Skip to content

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Grounded in Faith, Formed in Community

Menu
  • Home
  • Contact Us
Menu

Deflate-Gate and Christian Ethics

Posted on May 20, 2015January 29, 2021 by ptsblog
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Last week the National Football League handed down a four game suspension for Tom Brady of the New England Patriots for his part in deflating footballs before a playoff game this past year. The team was also penalized $1 million and 2 future draft picks. If you turned on ESPN recently you saw all kinds of debates in response. Is this fair? What really happened? Is the evidence strong enough to warrant this response? What will happen in the appeal? Tom Brady has frustrated many as he has not really admitted or denied the accusations. This will certainly be a news story for many weeks to come.

Everybody is sharing opinions on the matter on social media and in conversation, but I will not be sharing mine. Instead, I want to point out four ways that the discussion on ESPN and in the news is distinct from the way Christians should approach ethical discussions. I am not arguing that the debate should be done from a Christian perspective in those contexts. I think, however, that Christians need to think critically about the differences.

  1. God cares about means and ends. The excuse has been made that since the Patriots beat the Colts so soundly the ball pressure did not influence the outcome and so the ball pressure does not matter. This is a popular argument—to say that if you do something unethical for a good reason or if you do something unethical that does not result in a problem that it is acceptable. This is not a Christian argument. God cares about what you do and the results that you have. Remember that Jesus even cares about what happens in your mind before you even take action. (Mt 5:28)
  2. God sees and cares about who you are and what you do when no one is looking. Christian ethics are not about not getting caught or about definitive proof. Christian ethics are based on doing the right thing no matter who else sees or catches you because God is always with you and sees what you do in secret. (Mt 6:4, 6, 18) The question is not, “What can I get away with?” The question for Christians is, “How can I be more Christ-like in every area of my life?”
  3. Christian ethics care about truth and confession. One of the key truths of Christianity is that the truth will set us free. (Jn 8:23) There is also something freeing about confessing the truth. If you did something wrong then say so. If you did not do anything wrong then say so. Or, as James encourages, we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. (Jm 5:12) I don’t know what Brady did or did not do, but I wish he would be very clear about it publically. Honesty goes a long way in Christian ethics.
  4. Christian ethics are not ultimately based on human fairness. This is the big question of this story—is the penalty fair? When the world says that, they are talking about human opinion. When Christians evaluate behavior we do so based on the righteousness of God’s own character and not on what people think is fair. And even then we don’t get what we deserve, because Christ takes the punishment we deserve. There are still consequences for sin, even under grace. We feel the results of our sin just as we set up laws and punishments to keep society in order. God even does this in the Old Testament. My point is that the ultimate evaluation for Christian ethics is not a human understanding of fairness but the righteousness of God’s character. The criteria for Christians is higher.

I do not expect that the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell, ESPN, or even Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to be living or talking about Christian ethics. My worry is that Christians will not think critically about the distinctions between the world’s ethics and God’s ethics and will bring the world’s ethics into the church. For us, the standards and the discussions are different. Confusing them can be dangerous for the church.

 

Jordan Rimmer ’12 is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in New Brighton, Pa. He earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and is currently working on getting his Doctor of Ministry. Before moving to Pittsburgh, he was the director of outreach and youth ministries at Glenwood Methodist Church in Erie, Pa. He is a husband and father of four children. Jordan blogs at jordanrimmer.com and tweets at @jrimmer21. His sermons are available for download on iTunes or at http://jordanrimmer.podbean.com.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Twitter

1 thought on “Deflate-Gate and Christian Ethics”

  1. Roberto Aitchison says:
    July 5, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    Awesomeness!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Founded in 1794, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a graduate theological school of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), offering master's and doctor of ministry degrees as well as certificate programs. Participating in God's ongoing mission in the world, Pittsburgh Seminary is a community of Christ joining in the Spirit's work of forming and equipping people for ministries familiar and yet to unfold and communities present and yet to be gathered.

Recent Posts

  • Lives of Faith and Service: Distinguished Alums of 2025
  • How Do I Help Someone Struggling With Their Faith?
  • Who Is My Neighbor? – The Rev. Dr. MaryAnn Rennie on Place, History, and Church “for” Community
  • Am I Preaching a Genuine Word?
  • Who Is My Neighbor? The Rev. Kathryn Lester-Bacon on Neighbor, Change, and Mutual Responsibility

Categories

  • Book Recommendations
  • Church Planting
  • Counseling
  • Inside the PTS Curriculum
  • Ministry
  • People of PTS
  • Protestant Spirituality
  • Seminary and Programs
  • Sermon Writing Tips
  • Social Work
  • Theological Reflection
  • Uncategorized
  • Who Is My Neighbor?

Archives

Tags

Bible study Black History Month Call to ministry Christian spirituality church planting church planting for new communities church planting in pennsylvania Communion elements community Community worship doctor of ministry education faith and politics fasting Festivals and holy days Good Samaritan Lent master of divinity mdiv alumni mdiv program mdiv program and social work MDiv program Pittsburgh ministry Ministry conferences and events Mission reflections mission trip pastoral care pastoral counseling Pastoral vocation PCUSA Seminary community seminary experience Seminary experiences sermon writing tips Social justice Spiritual journeys St. Patrick theological education theology and social work Urban ministry Volunteering Women in ministry world mission World Mission Initiative Youth ministry

Top Posts and Pages

  • Sermon Tips: Preaching without Notes
    Sermon Tips: Preaching without Notes
  • Fasting and Spending
    Fasting and Spending
  • Ashes to Ashes
    Ashes to Ashes
  • Questions are the answer?
    Questions are the answer?
  • A Funeral Introduction
    A Funeral Introduction
  • Cross-Cultural Outreach - Part II
    Cross-Cultural Outreach - Part II
  • Henry Highland Garnet: Slave, Abolitionist, Pastor, Statesman, and Bivocational Church Planter
    Henry Highland Garnet: Slave, Abolitionist, Pastor, Statesman, and Bivocational Church Planter
  • Gentrification Conversation: Part One
    Gentrification Conversation: Part One
  • Climate Change and the Church
    Climate Change and the Church
  • Combining theological counseling and social work for hospice care
    Combining theological counseling and social work for hospice care

Subscribe to Blog via E-mail

Enter your e-mail address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by e-mail.

© 2025 Pittsburgh Theological Seminary | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme