Before I start, not all of this is directed at "you" but is my own continued thoughts springing from the topic started by ZNP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah
But here is the real question, is spectating part of basketball? The NBA has lots of spectators, is watching a game basketball or is basketball only refer to those who are actively involved (including coaches, refs, timers, ball boys, water boys, mascots, etc)?
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Since basketball at the professional level presumes a lot of money being shelled-out by spectators to make it happen, and the players are actually quite affected in their play by the support, or lack of support, of the fans in attendance, then the NBA cannot be presumed to be just about the 10 men on the court plus the guys on the bench.
Sports at almost any level is complicated. It is seldom just good exercise. It is often more about winning, and being able to gloat about winning, than about the "sportsmanship."
And for this reason, even Paul's comments about athletics is limited to certain aspects. You can't throw out basketball and the NBA and milk the possible metaphorical comparisons as if they are universally applicable.
So, in the parts of the post I did not quote, you actually made a point around basketball that you failed to make in the prior post in which you all but mentioned the sport at its full spectrum of existence and stopped without comment.
But you do raise an interesting point that is actually a typical complaint about Christianity that comes from the LRC. Is Christianity intended to be a "team" of active players who all become "Big A" Apostles, "Big P" Prophets, etc., or is it a collection of people at vastly different levels, some of which come to the temple to learn, and then simply go back to live their changed lives in front of the rest of the world that they contact every day of the week? If Christianity were the NBA, then it is reasonable to argue that the fans are almost as important as the star player on the team. If they don't watch, shout, applaud, and go out and spread the enthusiasm over the last game (or raise a ruckus over the last loss), the NBA will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. For the team, the NBA is a full-time commitment to exercise, practice, and performance. For the fan, there is a similarity. They spend most of their time talking about the last game, or even some long past game. Only a little is at the game.
The analogy is sketchy. But if we are going to compare the NBA to the Christianity I see laid out in the NT, then there is a comparison. But it is not the one that Lee and the LRC paint. They suggest that only the team counts. Only the stars are important. Fans are just dead weight. Their spread of the enthusiasm to the general population to get them excited to join in watching the next game is irrelevant.
And the result is a group of alleged superstars that have to pay each other to play because no one is coming with outside money to watch.
The participation in mainstream Christianity that the LRC scorns is actually what spurs them on to live the life. And living the life is not about overtly religious things. It is about righteousness, peace and joy. It really is the main thing. Not the serous activity of the superstars back at the temple. They are necessary to equip us to go out and spread righteousness as a visible gospel. To speak just a little.