CREEDE HINSHAW: A heavenly hall of fame

I heard an inspiring basketball story on Georgia Public Radio on the weekly “Only a Game” broadcast about Kenny Sailors, attributed by many to have invented the jump shot.

Sailors played basketball for the University of Wyoming in the 1940s, leading that school to its only NCAA national championship in 1943. His college days were interrupted when he joined the U.S. Marines for two years in World War II. Discharged as a Marine captain, he returned to a third season of championship basketball and then played pro ball.

What hooked me about Sailors was this — this humble man, acclaimed for taking basketball to a new level (literally) when everybody was shooting flat-footed, has never been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

When asked about this omission Sailors, a faithful follower of Jesus, told the interviewer that this made very little difference because he knew that when he died he would enter the only Hall of Fame that really mattered.

Sailors is there now. He died earlier this year at age 96. The apostle Paul would have concluded that Sailors won an imperishable wreath of glory. You can watch a moving interview with Sailors on Youtube and read the obituary of his interesting life in the New York Times. Whether or not you are a basketball fan, you will be moved by the recollections of this humble man.

JESUS’ WIFE PARCHMENT IS FAKE: Though I wouldn’t recommend taking the time to read the lengthy article, an exhaustive investigation recently published in The Atlantic has uncovered what many people already suspected: the credit card-sized piece of parchment purporting to be an ancient text including the words “Jesus’ wife” is fake.

Almost a year ago, Christianity Today published a compelling article titled “5 Reasons Why the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife is Fake” (July 13, 2015), but Ariel Sabar’s investigative piece “The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus’ Wife” (Atlantic, July/August 2016) finally prompted Dr. Karen King, a Harvard historian of Christianity, to admit that she was probably hoodwinked by a shady Florida scam artist with a story too good to be true.

King never advocated that Jesus was married; she believed that this ancient fragment revealed what others in the early church might have thought about Jesus. She had some experts in her corner, but much of the biblical world was skeptical.

In the end, she became the latest high-profile victim of poor judgment. Some will rejoice over that fact that an Ivy League scholar was brought low. Others will cite King as why they ignore academic pursuit of faith and scripture. Both reactions would be inappropriate.

King made a huge error: whether out of desire to further her career, make a theological point or simply out of naiveté we cannot know.

Her recent statement acknowledges her mistake. That’s not easy to do. Our presidential candidates – and the rest of us – could learn to practice some humility, too.

Email Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].