When the Giants were known as the "God Squad" | RELIGION BECOMES AN IMPORTANT PART OF BASEBALL SCENE - NYTimes.com

https://jewsforjesus.org/blog/god-squad-ii/

A blast from the past, the late 1970's early 80's version and the more recent vintage (link above).

Amazing how it's never an issue when the team is winning, only when things head south. What do you expect from the media? 

from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/10/sports/religion-becomes-an-important-part-of-baseball-scene.html?pagewanted=all

RELIGION BECOMES AN IMPORTANT PART OF BASEBALL SCENE

By GEORGE VECSEY

Published: May 10, 1981

THE God Squad. That nickname has followed the San Francisco Giants since 1978, eventually giving them a reputation of a team somehow weakened by the presence of several ''born-again'' Christians.

The basis for this reputation seems to be a quote attributed to Bob Knepper, now with the Houston Astros, that it was ''God's will'' when he gave up a game-losing home run. Although Knepper and his friends deny he made the statement, it continues to follow him and the Giants, and popped up in several baseball previews this spring.

''The tone of the article makes us sound pacified, but God does not expect us to be goody-two-shoes,'' says Gary Lavelle, a 32-yearold relief pitcher who once pitched in an All-Star Game and is the leader of the spiritual movement in the Giant clubhouse.

As a result of the quote, a few Giants have worried whether their ''born-again'' teammates are intense enough, even though many Giants praise the witnessing players as among the most dedicated of players. The confusion points out the problems in mixing religious beliefs with the simplified perceptions of sports.

Religious witnessing has become more common in all sports in the last decade, particularly in baseball, where chapel meetings are held in the clubhouse every Sunday with the endorsement of Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

The ''God Squad'' label began in 1978 when the Giants contended for first place until late in the season, but ultimately finished third. Many of the Giants were active in the Baseball Chapel, a Sunday-morning prayer service run by Watson Spoelstra of St. Petersburg, Fla., a retired sportswriter. Several Giants also became deeply involved in Bible study groups on their own time.

The ''born-again'' movement was hardly confined to a few locker rooms in the 1970's, but was a growing religious force in America, based on Biblical evangelical tradition. Evangelicals accept the full authority of the Bible, have made a personal spiritual commitment to Christ, and also accept the responsibility of witnessing their faith to others.

The basis for this commitment is taken from John 3:3, in which Jesus tells Nicodemus: ''I tell you the truth: no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.''

Just as President Carter and many other public figures spoke openly of their faith, so did athletes when given the opportunity. ''A lot of neat things were happening in 1978,'' says Rob Andrews, an infielder on that squad, now a youth pastor and teacher in Concord, Calif. ''A lot of us were having success on the field and finding Christ in our personal lives. As long as we were winning, the Christians were given credit for being a driving force on that team.'' Example of a Teammate

Andrews recalls that he had been traded from Baltimore and Houston with a reputation as a hothead. In the minor leagues he once asked his manager, Joe Altobelli, to install a punching bag behind the dugout so he could punch away his frustrations. He still had personal problems when Altobelli, then managing the Giants, brought him to San Francisco in 1977 and his locker was next to Lavelle's.

''I saw Gary Lavelle go through hard times that would have killed me,'' Andrews recalls. ''But he was always calm. He never preached to me but one day I asked him, 'Gary, what is it?' He said it was Christ.''

In 1979 the Giants never regained the winning touch, and Altobelli lost his job. Rumors began circulating that the Giants had been divided between carousers and born-againers, as if they were two extremes surrounding some kind of competitive ideal.

''Some guys fight like tigers but they always seem calm,'' says Altobelli, now the third-base coach with the Yankees. ''Other guys, Italian guys maybe, talk with their hands, get more physical. It takes all kinds. I had no complaint about those guys. Our problem in 1979 was pitching, not our chapel guys.''

The chief criticism from that year was the ''God's will'' quote attributed to Knepper after he gave up a home run. He says he can neither recall the game nor the quote. Knepper, who has pitched three shutouts this season with Houston, says he originally said, ''A lot of people believe we pray to God for victory and that we say it is God's will if we lose, but we never say that.

''We say God lets you perform. I do believe that as long as I give my best, I can't determine the outcome, but a Christian still has to go out and bust his fanny every day. I believe Christ died on the cross so I would give my best in life. For me to give up a home run and say God made me hang a curve ball is ridiculous. He doesn't play favorites. He gave me a certain amount of talent for me to use the right way.''

Fritz Peterson, a former major-league player now a chapel representative in the Chicago area, says, ''The religion was something that could be used against players, just like when I was pitching and my weight was fine as long as I was winning but I became overweight when I started to lose. Yet I never changed a pound. Some people said these guys were pacifists but they always played tough within the rules. I firmly believe that if Jesus Christ was sliding into second base, he would knock the second baseman into left field to break up the double play. Christ might not throw a spitball but he would play hard within the rules.''

Criticism From the Press

The born-again Giants claim that most reporters who cover the club regularly were fairer than some columnists. Lavelle recalls: ''One columnist wrote we were not getting anywhere by praying to Jesus and that maybe we should try praying to Satan. I remember that column well. I was not really surprised. The Bay Area is the center of devil worship, radical groups and homosexuality in this country. It is a satanic region.''

The evangelical players insist most of the criticism came from the press, but several suggest that Altobelli's replacement, Dave Bristol, was a little less tolerant than Altobelli. Now raising horses in the dogwood spring of North Carolina, Bristol said: ''I saw Rob Andrews turn his life around, and that was great.

''I do think there has to be a line drawn somewhere. The Lord is watching over all of us once the game starts. I don't like to think anybody uses religion as a crutch. It's supposed to make you a stronger person, not a better player.

''But I never said anything about those guys and nobody said anything to me. I didn't always understand Bob Knepper but I liked him a lot. I don't think religion was his problem - it was mechanics - dropping to a side-arm delivery. Bobby is a battler. I never thought he was complaisant.''

Frank Robinson, the new manager of the Giants, says he knows nothing about the issue. Joe Torre, manager of the Mets, says he has seen Pete Falcone become a more controlled adult since his spiritual conversion.

Chuck Tanner of the Pirates points to his intense born-again shortstop, Tim Foli - once known as ''Chief Crazy Horse,'' fighter of teammates, opponents, managers and umpires alike -and says, ''Nobody is more of a battler than Foli. I think religion has a place everywhere. I go to the chapel meetings myself whenever I can.''

Both the Mets and the Yankees hold chapel meetings every Sunday, with Tom Skinner, a former street-gang member-turned-evangelist, coordinating the services for the Yankees. Dave Swanson is the Baseball Chapel representative to the Mets, whose attendance is not as high as some other teams, according to Falcone. Roman Catholic priests occasionally visit both the Met and Yankee clubhouses. Although Torre praised Falcone for his growth since his spiritual experience, the manager said he did not want to discuss whether he had ever seen a player become complacent following a conversion. ''Religion is a touchy subject,'' Torre said.

Did any Giant player feel concern over the zeal of the born-again players? Randy Moffitt, a regular at chapel, says he detected ''a little bit of it a few years ago, but it's all gone now.'' Lavelle says he heard rumors the born-again players took a separate bus on trips.

One Giant said, off the record, two years ago that he thought that a few teammates were spending too much time in prayer and not enough time in practice, but that same player said last week, ''We should probably be more like them.'' Pressure for a Commitment

One Giant who raised concerns recently is Darrell Evans, one of the founders of the Giants' chapel group who says he feels estranged from his evangelical teammates because he perceives ''pressure'' on him to make a stronger spiritual commitment.

''For the last couple of years this club has been frustrating,'' Evans said recently. ''When a game is over, you should reflect on it. I want to see everybody is involved 100 percent. I just don't get good vibes sometimes. I see a guy come off the field, I think, maybe it's just not that important to him. It looks like he just went through a normal day's work.

''This is not a 9-to-5 job. I'm not saying we should throw things around the clubhouse, but a few times in baseball I've seen guys who used to be very intense and are now very placid. You wonder if guys think things are predestined.''

John Montefusco, who was traded from the Giants to Atlanta this season, says his religious beliefs differ from the evangelicals but he praises them strongly.

''When I was pitching for the Giants I hated to come out of a game,'' Montefusco said recently, ''but I always felt better when Gary Lavelle came in for me. You could see he had competitive spirit. He may hold back his feelings, and maybe that's not healthy, but he is one of the finest people I've ever met in baseball. These are good people. They are my friends. I think the press took a few things and blew it out of proportion to make those guy look bad.''

Lavelle says he has tried to avoid the ''religious fanatic'' label by not preaching to people unless they ask him about his faith. He is disturbed that what seems like a positive to him, a stable life, an even disposition, could be described as a potential detriment for a team.

''It seems so natural to me to carry my faith with me into the locker room,'' Lavelle says. ''I'm not asking for things, but I believe my relationship to Christ makes me a better husband, father, ballplayer. To see it turned around the way it has been - it makes me wonder.''

Illustrations: Photo of Gary Lavelle

Sent from my iPhone

“Progressives” and Religious Liberty Written By Laurie Higgins

http://illinoisfamily.org/religious/progressives-and-religious-liberty/

And here's what the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said in "Letter from Birmingham Jail":

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.

…

More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God…. 

…

I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

…

I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God?" 

…

In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful–in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent–and often even vocal–sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. 

Charles Slavik

~;::::::;( )">  ¯\_( )_/¯   

The Emanuel Church Murders and Racial Violence | Just Facts Daily

You wouldn't get this impression by listening to the MSM. And I'm talking about both sides of the aisle here, so don't bring me your "Yeah, he's talking about CNN" or "Yeah, he's talking about Fox News" 'cause guess what Chief? I'm talking about both. And if you are an intellectual  hostage of either one of those purveyors of hate and divisiveness -- and that is what they both are -- you will never see the light.

from justfactsdaily.com
http://www.justfactsdaily.com/the-emanuel-church-murders-and-racial-violence/

The truth of the matter is that whites are by far the greatest killers of whites, and blacks are by far the greatest killers of blacks. As detailed in a U.S. Department of Justice study that is the source of most of the data above, from 1980 through 2008, "84% of white victims were killed by whites," and "93% of black victims were killed by blacks."

Hence, those who pin blame on any race in America for violence against another race are avoiding the much greater problem, which is people of the same races killing each other. Moreover, individuals who falsely accuse others of racism and violence are sowing the seeds of more hatred and bloodshed.

When people are misled to believe that they are being terrorized, some will inevitably strike back. This should compel all people to make sure they get the facts straight and challenge such slander as it arises.

Cut the Cord, I tell you. You won't regret it for one minute, Don't allow the mass media to control you, you control the mass media by deciding on the sources you allow in. That implies you have to make good choices in that regard. I didn't say it was going to be easy.

It seems as if we should be talking a little less about "black and white" and a little more about "love and hate" or just for giggles "good and evil".

Family of slain show highest expression of Christianity when confronting lowest expression of humanity » The Right Scoop -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc8yRyBll-Q

This is also one of the most remarkable things I have seen or heard in quite some time. We spend a lot of time in sports asking "Did you see this?" or Did you see that?" as if these event were the most remarkable thinks we've ever seen. This qualifies and makes some of the other things we go ga-ga over seem rather trivial.

 The good folks of this church displayed remarkable love in the face of unspeakable hate. God Bless them.


Family of slain show highest expression of Christianity when confronting lowest expression of humanity » The Right Scoop -:

There was a remarkable event that happened when the family of those slain by Dylann Roof confronted him as he appeared in court today.

Watch below:



Many saw it as the highest expression of Christianity – those forgiving a monster who had taken their loved ones away and caused them so much pain. It really is an amazing manifestation of the mercy of God. I honestly don’t think I could have that much strength to do the same only a day after the killings.

'via Blog this'

It’s Time for American Christians to Stand With the Persecuted | Illinois Family Institute

"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”  -  Edmund Burke 

Agreed.

The problem is, we then run into this quote.

"History never repeats itself but it rhymes,"  - Mark Twain

Ewww, and some people are tone deaf. This could be a problem.

If history repeated, it would be easier for us to identify the the impending doom and make an appropriate correction. "Been there, done that, won't get fooled again." But it rhymes so....

Life works that way, we get conflicting data. I'm with Elie Wiesel on this one. The cost of being wrong is too high, as we have found out in the past.

from Illinois Family Institute:
It’s Time for American Christians to Stand With the Persecuted | Illinois Family Institute:

Naive skeptics say what ISIS jihadists do across the world is no threat to American Christians. “It will never happen here,” they say, sighing that only the hysterical and paranoid believe anyone will suffer for their faith in America. 

 Indeed. 

But Jewish-American writer Elie Wiesel isn’t so sure. During his 1985 acceptance speech after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Wiesel shared a conversation he had with a young Jewish boy that asked him how the Holocaust could have happened.

“… 

I explained to him how naïve we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation,” Wiesel said.

 “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe.”

'via Blog this'

"Nobody really cares about philosophy in general but they do care about two areas of practical and applied philosophy and that's religion and politics. So people will talk about philosophy in general but they will never talk about philosophy in particular (specifically). People love to talk about philosophy, but they don't want to talk about the areas where philosophy is practical / applied -- which is religion and politics." - Doug Casey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4nPuAfi1IE

from gatestoneinstitute.org
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5676/free-speech-erosion

The Erosion of Free Speech

by Denis MacEoin  •  May 3, 2015 at 5:00 am

• "If PEN as a free speech organization can't defend and celebrate people who have been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is not worth the name." — Salman Rushdie, former President of PEN.
• Today, a genuine fear of retribution for a "blasphemous" statement has subdued the will to stand up for one's own beliefs, values and the right to speak out. This fear has made most of the West submissive, just as Islam -- in both its name [Islam means "submission"] and declarations -- openly wants.
• This time, the condemnation had not come in a fatwa from Iran's Supreme leader, but from a Western academic. If we do not reverse this trend, censorship, blasphemy laws, and all the other encumbrances of totalitarians, will return to our lives. The bullies will win.
• If Geert Wilders and others are being accused of hate speech, then why isn't the Koran -- with its calls for smiting necks and killing infidels -- also being accused of hate speech?
• The mere criticism of a religious belief shared by many people mainly in the Third World has been linked, with no justification, to their genuine prejudice against the inhabitants of the developed world.

 http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5675/saeed-abedini

U.S. Lets American Pastor Saeed Abedini Rot in Iran's Prison

by Uzay Bulut  •  May 3, 2015 at 4:00 am

• "Recently, prison guards have threatened that even if he serves the full eight years, he will not be released, and that they will find new grounds to continue to hold him indefinitely." — Naghmeh Abedini, wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini.
• Shamefully, the U.S. government has said that the four Americans being held by Iran are not even part of the current negotiations with Iran.
• No wonder the great historian Bernard Lewis says that "America is harmless as an enemy and treacherous as a friend."

American Pastor Saeed Abedini with his family, before his imprisonment in Iran. (Image source: American Center for Law and Justice)

This week, on May 7, Saeed Abedini, an American pastor, will "celebrate" his 35^th birthday behind bars in a prison for "violent offenders" in Iran, simply for being a Christian.

He has already been held in two of Iran's most brutal prisons -- first in Evin, and now in Rajai-Shahr -- for three years, out of an eight-year sentence.

According to his official website, "On 28 July 2012, during a visit to Tehran to visit family and to finalize the board members for an orphanage he was building in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard detained Abedini, asserting that he must face criminal charges for his Christian faith."

In an interview with Gatestone Institute, Abedini's wife, Naghmeh Abedini, said that her husband is still exposed to pressures and mistreatment both from the guards and also from different Islamic militant groups within the prison:

Freedom versus coercion.

"So we fight evil and one of the great challenges with fighting evil is you cannot fight evil and the reason you cannot fight evil is that the moment that people see that it's evil it loses it's power.  What we fight is evil that people think is good." - Stephan Molyneux

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0

The REAL REASON why these Giants WIN in OCTOBER! - They play a GREAT second fiddle - Ishikawa's walk to a walk-off

'It takes more grace than I can tell

To play the second fiddle well.'

Wait, What!?!? What does that mean? Second fiddle? We're not talking about the opera here, we're talking about baseball, right? Let me explain, but first here is Bumgarner's quote about winning the NLCS MVP immediately after the game. Sure, everyone says this kind of stuff, yeah, yeah....but this team is full of guys like this that defer credit to their teammates.

from Giants Extra:
POSTGAME NOTES: Morse makes good on Bum's call; Ishikawa has "career-defining" moment; Affeldt shows off the wheels - Giants Extra:

"— Madison Bumgarner gave up a couple of homers but got through the eighth, and that helped the Giants immensely. You could tell tonight that the bullpen was gassed. For that, and for Game 1, Bumgarner was named NLCS MVP.

“I’m truly thankful and honored for that,” he said. “I don’t think you can go wrong, you can pick anybody. We had so many guys play a big part in every game.”

Bumgarner picked up the trophy on the stage. And then he picked up six beers, one more than the last round …"

'via Blog this'

This is a team that lives and breathes the Leonard Bernstein quote above and those who are musically inclined probably know where I'm going with this, but remember how the Fox announcers gushed at how hard it was to get Buster Posey to talk about himself, he wouldn't do it he was so busy deflecting credit to his teammates and felt more comfortable talking about them rather than himself.

THE WHOLE OF THIS TEAM IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS FOR THIS REASON: THEY HAVE A TON OF GUYS WHO WILLINGLY AND ABLY PLAY A GREAT SECOND FIDDLE. 

It's the epitome of that elusive quality called team chemistry and it's the reason why the Giants win in October even though the pundits, the so-called experts downplay their chances for success. The Giants have great second fiddlers and everyone is looking at the first violin players.


http://books.google.com/books?id=cV_56vfs2_wC&pg=PA78#v=onepage&q&f=false

The conductor of a symphony orchestra was once asked what is the most difficult instrument to play. He responded, "Second violin. I can find plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play second violin with enthusiasm -- that is a problem. And if we have no second violin, we have no harmony.

The Background: 

http://www.ldolphin.org/johnmark.html

'It takes more grace than I can tell

To play the second fiddle well.'

                  A statement attributed to the late Leonard Bernstein, the famous conductor of the New York Philharmonic, states: 'The hardest instrument in the orchestra to play is second fiddle.'

            A fellow named Bo Bradham attended a fiddle camp in September of 1996 and wrote about that experience.  The story is recounted of a fiddler from Texas named Randy Elmore who was at a 'jam session' the first night of camp.  Bo states that [Randy] sat there quietly, and every time Mark [O'Conner, an accomplish fiddler in his own right] played a tune, Randy was right there with the second fiddle part.  'Playing second fiddle' has become synonymous with being out of the limelight, not the lead dog, but you know and I know just how hard it is to do, and how uncommon it is for someone to be really good at it.  Moreover, it speaks volumes about someone to volunteer for that difficult but unglamorous part.  I was intrigued by Bo's statement so I contacted Randy Elmore in order to get an understanding of what it means to play second fiddle.[2] 

I was fascinated to learn that the fiddle and the violin are the exact same instrument.  The only difference between them, however, is the musician and the music being played on the instrument.  For example, the instrument is called a violin when the musician plays classical music in an orchestra at Carnegie Hall.  The same instrument is called a fiddle when the musician plays Bluegrass music or other 'non-classical- music for events such as a square dance, or a ho-down, at the State Fair.

The person playing first fiddle plays the melody.  This is the tune that people know and the audience listens for at a concert.  Mr. Elmore chuckled when he said that, in reality, the first fiddle is the boring part because the fiddler only plays the melody and should not deviate from it.  The second fiddle, on the other hand, plays the harmony.  Mr. Elmore thought this was the fun part because the fiddler could be creative with the harmony and do fancy finger work.  This is the harder part because the fiddler must know how to harmonize the music as well as play higher notes as he moves his fingers up the throat of the fiddle.  It takes much practice to play this part well.  The purpose of the second fiddle is to play a supporting role and compliment the first fiddle, thus making the first fiddle look and sound good.  The audience does not realize that the second fiddler is playing his heart out in order to make the first fiddler look good; yet the second fiddler does not get any credit for what is played.  Thus, this part is unglamorous.

The irony of the moment is not lost on me that this arrived in my mailbox today and it might seem as if I am "forcing" the theme somewhat. I receive a quarterly hard copy of the series in advance via snail mail and had read ahead into mid_October and bookmarked this passage specifically for further research.

 http://www.scriptureunion.org/daily%20bible%20devotions/encounter%20with%20god/2014/10/17/playing-second-fiddle

To see the details play themselves out in such dramatic fashion was to say the least serendipitous.

This as well. Travis Ishikawa shows once again the eternal beauty of the game. You can indeed go home again. Such a great story of perseverance and faith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMSqb1I5xuY

HD Travis Ishikawa Gives His Testimony at SF Giants Fellowship Day 8/16/14 AT&T Park

I know Mrs. TheSlav had a soft sport in her heart for Travis after we read a blurb about his incredible journey back home. And it culminates in this, Ishikawa's walk to his walk-off, what an incredible story.

 THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!

Ishikawa's walk-off homer
http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=36821231&topic_id=6479266

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2011/10/29/the-beauty-of-baseball/

Baseball was and is about redemption after losses, even devastating losses. It’s the game that is most like life. It is a game of children played by adults. In what other sport can you get a hit only one try out of three, failing two thirds of the time, and end up in a Hall of Fame? None. None that I know of. Thank goodness life is more like baseball than football. In what other sport can you fail magnificently, completely, repeatedly, in double digits, and still go on to win a world championship?

 Most of us cannot identify with transcendent athletes like a Michael Jordan or a Deion Sanders, or an Albert Pujols. They are way beyond our reach or pay grade. But if you love baseball, you can dream of being little Ryan Theriot, a good fielder. Or an Eric Hinske. The thing about baseball is it really does confirm to you that even the ordinary person under extraordinary circumstances can do the extraordinary, can transcend the mundane and shine for a moment.

Well last night, our faith in humanity was restored once again. The Cards did not merely beat the long odds… they stomped that sucker flat. They refused to die, refused to quit, refused to give up. Sometimes athletes just go through the motions, day after day. They have lost their joy of playing, lost the child-like glee in doing something well for its own sake. Not so in this World Series. Both those teams to a man let it all hang out and left it on the field. They did not play like professionals. They played like kids (see the picture above). They played like Ernie Banks did, who once said “let’s play two”.

Our country and our American culture has become much coarser over the span of my lifetime. When I was a child, you could never see WWF body destroying bloodsport on TV. You would never glorify taunting. Indeed you could be kicked off a team for bad sportsmanship. Today however it is not about ‘how you play the game’. It’s all about just win baby, at any cost— even at the cost of cheating with drugs, or deliberate attempts to harm someone else by throwing your body at them.

But frankly, life is not all about winning at any and all costs. It’s about character, shown even when no one is watching. It’s about the good, the true, the beautiful. It’s about sportsmanship, about caring about others. It’s about not even wanting to win unless it could be done in the right and moral way. It’s even about loving your noble and worthy adversaries.

We got glimpses of the good, the true, and the beautiful during this World Series if you were watching. Both teams left their hearts and souls out there on the field, for the good of the common cause. They knew the game was not about them as individuals so much as it was about the good of the team. Baseball is a morality play…. not a video game. But then life is a morality play as well.

Ex-NFL player's support for gay NBA player apparently costs him church appearance – CNN Belief Blog

Actually, this quote standing alone SHOULD have been the reason they canceled his appearance. This whole "end justifies the means", " as long as I get mine", "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" mind-set is the root cause of virtually all of the toxicity we see in sports in general and society at large.

Lesson learned, somebody clearly botched the due-diligence on this one.


from CNN:
Ex-NFL player's support for gay NBA player apparently costs him church appearance – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs:

"If we win a Super Bowl ring, I don't care who you bring to the ring ceremony, I just want to win the ring," Butler said. "That's what it's all about. ... Isn't that what it's all about? Winning the championship? Not who is in my bed when I turn the lights out."

'via Blog this'


If the church ONLY canceled his appearance for the reasons Butler stated, then sure shame on them as well. I suspect that is not the case. And I also suspect that Butler is more upset about losing his $8,500 speaking fee and a chance to promote both his book and himself.

But I guess it's all about positive relationships, not toxic ones. And hey, I'm using them, they're using me. It's all good, right LeRoy?

They will learn more from not having you speak and just reading through this one story. And they saved themselves $8,500 that can help people who really need it. Not you. And not even Jason Collins. And don't think it doesn't seem abundantly clear that you're using that situation as a pretext as well. What a tangled web.....

The church would have been better served booking this guy:

Robert Griffin III's comment: 

"In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness."

The importance of knowing where we are and how we got here...and knowing where the exits are ( just in case )

The Humiliation of the Emperor Valerian by the Persian King Sapor by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1521
Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Interesting stuff from  Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia Univ. and Nigel Farage. 

Sorry baseball fans -- but as I've often said  -- "sadly, some things are more important than baseball". 

SR 76 Wall Street

Published on Apr 18, 2013

This is Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University speaking at the "Fixing the Banking System for Good" conference on April 17, 2013. This audio is absolutely EXPLOSIVE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VOWnnEphjI

Jeff Sachs: The Pathological Environment on Wall Street - From the Philadelphia Federal Reserve on 17 April 2013

"I believe we have a crisis of values that is extremely deep, because the regulations and the legal structured need reform. But I meet a lot of these people on Wall Street on a regular basis right now. I'm going to put it very bluntly. I regard the moral environment as pathological. And I'm talking about the human interactions that I have. I've not seen anything like this, not felt it so palpably.

"They have gamed the system to a remarkable extent and they have a docile President, a docile White House and a docile regulatory system that absolutely can't find its voice. It's terrified of these companies."

"We have a corrupt politics to the core, I'm afraid to say. And both parties are up to their necks in this. It's nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. It really doesn't have anything to do with right wing or left wing, by the way. The corruption, as far as I can see is everywhere. But what it has led to is this sense of impunity that is really stunning and you feel it at the individual level right now."

"I have waited for 5 years now to see one figure on Wall Street speak in a moral language ... and I've not seen it once. And that is shocking to me. And if they won't, I've waited for a judge...for our president...for somebody...and it hasn't happened. And, by the way, it's not going to happen any time soon, it seems."

-----

Fortunately, on the same day I came across this politician speaking out, albeit from across the pond in Europe. Pity that we don't have politicians with a strong enough spine to speak the uncomfortable truth about the sad state of affairs.

Nigel Farage, on the sad state of affairs going on in Europe. Coming soon to Amerika. 

EU Common Criminals

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http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/04/gold-daily-and-silver-weekly-charts_18.html

Via Jesse's Cafe Americain, Professor Jeff Sachs speaking to a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, with regard to Hank Paulson, Goldman Sachs, and their ilk:

"I believe we have a crisis of values that is extremely deep, because the regulations and the legal structure need reform. But I meet a lot of these people on Wall Street on a regular basis right now. I'm going to put it very bluntly. I regard the moral environment as pathological. And I'm talking about the human interactions that I have. I've not seen anything like this, not felt it so palpably.

These people are out to make billions of dollars and nothing should stop them from that. They have no responsibility to pay taxes, they have no responsibility to their clients, they have no responsibility to people... counterparties in transactions. They are tough, greedy, aggressive, and feel absolutely out of control, in a quite literal sense. And they have gamed the system to a remarkable extent and they have a docile president, a docile White House and a docile regulatory system that absolutely can't find its voice. It's terrified of these companies.

If you look at the campaign contributions, which I happened to do yesterday for another purpose, the financial markets are the number one campaign contributors in the U.S. system now. We have a corrupt politics to the core, I'm afraid to say... both parties are up to their necks in this.

... But what it's led to is this sense of impunity that is really stunning and you feel it on the individual level right now. And it's very very unhealthy, I have waited for four years... five years now to see one figure on Wall Street speak in a moral language. And I've have not seen it once. And that is shocking to me. And if they won't, I've waited for a judge, for our president, for somebody, and it hasn't happened. And by the way it's not gonna happen any time soon, it seems."

---

This is the guy who asked the question at the 12:00 minute mark of the Sachs video. Good question 

Dennis Peacocke:

http://www.gostrategic.org/index.cfm?pageID=216

... and one of his articles. 

http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/At_The_End_Of_The_Road/35469/p1/

Dennis Peacocke comments on 5 major wrong decisions the USA has made

Liberalism is dead...the reality of human corruption killed it. The idea of "good" men leading mankind into a peaceful and affluent future by simply redistributing wealth and letting each person do his own thing, was doomed from the start. Outside of Christ, the sin nature of man will always compel him to construct fairy tale worlds of reality which ignore God and glorify man. However, such dreams invariably lead to cultural dead ends, and such is the place where we find ourselves today.

Wallowing in aborted babies, sexual diseases, budget deficits, and international terrorism-the results of having cast off our Christian heritage-we may finally be realizing that we are at a point where we must choose between two options. We can either continue to pile up human despair into an ever greater monument to the false god of "human freedom," or we can turn around and retrace our steps to where we made our worst choices. Of course, choosing the latter is humbling since it means admitting we are wrong, and that we cannot survive without obedience to the laws of an absolute God. We have come to the end of the road and are now faced with a choice - humble repentance or societal collapse.

Five Wrong Turns

As I see it, we made at least five major wrong turns along the way. We need to repent for these deviations and pray that the Lord's judgment on us will be merciful.

1. As a nation, we lost our belief in any absolutes.

When we discarded the scriptures for being "too intellectually and sexually confining" and instead put our faith in science and man's unending progress, we were destined for disaster. Confusion first set in when seminarians challenged the Bible's inerrancy, and preachers indicated that modern times required us to view man in a new way-a way which took into account his complexities and gently pushed aside the "old fashioned" concept of personal sin. In a relativistic society, the worst thing you can do is hold absolute convictions about anything or anybody. What has resulted is a public philosophy of humanism that trusts man in general, but is powerless to trust him in particular. Man's behavior becomes unpredictable because his values are relative. The irony of humanism is that the more it promotes the supremacy of man, the more it reveals how untrustworthy his behavior is. A society's divorce rate will always tell you how much its citizens trust each other, and how relative their values and commitments are.

2. As a nation, we lost our belief in cause and effect.

Medical specialists in the transmission of AIDS told a group of homosexual leaders in Seattle that the only cure they could offer was for homosexuals to change their sexual preferences. The indignant response was one of, "There's got to be another way!" This is a perfect example of where we are. If we don't like the consequences of something we're doing, we steadfastly refuse to stop doing it if it means cutting across our personal convenience and pleasure needs.

And what has contributed to this distorted perception? A large amount of the blame must go to the preachers who have twisted and turned the gospel of Christ into a gospel of personal convenience where God serves us and is dedicated to making man happy rather than holy and whole. And society has followed the Church's lead-for good or ill. A "bless me" gospel in the pulpit produces all manner of moral suicide both in the pews and society-at-large.

3. As a nation, we lost our belief in the need for personal discipline.

Led down the garden path by permissive theology, Doctors Freud and Spock convinced at least two generations of parents to totally spoil their children by not disciplining them for fear of bruising their little egos. Unfortunately, unresolved family problems become society's problems, as can all too clearly be seen in the virtual academic collapse of our schools, severely overcrowded jails, soaring divorce rates, personal bankruptcies, drug addiction, drunk driving deaths, burgeoning welfare roles, and the growing societal disease which believes that "society owes me," and that "most of the bad things that have happened to me are someone else's fault."

4. As a nation, we emphasized the rights of our citizens rather than their responsibilities.

If we preach just people's rights, we'll eventually have a revolution because we are promoting primarily selfishness. If we preach people's responsibilities, we'll have a revival because our message demands self-government and sacrifice. By virtue of the debris, it doesn't take much to figure out which of these two gospels has largely been preached. Liberalism buys votes by promising people their rights and then morally and economically bankrupts them in the attempt to make good the promise. At the end of the road we must preach people's responsibilities . . . or suffer societal collapse. The road goes no further.

5. As a nation, we decided to protect the deviant and deprecate the normal.

Taken to their logical conclusion, both humanism and liberalism end up worshiping deviant behavior. Since they are built on deviance (total departure from God's law), deviance is what they must produce. Initially they seem to enjoy a degree of success as man worships and explores his own potential. At the end of the road however, they turn man into a degenerate who kills his children and aged parents while hopping from bed to bed, spreading disease, and breaking promises in the process. What begins as pleasure becomes bondage, and then man finds he must justify and protect his bondage to spare him the shame of admitting he was wrong. Since the legal system itself has broken God's laws, it can't help but promote the "rights" of the lawbreaker.

The End Of The Road

And so we stand at the end of the road. Although there seems to be a trend toward a more biblical view of reality, if the philosophies and theology which convinced us to take the wrong turns are not utterly destroyed, society, as we know it, will indeed collapse and spiral downward in an ever tightening circle of its own corruption. The battle hinges upon the Church having the courage to say to a selfish and prideful society, 

"Man is not to be worshiped, and now it's time to pay the dues for having done so!" Nicer words will only help push us into the ravine beyond the last remaining guardrail at the end of the road.

...the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down... Matthew 3:10