"God was with us"

After winning the BCS National Championship game, Gene Chizik, head coach of the Auburn Tigers, said in his post game field interview, “God was with us . . .”

Immediately I was saddened.

I realize Gene Chizik is not trying to create a controversial statement or start a theological debate. I’m aware that January 10 will be one of the greatest days of his life, and in the moment of one of the biggest accomplishments of his career, he had the presence of mind to recognize the interplay between divinity and humanity. On one level I’m impressed by this attempt at humility, yet theologically speaking, I balk at it too.

Coach Chizik is correct in that God was with him and his team. We worship a God who is both transcendent and immanent. Transcendence is the attribute given to God which refers to God being wholly other, separate from creation, constantly ‘above’ the universe. Immanence is the attribute given to God which refers to God being wholly present, fully involved, constantly ‘within’ the universe. I’m sure when Chizik called out across the world that “God was with us” somewhere in his mind he was thinking of this theological paradox – surely.

Yet, theologically speaking, I profoundly disagree with the context in which Chizik spoke these simple words. To think God aided Auburn and abated Oregon is ludicrous. It suggests God has favorites, God chooses sides, and God’s greatest concern is on Western, American, college football.

As an ordained, Baptist minister and an orator of the salvific nature of the Triune God, I find it quite hard to go against verses like Acts 10:34 which say, “God shows no partiality or favoritism.” This statement is spoken by Peter and repeated again by Paul in Romans 2.

Chizik’s slip-of-the-tongue is yet another banal example of American-religious rhetoric. It reflects Western Christianity’s narrow scope of God’s influence, love, attention, and care. We, in America, don’t think enough about God’s global concerns. If we did then we wouldn’t treat God like a primordial bookie.

I fear the American-religious focus is solely on how God intervenes in our lives instead of how we can partner with God in the ongoing creation, ongoing redemption, and ongoing struggle of the world.

Our scope is too narrow. We think God is more concerned about the over/under of a game than we do about the Sudanese, the war in Korea, the babies in Haiti, the flood relief in Pakistan, America setting an all-time high for anti-depressant prescriptions, millions dying from preventable diseases like malaria, or the trafficked children of West Africa.

My point is God does care about us in the West. God does care about our happiness and our accomplishments, but God also cares about the Oregon Ducks, their depression, their self-esteem, as well as the Sudanese, the war in Korea, the babies in Haiti, flood relief in Pakistan, the depressed, diseased-ridden countries, and the trafficked children of West Africa.

I’m not mad at Chizik. I’m mad that American-religious rhetoric isn’t better. It’s time for our religious rhetoric to start speaking more globally instead of so locally.

Comments

Lee Prophitt said…
Amen, my friend. Every time I hear an athlete say the following: "I want to first thank God...", I cringe. And then I feel guilty, because who am I to question their religious expression. But it has become culturally relevant to imagine that God cares more about one team or individual's desire to win than the opposing team or individual's desire to do the same. If one has much and is successful, one is "blessed." Does this suggest that God chooses some to bless and not others? It is a very narrow view of God...a God who is petty, sometimes mean and plays favorites. Wait, that sounds more like humanity. Plus, Chizek is wrong because we all know God bleeds orange and blue.
January 12, 2011 at 2:10 PM
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