There is no soccer-playing on Sundays in Northern Ireland. Can't very well keep the Sabbath holy if you're running around the pitch or cheering on the sidelines, can you?
Reverend Roy Cooper, a Methodist, is distraught at plans made by the Irish Football Association to overturn the ban on Sunday sport. What of the Lord's day, the family, and rest? Church is being set aside, and now the institution of religion is getting a swift kick out of bounds.
Once the referees are blowing whistles on a Sunday, you can bet that Methodist youth will not be permitted to play or watch. Except for those who are as Methodist as an old acquaintance of mine, who snuck drinks behind her mother's back because the Methodists don't indulge in alcohol. All sorts of young men will slip into the stands after telling their parents that they were going out for a pray with the lads.
Rev. Cooper understands that other religions aren't anywhere near as Sabbath-keeping as his particular sect is. Many are called but few are chosen, don't forget, and if those others wish to partake in Sunday activities that do not revolve around sitting in the church half the day, well, they're going straight to hell anyway so leave them to it.
Methodists in Northern Ireland will soon face a tremendous test of faith. Those who abide by church teachings will find themselves at home, alone and bored and forgotten, while the rest of the country runs off and has a grand time. Reverend Cooper will be praying for you.
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