new Christian friends were avid Phillies fans. Baseball was “bad” for the new Christian because he associated it with a whole cluster of selfish, irresponsible practices. But baseball was an apparently good diversion for his friends. His new friends cared for the new Christian, and he for them, yet their differing opinions threatened their relationship. In Romans 14 and 15, Paul addressed the need in the Roman church (representative of similar situations in every church) to deal with the conflicting