| Friday, November 5
By Frank Hughes
Special to ESPN.com |
|
Last week, Fouled Out took an in-depth look at some of the murkier parts
of religion in today's NBA.
|  | | Funderburke is very well spoken, and devoted to his beliefs. |
This week was supposed to be a goof. I had heard that Lawrence
Funderburke, a middle-of-the-road talent for the Sacramento Kings, had
predicted that the end of the world was going to occur on New Year's Eve,
1999.
And I also had recalled that Funderburke signed a four-year contract this
past summer to stay in Sacramento -- which, some might say, is the equivalent
of experiencing the apocalypse, but that's another story.
Anyway, I'm thinking to myself, if this guy thinks the end of the world is
going to happen in a few short months, midway through the season, why did he
sign a four-year deal?
Why not sign a one-year deal, or a half-year deal, get everything up
front, live it up like a drunken banshee for the remainder of his days and
just go nuts in that final game of games, the Kings-Seattle SuperSonics tilt
on Dec. 29?
Hey, I realize the globe is about to blow a gasket, and in the larger
scheme basketball does not really mean a whole lot since all life on this
planet is about to end, but regardless, we've still got a job to do. Tip-off
at 7:30.
So I go in to talk with Larry after a game the other day, completely
prepared to listen to his prediction of Almighty destruction with a smirk on
my face.
And guess what? The guy is very well spoken, very intelligent and makes
some solid arguments. And after writing the column last week about what a
farce some of the aspects of religion are in this league, it was actually
refreshing to listen to a man who is so devoted to his beliefs and so willing
to shamelessly stand up for them in the face of ridicule and adversity.
I'm not saying I believed his ideas -- which, by the way, are not that the
world's destruction is going to happen this New Year's Eve, but rather, that
the end of all life is tied directly to Israel. But neither am I completely
willing to dismiss him as a bubble headed goofball who's been watching too
many televangelists and got hit in the head too many times when Vlade Divac
was flopping around last year.
Listen to what he has to say:
"As a Christian, I believe the end can happen any given year. I'm of the
belief the Lord will come when Israel is at its weakest moment. That's what I
believe, and I think anybody who studies the prophecies about the nation of
Israel all understand that everything revolves around Israel, not the United
States and not anybody else. My beliefs are tied to the nation of Israel,
them coming back into the land, the fact that they're going on with these
peace treaties, they're trying to make peace with all their enemies. And I
believe that when Israel is at its weakest moment, that's when all these
things are going to happen. That time is not here yet. Who knows when that
will be. Could be next year, the following year, the following year, who
knows?
"But everybody that looks can see that the last days are going on right
now. As far as what people are saying, Matthew Chapter 24, things like that."
At this point I wanted to break in, because I was wondering what people he
is hanging out with that are saying these things, and who this "everybody" is
that is looking to see the last days in something called Matthew Chapter 24.
But he continued on and I didn't interrupt.
"Things are just getting progressively worse, on and on. You know that
the next major war to break out is going to be a nuclear war. It doesn't take
a rocket scientist to know that."
I certainly am not a rocket scientist, but I was under the impression we
were disarming our nuclear weapons. Still, he went on.
"But I think before that happens that Jesus will intervene before any such
thing takes place. I don't worry about that. I don't worry about what's going
to happen, am I going to be around when it happens. I sleep peacefully at
night knowing that what I believe in will come to pass. A lot of things
already have happened. Israel is coming back into the land. How can 10,000
troops fight 200,000 people without God being on their side? They had four or
five tanks. How can you explain it? You can't."
He was right. I couldn't.
"But if you believe in God, you can understand. They're His chosen people,
He loves them, He protects them, and all the promises come to them. And those
who love them are called to Christ. It's something I've been studying for
many, many years."
I'm a little confused at this point, so I ask, bottom line, if my last
meal -- which, by the way, I want to be Chesapeake Bay blue crabs with lots
of Old Bay and a nice, cold brew -- is tied to Israel, what state, exactly,
are they in?
"They're in a state now where, as a Christian, I would say they are
unbelievers because they don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah. And He is.
And they will come to know that, but they don't believe that He is. Right now
what they are doing is making peace with their enemies. They're compromising
their security, they're giving up a lot just to make peace for empty
promises. 'If you give us land, we won't destroy you.' What is that? But that
is what they are doing. And it will keep going on and on and on. And they are
headed in that direction that I see that it can break out at any moment.
Everyone knows that if you look at Daniel, Chapter 9."
I resisted the urge to tell him everybody does not know that, and I
personally wouldn't even know where to find Daniel or Chapter 9. He kept going.
"Everyone knows that if you look at Daniel, Chapter 9, talking about how
Israel is going to sign a covenant with the anti-Christ, different things
like that. Everything is tied to Israel, not to the Gentiles. I don't get
caught up in the millennium, and I know that it is not going to happen around
then. And I think a lot of people will point at Christians and say, 'If it
doesn't happen, then they are all false prophecies and they are predicting
all these things.' But it all revolves around Israel, so if you keep them in
the picture, you can never go wrong."
I was wondering if he meant "keep them in the picture" as a cliche, or if
he meant it literally, considering their destruction is, well, my
destruction. Instead, I asked him how he reconciled his beliefs with everyday
life.
"I live day to day, my life. If you look at Payne Stewart, if you look at
John Kennedy, no one knows when The Lord is going to come for your individual
life. The main thing is to be ready, make sure you have a personal
relationship with Him. I don't worry about that. I've always lived my life
day by day. I can't control the future. No man can. What I try to do is give
to the Church, help people out, do all I can to follow Christ's example. A
lot of people kid me, a lot of people ask me questions about Y2K ... but I tell
them I don't know. I believe the last couple years, I believe this year, I
will believe next year. If it doesn't happen, there is the possibility that
it can. And it will revolve around Israel and their tradition and their
customs. That's pretty simple."
I breathed a sigh of relief. I can still make the New Year's Eve bash.
Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. |  |
Fouled Out: Religion a big part of NBA
