Today is our seventh day in Pokhara, and things continue to go well. We’ve had some pretty severe thunderstorms here – awesome and fearsome! As the hot air of the tropical plains collides with the icy air of the Himalayan peaks, the cloud and energy build-up is astounding. For hours the storms rage with fierce winds, hail and incredible downpours…
Since Monday, Andi and Steffi have been going to their old school – and they are loving it. Both of them can’t wait in the morning to be off to school… they are both in small split level classes, together with both expatriate and Nepalese children.The daily “theology clinic” continues to be stimulating and challenging. We have done a lot of thinking about creation, mankind and god, and about the relationship between the three. We will interrupt the clinic for the upcoming retreat (see below) – and Daniel is quite thankful for that break, as the daily-morning-five-o’clock-start turns out to be rather taxing…
Besides the ministry and teaching activities, it has been good to reconnect with many of our friends here in Pokhara. This included a visit in one of the Sukombasi-areas (=slums), where for several years we have had the privilege to help some folks with issues such as education for the kids, vocational training etc. It is good for us to be reminded of the fact that there are people on this globe who live in very hunble circumstances indeed. The friends we visited are a family of five, and they live in a makeshift shanty about 7 times the size of our fridge!!! We are thrilled though to see the change that has transpired in their lives: they had ended up in the slum because of the loss of the father's one arm in an accident. Alcohol and caste did the rest. Now both the father and the mother have gone through some vocational training, and we've helped them to start a little fruit and veggie 'shop'. They have worked incredibly hard - also to overcome their addiction and identity issues - and we very much feel that salvation has began to transform them.
Here is what we are scheduled to do over the next few days: together with the senior leadership we will be running a retreat for all the leaders of the indreni-youthcentre from Thursday until Sunday. We are very much under the impression that sports is going to play an increasingly important role for the further development of the youth center, in particular for the efforts of reaching the slum kids. The goal of the retreat is thus to impart this focus on the leaders. We are going to develop our own “Olympic games” with appropriate games, ceremonies, messages etc. On Sunday we will then take this package to the slum area for a trial run…
3 comments:
Hi Daniel, here is the article. I've scanned it into word, some of the spelling may be incorrect - when it converts it doesnt always recognise the words. Shalom, brother! Dylan.
SPORTS
A successful coach once said that sports were not a matter of life and death-they were much more important than that! The amount of time and energy ex¬pended by participants, the space given to sports by newspapers and broadcasters and the money paid by spectators and sponsors suggests that sports are among the most significant areas of human ac¬tivity. On the surface, much of the activity appears inconsequential, even trivial: running, jumping, lifting or propelling a ball the length of a field, into a hole, over a net or between sticks. But the high level of interest taken by most people says much about the relationship of sports to basic human needs and their contribu¬tion to personal and social development.
History
Competitive team sports as we have them today are largely a legacy of the late nine¬teenth century. It was then that many rules became codified and games were incorpo¬rated into school curricula. Records in many of the current major leagues go back to this period. Horse racing probably goes back at least as far as the early sixteenth century, although, as with archery and fencing, many sports of this period are indistinguishable from military training. Individual athletic activity, however, was an ancient phenomenon. The original Olym¬pics were founded around 776 B.C. The participants were the aristocracy with time for leisure,* and the prize was simply a laurel wreath. Gradually the interests of individual city-states took over, and rewards in kind, including tax exemptions and army deferments, were offered. In a fright¬eningly contemporary scenario, these Olympics folded in n.v. 394 amid cries of bribery, intimidation and cheating.
The reviver of the Olympics, Baron de Coubertin, emphasized the underlying ethic of the games: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most impor¬tant thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle." The ensuing hundred years have left their mark on sports in several key areas. Rampant commercial¬ism and the demand for success at all costs have made amateurism increas¬ingly unviable; Rugby Union, the last bastion, finally fell in 1995. Vibrant na¬tionalism has replaced the Olympic ideal of Jeux sans Frontiers, (Games Without Borders). The pervasive influence of the media, which can dictate the timing and even rules of some sports-tennis tie¬breakers were introduced because of television demands. This means that, in many people's eyes, sports are no longer their own masters. Sports that were once the domain of a particular subcultural group (horse riding, skiing and boxing, to name three) increasingly transcend those groups.
The Christian response to sports over
recent centuries has often taken its im¬petus from the Puritan reaction of the seventeenth century. To be fair, their opposition to many sports stemmed from either the cruelty involved (blood sports), the sport's association with gam¬bling, the immorality and drunkenness among participants or the fact that much of the sport took place on the workers' only day off, Sunday. D. Brailsford is un¬fair when he says, "Puritans saw their mission to erase all sport and play from men's lives" (p. 141). Though some Pu¬ritans believed "any form of play took the badge of time-wasting, idleness therefore, vice" (Brailsford, p. 127), o ers believed that enjoyment of good company, reading good books and appreciating God's creation were all l mate and beneficial exercises. T contemporary sports scene is different in many ways from that of the tenth century, and there has be welcome recovery of the doctrine creation,* which encourages partition and enjoyment of leisure activities in moderation as gifts from God.
Biblical Data
Although sports and sporting co were clearly part of life in the Near East and in the Greco-R world, clear references to sporting ity are somewhat lacking in Examples sometimes cited including Jacob's wrestling with the angel 32:24-26), the "contest" between and Goliath (1 Sam 17),Jonathan; archerry (1 Sam 20:20), the contest at Hazzurim (2 Sam 2:14-16), P sions to the athletic stadium an ring (1 Cor 9:24-27) and the of the race with spectators (He Most of these are tenuous and as a foundation for a theology Jacob's experience was struggle, not a recreational The references in 1-2 Samuel
Benefits of Sports
A major problem in generalizing on the theme of sports is the seemingly limitless variety of competitive sports. Any com¬prehensive encyclopedia of sports will contain statistics from over one hundred individual sports-from cricket to hang¬gliding, from skiing to snooker. It will include geographically limited sports such as baseball, bandy, shinty and the American, Australian and Gaelic codes of football, as well as minority sports such as real tennis, fives, pelota?? and petanque?? While this diversity of sports and cultures makes generalized applications unhelp¬ful, if not impossible, certain benefits and drawbacks can be highlighted that are applicable to most, if not all, sporting activities.
Physical. An obvious benefit of sports, and the most quoted reason for involve¬ment, is physical exercise. The precise benefits will vary, but solo sports such as running, swimming and cycling will im¬prove the participant's cardiovascular fit¬ness, while other sports such as the various codes of football and hockey con¬tribute more toward body toning, mus¬cular strength and endurance. Regular
participation in athletic sports maintains the body,* keeping it in good condition and counterbalancing more debilitating influences such as weight and aging.* Soccer and running develop the lower body more than the upper, while the reverse is true of some racket sports. Swimming has long been accepted as the simplest and most effective way of keep¬ing all the body's muscles active, while, in contrast, a golf swing involves a series of subtle, rapid, unnatural body move¬ments involving up to sixty-four muscles and lasting for less than two seconds. In this case the physical benefits are ac¬crued more through the simple activity of walking than through anything inte¬gral to the game itself.
Mental and emotional. The possible connection between a disciplined and healthy body and a higher degree of mental astuteness and emotional stabil¬ity cannot be ignored. It is common for psychiatrists to recommend sports for their emotional and social benefits. Tem¬porary depressions* can be eased by physical exertion, and many can testify to receiving light on some complex prob¬lem while running or how mentally de¬manding work such as composition or written examinations* have proved much less taxing after engaging in some recreation.* From a spectator's perspec¬tive the emotions* involved tend to be more extreme, fleeting and unreliable and, for the partisan fan, are often com¬pletely dependent on the outcome of the game.
Sports have been regarded historically as an effective means of character building. The discipline of training, playing by the rules, coping with stiff opposition, striving to achieve the unthinkable and rebound¬ing after disappointment or defeat are all useful attributes to develop in preparation for life. A healthy attitude to the above should result in an altogether more rounded and complete person.
Social and cultural. By their very na¬ture team sports require cooperation and a high degree of interpersonal un¬derstanding and commitment. The es¬prit de corps experienced by team members is due to a combination of fac¬tors: an inherent enjoyment of the game, shared goals, a sense of achievement and shared sacrifices for the sake of the team. In many Western suburban societies where neighborhood* community* is decreasing, a sports club* can become a prime arena for the social interaction of like-minded people. Major spectator sports also play an important role in a city's* or country's sense of identity. In North America a city remains insepara¬bly linked in the popular imagination with the name of its major-league team (s). In England the historical popu¬larity of soccer is largely due to the loyalty felt by many to their local town* and the sense of corporate identity provided by its team. In Gaelic cultures sports such as hurling and shinty and their ancient precedents performed an important role in training young men of the clan for battle, and the resultant intertown and intercounty competition is still strong today. Over the years some sports have been unifying agents, bringing to¬gether participants of diverse back¬grounds in places of conflict such as World War I Europe (with its famous Christmas Day soccer game), Northern Ireland, the Middle East and modern South Africa.
Spiritual. Organizations such as Ath¬letes in Action in North America and Christians in Sport in the United King¬dom have played a part in ministering pastorally to those involved in profes¬sional and high-level sports, as well as giving the Christian message some street credibility among sports-obsessed youth. However, the spiritual dimension of sports is not limited to their usefulness as a medium for evangelism* but con¬cerns the extent to which values* and morals are developed within the sport¬ing arena. In particular, the Christian will be marked out by the way in which he or she responds to the clearly negative influences in contemporary sports, which are outlined below. Clear spiritual benefits can accrue from participation in sports as the Christian competitor grap¬ples with the major issues of priorities, ambition,* temptation and disci¬pleship.*
Problem Areas in Sports
Physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual abuses. Each of the benefits mentioned above can be lost through overindul¬gence or abuse. It could be argued that in some cases the physical benefits are nonexistent or even negative. Most nota¬bly there is the case of boxing: a sport whose sole object is to inflict physical injury and where the physical benefits by4 way of general fitness are clearly o weighed by the inherent danger. F thermore, the body could be pre maturely damaged if, in pursuit of co mercial gain or fame, an athlete pushes too hard, indulges in performance-e hancing drugs,* or competes while' jured-witness the common use painkillers among American foot players and the allegations of p postponing steroids among East E pean gymnasts.
Similarly the emotional benefits participation will be lost if the sport comes an obsession and no comfo derived simply from playing or achi a "moral victory." During each W Cup there seems to be a report some part of the globe about the s of a soccer fan whose country h been eliminated. This took a s turn in Colombia in 1994, when the, fender Andres Escobar was m because of an unfortunate score own goal. The natural extremes of joy
nd disappointment must be kept in per¬spective, or all balance has been lost. It is worth noting that the demands of fame and success* have not always been kind to those who have reached the top. O. J. Simpson is the most celebrated example of a gifted sportsman with extreme do¬mestic problems, but he is by no means alone. There is, sadly, the all-too-familiar sight of a gifted but socially inept and lonely "personality" who has sacrificed many of the normal activities of life in order to achieve a particular "corrupt¬ible crown" (1 Cor 9:25 KJV).
Socially, sport can also be used to reinforce boundaries. The Gaelic sports in Ireland were deliberately developed in ways that excluded the Protestant population, and the two codes of rugby derive from the late nineteenth-century class conflict in England. Issues of iden¬tity, loyalty and rivalry can also be over¬emphasized and corrupted and lead to intercommunity violence. The Stanley Cup riots in Montreal and Vancouver, hooliganism in Europe and the Hondu¬ras-El Salvadoran war of 1969 (sparked off by a soccer result) are extreme exam¬ples of the darker side of sport's appeal to nationalistic or tribal instincts.
Nor should we be blind to the mixed motives of even the most well-inten¬tioned marriages of sports and spiritual¬ity. One commentator has remarked that the American athletic subculture is prob¬ably the most ministered-to segment in the world. Is such ministry undertaken purely out of need or because of its propaganda potential? Are lesser sports valued as much as high-profile ones? Are the big-name and less-famous stars treated equally? Are the theological opinions of sports personalities given greater authority than those of proven Bible teachers? How easily do worldly values creep into our assessments?
Commercialism. Increasing transfer fees, ludicrous wages, the advent of the
player's agent, the high cost of admission to games, and strikes in ice hockey and baseball have all contributed to fan dis¬satisfaction and alienation. While it is partly true that the public's desire for success has contributed to the million¬dollar merry-go-round, there is a limit to how much commercial exploitation even the most die-hard fan will tolerate. How ethical is it for soccer teams to exploit the loyalty of their millions of young (and often relatively poor) fans by bringing out a new uniform/strip every few months? How right is it that (in 1993) an NBA basketball star earned on average thirteen times the wage of a physician? What does it say about society when the U.S. Senate constitutes baseball an essen¬tial service by legislating the strikers back to work? Where is the morality in Mex¬ico's spending millions on staging the Olympics when many of its inhabitants were starving? Or in Formula One motor racing, what are the ethics behind spend¬ing millions of dollars manufacturing machines that have no function outside the racetrack but burn up the earth's natural resources, pollute the atmos¬phere and endanger the lives of the par¬ticipants?
All these have implications for the Christian, not least in the area of attach¬ment to and stewardship* of money.* Christian professionals* must constantly examine their motives for being involved in a high-paying sport and seek to find ways in which their privileged financial situation can be turned to the advantage of others. If it is within their power to do so, will they remain loyal to one team and concentrate on building relationships within that community rather than seek¬ing or accepting a more lucrative move elsewhere? How often do Christians wit¬ness to kingdom values by taking the less financially rewarding option? Christian fans also must continually assess the mo¬rality of paying upwards of $1000 for a good season ticket. Can the benefits of sports be enjoyed equally through sup¬porting a Triple-A baseball or nonleague soccer team and keeping in touch with the professional scene through the more-than-adequate television cover¬age? Christians can play a strategic role in demonstrating that neither money nor sports dominate them and that if the whole edifice of the professional-sports scene were to collapse, life would con¬tinue.
Violence. All competitive sports re¬quire an element of mental or physical aggression, and most team sports re¬quire physical contact. The dilemma concerns the point at which such aggres¬sion is excessive, dangerous to the wel¬fare of other players and damaging to the aggressor's own character and psy¬che. Should not Christians who regularly get red-carded in soccer recognize their weakness and take appropriate steps to¬ward counseling and accountability? The New Zealand haka is a famous rugby ritual, but how many other pregame rugby and NFL warm-ups pander to an innately violent machismo and contrib¬ute to on-field violence? In high-contact sports the potential for fighting and brawling is ever-present, but Christianity aside, the true professional has always been regarded as the one who is able to take the knocks without retaliation (see Prov 14:29 GNB).
In ice hockey, fights by the players are expected at every venue, are treated by commentators as an interesting aspect of game strategy and are cheered by the crowd. Christians surely must go against the stream on this issue and refuse to accept that this form of aggression is essential to either the game or its enter¬tainment.* In what way would this im¬mensely skillful, exciting and highly physical sport be diminished by outlaw¬ing such fights? Since ring-related deaths in boxing continue at an alarming rate,
Christian involvement in this sport is be¬coming harder to justify. It is difficult to understand how an activity that would be a serious criminal offense outside the ring can be regarded as sport. It is argued that boxing is a way for the ghettoized to improve financially and socially. But at what price comes the improvement, and since when was social advancement more important than opposing institutional¬ized violence? The skill, fitness and op¬portunity to escape the ghetto that boxing offers are equally available through other sports. While, for exam¬ple, motor racing and mountaineering can also be dangerous, the object of these sports is to conquer the danger through skill and technique. Of course, not all sport-related violence is even in¬directly connected with the sport itself. Soccer hooliganism is a social malaise that would be unaffected by banning or changing the rules governing the game.
Competition. Many Christians struggle with competitiveness. They regard com¬petitive instincts as part of their fallen human nature-a symptom of the desire to be best and to succeed at the expense of others. Some authors, such as A. Kohn, have put forward a radical case against competition.* This inevitably leads to a crisis of conscience when it comes to sports, for competitiveness is intrinsic to sports as participants compete against others, themselves, the clock or nature. The spur to improve and achieve is what motivates the participant, and the conse¬quent excitement of the battle turns a sport into a spectacle worth watching. Removing the competitive element from sports emasculates them, stripping them of many of the benefits outlined above. The cut and thrust of competition and the discipline of performing within the confines of a strict code of rules sharpen the mental faculties, bond the members of a team together and lead to a higher level of physical achievement.
irisdan involvement in this sport is be¬coming harder to justify. It is difficult to understand how an activity that would be lerious criminal offense outside the tg can be regarded as sport. It is argued that boxing is a way for the ghettoized to prove financially and socially. But at uatprice comes the improvement, and ice when was social advancement more important than opposing institutional violence? The skill, fitness and op¬portunity to escape the ghetto that )xing offers are equally available tough other sports. While, for examin¬e, motor racing and mountaineering tn also be dangerous, the object of iese sports is to conquer the danger rough skill and technique. Of course, Dt all sport-related violence is even in¬Irectly connected with the sport itself. Soccer hooliganism is a social malaise tat would be unaffected by banning or hanging the rules governing the game. .
Competition. Many Christians struggle with competitiveness. They regard competitive instincts as part of their fallen Human nature-a symptom of the desire o be best and to succeed at the expense &others. Some authors, such as A. Kohn, iave put forward a radical case against :competition.* This inevitably leads to a xisis of conscience when it comes to sports, for competitiveness is intrinsic to sports as participants compete against Others, themselves, the clock or nature. the spur to improve and achieve is what motivates the participant, and the conse¬quent excitement of the battle turns a sport into a spectacle worth watching. Removing the competitive element from sports emasculates them, stripping them bf many of the benefits outlined above. The cut and thrust of competition and the discipline of performing within the confines of a strict code of rules sharpen the mental faculties, bond the members of a team together and lead to a higher level of physical achievement.
The problem is not the desire to com¬pete but a temptation to win at all costs and to bend the rules and a distorted perspective that views all of life in terms of winners and losers. Competitiveness becomes tainted when it seeps into other areas, such as family life, church* or the workplace.* Competing for the affec¬tions of others, for status or power, springs from pride, and such jostling for position is explicitly condemned by Christ (Mk 10:35-45; Lk 9:46-50), who took the form of a servant (Jn 13:1-5; Phil 2:6-7) and submitted himself even to death. Professional sportspeople are usually gracious in victory, for every win¬ner has experienced defeat, and it is accepted that the losers will have other chances to fight back. In other contexts, however, competitiveness can result in the systematic suppression of the disad¬vantaged and powerless. Competitive de¬sires are no more sinful than sexual desires. To one God has given the gift of sports, to the other the gift of marriage, as the proper context for their expres¬sion. To cross the boundaries in either case is to court disaster.
Idolatry. Idolatry is the most common sin condemned in the Bible. The temp¬tation to break the first command of the Decalogue (Ex 20:3) is so pervasive that every area of human activity has the po¬tential to become an idol. It is not sur¬prising, therefore, that something as fundamental to modern society as sport is vulnerable to it. For the spectator, the excitement of media-hyped events can be as seductive as any materialistic or sexual temptation. There is grave poten¬tial for addiction,* and we can become preoccupied with entertainment, which demands nothing of us physically, men¬tally or spiritually. For the professional participant, the quest for fame, money and social status, together with the in¬creasing demands of coaches, sponsors, clubs and the general public, mean that
100 percent commitment to sports will lead to the exclusion of other relation¬ships and the erosion of other loyalties. The Christian, in any field of life, has to work out the vocational implications of being totally committed to Christ alone. In the sports world where it is common to hear team owners speaking of "pos¬sessing" the players, these implications are particularly relevant.
One area where some prominent Christian sportspeople have displayed their priorities is Sunday sports. The in¬famous case of Eric Liddell in the 1924 Olympic Games, popularized by the film Chariots of Fire, has bolstered the sab¬batarians' abstentionist case. However, the impressive list of Christian sportspeo¬ple who do compete on Sunday illus¬trates that it is not just biblical scholars who are divided on whether the strict requirements of the Jewish sabbath can be applied to the Christian community and would lead to the conclusion that this is a case of personal conscience. On one hand, the action of Liddell and Jones demonstrated in a powerful and tangible way that there was something more important in their lives than sports, and Sunday participants must decide what alternative ways are available for them to make similar proclamations. (German golfer Bernhard Langer's wor¬ship services for those on tour is one example.) On the other hand, it is symp¬tomatic of a particularly introspective, myopic and almost pharisaic Christianity that more importance is attached to this legal issue than to many of the broader theological implications of sports (see Mt 23:23-24).
For those who are called to exercise their God-given gifts as professional ath¬letes in a secular world, Sunday partici¬pation is probably inevitable, but alterna¬tive opportunities for worship and sab¬bath rest must be sought. For spectators and amateur participants who have more
control over when and how often they play,* enough opportunities exist to par¬ticipate on Saturdays and midweek, and Sunday participation could prove to be an unhelpful intrusion into time allo¬cated for worship. Furthermore, the all¬consuming nature of a competitive event physically and psychologically, with travel, emotional buildup, participation, unwinding and reflection all built into the experience, means that although the activity may in itself be recreational, par¬ticipation may leave the player more drained than refreshed, and thus an es¬sential benefit of sabbath* has been lost.
Conclusion
Christian professionals need to under¬stand that a calling* to compete as an athlete is as high a calling as any other. Unique opportunities and unique diffi¬culties will be theirs, but their gifts are God-given. Sports are to be enjoyed, and they must accept the consequent privi¬leges and responsibilities. The church should encourage and support them in their calling and not hinder them through advocating a hierarchy of call¬ings, perpetuating a disrespect for crea¬tive leisure or being sidetracked on minor issues such as sabbatarianism.
Christian sportspeople at all levels must also (1) refuse to be drawn into a win-at-all-costs philosophy, regardless of the demands of coaches, owners or the general public, thus obeying God rather than humans (Acts 4:19); (2) recognize the potential of fair play, sporting behav¬ior and honesty (especially when in¬fringements have gone unnoticed by the umpire) as a powerful witness to king¬dom values, thus exhibiting Christian in¬tegrity (Tit 2:6-7); (3) constantlyevaluate the time spent on training and participa¬tion, determining whether it is propor¬tionate to time spent on their other callings of family,* church and commu¬nity (Eph 5:15-16); (4) recognize the
essential transience of sporting pursuits, that is, athletic records rarely last more than a year, and trophy winners are often forgotten within a decade; (5) ensure that they experience the physical, emo¬tional, social and spiritual benefits of sports and avoid the temptations of body abuse, obsessiveness and idolatry.
Likewise Christian spectators should (1) keep their sporting interests in per¬spective and avoid allowing the under¬standable and human responses of jubilation or disappointment to ad¬versely affect other pursuits and relation¬ships; (2) regularly reassess the money and time spent on sports events, deter¬mining whether they encourage the greed of players or owners, are being irresponsible in their personal budget¬ing regarding travel to overseas events, mindlessly buy the commercial products put out ad infinitum by the promoters, are passing on essentially materialistic values to their children and organize their lives around sporting schedules; (3) avoid adherence to the media-sup¬ported personality cult, recognizing that these people are sports stars and not role models; (4) ensure that their loyalty to city or country does not lead to racism* or ethnocentricity*; (5) enjoy sports for their own sake, appreciating the beauty* and skill involved, while recognizing their transience and the relative unim¬portance of what is at stake. This too shall pass (Eccles 3:20). It is not a matter of life and death.
See also AMBITION; BODY; COMPETITION; GAMES; LEISURE; PLAY; RECREATION; SUG CESS.
References and Resources
P. Ballantine, Sport-The Opiate of the People,
Grove Ethical Studies 70 (Bramcote, U.K: Grove Books, 1988); D. Brailsford, Sport and
Society: Elizabeth toAnne (Toronto: Universityof Toronto Press, 1969); F. Inglis, The Name of the Game (London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1977); S. J. Hoffman, Sport and Religion
Steffi is looking so grown up! Oh!
This is exciting stuff... it's great to see you guys digging in and enjoying what you love so much, and hearing about how your friends are so glad to have you back. It's a good world that way, isn't it?
Hey guess what? I will be going to Switzerland (Geneva) for 2 weeks in June. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. It's such a blessing (I'll be attending the university of Geneva's international school) and I will see some old friends... do you have Christa Gerber's address? I would like to go see her.
JSUT WANTED TO SAY YOU "HELLO". ENJOY...
M
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