"It matters a great deal who is going to win, but not at all who won"
20 hot potatoes Christians are afraid to touch
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Tony Campolo, Word 1988
The topics covered include money, divorce, counselling, assisted death, homosexuality, the role of women etc . The chapter which interests us is: Should preachers start preaching against sports?
It is a balanced chapter in which he warns that sport was intended to bring joy but that can easily be lost if it becomes “regimented hard work for the sake of gaining status”. He comments that much has been written on theology of work but very little on theology of play. He concludes “When sports become exploitative and devoid of fun, I am troubled… it is when sports lose their goodness that I am saddened. Jesus did not come into the world to destroy sports, but to see to it that the Father's purposes for sports are fulfilled".
Much of his criticism of sport relates to the US college system and is therefore irrelevant to UK. He raises an important issue about the amount of sport on television and its potential effect on family life.
In the following chapter: “is hunting a sin?” He adopts unusual and potentially unpopular stance in American culture of saying that killing one of God’s creatures for fun has nothing to commend it.