My religion is better than your religion...except on Saturday

March Madness is almost here. And the Colorado High School Athletic Association is getting into the  Madness spirit. Leave it to a bunch of beanie-wearing sharpshooters to cause some people to go mad.

The Herzl/RMHA boys basketball team made it to the regional championship. Herzl/RMHA is a jewish school. The game is scheduled to be played on Saturday. But observant Jews cannot play on its Sabbath. The CHSAA will make some kind of accommodation, right? Ha. CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader says that if Herzl/RMHA refuses to play on Saturday, another school would be chosen to take Herzl/RMHA's place. Reader's rationale: "We speak for 110,000 athletes and 340 member schools that all have different needs and desires. It's impossible for us to be all things for all people." (I hope this is not the answer to WWJD?)

However, as Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff points out: CHSAA's decision was "ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons." Apparently not all Sabbaths are created equal.

--Marc Isenberg

Comments

[Lee]

Religious double standards still do exist, don't they?

[rob enderle]

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Either you play on the day when the overwhelming majority of people play or stay home.

If Im not gonna humor so-called pseudochristians with their own startup religions, I am sure not gonna humor a bumch of nitwits who believe in the bogeyman.

Its like vegetarians and cafetaria foods. Sure, you might want to make some veggie food for the fanatics but when it comes down to it, you try to serve the majority of the kids.

110,000 athletes play by the same rules and now they have to change them for a bunch of religious fanatics?

Join the 21st century or move somewhere else.

I hear that israel and saudi arabia are both very tolerant of other religions and love to accomodate them. The chief rabbi of Jerusalem even compared a Xmas tree to a svastika a few years ago (even though the tree is not religious but secular).

Pat Robertson and his groups are fanatic morons and so are the chosen people. Keep your idiotic beliefs to yourselves and dont remind us that you are irrational nimrods who believe in the tooth fairy.

I live in a part of the country where the towelheads are pushing a lot of their backwards beliefs that segregate women and men. Eff them too. It is NOT up to the majority to conform to the whims of the minority. Whether it means women wearing tights and tanktops in a gym or playing a game to suit your schedule.

Rob Enderle

[Jamie]

Rob, are you insane? Oh wait, stupid question, as all indications point towards OBVIOUSLY. How can you comment on such issues when you are clearly a bigot? "You live in a part of the country...", gee, I wonder where that may be. Hey Rob, did you know that African Americans are now permitted to sit anywhere on the bus that they please?? WOW!! And did you know that, contrary to popular belief (by people such as yourself) that Jewish people don't actually have horns?? SHOCKING!

I think the premise of the story is the irony. And just so you know, if everyone had your attitude (lets just please the masses) then only white Christian people would be privy to any respect or consideration.

Jamie

[Marc Isenberg]

You're all over the place with your response. Observant jews are not fanatics and refusing to play on the Sabbath is not a whim, as you suggest. The line between the majority rules and intolerance is very fine. The question is whether an accommodation can be made. In your defense, I was following your argument until you wrote, "Join the 21st century or move somewhere else." I think the reason many people love the US and value democracy -- and millions more want to move here -- is that we don't want to live under totalitarian rule. Of course people like would like to change that.

[Zach]

Rob,
People like you scare me. The fact that you react so angrily to the notion that Saturday is holy to some people (just like Sunday is to you) when you could simply say "fine, lets play on Thursday" I think underlies a more serious issue than basketball.
You are reacting from ignorance, and it's evil. In the U.S. we try to please the majority, but we are OBLIGATED to please the minority. The logical conclusion of your thinking is that because Christians comprise the majority of the population in this country, they ought to have total control over religious issues. In fact, religion is a private matter in this country, and until you run for political office I anticipate it will (THANK GOD) remain that way.
BECAUSE this country honors all peaceful religious beliefs, (including those of the VAST majority of "towelheads"-you bigot) the CHSAA ought to attempt to reach a compromise. A simple rescheduling could please everybody. Hopefully the Jewish teenagers who just want to play basketball and stay true to their religion will be able to do so. Otherwise, the CHSAA risks alienating them either from their own religion, or from basketball. Neither of those outcomes need occur.

[Dr. Tobias Funke]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Enderle

[Nwhit]

There would seem to be a fairly obvious compromise here that the CHSAA is ignoring: the Jewish Sabbath runs from sundown on Friday evening until sundown on Saturday evening. In the winter, sunset is often between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunset, however, is not relevant to most Christians; even the few who "keep" Sunday as the Sabbath (refraining from work/secular activities) generally time their observances by the western midnight-to-midnight measure of a day.

By moving the game to 7 pm, the Jewish school could be accomodated while not imposing any hardship on Christians who observe Sunday or forcing the CHSAA to make an exception to its rules.

[L C]

I don't know a lot about the tenets of Judaism, but could they play Saturday night, after sundown?

[Tommy Buettner]

Nwhit and L C,

Who do you two think you are??? You two are using WAY TOO MUCH cognitive thinking and deductive reasoning! I am floored that common sense has been vrought in on a subject like this. What arrogance you have by simply bringing up a quick solution to allow kids to enjoy the experience of playoff basketball, for their families to come and watch them and enjoy themselves.

What's next with you two? I can just imagine the horror you would bring to the dinner table. Or heaven forbid, maybe even scoot over in the bleachers a little, so someone like me could sit down and enjoy a High School game with you, regardless of what time it is played.

RTBjr73@gmail.com

[Lawrence]

I'm an atheist and this is an example of why I find religions to be so entertaining. The hypocrisy of the Christians in denying the Jewish school its request is wonderfully charming. And the arrogance of the Jewish school in requesting a change in the schedule after it played the entire season knowing very well they were always subject to another calendar is simply incredulous.

[Eternal Jewish Family]

As Nwhit pointed out, it really wouldn't be that difficult to accomodate the Jewish basketball team. If they researched the Jewish sabbath even a little, they could just move the game a few hours and it would probably be just fine.