Who Owns The Western Wall?

Every year, millions of visitors to Jerusalem, visit the Western Wall. A few years ago, my ENT specialist was among those visitors. Like thousands of Jews, he took his son there to mark his Bar Mitzvah. Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces swear loyalty to their nation and homeland at the Western Wall Plaza.  

People from all over the world pay their respects to the Jewish people’s magnificent history by visiting this special site. The ancient, 2,000-year-old stones of the Western Wall have witnessed the Jewish people’s birth, exile, and redemption. This is where the Jewish nation’s past mingles with its hopes for the future.

How then could Muslims claim that the Western Wall is a part of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City? The claim was made a few days ago before UNESCO, the United Nations’ Paris-based agency that tries to protect cultural treasures around the world.  

In 2010, the British Advertising Standard Agency ruled that an Israeli tourism advertisement containing a picture of the Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock in the background was misleading. The agency felt that the ad implied that the area in which the Wall was located belonged to Israel – for the agency that was false advertising. 

To whom does the Wall really belong – to the Jews or to the Muslims? What is the Western Wall anyway? 

In the year 37 BCE, Herod was appointed king in Jerusalem by the Romans – shortly after he initiated a huge renovation project for the Temple. He hired many workers who toiled to make the Temple more magnificent. He widened the area of the Temple Mount and built four support walls around it. The Western Wall is the western support wall built during this widening of the Temple Mount Plaza.

Just a few days ago I shared with a group of students what Israeli archaeologists found in 2007. They discovered the source of the huge stones King Herod used to reconstruct the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The stones were found at a quarry, along with coins and pottery, dating back to King Herod. Geological and other tests clearly link the present Western Wall to the quarry.

The Second Temple (which King Herod built) was destroyed in the year 70 CE. Despite the destruction that took place, all four Temple Mount support walls remained standing. Throughout the generations since the Temple’s destruction, the Western Wall was the remnant closest to the site of the Temple’s Holy of Holies that was accessible to Jews. Therefore, it became a place of prayer and yearning for Jews around the world.  

In the year 135 CE, the Romans crushed a Jewish uprising and seized total control of Jerusalem - the Jews lost official links to the region. The Romans renamed the region Palestine. 

The name Palestine was taken from Israel's most hated historical enemy, the Philistines, and was given to the area by the Romans as a means of humiliating the Jews to show them the land no longer belonged to them. With a destroyed Temple and no official homeland, the Jews found much solace in the Western Wall, the only remnant of the destroyed Temple. 

Many of those emotions were shattered when the Muslims invaded the Holy Lands in 638. By 691, at the order of Ymayyad Caliph, Abd al-Malik, the Dome of the Rock was completed on the site where the Jewish Temple was destroyed. As is evident today, the Western Wall was retained as the foundation.  

The Muslim presence remained unchallenged until the Crusades in the eleventh century. The Western Wall never seemed important to Muslims because they were in control and the Jews were not strong enough to challenge them. However, the Jewish interest in the Wall never died.

That ongoing interest was evident again in 1929 when violence erupted because a divider was placed at the Wall. In 1948, in keeping with a UN decision, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, including the Western Wall, fell to Jordanian hands. Jewish homes were destroyed and among those killed was the Western Wall’s first rabbi who refused to leave the Wall or his home - he was killed in the bombings.

The Old City of Jerusalem, and the Western Wall within it, were not in Jewish hands from the War of Independence in 1948 until the Six Day War in 1967. During those 19 years of Jordanian rule, Jews were not able to reach the Wall and prayed in front of its ancient stones. 

During the more than one thousand years Jerusalem was under Muslim rule, the Wall was often used as a garbage dump, so as to humiliate the Jews who visited it. However, following the Six Day War of 1967, The Western Wall and Temple Mount were liberated, the city of Jerusalem was reunified, and the Jewish people were again able to come to the Western Wall to pray.

The recent attempt at the UN for Muslims to regain control of the Western Wall, would most likely deprive Jews of their most holy site and return the area to a garbage dump.

Furthermore, to justify the return of Islamic control of the Wall would be to legitimize the Muslim invasion of Jerusalem in the seventh century. Such justification would also ratify the UN’s insensitivity to Israel’s religious heritage. In 1948, when establishing boundaries for the new nation, the UN was wrong to divide Israel’s 3,000 year-old claim to the city of Jerusalem.  

In terms of modern history, Israel’s return to her ancestral home is phenomenal. Unlike under the reign of Joshua in the Old Testament, she cannot kill those who shared the land with her, before independence. The nation must pursue peaceful co-existence. That requires a respectful use of sacred sites, including the Western Wall.

Goodnight Friend

When teenage children feel as comfortable as their parents, with their parents’ friends, something special is happening. We found that to be true after meeting Jack and Karen Mitchell almost 25 years ago.


The Mitchell and Corbin families in Wheaton, Illinois.

Jack & Karen with our daughter, Candace
at a Fountainside church picnic in Florida.

The relationship between our families was so special that we had hoped some lifelong relationship could develop among the children.

Our friend Jack died a few days ago. Last year he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Recent research suggests the disease is possibly caused by sawdust, allergies, acid reflux, all of which Jack had or was exposed to. The disease causes the lung tissue to scar, thus not allowing oxygen to get through to the cells.

We met Jack in Illinois, shortly after coming to America to pursue advanced studies in 1991. Our paths crossed frequently as I shared the pulpit at the church he pastored in Wheaton. Those engagements often included family meals and opportunities to meet other foreign students studying in the area. 

After relocating, 400 miles seemed near as we travelled to surprise Jack for his fiftieth birthday. He and Karen even travelled further in order to visit us in Florida. The internet kept us together as the Mitchells moved to Budapest and later Kenya. A few months ago we travelled almost 3,000 miles to visit Jack for the last time. 

It was during that visit in California we reminisced on family times, his missionary assignments in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. We laughed, sang and remembered the Lord Jesus in the ordinance of communion.
I will miss Jack. He was an encourager and very dear friend. At times, he would be the only person to comment on my weekly commentaries. He was an astute thinker and student of the Scriptures. I will miss his insightful comments. Sometimes I wondered why he thought it necessary to get my permission to share my commentaries with his students in Kenya – he was so authentic. He just never wasted an opportunity to bless someone else.

Upon learning of his death, I am discovering that many others around the world share my sentiments.
Like Mausau Elijah, who in 2011 was leading a fellowship group in Jack’s house at Scott Christian University, Kenya. His opening remarks to the group were, "where will you be five years from now"? Among the many answers, Mausau remembers, “Jack, my mentor, friend, teacher, the disciple of righteousness said, 'I will be in heaven.’” 

Jack was right, within five years he is no longer with us. What is obvious from the many tributes paid to Jack, is a sense of loss. Loss for Karen, his wife of more than 47 years. Loss for his four adult children and fourteen grandchildren. Loss for thousands of students, parishioners and friends. Much grief and great loss, but not hopelessness.

When confronted with the loss of loved ones in their church, the Thessalonians got word to the apostle Paul about their emotional and spiritual ambivalence. In his reply, he acknowledged the emotional impact of grief. However, he made a distinction between the grief one experiences when a Christian dies, as opposed to when a non-Christian dies.   

Hear Paul’s actual words, “Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who fall asleep, or grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The implication is clear – Christians who die have hope. We understand that inscriptions on tombs and references in literature show that first-century non-Christians viewed death with horror. Death was the end of everything.

Paul contends, Christians should view death differently. For the Christian it is a confidence in crisis. That confidence is not in the loss of the loved one, but the outcome that results from that loss. But how is a confident outcome possible if someone is dead? Isn’t death a cessation of life? 

Actually, in this context, Paul preferred the term “fall asleep” instead of death. The term “fall asleep” conveys the idea of temporariness, as opposed to permanent absence. In the following verse Paul goes on to provide a basis for his “fall asleep” idea. 

He argues, “... Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (v.14). Paul resorts to history, not philosophy to substantiate his point. As far as he was concerned, the death and resurrection of Jesus were historical realities. Similarly, Christians who die, will rise again, just as Jesus died and rose again.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reinforces this point: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost...” (1 Corinthians 15:16-20). In other words, the Christian’s hope is not in a mere idea, but in a Person – Jesus Christ. 

It is for this reason, I found it more appropriate to entitle this commentary “Goodnight Friend” – a Good Morning is anticipated when the Mitchell family and Jack will meet again.

Christian Jailed in US

I like Kim Davis. Last week a federal judge ordered Davis to jail following her refusal to comply with a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The county clerk has sought a religious liberty exemption, stating that it would violate her Christian beliefs to affix her name to a license for same-sex couples.

Davis’s lawyer, Roger Gannam with the Liberty Counsel, said following Judge David Bunning’s decision to imprison his client: “Today, for the first time in history, an American citizen has been incarcerated for having the belief of conscience that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and she’s been ordered to stay there until she’s willing to change her mind, until she’s willing to change her conscience about what that belief is. This is unprecedented in American law.”

According to Kim Davis, “I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. I’m just a vessel God has chosen for this time and this place.” She added: “I’m no different than any other Christian. It was my appointed time to stand, and their time will come.”

Judge David Bunning, who ruled against Davis, argued his case compellingly. He said: "Our form of government will not survive unless we, as a society, agree to respect the US Supreme Court's decisions regardless of our personal opinions. Davis is certainly free to disagree with the court's opinion, as many Americans likely do, but that does not excuse her from complying with it. To hold otherwise would set a dangerous precedent."

In addition, Judge Bunning contends, "Davis repeatedly states that the act of issuing these licenses requires her to 'authorize' same-sex marriage. The form does not require the county clerk to condone or endorse same-sex marriage on religious or moral grounds. It simply asks the clerk to certify that the information provided is accurate and that the couple is qualified to marry under Kentucky law. Davis' religious convictions have no bearing on this purely legal inquiry. It is not a sign of moral or religious approval."

In other words, Davis was not asked to solemnize something with which she disagreed – she was not employed as a Minister of Religion. What if her job required her to certify legal entities like gambling establishments or night clubs? Would certifying such activities violate her Christian beliefs or conscience?

However, according to Davis, “God’s moral law conflicts with my job duties.” The clerk currently has a case in federal court seeking a religious liberty exemption, allowing her not to have to affix her name to same-sex marriage licenses. 

The First Amendment to our US Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In America, the citizen has the freedom of religion; the state should not institute an atmosphere of freedom from religion.

For me, some questions must be answered, was Kim Davis imprisoned for the exercise of her religious views? Did the government create an atmosphere that would limit or prohibit Davis from practicing her religion?

The Religious Freedom Restoration ACT (RFRA), passed by Congress in 1993, establishes the principle that when someone complains that a federal law burdens his religious conscience, the government has an obligation to demonstrate that it has a compelling interest in applying the law.

Could “a compelling interest” be determined in Davis’ case? For Davis, this is a matter of religious liberty which is protected under the First Amendment. America’s history is filled with accommodations for people's religious freedom and conscience.

For example, the Supreme Court's much-debated Hobby Lobby ruling exempts private businesses from issuing health insurance that offers contraception services to employees if that violates the religious conscience of their owners. 

Was Davis offered exemptions that accommodated her First Amendment rights? According to Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, “Kentucky accommodates conscientious objectors for other types of licensing.” Why weren’t these “other types of licensing” extended to Davis?

Mat Staver, Head of the Liberty Counsel said “Davis has a very strong conscience and she’s just asking for a simple remedy, and that is, remove her name from the certificate and all will be well. That simple remedy has simply been ignored by the court and by the governor and that’s what should have been done.

Furthermore, I think it’s reprehensible that she’s in jail for this when a simple fix could have been easily handled.”

Kentucky Govenor Steve Beshear could issue an executive order and correct the problem, but he would not. Also, the legislature could pass a law removing clerks' names from the licenses, but it won't be in session until January. In the meantime, Kim Davis is languishing in jail. 

This case reminds me of a few lines in Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail: “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him [or her] is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.” 

Like Esther, Kim Davis believes she was elected as Clerk of Court “for such a time as this.” Esther requested of the Jews that they should fast while she prepared herself to stand before the king. In like fashion, we need to stand with Kim Davis. Rightly or wrongly, she is taking a stand for everyone who cherishes religious liberty against judicial tyranny.

Apocalyptic Islam!

There is a difference between radical Islam and Apocalyptic Islam. Radical Islam is a militant, politically activist ideology whose ultimate goal is to create a worldwide community, or caliphate of Muslim believers. Adherents of Radical Islam insist on a literal and fundamentalist reading of the Qur’an. They resist progress in human rights, gender-equality and democratic reforms. 

Apocalyptic Islam is different. It is not driven by political ideology as Radical Islam. Rather, it is a theological ideology with a specific emphasis on End Times or Eschatology. Islam believes that their messiah, known as the Mahdi, will come at any moment. According to Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America: “The coming of the Mahdi is established doctrine for both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, and indeed for all humanity.”

Both Shi’a and Sunni branches of Islam have different strategies to hasten the arrival of the Mahdi. Both branches of Islam believe a period of global turmoil must precede the coming of their Mahdi. Both main branches are committed to hasten the coming of the Mahdi. According to Shi’a Muslims, the Mahdi, also known as the Twelfth Imam, is a great spiritual savior.

There are many signs that will precede this Mahdi, “a general and very important sign is that he will come at a time when there is great confutation, intense disputes and violent deaths. When people are afflicted by disturbance and experiencing great fear. It is then that Imam Mahdi will be sent.”

As they work to expedite the coming of the Mahdi, ISIS members, representing Sunni Islam, devoutly believe that they are fighting in a cosmic war in which they are on the side of good, which allows them to kill anyone they perceive to be standing in their way. 

Furthermore, they believe that they are the vanguard, fighting a religious war, which Allah has determined will be won by the forces of true Islam. In an upcoming book, authors Berger and Stern explain that "violent apocalyptic groups, tend to see themselves as participating in a cosmic war between good and evil, in which moral rules do not apply." 

Iran, representing Shiite Islam, uses a different strategy to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi. It was former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who attributed his role to that of a forerunner for the Mahdi. He believed he was told by the prophet Mohammed that he was “the chosen one to hasten the return of the Muslim’s messiah by creating chaos throughout the world.” 

Bernard Lewis, a professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University, warned in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece a few years ago that “President Ahmadinejad seems to believe that the hand of God is guiding him to trigger a series of cataclysmic events which could precipitate the return of the 12th Imam.” As a theocracy, Iran is uniquely poised to administer this apocalyptic role.

New York Times bestseller Joel Rosenberg contends that Iran’s purpose for wanting to build up its nuclear arms program is to be more equipped for the coming of the Mahdi. For Iran, the destruction of Israel, representing Judaism, and America, representing Christianity, is critical in its pre-Mahdi mission. 

According to a 2012 report by the Pew Research Center, “in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, more than 750 million Muslims believe they will live to see the return of the Mahdi.”

When asked to comment on Apocalyptic Islam, Joel Rosenberg said, “For the first time in human history, we now are faced with two nation-states whose leaders are driven by an end-of-the-world [theology]. ISIS is trying to build the end-of-the-world kingdom, or caliphate, for the Mahdi to come and rule. They are not waiting, like the Iranians are, to build genocidal weapons. ISIS is trying to bring about genocide of the infidels right now.”

Egyptian born Dr. Michael Youssef told the Christian Post recently, "To be quite honest, I am not really afraid as much from jihadists as I am fearing that the evangelical church is losing its moorings on the biblical authority for all kinds of different reasons. The challenge from Islam can only be met by a strong Christian church, rather than a weak and indecisive, spineless Gospel preaching."

Like Muslims, Christians believe we are living in the end times. However, the instructions from our Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ, is to ensure that we share the message of salvation with the entire world. We are “to occupy until He comes.” In other words, we prepare for His coming with vigilance, not violence.

Boys and Girls!

In announcing the arrival of our seventh grandchild, our son and his wife engaged in an online discussion with friends about the gender of the child. That kind of gender chatter is fast becoming outdated. The online discussion assumed two genders – male and female. However, in this evolving season of gender neutrality, some activists believe that there are many more types of genders to consider.

Gender neutrality, which incorporates gender-blindness, is opposed to distinguishing people by gender. The idea is to remove any form of gender discrimination in any form of activities and or services provided. Advocates of this view use a purple circle to symbolize gender neutrality. The colored circle is a mixture of colors traditionally used to represent males and females.

It was sensitivity to this gender neutrality culture that prompted Target Stores, the nation’s third-largest retailer, to announce that they will be joining the movement – Target has begun removing signs labeling “boy” and “girls” in multiple departments. The retailer will no longer distinguish between items for boys and items generally preferred by girls.

Target’s website states: “Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance. For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months.”

All this gender neutral rhetoric is consistent with views held by some sociologists. They contend that gender roles are based on norms or standards, created by society. For instance, masculine roles are usually associated with strength, aggression and dominance. 

This school of thought contends that gender socialization begins at birth and occurs through four stages – family, education, peer groups and the media. In other words, much of the behavior we associate with gender is really learned and not inherent or naturally acquired.

Advocates believe, to think otherwise would be to entertain a sexist worldview with prejudiced beliefs that value males over females. Furthermore, advocates believe this stereotypical thinking leads to discrimination, oppression and violence for not adhering to society’s traditional gender roles.

Hogwash – why don’t we take such social theories and apply them to sporting events. For millennia we allow gender distinction in sports because we recognize the differences in strengths between male and female athletes. Such accommodation is guided by biological factors, not sociological.

I agree that some behaviors are designated as appropriate for male or female. However, one cannot ignore that hormonal differences play a significant role in gender differences. This would explain some of the aggression in men. 

In her 1989 PhD dissertation at Northwestern University, Psychotherapist Charlotte Smith mapped brain electrical activity and found that women and men process information in different parts of the brain. Other studies confirm that men are naturally more curious and women more attentive to people and social relationships. 

John Gray was correct when he wrote, Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus. Here Gray provides a practical and proven way for men and women to communicate better by understanding and respecting the differences between them. Gray believes that by pretending that men and women are from different planets can help us to deal with the opposite sex in a loving and accepting way, leading to better relationships.

Gender differences were designed, not learned. I still believe “God created man (mankind) in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

There are three different Hebrew words in this verse that help us to understand what took place – they are translated; humankind, male and female. The words are not only different, but the meaning of each word is so different that no word can be used interchangeably. 

For millennia, researchers have concluded that the behavioral differences between boys and girls are inherent. The behaviors are consistent with hormonal differences. In addition, many of the learned behaviors, are consistent with the hormonal differences inherent in boys and girls. 

Agreed, preferences for colors like pink and blue are learned. However, the same cannot be said of athletic prowess, the capacity to nurture and other caring or aggressive behaviors.
God made us different!    

The Faiths of the Debaters

Agreed, today’s headline was borrowed from David Holmes’ book, The Faiths of the Post-War Presidents. 

In this volume Holmes looks at the role of faith in the lives of the twelve presidents who have served since the end of World War II. Like Holmes, I share the view that the faith of presidents shapes their character and their character shapes their politics.

With that in mind it is therefore important for us to become aware of the faiths of the debaters, each seeking to become the president of the United States. From information gathered, most of last Thursday’s Republican debaters claim to be Christians. 

Former President Dwight Eisenhower was correct in saying that “we are a religious people.” Every potential president knows this and declares his religious leanings very early in campaigning. President Obama understood this and severed ties with the church with which he was a member for more than twenty years. He agreed with his advisors that the anti-American rhetoric at the church would hurt his run for president.

Among some conservatives, it was felt that Mitt Romney’s association with the Mormon Church, often viewed as a cult, damaged his presidential chances in 2012. Decades earlier, the question of John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Roman Catholicism animated the 1960 election. Many felt his allegiance to the Pope could undermine his allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. 

One could now understand the reasoning behind Chase Norton’s Facebook question to the debaters: “What is God saying to you about running for President?” Each candidate, when asked the question, expressed his opinion and exposed his personal religious commitment. 

For Texas Senator Ted Cruz, he felt “blessed to receive a word from God every day” as he read the Bible. Cruz also used the occasion to share how he came to faith in Jesus Christ in 1975. The story of his father, now a pastor, was equally interesting.

Donald Trump was not asked to respond to the Facebook question. However, as the Republican front runner, I thought it would be interesting to explore his journey of faith. In 2012, he told the Christian Broadcasting Network that he attended the First Presbyterian Church in Queens, New York. He was also a member of Marble Collegiate Church, a Reformed Church in America congregation and once the pulpit of the late Norman Vincent Peale.

When asked about a personal faith in Christ, during a Question & Answer session at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa, Trump admitted that he had never sought forgiveness for his sins. However, he further admits that he goes to church when he can – but always at Christmas, Easter and “when there’s a major occasion – I’m a Sunday church person.”

In his contribution to the Facebook question, Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker declared, “It is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that I’ve been redeemed from my sins.” Like Cruz, Walker is the son of a pastor and has been exposed to evangelical Christianity from his childhood.

Before the debate even kicked off, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, tweeted this to his followers: “May the Lord guide my words tonight, let His wisdom be my thoughts.” In his book Gifted Hands, Carson describes being baptized as a boy by the pastor of Detroit’s Burns Seventh-Day Adventist Church. At the age of 12 he told the pastor of another Adventist church that he had not completely grasped his first baptism and was baptized again.

Carson, a former Director of Neurosurgery at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital once said, “Quite frankly, as a neurosurgeon, there’s a lot of emphasis on technical ability, but I believe that that’s something that can be taught, but wisdom comes from God and I think that it’s something that you have to seek.”

The fact that almost every presidential candidate talks about a personal faith in Christ is a healthy sign. Such a faith suggests a commitment to the ethical demands of the Scriptures and the faith community to which they are committed. Although not elected as religious leaders, presidents are expected to console and lift citizens to heights greater than themselves. Christians are well disposed to these demands. 

In addition to David Holmes’ book, to which I alluded earlier, I would strongly encourage readers to contact Religion News Service for additional information on the faith of the debaters.

Sports & Prayer

The Jamaicans in our local church were pleased to see the bulletin item - JAMAICA IN SOCCER FINAL. The item appeared the Sunday Jamaica was scheduled to meet Mexico, following their 2-1 victory against the United States.

Apart from the novelty of having a sporting event featured in a church bulletin, one may question what does religion have to do with sports. Thankfully, our church was not praying for Jamaica to win, although that was desired, we were praying for some of the other benefits derived from sports. 

We were praying for “a clean game, without injuries and an honorable display of sportsmanship.” Although Jamaica lost the game, that prayer was answered. Somewhere along the line we have been led to believe that sporting activities were designed only to identify champions. Consequently, we are taught to demonize opponents, in that they are there to obstruct us from becoming champions. 

Sometimes I wish I could hear the prayers of competing teams. Are they both asking the same God to help them win? Such thinking trivializes prayer. Praying before or during a sporting event should be bigger than “Lord, help us to win.”

Because of the recently completed Women’s World Cup in Canada and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in America, allow me to use soccer as a case study in our reflections on Sports and Prayer. Here are some reasons why players and fans need to pray.

Soccer has its moments of stress and anxieties. One such anxiety comes with the taking of penalties. Studies confirm that this unplanned event is one of the most stressful in the 90 minute game. Business Insider reports that on average, in a penalty, a soccer ball travels at about 70 mph. With the penalty spot just 36 feet from the goal, that means it will take the ball less than half a second to reach the net. That gives the goalkeeper about 700 milliseconds to look which way the ball is going, decide which way to jump and move his body in that direction.  

In addition, there is the emotional weight of the team, the fans and the nation one is representing. In the case of penalty shoot-outs, the outcome of the game could also be determined by the success of the goalkeeper or penalty kicker. Prayer does relieve much of that stress. 

Although not the most dangerous sport, serious injuries have taken place on the soccer field. Players have suffered concussions, broken bones, dislocations and varying sorts of career-ending injuries. The ripple effects of such injuries affect many, including the player, his sporting fraternity and his family.

The likelihood of injury introduces the whole subject of safety – not just the safety of the players, but also the fans. Stadiums have collapsed killing fans, riots have broken out among fans and various forms of disorder have taken place among unruly fans. Actually, crowd control is no easy task. Imagine, in an emergency, having to evacuate 60,000 persons within a limited period of time and through limited exits. Personally, I pray for safety at soccer games.

Ongoing studies by sport psychologists confirm that an athlete’s spiritual and religious beliefs seem to promote deeper meaning to their athletic successes, failures, struggles and disappointments. In essence, the religious beliefs of the athlete is closely linked to his/her motivation to play.

One way Christian athletes can respond to the self-focused, self-indulgent way of thinking that is so pervasive in competitive sports, is to define sports participation as a religious encounter. One researcher found that some Christian athletes often used prayer in sports to “give glory to God”. The researcher cited one athlete who used the verse, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, but for the Lord, not for man” (Colossians 3:23), as his motivation in sports. 

Despite the disdain shown to Christian athletes by many in the media, there is a growing interest in sports and religion within some institutions. One such institution is York St. John University in York, England. At York there is an academic research Center for the Study of Sport and Spirituality, which encourages a multi-disciplinary approach to sport and spirituality. 

The existence of organizations like Christians in Sports, The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Center for Sport and Jewish Life in America, further illustrate the growing interest and importance of the interaction between sport and religion.

So, when we see athletes pray, or when we pray for athletes, our prayers should be much more than “Lord, help us to win.” Our prayers should instead focus on tempering attitudes among those who win and those who did not win. Like one team, we should be praying, “May we put into practice all that we have learnt in our training, and bring to mind all the skills and planning from our preparation times.”