The biblical Hall of Fame looks like a mistake. But it’s no mistake. God’s chosen Hall of Faith-ers reminds us that, unlike worldly fame, heavenly fame is all about the Creator, not the creature. And he receives great glory through even our faltering and finicky faith.

My sister is part of the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Sarah is a phenomenal athlete who was a stand-out high school athlete in swimming and softball. She went on to play softball for Stanford University, where she batted .350 with 28 home runs over her career and was a three-time All-American, eventually playing on the US Women’s National Team.

Other Tucson greats like Steve Kerr, Lute Olsen, Sean Elliott, Fat Lever, Mike Candrea, Ian Kinsler, JJ Hardy, Dick Tomey, and Jerry Kindall grace the hall of fame. If you’re from Tucson and don’t know some of those names, you should look at their impressive careers.

I haven’t yet received an invitation [drumming fingers]. Maybe they don’t hand those out for pick-up ball. Go figure.

Hardcore fans of sports and music argue about whether or not individuals deserve to be in the Hall of Fame or not. Baseball fans will throw down over whether or not Pete Rose and Barry Bonds ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Some Rock and Roll fans are outraged that Stevie Nicks and Percy Sledge are in the Hall of Fame while Tina Turner and Lionel Ritchie are not. Football fans clash over whether Ray Lewis and OJ Simpson ought to be in the Hall of Fame and whether it’s fair Reggie Wayne and Roger Craig aren’t.

You might know that the Bible has a Hall of Fame as well. Tucked away at the end of Hebrews, it contains a list far more controversial than any list in Canton, Cleveland, or Cooperstown.

Here is the list of heroes of faith that the Bible offers:

Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel.

What an interesting list. There are three types in the hall of faith. First are the clear-cut inductees. A surprisingly few members of this Hall of Faith are no-brainers when you stop to consider it. Outside of his childhood pride, Joseph seems like a natural choice. Samuel also lives a reasonably blameless life. Others, such as Abel and Barak, feel like odd choices because their acts of faith seem fairly insubstantial, and we don’t know much about them outside those small acts.

Second are those with a checkered history. Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, and David have quite a rap sheet. While that group has collectively lots of moments of faith, we also find two murders, an attempted murder, abandonment, grave sexual violations, and thievery among the serious sins this group collectively committed.

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