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So, the knock-out stages of the Rugby World Cup are approaching. On Saturday morning, preparing to watch the decisive England Argentina game, sports psychologist, Amanda Owens, talked about rugby as a great family game and praised it for its tribalistic elements. Hearing this vote of confidence for tribalism woke me up. Nearly everyone writing about tribalism in politics today sees it as a corrupting influence. In the USA, for example, the Yale law professor, Amy Chua, speaks about the way in which the combination of free markets and democracy in diverse societies often leads to ethnic conflicts as certain dominant ethnic or social minorities become disproportionately wealthy and powerful, and in the end provoke backlash. An early story in the long arc of the Christians Scriptures is concerned with the relationship between tribalism and the common good. This is the story of Babel. The story goes that the tower of Babel was built up to the heavens by the descendants of Noah after the flood. They were one people and spoke one language but they were consumed with a passion to make their mark on the world. Concerned by their ambitions to dominate, God decided to split them into smaller linguistic groups and send them in different directions so that they could no longer co-operate in such a venture. At the other end of this long arc, all the nations and languages of the world are gathered in Jerusalem and symbolically, the splintering events of Babel are reversed. As the apostle, Peter, starts to speak, those listening can understand him in their own language. Diversity here is acknowledged, and yet a deeper belonging is sensed as the Holy Spirit moves amongst people. This is the story of Pentecost. These two stories together contain a paradox, a warning and some hope. The paradox is that as human beings we experience both strong social instincts to belong in a tribe of our own (whether cultural, linguistic, religious or political) and, in other profound moments, a broader kinship. The warning is that the social forces of tribal groups can be very powerful and not always benevolent. The hope lies in placing our tribal belongings within a larger sense of belonging to the whole inhabited earth. Sport has long been seen as a safe channel for tribal instincts. There is nothing like cheering on your team for a feeling of belonging and safety and empowerment. But a good game requires also a strong opposing team, and a family-friendly sport requires an attachment not just to our team, but to the sport as whole. Rugby has been largely free from the exploitation of the strong group ethic by more sinister forces wanting to spread division on ethnic lines. But in sport and in life, to keep us all safe, we all need to keep focusing not just on our own tribe’s interests, but on the organic health of the whole.