"Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that."
Sports Theology: Finding God's winning spirit
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Greg S.Smith, Indianapolis, Dog Ear Publishing, 2014 ISBN: 978-160844-338-3
The first thing we need to realize is that this book is not a development of or contribution to our understanding of the theology of sport. “Sports theology”, as presented in the book is effectively a technique to help the athlete. The author states: “the basis of sports theology is that we are originally gifted and the potential of our performance is realized in and through our relationship with God…sports theology encourages athletes to rely of the promises of Christ on the field of play and in life… sports theology is about using the gifts that God has given us”.
The author also states: “The major focus of my ministry has always been to communicate to my clients that Christianity should enhance their daily lives”. The premise of this book is that Christianity can improve athletic performance.
There are some great passages:
“Christian athletes not only stand out on the field of play, they stand out in life. The premise of sports theology is that athletic performance is maximized through the utilization of God-given athletic gifts. The Christian athlete participates in sports as a testimony to God’s blessings, which not only raises the level of performance; it changes all aspects of his or her life. They represent Christ in all they do, in how they handle success and defeat, how they conduct themselves on and off the field and how they treat those around them. The Christian athlete uses his or her athletic gifts to bring ‘God’s marvellous light’ to an otherwise dark world”.
Or “Theologically-based athletes handle external stress by knowing that God will protect them and deal with internal stress by knowing that God unconditionally loves them”.
Or “Winning for the Christian athlete is not about coming in first but rather is about competing as a representative of Christ”.
Or “Christian athletes live their lives based on the principles of Christ and approach performance like everything else: with humility, self-sacrifice and devotion to God”.
Despite all this good material in the book, I found the argument that Christianity (or sports theology) will make you a better player, something I could not agree with.
That argument is sustained by quoting verses from all parts of the Bible in a variety of translations alongside quotes from athletes such as the following: As Babe Ruth once said, “God had an eye out for me, just as he has for you, and he was pulling for me to make the grade.” It seemed at times to get close to a “God exists to Bless me” or even “God exists to make me successful” philosophy.
The author refers to:
Theologically based athletes
Spiritually based athletes
Athletes who play theologically
Athletes who perform spiritually
Athletes who perform theologically
Athletes who live spiritually
The theological athlete
Do all these phrases all meant the same thing: Is a Christian athlete the same as a theological athlete and someone who performs spiritually ? I was not sure.
In places there are assertions like: “Athletes who do not fear losing have a better chance to perform at their highest potential” which seem to come more from sports psychology than the Bible and “For the Christian athlete the outcome of a competition is not as important as the act of competing in it” seems pure de Coubertin more than Jesus.
Greg Smith has written an earlier book on Sports Theology which I do recommend.