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 The Olympics and Local Church Sports Outreach
Introduction - The Question
This coming summer the world will focus on the Olympics. People
holding a theistic world view will revisit age old questions concerning
the integration of sport and faith. They ask questions such as: Does
God approve of athletics; would Christ participate in sport; or is
competition Biblical? In regard to sport, Arthur F. Holmes discusses
three cautions expressed by Thomas Aquinas. “First, do not take
pleasure in indecent or injurious play. Second, do not lose your mental
or emotional balance and self-control. Third, do not play in ways
ill-fitting either the hour or the man…play should have positive moral
and other consequences…” (251 - Hoffman). On the surface this sounds
like good advice but how are competitors who are faithful followers of
Christ to ultimately know?
To the great encouragement of such Christian athletes, there are
Scriptural answers to these “age old questions.” Competitors desiring
to obey, honor and worship Christ, can find Biblical principles to
guide their sporting endeavors.
What might frustrate these athletes is to discover their questions are
not easily answered nor quickly attained. Solid answers require
committed study, dedicated inquiry, persistent research; and
contemplative reflection. This treatise is written to aid, guide and
complement such efforts. Its purpose is to empower all who are on the
journey of discovering how to honor Christ in and through their
athletic endeavors.
The ultimate destination of this journey is to equip Local Church
Sports Outreach Ministers to train their athletes on how to compete in
the image of Christ (Christmanship). Stops along the way will include
philosophical, theological and ethical discussions. These discussions
will determine:
- Is there theological support for competition
- Can sports in general be defended Biblically
- If sports can be defended Biblically in an overall sense, are there specific sports which might not be Biblically defensible
- Can a Christian participate in sport, athletics and games in Christ honoring ways
The following is written so all who sincerely desire to be:
- Theologically informed about sport and competition
- Experientially formed in how they play their sport
- Spiritually transformed as they worship and honor God through their sport will be able to compete in biblically defensible ways.
Every stop in this series of blogs serves as a foundation for the next
and each builds upon the former. Each is incomplete by itself, but in
conjunction with one another make a strong, unified basis for Christian
participation in sport and athletics. Together, they form an exciting,
albeit daunting challenge for anyone attempting to integrate faith and
sport in Biblically-based ways – all for the glory of Christ! Preparing
and training for a sport takes great effort, time and commitment.
Similarly, establishing a Biblical basis for competition and sport is
not obtained quickly or easily. The journey is about to begin. All
aboard!
Next week’s blog will focus on the philosophy of competition.
A great resource for Local Church Sports Outreach is the recently
released book "Beyond the Gold" by Bryan Mason which can be obtained
through CSRM at: www.csrm.org
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports Outreach and
"Christmanship" - the Theology of Competition by Dr. Greg Linville are
archived at: www.csrm.org under the "Articles" icon
of the main menu
Blog: January 2012 "The Olympics and Local Church Sports Outreach"
 December 2011 "What's Right With Sport Today?"
 Executive Director Blogs
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