The Theology of Sport

In case you haven't heard, the Super Bowl is this weekend. Seems to me like a good time to look at the 'Theology of Sport'. Every year around this time the debate of 'what Christians should do' in regards to the Super Bowl seems to arise. What about churches that have evening or afternoon services on Sundays? Do you cancel them? Manipulate it to be longer, shorter? Incorporate the game into the meeting time? All answers could be valid. Should Christians even watch or participate in sports?

The question I want to touch on here goes a bit beyond those questions to how Christians should think about sports -- about the games played, about watching, about participating and about winning. I have some links to resources and articles I've looked at recently discussing this issue.

A few weeks ago I presented at a missions conference a workshop entitled, 'The Theology of Technology.' Many of the same principles apply for this topic. Logically this makes sense because if you have a true Christian worldview the same principles will inform any thought on any category of human life.

The core of the issue is actually, I believe, the same as what Thomas Ladd posted below in his post entitled, "Misunderstanding Christianity's "Negative" Anthropology". I'd suggest reading the whole post but a poignant excerpt is:

For what we believe humanity can be -- what each human being can be -- is even more than a restoration of the original image we bore. We believe that through the transformational power of the Spirit of God, those who believe in Jesus Christ are being made into His likeness!

I believe that "through the transformational power of the Spirit of God" all things-- humans, nature, technology and sports are being moved from their current state of fallenness into a state of redemption. Sport, as a category, is not evil but because of the current fallenness of all things is as susceptible to evil as anything or anyone else.

The topic is too broad for me to get in-depth in one entry. Hopefully I'll post more going forward. But, for now, to think through many aspects of the theology of sport look at these links:

Another Look: It’s Holy Week in America from internetmonk.com
and two links I appreciated from there are:

Christians, Sports and Compromise from Jesus Creed
and
Sports Fanatics from Christianity Today

I also just looked over Tom Krattenmaker's book, Onward Christian Athletes, which brings up many intriguing thoughts on the link between Christians and sports in this country.

And, Verite Sport has some very interesting articles and papers on the topic.

WHY WE FOLLOW SPORTS

I worked as a sports reporter for several years for Portland's newspaper website. I mainly worked in the area of high school sports. The worst thing I covered was a player dying or having a serious medical issue. I also worked in news for awhile and often covered war and death but when it was related to an athlete, especially high school or college, it took on a whole other meaning. I believe the issue is twofold. One, we believe athletes are in good physical condition and shouldn't have these issues. But two, sport, in some sense, is not real. But death is very real and when the two meet fantasy and reality collide.

Sport mimics real life in a way that only sport can. We build each competition, each season, each race into a battle of good and evil. Just as, as Christians believe, real life is. Sport gives us a chance to either, by participating or being a spectator, see the human body and mind used in exceptional ways. Ways that must reflect, somehow, the image of God. Sport gives us a way to bond as community -- the team, trainers and coaches or the local high school, city or state. Just as in real life we long for community in our families, workplace and with our Creator.

Humans get drawn to things that, whether we know it or not, show us a truer sense of ourselves and of God. I easily see how sport is one of those things on both counts. Sports fans see, that somewhere, at the core, the nature of sport reflects something true to a reality that is hard to see or more often hard to deal with. So, we like sports.

At least in sport, generally, the battle between good vs. evil is pretend. The 'good' team wins and the 'evil' team loses. Sometimes, depending your alliance, the 'evil' team wins and the 'good' loses. This also reflects life as we know it currently. But, the evil of it all really isn't that evil because sports aren't real. It's just a game.

Therefore reporting on the death of an athlete or a sex scandal in a locker room was one of the worst things I had to do. It moves the unreal into the real -- the evil is a true evil not the fabricated evil of a team losing or the wrong team winning. But, just as how there is another season in sports, there is another season in reality. There is a future hope. As Mr. Ladd wrote in his post below, "a future in which sin"...and death... "does not have the last word and in which your flaws and failures don't have the final say when it comes to defining what you are."

Are Christians Allowed to Cheer for Michael Vick?

Full disclosure: I will not be cheering for Michael Vick this Fall. I hope he has the worst year statistically of his entire career, and that the Eagles as a whole implode faster than my own dreams of being a professional football player. But that's because I'm a Cowboys fan. It has nothing to do with the dog fighting.

Because I am a glutton for punishment, I still occasionally peruse the comments section on sports articles on the internet. On articles having to do with Michael Vick this is a particularly fascinating (punishing?) thing to do. It's clear that a large segment of the population doesn't think Vick should ever be forgiven for what he has done, has dismissed him as having little to no value as a person, and genuinely resents him his chance at redemption. What is truly saddening is that quite a few of these people seem to be Christians, and that they seem to have reached these stances based on seemingly "Christian" values.

So here are what I think are some genuine Christian values that people should keep in mind when reacting to the Michael Vick situation:

Michael Vick bears the image of God.

Michael Vick has intrinsic value, as all human beings do, as someone who is made in God's image. What exactly that means is a complex question beyond the scope of this particular blog entry, but what is absolutely means is that he cannot be dismissed as having no value. Christians should be cheering for his redemption as loud as for anyone else's. Which brings me to my second point ...

Redemption is always a good thing. Always.

First, Michael Vick isn't getting away with anything. He served his prison time, and he seems to be genuinely repentant and changed by the experience. It's odd, then, to see some Christians resenting his redemption, feeling as if he doesn't deserve the chance to repent, to be changed. This is particularly odd given that the foundation of the entire Christian understanding of reality as we find it is the desperate need for redemption of everyone and everything. Quite simply, we cannot thank God for our own redemption, then resent the work of redemption in the lives of others. I genuinely hope Vick has changed. I'm rooting for him.

The Bible speaks about only one unforgivable sin ... and it's not dog fighting.

Look, I'm a dog person. I really love dogs. And when I think about someone abusing, torturing, and murdering dogs (or any animal for that matter) ... well, my hand gets itchy for a baseball bat. It's sick. It's completely inexcusable. But it's not unforgivable. Christians, as the ones who uphold the intrinsic value of humanity based on the image of God and who strive to share the hope of redemption with all mankind, ought to be screaming this the loudest. Michael Vick can be forgiven. We all can be forgiven. That's how big the redemption of God is.

Fine, you say, he can come out of prison. Heck, he can even have a job and a normal life. But he doesn't deserve a chance to play in the NFL again. He certainly doesn't deserve the chance to make the $100 million dollars his new contract is worth. Granted. You think it doesn't get to me that this guy gets to make $100 million dollars while law-abiding citizens like my family are stuck trying to stay in the black month to month on two-part time jobs in a horrible economy? Sure, it's unfair! But the thing about God's grace is that it is lavish. For those on the outside looking in, lavishness will often seem unfair. And, of course, I believe God will hold Vick responsible for how he handles that $100 million dollars. Let us pray he's a wise steward of the funds.

When I see Vick's story, I see the gospel unfolding before me. Does Vick self-identify as a Christian? If not, will he ever do so? I don't know. But so far his redemption is beautiful to me. Make no mistake, I will be cheering against Vick and the Eagles with all my heart this Fall, but I will also be rooting Vick on as a person. For I am in need of redemption, too. And watching his unfold comforts me in thinking about my own.

How to Tell a Football Fan from a Tabloid Junkie

Football season (a.k.a., the most wonderful time of the year) has begun and my head is full of images of watching the Cowboys play while wearing warm flannel shirts and eating many bowls of spicy chili by the fireplace. Life doesn't get much better. (Yes, I'm an A/V geek who studies medieval church history and loves the NFL.)

But, I'm already sick of the rhetoric surrounding football talk. Sometimes, I am known to ignore football discussions and shun watching games with people because it's impossible to find football fans who can talk about football without parroting ESPN's drivel or giving me a recap from US magazine. My wife, who only began watching after we got married, is better conversation during a game than most of the so-called football fans out there.

Are your friends fans or fakers? Here are some conversation examples that you can use to tell if your friends are football fans or simply tabloid junkies in disguise.

Football Fan: Hey, did you see Miles Austin's kickoff return in our first game? The Cowboys need to work that kind of speed into the the main part of the game!

Tabloid Junkie: Jerry Jones installed his screen too low in the new stadium! Well, it's not really too low, it's regulation, but it's funny. Sort of. Let's talk about it some more. Who won the game? I don't remember, but did you see the clip on SportsCenter when the kickoff hit the TV screen!

Football Fan: I wonder if our teams' 4-3 defense can cover a 5 wide out offense with a quick snap?

Tabloid Junkie: Tom Brady is cute, so he could probably do that thing you just said.

"I've heard they lose when they wear the white pants. No, I don't know anything about defensive formations. I'm just sayin'..."

However, this is an old problem that I have been annoyed with for many years. Let's go back in time...

One Year Ago

Football Fan: Tony Romo is a good player who is always focused even when he is having a bad day.

Tabloid Junkie: I head on ESPN that he plays worse when his girlfriend is in town. That's right, I believe in curses and voodoo. Mysticism is way more important than athleticism in this sport. Can I read your palm?

Two Years ago

Football Fan: The New Orleans Saints got their head coach from the Dallas Cowboys staff, and his knowledge of the team helped them to beat the Cowboys and showed other teams how to do the same.

Tabloid Junkie: The Saints played at the Superdome before the hurricane. I'm pretty sure that George Bush caused the hurricane because he's a racist. I love football!

People. Go back to your witch hunts, animal sacrifices, and tabloid articles about Jennifer Aniston. The rest of us have games to watch.