Religion is part of politics. After all, Jesus hung out with tax collectors, prostitutes, and chased the money-changers out of the temple. He also fed the poor and healed the sick. And then there was a debate about the death penalty and a later charge that one of Jesus’ disciples had been set-up.

Religion should not be part of sports. Jesus was not a discus-thrower or a marathoner. Nor did he play golf or baseball. But that hasn’t stopped athletes from dragging him around the golf course or the pitch, as the Brits call their playing turfs.

I have basically ignored the attempt to bring Jesus into athletic competition over the past years, but this year I have had it. I wasn’t too bothered when Tony Dungy, coach of the 2007 Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts, admitted that he was a man of faith, but when it came to football, as he admits, having Payton Manning as your quarterback made matters easier. It bothered me no end, when a couple of months later, Zach Johnson won the Masters golf tournament and said he did so because Jesus was his real caddie. And he made this claim right after sinking his last putt in front of the whole golf world.

It has pleased me no end that Jesus has given up golf since Zach has faded on the greens since winning the Masters. Why can’t Zach leave his beliefs in the golf cart as a much better golfer, Tom Watson, does and has done for years?

Now prior to the baseball (American) World Series, I reached my limit when I read about the Colorado Rockies and Jesus. As they see it, Jesus is the 10th player on the team. In case you missed it, most of the Rockies players are born-again Christians and Bible study in the locker room is a weekly past time. Now I am a long-suffering National League fan, having grown up in the shadows of Connie Mack stadium in Philadelphia, and normally I would have rooted for the Rockies, but there was no way I wanted to see them win given this revelation. So when the blue-state Red Sox swept the red-state Rockies in four straight, I felt a great sense of redemption.

One way to look at the short series is that Jesus now has time for other more pressing matters, like another Bush war.