Toward a Theology of Competition and Sport

Chapter 3
Biblical Principles for Determining Christ- Honoring Sport 

By Dr. Greg Linville

The following is the third installment in a series outlining a Theology of Competition and Sport. 

The first article articulated the philosophical foundation from which an integration of competition and Christianity emerges. It explained a clear distinction between competition and sport must be made and also presented seminal thinking on factors which both positively and negatively influence competition and sport. It included a pioneering work on charting the predictability of an athlete’s fulfillment within his or her athletic endeavors and key definitions of competition, sport and athletics. 

The second article outlined the Theological Foundation for Competition through the Theological rubric of “Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation. A lengthy discussion on Special and General Revelation was used to demonstrate competition is compatible with a Christian worldview based upon various Biblical Texts. In addition, arguments against competition were countered and it was determined competition can be engaged in, in either moral or immoral ways as it is an amoral force. 

This installment will build upon the premise established in Chapter 2 that competition is Biblically defensible by outlining the Theological Foundation for sport and athletics. This is done by going one step further in creating a template based upon five Biblical Principles for determining which sports are Biblically Defensible and which ones are not. 

Subsequent articles will feature discussion on: a) the Biblical Basis for Specific Sports and Athletics; b) Historical Models of Competition and Sport; and c) the Biblical Basis for Individual Participation in Sport and Athletics; d) a section on answering difficult questions about sport and faith integration and e) a section discussing Lord’s Day issues. 

This article is broken up into component sections. Please choose a section below to read.

• Biblical Principles for Determining Christ Honoring Sports 
  
• Principles 1 and 2 
  
• Principles 3 and 4
  
• Principle 5 and Summary