| Who Dey? - article by Joel Hempel Who Dey? is the battle cry of the Cincinnati Bengals (football team) fans. It means, Who dey think gona beat dem Bengals? It’s intended to be a rhetorical question with the implied answer: No one! On January 12, 1982, when the Cinti Bengals played against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game, three friends and I sat in the nosebleed section of the Bengals stadium. The game was one of the coldest in NFL history with the wind chill temperature recorded at a negative 59 degrees. On that day, when the birth of the Who Dey? battle cry was inspired, the Bengals were victorious. They could not be beaten - that day! Although the Who Dey? battle cry continues to this day, since that infamous Freezer Bowl of 1982, the Bengals have lost 375 games, including all three Super Bowl appearances.1 Who dey? Oh, a whole bunch of teams! Now, fast forward to 2025. Who dey think gona beat those Christians? That’s not a silly question. Using different words, St. Paul - on behalf of God Almighty - rhetorically asks: If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? . . . Who is to condemn? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ( Romans 8:31-35)? Who dey? Nobody! No one! No how! No way! Who are dey who think they can beat us? There’s a long list: People who never will accept us, condemning voices, regretful feelings that won’t let go, disappointed parents, unreasonable bosses, people who have seen our dark side and won’t let us forget it, addictions and dependencies whose grip is demanding our lives, out-of-control emotions or thoughts, and the list goes on! Yes, it is undeniable that some of you reading this have people in your lives trying to beat you down. Others have circumstances that threaten peace and well-being. And there are always challenges that can easily overwhelm us. But our battle cry is not a whimsical wish. It is truth: The PRESENCE of the LORD is with us! God’s PROMISES2 are not just words in a book. His Word is truth. What God promises, he delivers. His strength, courage, and Spirit are ours to defeat our enemies from the outside and within. The Bengals’ faithful fans are waiting to be victorious in the Superbowl. Personally, I’d love to see them do it - after, of course, the Cleveland Browns win it all – which means I’ll be waiting a long time. But we faithful sons and daughters of the Father are never kept waiting. None of us have five 300-pound linemen protecting us. But we do have not only our Sure and Certain Hope,3 we also have each other – the community of faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. God does not desire for us to do life on our own. Life is too hard and often does not work out well when we insist on going it alone. No Christian is outside the Body of Believers. It is expected and intended that we draw strength from each other. It’s one of God’s preeminent ways of loving us.4 1. The Bengals also won 304 games, including 8 postseason games – 2 of which were AFC Championship games. 2. See Psalm 30:1-5; Psalm 23:4; Hebrews 13:5-6; Psalm 27:1; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 6:10-17; Romans 8:1, 9-11, 37-39; Ephesians 3:14-19; John 16:7, 13. 3. Psalm 42:11; Psalm 121; Isaiah 40:29-31; Romans 15:13; Matthew 11:28-29. 4. John 17:20-26; Ephesians 4:1-3, 32; James 5:16; Hebrews 10:24-25. | 
