FOUNDATIONAL THOUGHTS ON A CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY of PLAY, SPORTS, AND ATHLETICS

by Marvin A. Zuidema, P.E.D.
Professor Emeritus
Calvin College

I wish to commend those who have written on the subjects of play, sport, competition, and educational athletics.  On the Calvin campus the subject of a Christian approach to educational athletics has been highlighted by recent talks by Joe Ehrmann and Kathy DeBoer.  It is wonderful to see such dialogue!  The reaction statements and questions developed by Julie Walton and Brian Bolt in response to the Ehrmann talk were very thought provoking.  And for the most part, I surely endorse the tenets that were set forth.  I would urge all of you to reflect on the ideas presented by these writers and others who have taken the time to respond.

For those of us who have been trying to develop a Christian perspective on play and guidelines for Christian action in athletics, the way surely hasn’t been easy.  We were always encountering the social changes that have radically changed sport in America.  I believe that the rapid expansion of interscholastic and youth sport over the last twenty-five years has produced many practices that make sportive play a detriment to Christian living rather than an wonderful, integrative engagement for Christian living.  Then there is the matter of educational athletics.  Can education and athletics co-exist, or even more important, can and should competitive play be part of the co-curriculum or at least extended curriculum of schools?  I must state that I have had many challenges on some of my views on this subject.  Yet, interscholastic sport is alive and indeed thriving in most schools in America.  And the world of youth sport is now an almost bigger endeavor than school sportive ventures. (please click on READ MORE)...