This world cup has so far been one of the most enjoyable I have seen – the exuberance of Columbia, brilliance of Messi, flair of the Dutch, sheer class of Germany and some of the ‘Scotland’ teams (the minnows like Costa Rica) doing really well. It has also been strange for me – I have experienced a ‘conversion’. I no longer want England to lose every match. In fact I am saddened that they, along with Spain and Italy, are not in the last 16. I reflect on this in my latest article for Christian Today. You can read it here.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/why.england.lost.the.world.cup.it.was.all.my.fault/38407.htm
A really interesting article, David, thanks. Issues of social identity are a particular interest to me (http://musingmonk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/our-sense-of-identity.html). I liked your exploration of civic identity.
I wonder, do you think it would have been different for you if England had won their games and the media were fuelled with “we can win the World Cup” frenzy?
I certainly find it easier to repent of negative attitudes towards broken people than gloating ones… But then, Christ’s teaching on our attitude towards others is not conditional, as I must keep reminding myself 🙂
I admit – if England were still in it and the media were doing their usual I may have been tempted to old ways! But this was a heart change rather than a rational one – so I doubt it!
Hi David,
My feelings about the England team are similar to yours. I’m watching the WC as a neutral, just enjoying the football and hoping for exciting games. I felt no different watching the England games. I suspect we are similarly aged, perhaps it’s a consequence of mellowing as we get older?
Strangely, I no longer feel the same antipathy towards the Arabs either. Now that it weird!
best wishes,
Linear C
David, perhaps your feelings towards the “other” can be explained in the same way religion, nationalism, and other “in-vs-out group” dynamics can be explained. Perhaps you are a person who inherently distrusts and dislikes anything you don’t understand, or is in the “out group”. I encourage you to grow towards embracing all (peaceful) “out groups”. Might this signal a change in your stance towards people you have demonized in the past?
Thanks for the amateur psychology! The only thing is that all your premises are wrong. I don’t demonise people, I don’t inherently distrust and dislike things I don’t understand…and I have no idea what you mean by ’embracing all peaceful out groups’? Do you mean the way you embrace Christians?!
You don’t demonize people? Liberals? Gays? Atheists? You have a blog dedicated to demonizing people. As for what I do… that’s a Tu quoque fallacy. Are you right or wrong in doing what YOU do? Have you taken the beam out of your own eye before you make that comment?
Sorry – again you are allowing your prejudices to cloud your thinking. I don’t have a blog dedicated to demonising people.
Really? you think atheists, liberals and gays are good people doing good things? Or, do you think they are working against God – aka, with ‘the demon’? Do you or don’t you believe Matthew 12:30?
Keep them coming Brent….its great to be able to show people how a fundamentalist atheist ‘thinks’! Life is not so simplistic. You don’t just divide the world into the good guys and the baddies. Atheists, liberals, gays, baptists, muslims, agnostics, paedophiles, teachers, scientists, etc all do good and bad things. All are made in the image of God and all have that image distorted and so need to be reborn, renewed. Of course I believe in Matthew 12:30 – I believe every thing that Jesus said….maybe you should….then you would make more sense!
“All are made in the image of God and all have that image distorted and so need to be reborn, renewed.” Then how do you know if they are born in the image of God – and what part is distorted. It’s like saying the Mona Lisa’s mouth was painted wrong because someone said 2000 years ago that it was painted wrong and needs to be retouched. The Mona Lisa is what it is. You are what you are. You don’t need to be renewed. You don’t need to do anything. You have chosen to believe in a religion and now you want everyone to think it’s the only religion to choose.
Good analogy….you would only know about the Mona Lisa if you knew and met the artist. Likewise with humanity. Thanks for your vote of confidence that I don’t need to be renewed and I don’t need to do anything. I know however that I am not perfect and in need of great renewal…!
And, like da Vinci, we will never be able to ask God what he was thinking – because they both have the exact same chance of answering us: 0.
And, well, I’m sure you could use some personality adjustment, we all could, but that doesn’t mean a dead guy came back to life or donkeys talk. I understand you like your Myth, but can you stop pretending it’s true? Lots of people love Shakespeare, but they don’t believe in ghosts.