there best, and then the outcome is out of their control after that. Giving ones best, in this movie, was giving one's best to honor God. As coach said, "You've got to give your best in everything, on the football field, in your relationships, in honoring your parents and when you are at home alone surfing the internet". "Give your best to God and leave the rest up to him." is a theme throughout the movie.
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Blueberry_HEAD
14 years ago
"Give your best to God and leave the rest up to him." is a theme throughout the movie.
Well then what happens when both teams do that? Does he toss a coin to decide who will win? If he doesn't interfere then that quote is void.
I hate coconut! Not the taste, the consistency...
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galendboyer
14 years ago
That's not the theme, point, or message. Doing one best in the glory of God is the theme. Losing or winning is not the point. Praising him either way is.
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Blueberry_HEAD
14 years ago
Exactly, there is no point to winning or losing which is what the OP was referring to. If all that matters is giving your best to God, then competition is irrelevant.
I hate coconut! Not the taste, the consistency...
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josephmlangford
14 years ago
Two people go to a church and put in prayer requests for the same job. There is only one position. Someones request will go unanswered. Sometimes God has plans for us that we cannot see and they might include losing. The point is to submit to his will, pray, do your best, accept the outcome either way and praise God for whichever outcome he gives.
The coach in this movie comes to God and says "Your will be done" in prayer and then teaches the lesson to his players. He says "If we win - we praise Him and if we lose - we praise Him" It's not the scoreboard that determines who wins but how each individual handles winning or losing that makes a difference. The purpose of playing team competitve sports? For enjoyment and exercise I suppose. I enjoy watching high school football even if my hometown team loses. Tribalism is a strange concept that has been mentioned. I don't understand the point of calling football a type of tribalism.Competitions drive people to improvement of a skill. People compete in school grades, gyms and even at work. Competitiveness drives to achievement greater than what we could do without someone elses performance as a benchmark. Show grace and sportsmanship in winning and it goes a long way toward fixing any depressed feelings caused by your opponent losing. Losing also gives you a goal for the next time.
The true way to win is to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and receive forgiveness of your sins by his blood. He will change your life.
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Wokel
14 years ago
He says "If we win - we praise Him and if we lose - we praise Him" It's not the scoreboard that determines who wins but how each individual handles winning or losing that makes a difference. The purpose of playing team competitve sports? For enjoyment and exercise I suppose. I enjoy watching high school football even if my hometown team loses. Tribalism is a strange concept that has been mentioned. I don't understand the point of calling football a type of tribalism.Competitions drive people to improvement of a skill. People compete in school grades, gyms and even at work. Competitiveness drives to achievement greater than what we could do without someone elses performance as a benchmark.
If winning causes you to praise God and losing causes you to praise God then winning or losing is not relevant.
Either W or L.
If W then P. If L then P.
Therefore there is no meaningful distinction to be made between winning or losing as this event would not change the outcome.
Association with one's hometeam is the very definition of tribalism. The beauty of Christianity is that we don't have hometeams just as we don't have nations or families. Nobody is any better than anybody else and our past and earthly associations are meaningless.
What's the point of improving a skill and competing and measuring yourself against somebody else's success when you have accepted Christ in your heart?
Losing would not give you a goal for next time unless it struck at the very heart of your sense of self-worth.
Original sin means that all human beings are born as garbage. As the lowest form of pond scum you can possibly imagine. Being good at something like football ARTIFICIALLY FOOLS you into thinking that you are something better than garbage. The only way to truly find love and acceptance and to be absolved of your sinfulness is through Christ.
Competetion is a breeding ground for pride and pride is anti-Christian. It's possibly the most anti-Christian of all emotions. You can win and not become prideful about it, but what's the point? It's sort of like going into a porno theater and not feeling lust. Or for a more benign example, like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and only getting one plate.
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Drdsr
14 years ago
I don't even know what that means. How do you show your faith on the football field?
At the risk of stating the obvious, which has already been stated anyway--the answer to that question is given in the movie. It's one thing to have caught the tail end of a movie, and not particularly care to see all of it. It's another to continually criticize it based on the final 10 minutes, viewed without any sort of context.
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antoineze
14 years ago
Was this movie about football? Wow! I completely missed the point! I guess I have to go back and watch this movie again for the 5th time, because I completely missed it. Or maybe, just maybe, the movie was not about football, but instead just a simple heartfelt example of the way God would want us to live our life. Jesus Christ taught in parables all the time, a sort of colloquialism that the people of the time could understand. Isaiah taught this way as well (along with many others) - he can be very hard to understand unless you understand the ways of the Jews at the time.
This movie was not about football, but about life. The question, "Does God care about football?" could easily be translated into "Does God care about my job? Does God care about my family? Does God care about my school and my studies? Does God care about me doing my best? Does God care about my house". God's love is infinite and eternal. I submit that this means he DOES care about ANYTHING you are involved in.
Someone asked what if the other team also praised God and played for His glory? I say that would be one amazing game! (and no swearing involved!) AND THEN IT DOES BECOME NOT ABOUT WINNING OR LOSING. I've heard that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. I know many Bible stories of "football games" that were played. How many wars do the scriptures talk about in which God's people were protected when they fought with him in their heart, but failed when they were fighting for themselves or against him.
The New Testament doesn't have any wars recorded (but it only spans about 35 years of history), but the apostles clearly "played" for God's glory - Paul said he "fought the good fight" - I suggest that he played many "football games". Also, God is eternal and was there during Old Testament times as well. We have BOTH New and Old for a reason. No, it's not about football, and neither are the stories in the scriptures - it's about life. Nehemiah and his stone wall was mentioned in the movie - did Nehemiah have a "tribalist" (or home team) perspective?
Try looking at this with a little less of a shallow heart. The intent of the movie was not to inspire high school football games (although many could use the principles taught in this movie), but instead to inspire us in life. It definitely inspired me and my wife - I may be losing my job here shortly and have two quotes from this movie in mind (along with many scriptural references):
"God will send the rain when he's ready, You need to prepare your field to receive it."
"I've resolved to give God everything I've got, then I'll leave the results up to him".
Two people praying for the same job? I'm sure that's happened a few million times - God can open any doors he wants (Rev 3:8). If you are "playing" for his glory when apply for a job, or planting your garden, or going on vacation, he will help you.
Two final comments for the nay-sayers and "tribalists": "Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart".
AND
"Following Jesus Christ is a decision you're gonna have to make for yourself. You may not want to accept him. 'cause he'll change your life. You'll never be the same."
I loved this movie and know many people it has inspired - it's one of the few that I will let my kids watch on the Sabbath. Thank you for putting in so much effort to teach these principles! With all the media brain washing that is going on these days, I look for anything to help level the playing field (football field?).
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