A Christian QB + Fifty Shades of Grey = Condemnation by Christians
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Wed Feb 18, 2015 at 09:34:02 AM EST
A guy walks into a movie theater in Seattle for an early showing of Fifty Shades of Grey. That may sound like an opening line of a joke, but not if you wearing Russell Wilson's cleats. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback, who has been celebrated by Christian organizations and Christian-based media for his outspoken religious beliefs, is now being unmercifully pummeled by many of his fellow Christians.

After seeing the movie, Wilson tweeted out:

Russell Wilson        
@DangeRussWilson
Thanks for the early showing of #50ShadesOfGrey late last night..
#EmeraldCity Great movie.

From this tweet, a firestorm erupteth.

After receiving flak from some of his followers, Wilson came back with:

Russell Wilson        
@DangeRussWilson
Saw a movie filmed in the town I call home. Provocative/disturbing no doubt but that does not make me less Faithful.
Have a blessed day!

TMZ, where I first heard this story, offered up a sampling of tweets condemning Wilson:

-- "I'm more than a little confused, Russell. I thought you professed to be a Christian.

-- "Really? I'm honestly not sure how you can quote bible verses all the time and then say this is a good movie..."

-- "Don't say you represent Christ, and the publicly endorse a moved filled with immorality and sexual violence."

-- "COME ON MAN!!! THAT MOVIE IS MORAL FILTH!!!"

Let's take a few steps back:

Immediately after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers in this year's NFC championship game -- a remarkable come from behind victory that seemed to defy all odds Wilson tearfully told a national audience that God had been on the Seahawks side. According to the blog stableytimes.com, Wilson insinuated that God caused him to throw four interceptions because he didn't pray hard enough before the game, and that God later caused him to lead his team to a comeback because he prayed harder later on.

A few days later, Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for the Packers, answered a question from a fan on his weekly radio program, who asked whether the quarterback believed God intervenes or plays a role in the outcome of football games, thepostgame.com reported. "I don't think God cares a whole lot about the outcome," Rodgers said. "He cares about the people involved, but I don t think he s a big football fan."

Au contraire said Russell Wilson. At Super Bowl media day, Wilson told a crowd of reporters that he thinks "God cares about football." He added: "I think God cares about everything he created."

And thus, we cometh to the Super Bowl, where Wilson, seeking to lead his team to another come-from-behind victory, throws a pass from the one yard line with little time left on the clock, and it was intercepted, thus sealing the Super Bowl victory for the New England Patriots.

I am going to hazard a guess here and say that I'm pretty sure Wilson had no idea what was going to rain down upon him after tweeting about seeing Fifty Shades of Grey. And, while I can't say for sure, I m going to guess again that he never received the memo informing him that the American Family Association had launched a boycott against Fifty Shades of Grey.

I do not doubt Russell Wilson's deeply-held religious beliefs. In a documentary titled The Making of a Champion, Wilson said he found God at age 14: "I had a dream that my dad passed away and that Jesus came into the room and he was basically knocking on my door, saying, Hey, you need to find out more about me. So that Sunday morning I ended up going to church and that's when I got saved."

And, Wilson truly thanks God for the talent he has.

A recent survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute found that, About 1-in-4 (26%) Americans and 27% of self-described sports fans say that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event. About 7-in-10 Americans (71%) and sports fans (69%) disagree.

With ISIS beheading innocents, U.S. drones killing civilians, Russians mixing it up with Ukrainians, Ebola in Africa, a measles outbreak in the U.S., God, if he/she exists at all, has enough on his/her plate. Thanking God for victories in sporting events -- be it a football game, baseball game, basketball game, soccer match, snowboarding event, cross country race -- has run its course. Enough already!




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down here in the Bible Belt. ;o) Freakin' hypocrites, LOL. Although, I saw it posited on another site, that it fits perfectly with the misogynistic, violent Bubba culture down here. Probably gonna be a lot of unhappy