In case you missed the Super Bowl pregame, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis finally spoke about the double murder in which he was implicated in 2000, and basically said God has proven his innocence. Indicted on murder and assault charges in the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, Lewis struck a plea deal for obstruction of justice in exchange for testimony against two other defendants, who were eventually acquitted. He later struck financial settlements with families of both of the victims.
When Shannon Sharpe, interviewing Lewis for a CBS segment, asked his former Ravens teammate what he’d say to those families, Lewis said, “It’s simple.”
“God has never made a mistake. That’s just who He is, you see. And if our system – it’s the sad thing about our system – if our system took the time to really investigate what happened 13 years ago, maybe they would have got to the bottom line truth,” Lewis said. “But the saddest thing ever was that a man looked me in my face and told me, ‘We know you didn’t do this, but you’re going down for it anyway.’ To the family, if you knew, if you really knew the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for His glory. No way. It’s the total opposite.”
On that financial settlement?
“The one thing I said that, because my name was used the wrong way, money is the last thing I’m worried about, but if money will help those kids out – and not just those kids but any kid I can help, any family I can support, I’ll support,” Lewis said. “So don’t just take that family and say I gave money to that family, because I’ve given money to thousands of families time and time again, just to find a different way to help somebody through a rough time.”
After the segment ended, it was the comment of analyst and former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason that set Twitter afire.
“He was involved in a double murder and I’m not so sure he gave us all the answers we were looking for,” Esiason said. “He knows what went on there. He can obviously just come out and say it. He doesn’t want to say it. He paid off the families – I get all that, that’s fine. But that doesn’t take away from who he is as a football player. I appreciate you going down there and asking him that direct question. I’m not so sure I buy the answer.”
I was a below average Major League Baseball player and can vouch that the overwhelming majority of the players I knew were not worth any time investment, much less monetary. I lament the culture of athlete worship that still lingers and I guess I just don’t understand spending more than a fleeting acknowledgement of unusual athletic prowess. Beyond that what is it exactly we are yearning for? To witness an adulterer the night before the next night be idolized by a son and his complicit father – that gets to the heart of the matter.
Thank you for the cut/paste. You can go away now. Whoever you are.
Lemme guess….you’re “Marvelous Marv” Throneberry
At last, someone speaks the truth in the midst of all the fawning and adulation of this thug.
Once a thug – always a thug.
Maybe God will hold you to that same standard – “once a _____, always a ______.”
Have fun with THAT one on Judgement Day.
– killer, punish the hubris of Notre Dame and the Niners.
“…if you really knew the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for His glory. No way. It’s the total opposite.”
This rather up ends my understanding on how God works. He uses the broken bits that say yes to his will to do great things.
Katherine, beautifully said.
I’m happy to listen to Boomer on sports, and I do. On matters of criminal justice, not so much. What makes celebrities knowledgeable on all topics? Answer: they aren’t.
You’ve set up a straw man argument here good doctor. Boomer wasn’t commenting on criminal justice, just that Lewis’ explanation didn’t pass a gut check. That should be the minimal level of circumspection we all employ when hearing one explain involvement in murder, even if not convicted. I believe we used to call this common sense.
¨If the glove don’t fit, you gotta acquit.¨
What goes around comes around. True for Ray Lewis (and the rest of us also) .
I think it is pretty clear God–if he exists–got out of the “using the material success of mortals to prove his Glory” bit with David. Just needed to do it one time to show it coud be done, because people are materialistic like that (even more so back then, and lack of empire would have killed the growth or sustaining of the creed), and then never again was it that important.
Hey, Ray, God doen’t need you to translate. You are what you are.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t the other two acquited on the grounds of Self Defense?
Hardly makes the situation a double Murder any more, manslaughter maybe, but self defense usually takes to the realm of Justifiable Homocide.
And Dr. Frank, I suggest you read a little bit of Scripture before you spout off, you clearly know little or nothing about God and who He is willing to use.
And Katherine;
How Right you are – for a second opinion consult with Saul (called Paul) and what he did before he was on the road to Damascus.
That is exactly what was on my mind when I wrote that sentence.
Isn’t “homocide” something that gay activists are always accusing Christians of wanting to engage in?
“If you knew the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for his glory.” I dont know about his guilt or innocence, however Ray does have a flawed theology. “Christ became sin on our behalf…” God did use his own son who became everything ever committed in sin for His glory. It was through the perfect life of Jesus in perfect obedience to the will of God that qualified him to take God’s whole punishment sin justly deserved. Jesus, the bible teaches, became that sin. Ray preaches out of what makes sense to himself, our own kind of reasoning. But that falls terribly short, it is instead the power of paradox, God’s grace, that is the profound truth. God did indeed use the very depths of what sin could do to bring about the His glory; the gift of salvation and relationship with Him. God used the apostle Paul, a murderer, to spread the Gospel and write most of the letters of the New Testament. God offers forgiveness through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. And this is for all.
The Good Lord was known to use a prostitute or two, and a murderer to further his ‘Glory.’ God used (maybe even now uses) a lot of undesirable and shady characters to further His work. Doesn’t mean He holds these people guiltless and without punishment… in this world or the next. I do know that in this world He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends the rains on the just and on the unjust.
We live in an imperfect world. I’ve rendered unto Caesar his judgment in this world. Not much else left for me to do in this matter. One day, Ray Lewis will face a perfect Witness and a perfect Judge. Ray Lewis better give consideration to Who will be standing next to him on that day.
And let’s not forget that Jesus himself was a criminal, as judged by the Roman authorities of the day… (presuming Biblical stories are accurate, of course).
I foresee an OJ moment , or two, in Mr. Lewis’ post-athletics future.
I have no clue about the guilt or innocence of Ray Lewis. I DO know that God knows perfectly, and will deal with it perfectly.
Our fallible legal system has done all it can do.
For now, that will have to do.
I don’t know much about this Lewis thing but I do know he’s not very literate about God’s actions with humans. Perhaps he’s never read the Bible and seen how God used King David, despite his murdering of Bathsheba’s husband in order to obtain her for himself. Or if the Old Testament is not his thing, he could read how the murderer Saul became the apostle Paul. God has amazing ways of using sinners for His glory, Ray.
The problem here is that the Atlanta DA went to trial without having any actual evidence. In the first couple days the case completely fell apart, with Lewis accepting the plea deal rather than take his chances with the jury doing something crazy. The extent of Lewis’ involvement here was celebrity head hunting.
You’d think with the recent raft of articles about prosecutorial misconduct lately, people would be more hesitant to take a plea deal as meaning anything. If they really thought Lewis was a double murderer, why would they settle for a misdemeanor plea?
RPD, the facts are these: Ray Lewis was there when a double homicide was committed. Maybe it was self defense, maybe not. But the overriding concern to me regarding Lewis’ character is this: he left two young men bleeding to death on the sidewalk. He didn’t stay to try to help them He didn’t call 911 to summon an ambulance. He left them to die in the street. And he has the hubris to paint himself as a righteous man, religious man? He is a disgrace.
GAH! No wonder people despise Christians with so many shining examples here about!
1) Forgiveness. Isn’t that a prime tenent of Chirstianity? Seems like there’s a dearth of it amoung supposed Christian commenters. What the man did or did not do is none of your concern at this point, earthly law has passed its judgement upon him, and he awaits His judgement at the appointed time.
2) “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone…” and “First remove the beam from thine own eye…” Perhaps you all need to spend some time on Scripture.
Real,
on 1, the Christian principle would be that there has to be repentance before there can be forgiveness. Scripture states “if you confess your sins He is faithful to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.” Perhaps the commentators here and Esasin would like to hear more of that before forgiving Ray. He may be innocent and not need to repent, not sure, but it will one day be revealed.
on 2. Jesus also said “you will know them by their fruit.” That means we need to judgeme others. So, I believe what Jesus is saying with the two is that when you judge don’t be a hypocrite. Plus, in the verses you quoted, the mob was wanting to stone to death the sinner. Besides being hypocrites, the mob was not even allowing the sinner to repent.
Since you do not know what has passed between Ray Lewis, God, or even those familes how can you say he has not repented?
I was merely responding to your statement on forgiveness and not weather he is guilty and needs to ask forgiveness. It is what it is. I like the guy but that is neither here nor there.
Also the man is heavily involved in charity in Baltimore. So how about those “fruits”?
I refer you all to Romans: 1-23
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
That’s great on his charity work. There is a statement that “the greatest sinners make the greatest saints” and I don’t doubt that. People I know, that confess to a “rough” life before Christ and the fervent Christians I know. They know more fully what they were saved from. St. Paul (the author of Romans) is a great example of that.
That should read “that confess to a “rough” life before Christ are the most fervent Christians I know.”
Basically, it doesn’t seem that anyone in law enforcement believes Ray Lewis committed murder – and I don’t either. Most of the people who do are Raven-hating fans of other teams engaging in smack talk for the sake of it. And the rest are mostly ingorant and judgemental and feel a settlement automatically denotes guilt.
But whatever. Lewis has his two rings, and no one is taking them away.
So, it’s okay if he was guilty of murder, because he’s got two rings?
THERE IS NO GOD!
So, give me your best argument why there is no God?
I understand . If human chosen to be a saint and see what would happen he run very fast to get away.Don’t run through to the sea a great fish swallow you or ring of power tempt you to become the anti christ and thrown into the bottomless pit with the great Satan
as Jesus say : Narrow is the road but broad and spacious is the road leading to the bad place
good video to go along with post up above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_lFp6nZkq0
After having read the posts up to 1645 (EST), a couple of thoughts. First, there are both secular and ecclesiastical judgements. The secular (our court system, with all its frailties) has long since made its judgement on Ray Lewis. Boomer (and several posters here and elsewhere) were probably not there, probably not in the courtroom, and probably have nothing except second-hand knowledge of what went on in the secular sense. They have no right (IMHO) to wanting more information from the man if he wants it to be a closed case (which it is). Incidentally, such secular judgements are both biblical AND necessary for the maintenance of a sane (sic) society.
With respect to ecclesiastical judgements: “Judge not, lest ye be judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Read that in a book someplace …
No wonder Boomer was not on the set during the 36 minute TV timeout. He was out in the woodshed getting his 40 lashes for his politically incorrect posturing. When are we all going to learn the real lesson here? Sheesh…. Only 20 more days until the Daytona 500, baby!
I’m no Esiason fan. There are very few decent QB analysts past-present. Though he is very active with his family.
I wonder if Ray invited any of his 6 illegitimate kids from 4 women to the SB?
The dude spouts off grab bag Bible quotes, portrayed as some iron ‘man’ on the football field. Though has proven 6 times we know of.. has NO IDEA in being a man, father nor husband.