Soccer + God = ?
This year's FIFA Player of the year, Kaka, decided to give his trophy to the church he attends in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In his own words I believe he said "I deliver this up joyfully to God, because he is the reason behind every victory."
This act is not without controversy. Yes, he won the trophy but why on earth does it need to be on display at a church? And further for that matter, its a church which also has some controversy surrounding its leaders.
Examining his life a little more I notice he is a devout Christian and had a life changing experience as a teen when at 18 he fractured his back in a swimming pool accident. He attributes his recovery to God. I guess the gesture is consistant with his other acts of attributing his success to God such as revealing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Jesus Loves You" after some games and prayers and gestures to the heavens post game. It seems he comes from a more demonstrative Christian tradition that tends to make others feel a bit awkward. It appears people don't like being confronted with those messages and think religion should be kept private. Or are these religious actions just candy and fluff? Could a Christian still be representative of God in his or her public activity without doing those type of displays?
This act is not without controversy. Yes, he won the trophy but why on earth does it need to be on display at a church? And further for that matter, its a church which also has some controversy surrounding its leaders.
Examining his life a little more I notice he is a devout Christian and had a life changing experience as a teen when at 18 he fractured his back in a swimming pool accident. He attributes his recovery to God. I guess the gesture is consistant with his other acts of attributing his success to God such as revealing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Jesus Loves You" after some games and prayers and gestures to the heavens post game. It seems he comes from a more demonstrative Christian tradition that tends to make others feel a bit awkward. It appears people don't like being confronted with those messages and think religion should be kept private. Or are these religious actions just candy and fluff? Could a Christian still be representative of God in his or her public activity without doing those type of displays?
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