{"product_id":"9780802879424","title":"Strength for the Fight","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow faith sustained Jackie Robinson-both as an athlete and as an activist.   The  integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was  also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie  Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed into America's pastime  with open arms. Anticipating hostility, he promised Brooklyn Dodgers  general manager Branch Rickey that he would \"turn the other cheek\"  during his first years in the league, despite his fiercely competitive  disposition. Robinson later said that his faith in God had sustained  him-giving him the strength he needed to play the game he loved at the  highest level without retaliating against the abuse inflicted upon him  by opposing players and fans.   Faith was a key component of  Robinson's life, but not in the way we see it with many prominent  Christian athletes today. Whereas the Tim Tebows and Clayton Kershaws of  the sports world emphasise personal spirituality, Robinson found  inspiration in the Bible's teachings on human dignity and social  justice. He grew up a devout Methodist (a heritage he shared with Branch  Rickey) and identified with the theological convictions and social  concerns of many of his fellow mainline Protestants-especially those of  the Black church. While he humbly stated that he could not claim to be a  deeply religious man, he spoke frequently in African American  congregations and described a special affinity he and other Black  Christians felt for the biblical character Job, who had also kept faith  despite suffering and injustice. In his eulogy for Robinson, Jesse  Jackson described Robinson as a \"co-partner of God,\" who lived out his  faith in his civil rights activism, both during and after his baseball  career.   Robinson's faith will resonate with many Christians who  believe, as he did, that \"a person can be quite religious and at the  same time militant in the defence of his ideals.\" This religious  biography of Robinson chronicles the important role of faith in his  life, from his childhood to his groundbreaking baseball career through  his transformative civil rights work, and, in the process, helps to  humanise the man who has become a mythic figure in both sports history  and American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EERDMANS TRADE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52043911037202,"sku":"9780802879424","price":35.19,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0508\/3093\/4173\/files\/9780802879424.jpg?v=1774736061","url":"https:\/\/bargainbooks.com.au\/products\/9780802879424","provider":"Bargain Books Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}