A Reformed Baptist in Namibia: Soccer

Soccer world cup 2014, held in Brazil this year, has now truly come and gone!

We have enjoyed a month of great soccer. The standard of soccer is phenomenal, and one cannot but admire the skill of the modern soccer players whose brains are surely in their feet. It is indeed “the beautiful game” - a term apparently coined by the sports commentator Stuart Hall in 1958. And what a great demonstration once again of the fact that a united team is a formidable team.

And yet I can’t help but thinking that soccer has become a religious affair.

Think about this...

The soccer players huddle together for prayer before the game.

They look to whatever god to answer their prayer for a win.

They give whatever god the glory when they score a goal.

They make the sign of the cross before they go on, or come off the field.

The coach acts the “pastor or priest”, and the players perform the sacred rites trying to please the gods.

The strongest god on that day wins!

The stadium is the cathedral (the soccer temple) and the tens of thousands are the worshipers, fervently praying to their gods for their team to win. In the process they become an emotional community, singing their anthems (hymns), and raise their hands like a bunch of charismatic worshipers!

I came across this blog written by Jonathan A. Lopez, in which the fact that “soccer is religion” is unashamedly asserted. He writes,

"What is it about soccer that creates these emotions and feelings found in events like the World Cup? Well, there is a simple response to this. Soccer is no longer just a sport but a religion. To be specific, it is a civil religion. According to author Jordi Xifra, the term "civil religion"refers to a religion that demonstrates both the moral and spiritual values of a community or modern society. It is meant to uphold the political and social culture of a people. It involves myths, symbols of popular devotion, and public rituals. In light of this, civil religion stresses identity amongst a people. http://soccerisreligion.weebly.com/

Sport in general is indeed the primary religion of the world of our day, although it had been common in the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who in their times had built impressive sport stadiums. An interesting article in this regard can be found at,
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/architecture/historic_stadiums.shtml

A Christian Mind?

Christians need to think carefully about the the place and influence of sport in society.

Here are a couple of my personal reflections on the matter

1. Our world continues to seek human heroes whom they may idolize. Sport and music are the primary contemporary forums for this purpose. This desire for ‘idols‘ is an indication of the fact that the human heart is made for worship. Unfortunately human sin and pride refuses to come to God the Creator, choosing to exchange the truth of God for a lie, worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25)

2. Is it possible to enjoy sport (soccer) in a God centred way? I believe that it is. There are many things that are good about sport. Physical discipline, endurance, patience, commitment, fair play, consideration of the other team member, team effort, enjoyment, skill, humility (the ability to lose gracefully) are all good and godly virtues, and those who practise them may glorify God through these virtues.Eric Lidell[1] (1902 – 1945) a Scottish athlete, Rugby player and missionary, made famous by the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire”, is a famous example of a man who glorified God in the sport arena.

3. Having said this, it is doubtful that the 2014 Soccer World cup displayed much of God’s glory. Rather, it was an exercise of human glory, (and make no mistake – it was glorious!) – but it was a cheap imitation of the Glory of God. Sadly, when human glory eclipses God’s glory it becomes idolatry and so we are tempted to become children of a lesser god.