"I jump into a sand pit for a living"
Does God care who wins, Bob Schindler
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Charlotte, Bob Schindler. ISBN 978-0-9991265-0-9
The author was a professional golfer in the Qualifying School where he narrowly failed. Of the incident he writes: “If I said a simple ‘yes’ to the question and embraced the idea that God did care about this golf game, I would be left struggling with the reasons for my defeat. Why would God take me so close and then snatch away the victory?” The quote encapsulates what I felt to be the biggest flaw in the book – confusing God caring who wins and God making one person win and another lose.
There are pages of quotations from athletes for and against the book’s question. One example is: “When you're doing what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part. Magic happens”. There is a chapter “Yes he does” and another “No, he doesn’t”. He also quotes a person who said to him: “Bob, we don’t ask the question does God care who wins?’ because we are afraid of the answer.” However this material is present uncritically.
The book states its aim as: “The book is not just about God. It is about the integration of sports and God, but at the heart of the question is the nature of God and his view of sports”. Great questions but I did not feel that they were answered.
Overall a disappointing book