"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Sport and Christianity (A sign of the times in the light of faith),
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Full Review
My first reaction to this book was one of disappointment on discovering that what I thought was a new book was in fact the English translation of the proceedings of a 2007 seminar: “Sport and Christianity: Anthropological, Theological, and Pastoral Challenges”. Eleven chapters are organized in the three sections - Anthropological, Theological, and Pastoral. Inevitably they are of varying interest.
The foreword poses the book’s purpose: “Is there such a thing as a Catholic perspective of sport?” Leszek Sibilski seeks to answer his own question by suggesting: “Although it is not proper to speak of a ‘Christian sport’ per se, it is, however, fitting to speak of how Christianity specifically enlightens sporting activities by offering discernment criteria and by broadening sport’s horizons, enabling sport to remain open to the deeper questions of human existence”.
In the introduction Bishop Josef Clemens argues that the Church has always shown particular sporting activity – a claim that could hardly be made of protestants. His evidence is the interest of various popes and the establishment of the Vatican Sports Office.
If there is to be a distinctive catholic perspective on sport, it might be in John Paul II’s words “A sport that protects the weak and excludes no one, that frees young people from the snares of apathy and indifference, and arouses a healthy sense of competition in them”.
Part 1 of the book is called Anthropological Aspects with the following chapters:
Man, Mortality, and the Athletic Hero: yesterday and Today - Karen Joisten
Overcoming Dualism: The Unity of the Human Person in Sport - Pedro Barrajon, LC
Morality and Beauty: Sport at the Service of the Human Person - Christoph Hubenthal
While anthropology is referred to in the title of the seminar, I felt that most of these chapters were neither about sport nor Christianity!!
Part 2, Theological Aspects, contains five chapters one on Biblical foundations, three on the views of particular popes on sport and one setting out a “Christian vision of sport”. The section aims to cover the four pillars of Catholic theology: Scripture, tradition, ecumenical councils and pontifical teachings.
Biblical and Patristic Foundations for Sport by Alois Koch was for me far and away the pick of the book
Koch’s starting point is that neither the Scriptures nor the early Christian writers explicitly and thematically dealt with the contemporary concept of sport. He states categorically that, “From the agon images and metaphors in St. Paul’s writings, any assessment or approval of the athletics of his time cannot be derived”. Moreover. He argues, the New Testament references to sport tend to be to “sport as a spectacle among other ‘spectacles’- and not simply focusing on athletics”.
He describes the common practice of taking Bible verses out of context to develop a theology of sport as “dubious and not tenable according to a thorough exegesis”. Even the popes are reprimanded for this! “Nonetheless, these verses of St. Paul are frequently quoted by theologians and pontiffs with reference to sports”.
Koch makes the point that in using the athletic metaphors. Paul was doing nothing new or original but drawing on a contemporary literary style, at a time when “the practice of virtue and the efforts to live a moral life were frequently compared with the struggles and sacrifices present in athletic competition”.
Koch follows the analysis of the Biblical material with a review of some of the early church fathers’ writings. With the exception of the condemnation of some particularly violent sports, he concludes that the “no assessment or approval of their contemporary athletics” may be taken from the writings of the early church.
Finally, Koch suggests three main conclusions that can help as criteria in accessing modern sport:
• Without the acknowledgement of man’s relation to the transcendental God, sport
becomes a ‘substitute religion’;
• The lingering negativity toward the body is to be corrected;
• All approaches to sport that are directed against life, health, and the integral
development of the person, are to be categorically rejected.
Kevin Lixey presents Pius XII as a friend of sport who was “who was able to read the sign of the times, and sport being one of them”. In 1955 when Pius XII referred to a contemporary athlete is a speech it was seen as shockingly avant-garde by some but Lixey commends the pope for using his knowledge of sport to engage with a sport-loving generation.
Sport, however, is not to be “an end in itself, but must be directed to the overall good of the human person”. As Pius XII said in 1945: “Sport is the school of loyalty, of courage, of fortitude, of resolution and universal brotherhood: all natural virtues, these, but which form for the supernatural virtues a sound foundation and prepare man to carry without weakness the weight of the greatest responsibilities.” One could say that for all the positivity towards sport, it is seen as having just extrinsic rather than intrinsic value.
There is an interesting thought expressed, that “Sport has a need of being ennobled by Christianity”. I would have been interested to having it elaborated somewhat
John Paul II’s view of sport is described as having an exhortative character; they highlight the educational function that is accredited to sport while always safeguarding the dignity of life in the case of it being threatened by the practice of sport; they tend to underline sport’s social-cultural aspect; and lastly, they provide an outline for a spirituality of sport”.
John Paul II’s comment “while it promotes physical fitness and strengthens character, sport must never distract those who practise and appreciate it from their spiritual duties” is hardly a ringing endorsement.
I resonated more with Bishop Carlo Mazza’s assessment that “the spiritual dimension of sport appears not as something added on to it from the outside, but rather, as an intrinsic quality that the athlete manifests in and through the aesthetically visible gestures of sport as they are perceived by the spectator”.
Other quotes from the pope refer to sport’s “educational and spiritual potential”, the need to watch over sport lest it “deviates from its original nature” and “which contributes to the love of life, teaches sacrifice, respect and responsibility, leading to the full development of every human person”. Again this seems to me to be looking more for extrinsic than intrinsic value in sport.
Benedict XVI urges people “to recognize their own talents and capacities, their very efforts and their own very life as gifts that come from God. For this reason, sport should always have God our Creator as its ultimate point of reference”.
Dietmar Mieth’s Christian Vision of Sport includes a discussion of the body and a section on making competition fairer. The relevance of Pentecost and the Tower of Babel to “A Christian vision of sport” rather passed me by.
He argues strongly for a Sunday free from sport, something that I would not associate with Catholicism. He writes: “God wants human beings to be human. This is why he gave mankind not only the work of Creation but also the peace of Creation and in this way gives his Creation rest. This is why we must defend Sunday as a day of rest and not use the whole weekend for sport.
Part 3 is called Pastoral Aspects and has three chapters. The authors challenge the church to be “engaged proactively” in sport because of its importance in society, seeing it as a vital mission field. Moreover the concern should stretch to “coaches, parents, fans, owners, and others affiliated with these sporting events” and not just the player.
In “Sport as a Pastoral Opportunity: The Sports Chaplain” Bernhard Maier drawns on his experience of chaplaincy to elite sport in Austria. He gives some helpful insights into the role and prerequites of being a chaplain , getting balance and trying “never be too pushy, but on the other hand … able to carry out his pastoral duties and above all-where possible - to remind people of their Christian duties”. Referring to the challenge of finding an entry point, he suggests practical service, like offering a German language course for foreign athletes and their families. I was amusing by his weariness at being told the team lost because he did not pray enough!
There is an interesting question and answer section. I found the following two answers intriguing:
Should we consider sport a dangerous opponent of religion?
Sport is an opponent only in that it takes away time for the Sunday Mass. It can also, like business, tear us away from what is intellectual, spiritual, or demanding. Like all entertainment and the pursuit of mammon, it can distract us from more elevated things.
What do you think of athletes who openly profess their belief in God?
On the one hand, it is nice when it is genuine and not overdone with the purpose of advertising a particular religious group. In this area a lot of things are do with religion and beliefs that I don’t like. The open confession or testimony of one’s faith should be done in the right moment and should not come across as propaganda. In this regard, a nonverbal testimony is the best proof of athlete’s beliefs and is much more effective: going to services despite a hectic competition schedule, receiving the sacraments, praying, reading the Bible, being a model of fairness and goodness in sport, practicing teamwork and showing a readiness to help, and definitely not representing the so-called sports egoism.
Norbert M?ller’s Concrete Pastoral Action within Sport sees it right to attribute “great value to sport for its contribution to Christian education, to the explanation and experience of values, and for what it lends to building a society characterized by reciprocal respect, fair behavior, and solidarity among all peoples and cultures”. While this statement is positive, it rather re-inforces the view of sport as having only extrinsic value.
In view of all the negative aspects of sport: doping, violence, racism, nationalism, the idolization of star athletes and of sport itself as a substitute religion for example, the need for the Church to bring a Christian Spirit to sport is stressed. The following are identified as areas where Christians might take concrete action in sport:
• The Promotion of Sports Virtues and Values
• Respecting the Rules
• Service to Peace
• Service to the Weak and Excluded
There are two references to co-operation between Catholics and Evangelicals in Germany. However, this is based on a mistranslation of the German word “Evangelisch” which means Lutheran or Protestant, the Protestant State Church rather than evangelical.
Overall a useful contribution to the relationship between sport and Christianity but with some material that is of marginal relevance.