Like no other pastime in American culture, sports takes the front seat in defining the American mindset. The competitive spirit reigns in our homes, places of worship, politics, workplaces and institutions of learning. What is the 'competitive spirit'? According to Greek mythology;
And later on in Greek mythology;the name of a goddess: Eris ( ris ). The usual translation of this word is strife. And she is, Hesiod tells us, the daughter of Night, hateful strife that gave birth to painful toil. . . famine and fearful sorrow, fighting, battle, murder, slaughter, quarrels, lies, disputes, lawlessness and ruin. . . . (226-232) [1]
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But in a later poem, the Works and Days, which deals with the life of the small farmer, Hesiod has second thoughts; he revises his mythology. There was, after all, he says, another daughter of Night, the elder one; she too is called Eris, and Zeus himself has set her in the roots of the earth: She is much kinder to men. She stirs up even the shiftless men to work, for any man grows eager to work when he sees his neighbor, a rich man who is keen to plough and sow and put his house in order; neighbor vies with neighbor in the race for wealth. This Eris is good for men. And potter competes with potter, craftsman with craftsman; beggar is jealous of beggar and bard of bard. (19-26)[1]The good and the bad competition (Eris) idea still pervades our culture today in sport and war. The Greeks were not unique in this worldview but certainly the most historically complete. In contrast to this worldview, Jesus taught a radically different response to man's natural desire to dominate their sphere of influence through some form of conflict. Demonstrating that servitude by washing the feet of His disciples and ultimately allowing His crucifixion. And how can we forget the imperative from Zechariah 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of Hosts."
Christianity, or more specifically Biblical Christianity, turns on it's ear normal human reaction to stress or challenge. It teaches us a strength through faith rather than by self reliance.
Muscular Christianity teaches that men in particular "were not truly Christians unless they were healthy and 'manly' (a term used to connote strength, endurance and other stereotypically male attributes)."[2]
Scripture cited for it's justification were Mark 11:15 where Jesus cast out the money changers and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it's context fornication, not body building. Both interpretations a stretch of the context to say the least. And Jesus is no longer portrayed as in the scripture found in Isaiah 53:3 as a man of sorrows and rejected and despised but "...a Christ who they {men} could respect... one who was 'no gentle visionary', but rather, 'a Person whose dominating trait is force."[2]
Naturally, if one believes Jesus was a 'mans man' muscular, handsome, the outdoors type and would love to play a game of backyard football with His buddies, then He wouldn't be so 'despicable' or 'rejectable' after all. This was and is the Jesus of the muscular Christianity movement.
It's genesis was in the late 1800's where familiar organizations were born such as the YMCA and the Rough Riders of Teddy Roosevelt, until just after the first World War when those men that spent their tour of duty in the bloodbath saw this form of Christianity for what it really was, brought home a disillusionment of a church that endorsed a so called 'holy warfare'. That disillusionment spread throughout society marking the beginning of a return to what was called neo-orthodoxy. The church tried to return to it's roots but trust in it's leaders, who fell under the spell of modernity and social relevancy, was lost. The church was no longer the leader in defining the nature of our society. Sports was no longer a means to get in manly shape for service to God but became once again a religion in it's own rite. But, muscular Christianity was not totally dead, but moved to the backwaters of independent churches until the 1950's with the resurgence of fundamentalist evangelicalism in preachers such as Billy Graham, where sports were reintroduced as a godly endeavor. The competitor's creed of competing for the pleasure of God flies in the face of His own words to love your neighbors. It's Orwellian logic to say by beating my opponent I am loving him. But this logic is prevalent in our pulpits, most all of them. It truly is 'another gospel'. No wonder we raise one confused generation after another with this kind of doctrine that teaches on the one hand to turn the other cheek and then in our gymnasiums attached to our sanctuaries we tell them to win by hitting the hardest. Would our society admire our finest Christian men and women if they were losers in their beloved sports? I think not. Then, we are shocked and dismayed when this competitive spirit shows up in our missions board or other committees and arguments break out, relationships are damaged sometimes beyond repair, churches split over who has control of the pastor.
I think it's time for the church to reassess it's primary role and that of sports in our society. And Christ-likeness to be measured from Biblical norms, not the imagination of overly zealous social gospelers. Don't you?
Addendum: I'll be adding sources that refute the theology of sports in Christian doctrine from time to time here.
Psalm 147:10-11 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Notes:[ ]
- Always To Be Best: The Competitive Spirit in Ancient Greek Culture Dr. Bernard Knox,The Professor John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series At the University of New Hampshire, Durham, October 13, 1999 - PDF
, Clifford PutneUpdate: 9-26-10 from New Your Times article regarding Bishop Eddie L. Long
"He also adopted what has become known as “muscular Christianity,” a male-dominated view that emphasizes a warriorlike man who serves as the spiritual authority and protector in a family. His books on relationships suggest that men get in touch with their inner “wild man” and channel their fighting instincts into taking responsibility for their lives."
