Can sports be a vocation?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Brooks argues that the nature of competitive sports is in conflict with Christianity and, indeed, all religions.\u00a0 Not just that sports can be\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can sports be a vocation?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Brooks argues that the nature of competitive sports is in conflict with Christianity and, indeed, all religions.\u00a0 Not just that sports can be\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-19T10:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/\",\"name\":\"Can sports be a vocation?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-19T10:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-19T10:00:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"David Brooks argues that the nature of competitive sports is in conflict with Christianity and, indeed, all religions.\u00a0 Not just that sports can be\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/03\/can-sports-be-a-vocation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can sports be a vocation?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. 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We\u2019ve become accustomed to the faith-driven athlete and coach, from Billy Sunday to Tim Tebow. But we shouldn\u2019t forget how problematic this is. The moral ethos of sport is in tension with the moral ethos of faith, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim.<\/p>\n

The moral universe of modern sport is oriented around victory and supremacy. The sports hero tries to perform great deeds in order to win glory and fame. It doesn\u2019t really matter whether he has good intentions. His job is to beat his opponents and avoid the oblivion that goes with defeat.<\/p>\n

The modern sports hero is competitive and ambitious. (Let\u2019s say he\u2019s a man, though these traits apply to female athletes as well). He is theatrical. He puts himself on display.<\/p>\n

\nHe is assertive, proud and intimidating. He makes himself the center of attention when the game is on the line. His identity is built around his prowess. His achievement is measured by how much he can elicit the admiration of other people \u2014 the roar of the crowd and the respect of ESPN.\n

His primary virtue is courage \u2014 the ability to withstand pain, remain calm under pressure and rise from nowhere to topple the greats.<\/p>\n

This is what we go to sporting events to see. This sporting ethos pervades modern life and shapes how we think about business, academic and political competition.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no use denying \u2014 though many do deny it \u2014 that this ethos violates the religious ethos on many levels. The religious ethos is about redemption, self-abnegation and surrender to God.<\/p>\n

Ascent in the sports universe is a straight shot. You set your goal, and you climb toward greatness. But ascent in the religious universe often proceeds by a series of inversions: You have to be willing to lose yourself in order to find yourself; to gain everything you have to be willing to give up everything; the last shall be first; it\u2019s not about you.<\/p>\n

For many religious teachers, humility is the primary virtue. You achieve loftiness of spirit by performing the most menial services. (That\u2019s why shepherds are perpetually becoming kings in the Bible.) You achieve your identity through self-effacement. You achieve strength by acknowledging your weaknesses. You lead most boldly when you consider yourself an instrument of a larger cause.<\/p>\n

The most perceptive athletes have always tried to wrestle with this conflict. Sports history is littered with odd quotations from people who try to reconcile their love of sport with their religious creed \u2014 and fail.<\/p>\n

via The Jeremy Lin Problem \u2013 NYTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In terms of this blog, Brooks is arguing that playing sports, professionally, say, is not a legitimate vocation for a Christian.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you agree?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t, and this column has precipitated a request from another blog to write about whether or not some vocations are forbidden to Christians.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ll link to what I wrote when it comes up on the blog that invited me to contribute.\u00a0 In the meantime, how would you answer Brooks?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"