Kevin DeYoung takes a look at CT’s lengthy cover story on “Sports Fanatics.”
Here’s an excerpt of Kevin’s evaluation:
The lofty prose makes for tricky reading, but I think this is the super-smart way of saying “God is playful and creative, and in heaven we will glorify God with our bodies. Play sports as a reflection of these realities.” If that’s what Hoffman means, I’m all for it. But honestly, the whole argument feels overblown, like a lot of fancy words trying to infuse sports with heavenly typology. Hoffman, it seems, wants sports to be in the realm of special grace, where I am happy to have them in the world of common grace. Sports are games. They’re fun. They can bring out the best in us and the worst, just like everything else in life. They are blessings. And they can be idols. If Hoffman had talked about that, I would be all over it. God knows we need conviction for deifying sports teams and sports stars.
But in the end, I don’t think a theology of sports needs to be terribly complicated. Sports is yet another avenue to live out rebellion or another way to glorify God. But the glory is not because the perfect backstroke gives us a glimpse of heavenly play and heavenly bodies. Rather, because the backstroker, or point guard, or slot receiver, is humble, honest, and works hard unto the Lord. Let’s not make things more difficult than they have to be. Sports can be a waste of time, a wasteland of vice, or an oasis of God-glorifying people and principles. It depends on what you make it.
And if there are winners and losers, that’s ok. Because, you know what, that’s sort of what life is like too.
If you’re looking for some good resources on how to think about sports from a Christian perspective, see Stephen Altrogge’s Game Day for the Glory of God: A Guide for Athletes, Fans, and Wannabes (Crossway, 2008), Ted Kluck’s The Reason For Sports: A Christian Fanifesto (Moody, 2009), and C.J. Mahaney’s sermon, “Don’t Waste Your Sports.”
Justin Taylor
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