Few topics generate quite so much emotion when discussed in public as football, whether that is amongst friends over a drink or on the sports pages of the national newspapers. Add religion to the conversation and you have an explosive mixture - light the blue touchpaper and retire! Small wonder then that Glen Hoddle's utterances last month on the subject of reincarnation should have sparked such debate and his ultimate demise as England manager.
I do not want this to be a lengthy discourse on the merits or flaws in Hoddle's arguments nor on whether the F.A.'s decision to sack him (sorry - accept his resignation!) was correct. We all have our own opinion and mine is that his remarks were crass, insensitive and incorrect and were inconsistent with his position in such a high profile national role. If anyone disagrees then I am happy to debate this over a sociable drink - your treat! My concern is less with Mr. Hoddle's personal position and more with the potential damage that he does to the Christian faith that means so much to me.
We practising Christians are in a minority in the land and must always question why that is and what we can do to spread God's loving word. The presence of avowed Christians who are prepared to declare their beliefs in high profile positions in our society should be a good thing. Jesus himself lived his life as a man to show us just what could be achieved and to set an example for us all. The high profile of sport in modern society provides one of the best stages for such declarations of faith. I feel sure that if you stopped the average man or woman in the street and asked them to name a committed Christian they would probably come up with a name such as Jonathan Edwards long before they would think of Billy Graham (Billy who???).
The tragic thing for Christianity in the UK is that they would now be highly likely to name Glen Hoddle. Tragic, because his published utterances are taken as representative of our faith and nothing could be further from the truth. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there is much of what Glen Hoddle believes that is fundamentally Christian, the problem is that he seems to have developed a highly personal and confused theology. This simply serves to reinforce the prejudice of many people that we Christians are, in truth, cranks at heart.
I personally don't care if someone thinks I am a crank because of my faith. I don't believe I am. I am just like the majority of people who believe in God and recognise Jesus as their saviour - we're just ordinary people who've been lucky enough to know God's love in our lives. It doesn't make us better people and it doesn't give us the right to judge others, that's reserved for God - not us nor Glen Hoddle. What makes me really sad and angry is that someone, somewhere who may have been on the point of seeking out God has now turned away - influenced by what they have read in the press over recent weeks.
Maybe someone reading this feels that way. Maybe it wasn't Glen Hoddle that put them off but someone else interpreting God's word in a way that scared them away. Maybe I've put someone off with my ramblings and I'm as bad as Glen. The Good News is that God's love transcends such human failings. His love is still there waiting for each and everyone of us -just for the asking. It doesn't need complex theology and interpretation. God just needs us to ask for his forgiveness and his love and he will provide it. Don't wait until Sunday to ask or I might put you off again!