A Basketball Documentary Reveals A Problem With Scripture

by Eric Elkin

“ You were called to this kind of endurance, because Christ suffered on your behalf. He left you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps. ”

— 1 Peter 2:21

The Chicago Bulls documentary, The Last Dance, picked a great time to go public. Don Draper from the show Madmen could not have orchestrated it any better. Sports fans, desperate for entertainment, flocked to watch it in record numbers. I guess one can only watch celebrity athletes play video games for so long.

6 million viewers tuned in to watch the debut episode. It instantly became the most-watched documentary in ESPN history. Advertisers' loved that the largest audience was their favorite demographic, 18-49-year-olds. I was a reluctant viewer.

It was amazing how much I forgot about that time. I was especially intrigued by what I did not know. Specifically, the painful personal stories behind the Bull's three leading players - Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. A story they could not shake no matter how many championships they won.

Scottie Pippen's father suffered a stroke when Scottie was in the ninth grade. The stroke left him unable to work. The family struggled to survive financially. Pippen carried the burden of their poverty with him his entire professional career. Since he was not a premiere player coming out of college, Pippen signed an undervalued contract. He was afraid he would not make it.

Dennis Rodman's story is filled with greater sadness. Abandoned by his father, dominated by his sisters, rejected by his mother, it made the introverted Rodman more isolated. We love to criticize the freak show he became, but underneath the surface was a vulnerable adult. The man you see now is the product of years of emotional abuse.

We were always told Michael Jordan had a close relationship with his father. He did, but in the documentary, we learned his father favored his brother. The father often pitted the two boys against each other. Nothing in the show makes me believe Michael ever got over that dynamic.

“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”

— Ann Landers

No team in history was idolized more than the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. No players commanded more respect than this trio. Yet, each carries scars from their past. In a way, they each suffered unjustly. If they were to read today's scripture passage for comfort, they would not find it.

For hundreds of years, the words in 1 Peter 2 supported slavery and the abuse of slaves. Even after this practice ended, it granted freedom to abusive parents and spouses. The weak are told to submit, endure, suffer, and not to respond to insults. That these words are in the Bible provide spiritual authority to those who abuse.

Personally, I wish the whole second chapter of 1 Peter would be removed from the Bible. If we can add books to the Bible, why not take some out? In the United States, domestic abuse is a devastating public health problem. Reports from the National Center for Biotechnology Information cite 1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men are victims of abuse. Understand, for some, the shelter in order could mean their life is in jeopardy.

In fairness to 1 Peter 2, the author does support classic Christian thinking. Christ bore the punishment for our sins so "by his wounds you were healed." Still, I just don't get why anyone would need to be punished so violently. No matter how I try to reconcile these words with hope, I cannot. In the end, 1 Peter chapter 2 is not worth reading. Perhaps some words, even those in the Bible, like pain, we just need to be let go.

Click to read 1 Peter 2:19-25