Sports And Religion In Herman Orwell's Golfing With God

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Religion has an important impact on our everyday life. Society uses religion to express themselves through faith, God and worshiping. Sports is also a type of religion in today’s society. People worship their teams at games and pray before every game. Sports and religion ties directly into people’s lives every day, take for instance Herman Winston, a golfer in Roland Merullo’s Golfing with God. He is approached by God’s lieutenant and is asked to help God with the yips. Herman later learns he’s on a spiritual journey that evolves from saving his father’s soul through a golf match with the devil and later being reincarnated on earth for a second life to reach his spiritual destiny. Sports and religion relate directly to Herman Winston’s experiences Throughout this time, Satan come forth and tried to tempt Jesus. Jesus refused every temptation. Later Satan departed and angles came down to nourish Jesus. Matthew and Luke explain the temptation of Jesus through dialogue between Jesus and Satan. Just as in the stories in the bible referring to Satan’s temptations of Jesus we find connections to Herman Winston’s temptations in the novel, Golfing with God. Herman’s prime example of temptation came about when Bunny Rogan says “I was there at the Western Pennsylvania Open” (Merullo 230). Bunny Rogan later goes on to say “And you have to admit having been there, to having failed in front of a crowd of friends and well-wishers” (Merullo 231)? Herman demonstrates resistance to temptation during the golf match with the devil. Herman says internally that goodness, true goodness, has an enormous power to it, and if I was not exactly the paragon of goodness, well then I had close friends who were. Goodness has a tremendous effect on Herman’s handle on Satan’s temptation, he allowed Herman to face his fears internally. This also shows that he didn’t allow Doctrines have influenced and been influenced by the ongoing development of secular history, science, and philosophy. Christian view that there is evil in the world. If there is a force of evil, there must be a force of good. Christian view a religious uprising from divine law leading to sainthood. They view God as the divine power or the all-knowing figure. The devil is viewed as malevolence figure and an irrational force. Compared to this novel God is seen as more as a human-like figure. The author allows God to take form in both genders, and the author doesn’t define the God as omniscient. The author portrays God as physical and spiritual guide for Herman rather than his Lord. This helps to create this image of God that he is source of good that appears time to time when needed. There are some differences between the bible and this novel. God wants a relationship with humanity. The main focus, in both creation stories, are humans and humans were God 's only creation that was made in his image. Therefore God is seen as a creator who wants a relationship with us as he makes us special. Furthermore, in the second biblical account of creation the writers of the portray God as a creator who seeks. Compared to this novel God states “That’s the only real commandment…after you learn to stop hurting people, which I assume you’ve done or you wouldn’t be up here in the first place”

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