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{"id":2620,"date":"2011-11-03T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-03T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2011\/11\/theres-a-time-and-a-place-for-religious-gestures-in-sports.html"},"modified":"2011-11-03T09:37:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-03T09:37:00","slug":"theres-a-time-and-a-place-for-religious-gestures-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2011\/11\/theres-a-time-and-a-place-for-religious-gestures-in-sports.html","title":{"rendered":"There’s A Time And A Place For Religious Gestures In Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Religious gestures in sports not always needed<\/p>\n

I admit to feeling a bit annoyed every time I see a football player score a touchdown and immediately point to the sky to thank God. Or when I see a baseball player hit a home run and point upward after touching home plate. Or when a jockey looks heavenward and points up his or her whip after winning a horse race.<\/p>\n

At some Catholic schools, it has long been commonplace for a basketball player to cross himself (or herself) before shooting a free throw. What\u2019s that all about it? Shouldn\u2019t such a holy symbol be saved for more solemn and worshipful moments?<\/p>\n

My first reaction to these public displays is to remember something I once heard from the Rev. Kevin Cosby, a brilliant African-American pastor from Louisville. \u201cIt\u2019s a perversion of religion,\u201d Cosby told me. \u201cIt\u2019s a manipulation of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"