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by Phil WilsonIn his book "Cricket and Christianity", former Australian test captain Brian Booth compares Christianity
and cricket, giving all manner of parallels between the two. Eg a substitute fielder is similar to the substitution of Jesus for us, being "run out" is like "falling short of God's standards".He uses these illustrations
to explain the truths of the gospel. In this article, we do the opposite, and use the game of cricket to show up what Christianity should not be. The following does not represent the Christianity which all Christians
today have; it is a representation of the Christian legalist. Sadly, this is a description which could be applied to many Christians in many churches all over the world. For example, 1) In cricket, spectators give their full loyalty and devotion to supporting a team. This may be because the team comes from their area eg the national team, or just because
their family has always supported that team, as is especially common in other sports. Other than these reasons though, there is no concrete reason why fans give themselves so adoringly and devotedly to cheering,
defending, spectating, and even following all over the world their favourite cricket team. In Christianity, it can be similar. People can be
Christians simply because they were brought up that way. They faithfully attend church, call themselves Christians, contribute a token monetary offering to the church, and even promote Christianity as the true religion.
Similarly, people can allign themselves as Brethren, Baptists, Anglicans, or Catholics for no particular reason other than that they were brought up that way. There has never been any personal conviction or devotion to
Christ Himself; just an allegience to a religion they were born into, much like the way people allege themselves to … cricket teams. 2) In cricket, the commentators are always referring back to the glory days of the cricket of the past. "Remember that good old game of 72, Bill?" "Reminds me of that legend
of days gone by, DC Boon, or the great old Don Bradman himself." None of the younger generation have the foggiest who they are referring to, yet somehow are left in awe of the heritage of the game.
There's nothing essentially wrong with looking back at godly men of the past of course. But there is something severely wrong when one's religion
only exists in the past, when everything revolves around "how great the good old days were" and how "things were different when I was growing up as a Christian". We can look back at the past realistically and learn much
from it, but we must learn to live our Christianity out in the present, otherwise… we're just talking cricket. 3) Cricket
is full of intricate rules and rituals. One of the main things that keeps cricket conversation alive on commentaries and over-the-backfence discussions is arguments about what exactly the good rulebook says (in rule
number 553) and how precisely it should therefore be applied. Furthermore, everybody has their favourite version of how cricket should be played, whether it be limited overs, test matches, tip n' run or just french
cricket- and everybody is prepared to defend their favourite to the death. Of course, some rules are needed to run the game- but the point of the game itself is not to win arguments about rules- it's just to get out
there, have some fun and whack the ball around for as long as you can. And likewise Christianity. The only difference is that the
rules discussed in cricket actually do come out of the rule book, whereas the rules Christians often bicker about have utterly nothing to do with the Bible. Then again, on some occasions they may come out of the Bible,
but typically are some minor point of doctrine magnified far beyond its importance in order to segregate the body of Christ as much as possible. Once again, there are certainly some things in Christianity worth standing
up for and defending- but too often the things that Christians are divided over are not worth dividing over at all. Christianity is not about jealousy and pride, petty rules and stringent standards; it is about
following and worshipping a glorified Saviour. Yet the way some Christians bicker over non-essentials remind me of all the hype of just … cricket trivia. 4) Cricket has a sense of glory and heritage about the game. Richie Benaud and Greg Chappell eagerly refer to the grand honour of wearing that sacred cap, the "baggy green",
the hat given to new Australian players to wear. To show the solemnity of their activity before a game, the Australian team gathers in a circle and sings the team hymn "Under the Southern Cross" with deep soul searching
and conviction. These things have nothing really to do with the game; they're just part of the glory of cricket which has grown up around it. For some, Christianity is little more than a cultural heritage. We sing our archaic hymns, (never mind if the words are no longer comprehensible to modern Australians)
thinking that the age of the hymn and its religious sounding poetry makes it pleasing to God. But we have ceased to let the truths which the difficult words convey have any meaning to our souls. We glory in our polished
approaches to sermonising or in our special style of running a church meeting- a style which our fathers have carried out for decades. We become obsessed with our "heritage" and lose all sight of the focus of our faith-
much like all the irrelevant hype leading up to a game of … cricket. 5) Cricket is often very boring, but the fans don't seem to
notice. Women (ok, not all women) or the uninitiated sometimes comment that cricket is very dull, and to be perfectly honest, sometimes they are right! It can be very boring in a 5 day match when ball after ball is
bowled and ball after ball is just blocked back to the bowler. Yet, true fans will never complain; they may not rave about that game as much as others, but they will always come back for more, hoping for a better day of
cricket the next day. Christianity can sometimes be rather boring too; but other than the children, everybody is too polite to
mention it. They will always just do their duty and patiently sit through church services, year in, year out, with their minds anywhere but on the truths of the gospel. Could it be possible that if our Christianity is
lifeless and dried up, something is wrong and needs changing? Christianity shouldn't be boring, it should have life-giving joy and peace- yet we talk of our hearts that "overflow with joy" with a face fit for a funeral.
Why do people just endure it- does it just have the same importance as … a game of cricket? 6) Cricket authorities get
ruffled about changing their traditions. In the past, cricket has clung very tightly to their traditions of how the game was to be played. To get the format of a game changed was rather an uphill battle. However, these
days, change is starting to become a little more acceptable for cricket authorities; in recent times they have been contemplating radical things such as playing test cricket under lights if it gets dark, or putting a
roof over the stadium so that if it rains, the players won't get wet! And so in Christianity, because so much is built around
rules, traditions, and heritage rather than Christ Himself, changing the way things are done can be an uphill battle. The emphasis turns to "upholding the traditions of the past" rather than serving and worshipping God
in the present. For some reason, the methods that were used a few generations ago are venerated as being holy in themselves, rather than being tools in the service of God. What's the big deal with change- it looks so
obvious to the outsider, but to those within the establishment, a touchier subject is never broached. True Christianity is always seeking to change- change from less perfect ways to ways that bring more glory to God; a
Christianity that just clings to the past for the past's sake has sadly degenerated into nothing more than …the game of cricket.
Don't get me wrong- I am not against cricket. I actually love the game and am always keen to watch or play it. But cricket is just a game- Christianity is not. Yet sometimes I wonder if the Christianity of some has any
more spiritual reality in it than that of the fans and players who dedicate their entire lives to the game of cricket. |
