"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
Towards a theology of sport
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Sean P Kealy, Doctrine and Life 38, September 1988
That Sean Kealy, a Catholic priest, teacher and missionary should have written about sport in 1988 was remarkable in itself! He starts with a quote from a 1976 booklet, “A Christian View of Sports" which stated “The evangelisation of the sports world is in urgent and pressing need of theological reflection and an interpretation of an expression of the Christian message as it applies to sporting activity”.
He asks a challenging question“Does our Christianity make any difference in the type of games we play and above all in the way we play them?” but does not really answer it.
The paper reviews Greek and Roman attitudes to sport before moving into New Testament material, concluding “there is little in the New Testament in the way of appreciation for and direct guidance about sport”. However he then adds: “There are of course many New Testament passages which while not having directly to do with sports, yet have an important bearinf on them and a Christian’s responsibility in their regard”. He cites love, judgement, the universality of sin, loving one’s neighbour and the importance of how we regard out fellow man as areas to consider.
He comments “the Christian emphasis on spiritual values seems to have devalued the enjoyment of sports”, referring to the medieval view that sport was only justified if it contributed to education and the fact that “the dignity and the importance of the body conferred on it by the incarnation was all too often down-played”.
He refers to the Gaelic Athletic Association, a distinctly Irish Catholic enterprise, which parallels the church in some ways. Interestingly the author suggests that the GAA has shown itself better at achieving reconciliation between historically antagonistic people than the church.
An analysis of the attitude of the popes to sport quotes Michael P Kerrigan’s summary. The positive attitude of John Paul II to competition is noted with some surprise. “Athletes engage in stiff competition; they like to be challenged and enjoy the excitement of a great contest. But rather than leading to rivalry and dissension such competition, when carried out in a climate of friendship, leads to a still greater mutual respect and fraternal esteem”. Well sometimes!
There is one surprising point in Kerrigan’s summary: “The Bible, particularly the Pauline letters, offers the basis for theological reflection on the value of sports. Pope John Paul himself frequently turns to St Paul in his own reflections”. I would argue strongly that Paul is using sporting analogies but is not involved in any theological reflection on sport.
Under a heading of Moral Aspects of Sport, there are references to courage, cooperation, temperance, justice and humility. On humility, it is stated: “Sports should teach one to appraise in a realistic and objective way one’s talents and abilities…Christians too often try to portray an image of perfection and thus fail to reach the many who are struggling to cope with failure and meaninglessness in life.”
There is a condemnation of boxing: “Any sport which encourages a will to inflict real injury on an opponent is to say the least, morally questionable”.
In the conclusion, the author states: “Sports then are Christian to the extent that they are inspired by the love of God and of neighbour. They can make us proud, arrogant and superior or can help us conquer our fears and false self-sufficiencies and reach out to others in love and in appreciation of the goodness of God’s elegant creation. Sports can be both prayerfully and ethically instructive as far few modern theologians help us to realize.”
He adds a rider“ The harsh reality is that all too often sport has become a monster out of control in cultures so serious and win-oriented that its function as a replenishment of the inner spirit and a model for the Christian life is forgotten”.
Sports need a Christian dimension. But to be honest, Christianity also needs sports if it is to see in action some signs of transcendence because as Irenaeus put it long ago, the glory of God is a person fully alive”.