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The Reason for Sports: A Christian Fanifesto
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605732 |
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Item description for The Reason for Sports: A Christian Fanifesto by Ted Kluck...
Overview
Evaluates pertinent sports issues from race and steroid abuse to athlete adulation and teamwork through a biblical lens, dedicating chapters to such specific topics as what sports can teach about sin and repentance, the practice of authenticity by athletic stars, and the capacity of sports for promoting racial integration. Original. 20,000 first printing.
Publishers Description
There are books on how to worship God with our marriages, our money, and our sex lives. Books on how to “think biblically” about movies, television, and the arts. Books on how to vote Christianly and how not to vote Christianly. But there is little thoughtful, Christ-centered writing on the subject that drives most of men’s banter with each other and consumes the bulk of their free time. Sports. Written in the vein of Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated), Chuck Klosterman (Spin, Esquire), and David Foster Wallace (A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again), The Reason for Sports will both entertain and shed light on some of today’s most pertinent sports issues (race, drugs, hero worship, and more)—all through a biblical lens. |
Item Specifications...
Studio: Moody Publishers
Pages 256
Dimensions: Length: 8.5" Width: 5.56" Height: 0.41"
Weight: 0.44 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Aug 1, 2009
Publisher Moody Press
ISBN 080245836X
ISBN13 9780802458360
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Availability 48 units.
Availability accurate as of May 23, 2012 07:50.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Carlisle, UK.
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More About Ted Kluck
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Books > Christian Living > Practical Life > Men
Books > Christian Living > Practical Life > General
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Reviews - What do customers think about Reason For Sports?
 | Games theory is a better guide Nov 22, 2009 |
Christians like sports for the same reason that Christians like Christianity.
It is a means of facilitating group identity and group cohesion which over evolutionary time led to group success. Groups or tribes that work well together as a unit, that protect each other and work together toward common self interested goals over time tend to survive and prosper. Individuals and incoherent groups over time were not as successful, true for hunting, farming, group defense, etc.
Because of this, there is probably significant advantage to a perspective on this issue from outside a Christian belief system. You see something in a particular way from the inside, you see it differently from the outside. Both perspectives have value. Suggest any of the common works on sociobiology for the "other side" of the issue.
Respectfully. | | |  | The Theology of Sports Sep 23, 2009 |
I have always found it difficult to think about sports in a distinctly Christian way. I love sports (mostly watching, occasionally playing) and want to be able to enjoy fandom guilt-free. But every now and then, when I look at another of the sports scandals or when I hear of the lives of athletes, I wonder if professional sports really is a worthwhile pastime for the Christian. By our participation as fans are we contributing to the sometimes-shocking lack of morality, to the building of massive egos, to the idolatry of the athlete? How should we, as Christians, think about these things? Christians tend toward two extremes, I think, either writing off professional athletics altogether or embracing them with unblinking acceptance. Yet I'm convinced that neither extreme is helpful. It was with interest, then, that I picked up Ted Kluck's The Reason for Sports (you may know Kluck from his books co-written with Kevin DeYoung, Why We're Not Emergent and Why We Love the Church).
The Reason for Sports is "A Christian Fanifesto," according to the subtitle, a series of essays on the subject. So it is not a cohesive A-Z kind of look at the topic and neither is it an apologetic for professional sports. Instead, it is a book that moves from one topic to the next, often based around articles that have been expanded from ones first printed at ESPN or elsewhere. Thus the strength of the book is not so much in the book as a whole, but in the scope of the topics it covers. Those topics include apologies (something athletes seem to have endless opportunities to practice, though few get it right), steroids and performance enhancing drugs, honest and dishonesty, pride and humility, the emptiness that the most popular athletes may feel even when at the top of their game, sports in popular film and the often perilous link between sports and sexuality. Like I said, this is a book with a broad scope!
Kluck writes from a near-insider's perspective, having played semipro football (Arena League), having trained with pro athletes and having spent many years as a journalist in the field. The back cover says the book offers an "irreverent and contrarian look at the world of sports." And I guess that about says it. It's not that he is irreverent in his view toward God, but more toward sports in general. He tries to forgo easy answers in favor of thoughtful ones. And often his answers cut across the grain, so to speak.
If there is such thing as a theology of sports (and I'm sure there must be) this book is a good place to at least begin developing one. Its nature as a book of essays means that the reader will not walk away with a thorough theology, but he will still have a lot to think about as he attempts to integrate sports and faith. I can't imagine the book will appeal much to those who care little for sports, but for the fan, this book will prove a light and enjoyable read. | | |  | You Know You Love Sports... Sep 18, 2009 |
If you were to eavesdrop on conversations in the church lobby on Sunday morning, Sunday school classes, or mid-week small groups you'd quickly notice a trend. Christians - like so many others - enjoy sports. But for a long time it seems like the church as a whole has taken a rather diverse stance towards our love of sports.
Sometimes it's embraced whole-heartedly, other times we're convicted for placing too much significance on how well a man can hit a ball with a stick, shoot a ball through a hoop, or run with a ball while other guys try to catch him. The "good Christian athletes" are exalted, but if the questionable characters are star performers on our team...well, we still kinda like 'em.
All this to say and reaffirm that, in a nutshell, Christians love sports.
If you identify with this group, you need to read "The Reason for Sports". In this book, Ted Kluck has written a number of sports essays that feel - from a quality standpoint - like they're right off the page of the latest issue of SI or ESPN. And throughout, Kluck appropriately and thoughtfully weaves in a biblical perspective. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable, insightful read on athletes, egos, apologies, race, etc. I don't think there's any other book on sports from a Christian perspective written as well as this one. | | | | A Christian Framework for Sports Sep 17, 2009 |
People worship sports. They do. They sacrifice enormous amounts of time, money, and energy to follow their teams and favorite athletes. They heap praise on these heroes and hold them up as god-figures. Every Sunday, thousands of people gather to praise their god of choice, filling stadiums decked out in team colors to signify their allegiance to their god as they chant and cheer. Sports is a religion, and it has millions of followers, many of them also Christians.
With these things in mind, how should believers approach and engage sports?
Ted Kluck (Why We're Not Emergent and Why We Love the Church) attempts to help us think through this question, as well as provide numerous funny, poignant, and telling stories from his experience as a sports writer, in his new book, The Reason for Sports. More a collection of short essays than a unified whole, the book addresses issues such as: jock apologies, steroids, honesty, fantasy football, sports films, humility, and race relations, among others. The book is far from a complete treatise on the issues presented, but Kluck clearly understands two things well: the culture of sports and athletics, and the gospel.
My favorite chapter was probably the one on Mike Tyson and Ricky Williams. Kluck previously wrote a full book on Tyson, and some of his anecdotes about the boxer were very poignant. Both athletes, he points out, are a rare breed in professional sports, in that they are willing to be honest with people. Kluck states he'd rather listen to Williams discuss "his weaknesses than listen to Kurt Warner thank God for his Super Bowl performance" (p. 50). This isn't a knock on Warner, who I greatly respect, but it's nice to hear a Christian author give permission to find non-Christian athletes intriguing. He thinks like an evangelist, not a Christian desperate to find a successful Christian athlete to co-opt as one of our own and hold him up to the world as a shining example that yes, Christians can win (there's also a chapter where he talks about how this has been done with Tony Dungy as well).
The discussion on sports movies was also interesting. I don't agree with everything Kluck says about Braveheart (he's not a fan), but the discussion about what made Chariots of Fire so good was great, and something Christian filmmakers need to seriously consider (listen up Sherwood). Another favorite chapter was on humility called "Why I Love Muhammad Ali (but Why He Also May Have Ruined Sports)". Kluck's discussion of the way athletes behave in the me-first culture of sports today was spot on, while avoiding Christian clichéd responses.
I think that's what I enjoyed most about this book. He doesn't fall back on the traditional Christian responses to things. He doesn't make everything black and white either (for example, can my favorite athlete be someone who is known to be a bad guy off the field?). The discussions are nuanced, exploring the genuine contradictions that are present for many Christians who love sports. These questions need to be addressed. Kluck doesn't answer them all, but he'll get you thinking, and provide some enjoyable reading in the process. | | | Write your own review about Reason For Sports
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