My daughter is amused that I have become a college basketball fan. “Mom, you never watched basketball!”
I responded, “Michigan has a good team this year.” I followed the Wolverines in March Madness and was disappointed when Texas Tech beat them.
Then I had to find out how one of our arch rivals, Michigan State, fared against Texas Tech in the final four game. Texas Tech beat Michigan State. When the game ended the TV cameras followed the players to the locker room, expecting a party atmosphere. The players waited for their coach.
When Coach Beard arrived they all dropped to a knee and began praying. The commentators were stunned and the cameras immediately cut back to the sports analysts.
The TV station handled it awkwardly and seemed to have discomfort with prayer.
I was thinking about the state of our nation as I read the book, Saving Amelie, by Cathy Gohlke. The novel tells the story of a little deaf girl in Nazi Germany. She does not meet the standard for a pure Aryan blood line. Will she be eliminated as the eugenics movement gathers momentum?
In the author’s Note to Readers, Ms. Gohlke writes: In my quest for answers I traced the evolution of the pseudoscience of eugenics in the United States and Germany, with its determination to eradicate disease and its design to eliminate certain bloodlines while promoting others . . .
It is still hard to understand what took place in Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler. Cathy Gohlke did a great deal of research as she wrote this book. She also referred to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship. Through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life and writings we see the importance of God’s truth infusing all aspects of life.
Our faith in God should inform our lives. Faith should be part of daily life, science and even sports. It seems that there is a growing desire to put faith and religious freedom in a little box. Some would say that our faith in God and our belief in the Bible has no place in medicine, science, and the interactions of daily life, but I disagree.
I’m joining the link-up at Inspire Me Monday .
My team didn’t make it either (Auburn Tigers) to the championship game. We were as sad Saturday night as your fans were. Our guys gathered in a circle and prayed right after our game was over. So proud of their attitude and humility. I don’t know if TV showed it or not, but we saw it in person and it was beautiful.
Interesting segway from college basketball to how our faith in God should inform our lives. Thanks for sharing about the book by Cathy Gohlke. My library has it and I look forward (I hope) to seeing what happens to Amelie.
Hi Susan, I’m glad your library has the book. Once I started reading, I could hardly put the book down–stayed up very late one night to finish it.
I agree with you, Carol. “[P]ut faith and religious freedom in a little box,” and we lose the privilege of freedom to openly express faith and live by our faith –or some would say practice faith.