Jesus Saves, But What's His Goals Against Average?

Jesus saves. It’s a well known phrase, whether you prescribe to Christianity or not. At some point in history, someone created a photo of Jesus wearing goalie equipment, and attached the same phrase to the image, “Jesus saves.”

Hockey has not always been connected to Christianity. Moses was not coordinating pick up games of hockey in the Desert of Paran, but culturally, connections between the power imbalances of hockey and religion are becoming more common.

In the beginning, the Holy Grail of hockey, Lord Stanley’s Cup, was created. The term “Lord” is an appellation for a person or deity, but the word itself was not used as a reference to God until hundreds of years after Jesus died. The term Lord, as an English reference to Jesus as Lord, or of God themself, wasn’t popularized until the King James Version of the Bible was released in 1611. Similarly, while the Lord’s Prayer appears in a pair of Gospels (Matthew and Luke), representing a speech recited by Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount, most scholars agree, Jesus was not the source of the prayer. Some state the prayer is a derivative of older Jewish teachings including the mourner’s prayer, the Mourner’s Kaddish, the Talmudic prayer, and the Eighteen Benedictions, to name a few. While it’s commonly accepted Jesus spoke a version of the prayer, others state “that the prayer likely derives from the religious community that composed the “Q” document in the mid-1st Century.” This means it was potentially written after Jesus’ death. The truth is, the Gospels themselves weren’t written until 70 to 100 years after Jesus was crucified, and the first English translation of the Lord’s Prayer did not appear until roughly the year 650.

As for the Holy Grail, it was a term coined by French poet Robert de Boron in Joseph d'Arimathie. In Joseph d'Arimathie, the Grail was portrayed as Jesus’ vessel from the last supper, which was later used to catch his blood at the crucifixion. Since then, the history of the Grail has been conflated with the Holy Chalice, the cup Jesus used at the last supper, and that is symbolically used in communion services. The fact hockey players drink from the Stanley Cup, much like the Holy Chalice, is no coincidence. Hockey has long been described as religion by media, scholars, and fans, and the most holy of ceremonies in the sport, is raising and drinking from Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Few have read or studied the entire Bible, or understand where and when these staples of our cultural discussion come from, yet many, including some NHL players, claim to understand not only the meaning of the words, but God’s own intention.

The fact is, almost no one on this planet has read the Bible, rather, we’ve read translations and interpretations of the original text. The Bible has been translated into more than 700 languages, and there are dozens of “versions” of the Bible, from King James, to the New International Version, The Message, and the English Standard Version. Depending on which version you read, the interpreted messages differ. It’s a 2000 year process of translating and retranslating in a sometimes incomplete game of telephone. In other words, what was originally said, or originally meant, is sometimes lost in translation…or, manipulated for an alternative purpose.

As a writer for Newsweek put it, “This is no longer a matter of personal or private faith. With politicians, social leaders and even some clergy invoking a book they seem to have never read and whose phrases they don't understand, America is being besieged by Biblical illiteracy.”

Within Christianity itself, there are different interpretations, man governed interpretations, of the Bible. As a Gallop poll result stated, “U.S. Protestants' views on moral issues such as abortion, gay and lesbian relations, and premarital sex differ sharply, depending on their denominational affiliation.” These differences were based largely on “the ways in which they interpret and teach the Bible.” Interpret and teach…both man driven actions.

Recently, debate over the Bible and hockey has come to the forefront in the form of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, and refusal of some NHL players to participate in Pride night festivities based on their “religious beliefs.” From Ivan Provorov, that group has grown to include James Reimer, Eric Stall, Marc Staal, and Ilya Lyubushkin.

It’s not only a selective use of when to apply the Bible and when not, but also a very human interpretation, one that is homophobic and transphobic, of the Bible itself.

Other NHL players, including those attached to Hockey Ministries International, a Christian group providing chapel services to NHL players, which has been promoted by Reimer and the Staal brothers, have spoken to the more loving and inclusive side of their religion. In Buffalo, while Lyubushkin sat out, Tyson Jost, an outspoken Christian and member of Hockey Ministries International (HMI), donned the Pride jersey and participated with his Buffalo teammates, and had Tage Thompson, another vocal member of TMI not been injured, he also would have participated according to reports.

As Reverend Michael Coren Tweeted following San Jose Sharks netminder James Reimer refusing to don a Pride jersey, questioning the contradictions."

“Do you play on the sabbath, does your uniform mix different fabrics, do you eat pork? Not to mention slavery, genocide, subjugation of women. Old Testament has to be understood through the filter of Gospel love. And Jesus never mentions homosexuality.”

Strangley enough, in a world where hockey is currently dealing with issues of gang sexual violence and abuse, many interpretations of the Bible state that what some claim to be verses denouncing homosexuality, are actually verses denouncing gang sexual violence. Yet others state they are messages to men not to abuse young boys. Many like Reverend Coren agree, the Bible does not speak against anyone in the LGBTQ+ community in any way, only that humans have interpreted verses, out of context, in this way.

It’s interesting which interpretation became the norm, and how that norm came to be. Based on various interpretations, the Bible did not decide - rather churches, and self-proclaimed Christians, like those NHL players who refused to wear Pride jerseys - decided to cast judgement and follow a homophobic and transphobic interpretation of a book that asserts love and non-judgement as fundamental tenets.

Other Christian denominations and churches, have chosen to embrace, celebrate, and affirm the LGBTQ+ community.

According to the United Church of Canada, affirming ministries “publically declare their commitment to inclusion and justice for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” As I wrote for Deadspin, “These affirming churches often go beyond the LGBTQ+ community to challenge “bias and discrimination based on appearance, culture, class, or age; working to end racism; promoting economic justice; increasing accessibility; caring for the planet,” because “voices of condemnation, exclusion, and hatred are loud and persistent within the church and in society.”

While the United Church of Canada is a prime example, there are thousands of churches across North America who affirm the identities of all people, including people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

What Ivan Provorov, James Reimer, Marc Staal, Eric Staal and Ilya Lyubushkin chose, was an interpretation, and a hateful, bigoted one.

Since the Staal’s event occurred in Florida, a state where LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, and information is being censored, perhaps the words of Saint Augustine are most appropriate. After all, St. Augustine, a city in Florida is the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the United States. As namesake, Saint Augustine said, “si comprehendis non est Deus.” Translated: “If you have understood, then what you have understood is not God.”

If Marc Staal and Eric Staal, James Reimer and Ivan Provorov, wanted to interpret their religion, perhaps they could have read Genesis 9:13-15, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind,” and worn the rainbow jerseys as a symbol of God’s grace.

Instead, they chose hate.