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Enjoying God Blog

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I love to watch professional golf. Nothing in this article should be taken as a commitment on my part to cease following and enjoying the game. But the hypocrisy of some who comment on recent developments is on vivid display these days. Let me explain.

In case you hadn’t heard, there is a new professional golf tour launching soon, to be known as LIV (the LIV golf tour was actually formed in 2020). The “LIV” isn't an acronym, but simply stands for the Roman numeral of 54 for the number of holes in each tournament (as over against the 72 holes typically played in a routine PGA event). There will be three days of 18 holes and no cut involved.

Former pro golfer Greg Norman is the CEO of the LIV tour, but its primary funding is coming from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and has the support of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. If you are unfamiliar with his name, numerous human rights organizations and intelligence services believe he sanctioned the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist. Jamal Khashoggi.

There has been a massive outcry and reaction to those PGA tour players who have chosen to take the tens of millions of dollars that LIV has offered. Others are angry at the U. S. Golf Association (USGA) for failing to exclude those players from its events, specifically the U.S. Open to be held later this month. News broke on June 9 that those golfers who are currently playing on the LIV tour have been suspended for an unspecified period. They won’t be eligible for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and will not be allowed to play in PGA Tour events as a non-member via a sponsor exemption or any other eligibility category.

But my concern here is a recent USA Today article by Christine Brennan, who wrote,

“As awful as the USGA’s response is, none of it is the least bit surprising. Golf has always been terrible at even trying to fake having a moral compass” (June 8, 2022, C-1).

Brennan proceeds to cite what she believes is golf’s discriminatory stance against women and blacks. I’m not here to question this latter point. She may well be right. But the hypocrisy of those, like Brennan, who rage against golfers for playing on a tour that is run by a government that allegedly sanctioned the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi is astounding.

If it is immoral for these players to accept huge sums of money for playing on this rival tour, why is it not immoral for them and all other PGA professionals to play on a tour in a country that has sanctioned and legalized the torture, dismemberment, and killing of some 65 million babies in the womb? Yes, I’m talking about the United States of America.

In no way am I suggesting that what happened to Khashoggi was anything less than horrific, immoral, and barbaric. And those responsible for his murder should be punished. But I guess the slaughter of 65 million unborn babies is ok. If Brennan thinks that it is morally reprehensible for men like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to play for LIV, why does she not think it is morally reprehensible for men like Tiger Woods and Rory McElroy to play for the PGA?

Am I making a case for the abolishing of professional golf in the U.S.A.? No, of course not. If we followed that line of logic, we would have to abolish every sport and virtually every other business and athletic endeavor as well. The sad fact is that the country in which we live and do business and pursue our many activities is complicit in the killing of 65 million babies. But perhaps every country in the world has on its record a history of various atrocities. The bottom line is that we have to live somewhere!

My only point is that I wish people like Brennan were as concerned (if not more so!) with the dismemberment and slaughter of 65 million unborn babies as she is with the killing of this one journalist. Both killings are reprehensible. And it is hypocrisy to the highest degree that one should decry the one while giving a free pass to the other.

I simply can’t imagine how anyone in the U.S. could point an angry finger of moral denunciation at Saudi Arabia (as deserving as they are of such a gesture) while ignoring, overlooking, and, God forbid, sanctioning the slaughter of so many millions of unborn babies.

Of course, the reply I would expect from pro-choice advocates is that the killing of Khashoggi was illegal whereas the killing of unborn babies is legal. They would no doubt also contend for the “right” of a woman to “choose” to terminate her pregnancy (which being interpreted means, killing her baby). I suppose they might also argue that Khashoggi was a human being with a “right to life” while the 65 million babies are pre-human or un-human or only potential human or whatever other descriptive terms they might choose to employ. These latter “beings” do not have a right to life, at least according to pro-abortion advocates.

Such is the pathetic state of our land today. Such is why so many of us wait anxiously and with great anticipation for the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

In the meantime, be careful about whom you vilify as they prepare to tee it up.

 

2 Comments

Thanks Sam, I thought the exact same thing when I heard some of the outcry. It remains to be seen if the LIV tour gets off the ground. I’m not so keen on 54 holes.

I wonder how many Americans benefited financially from the coerced Covid shots, which are more and more, being exposed as ineffective and unsafe. And now they want to give it to little kids who are at zero risk of dying of covid.

What a country… we’ve got some repenting to do.
Sam,

Thanks again for a great article. The hypocrisy of people who promote and defend the taking of a human life while defending other issues is astonishing.

God bless you as you approach the end of your time at Bridgeway. I'm confident and hopeful you will stay active and busy in your ministry to God's people.

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