Sports in the Modern Era: 20th Century-Present
by Joshua R. Colson & Brandon K. Presley Over the course of three previous articles (here, here, and here), we have covered the shifting nature of how Christians wrestled with sports throughout the first 1700 years of church history. Prior to the 16th century, the primary concerns with which Christians grappled were how closely sporting events were tied to idolatry (particularly for the early church) and how many sporting events...
Christianity and Sports: Post-Reformation
by Joshua R. Colson and Brandon K. Presley In the preceding articles of this series, we explored the developing relationship between Christians and sports from the early church until the eve of the Reformation. While the New Testament is replete with sports metaphors and illustrations, the earliest Christians had an uneasy relationship with organized sports due to the idolatry and, often fatal, violence inherent in the Roman games. As...
Medieval Christianity and Sport
by Joshua R. Colson and Brandon K. Presley In the first article of this series, we explored the relationship between organized sport and the early church.[1] Throughout the first three centuries of the Church’s existence, Christians dealt with sports in the context of the Roman Empire. For Romans, sporting events were inextricably bound up with religious cultus, or worship. Many Roman sports could be characterized as violent and...
Evangelism in Prayer and in Practice
A recent study by Lifeway Research confirmed what pastors and church leaders know to be true from experience: “Most Christians say they’re ready, willing and praying to have conversations about their faith with others, but many admit they haven’t gotten around to actually having those conversations recently.”[1] More specifically the survey revealed that while over 80% of believers expressed an openness to discussing their faith with...
Christianity at the Games
by Joshua R. Colson and Brandon K. Presley In the United States, and much of the world, sports are a major part of life. A 2023 survey found that the average American spends just over four hours per week watching sports-related content.[1] Extrapolated over one year, this average amounts to eight days of sports watching. To illustrate further how invested Americans are in sports, Americans collectively wagered a staggering 119.8...
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