You Tube Theology

In recent years, much has been written about the autotelic nature of sport and how competition, on the one hand, especially at the professional level, and evangelism on the other, fundamentally distort, and for some writers, destroy the spiritual benefits found in play. This address will challenge those conclusions by rethinking how sport and Christian faith should go together, from the bottom up. For a fresh approach, we need to make two sets of distinctions. We need to distinguish between play as seen from a human perspective, e.g., Huizinga’s famous dictum that true play is always an end in itself, and play as seen from God’s perspective, an approach pioneered by Hugo Rahner. Secondly, we need to distinguish comparison as a means of seeking self-understanding versus as a means of establishing self-worth. With these distinctions in mind, we can look to Scripture for understanding God’s purpose in competitive sport as both a school of discipleship and as a means to reach others for Christ.

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