What's the point of sports?

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Is watching TV or turning on the radio a sin? I turn on the TV every night, here is what I see. Sex, drunkenness, drugs, foul mouth, murder, and so fourth. Which would you rather watch? Sports or Jersey Shore? Which is more beneficial?
Sports show good values, it is for the most part pure entertainment.

To say being a sports fan is sin, is to go too far. To say having sports as idol is sin, is right on the money.
If we can't enjoy activities that our outside of theology then how can we see God's glory? I enjoy theology God is more present in theology then he is in sports. My sport is hiking, while its not the study of God, I can see God's glory in it.
Just as when I'm watching a baseball game, I'm relaxed and calm in the spirit. While my mind is on the game, my mental state is relaxed. If I'm always uptight is that beneficial to my temple?

I could take this in many directions but I won't.

:)
 
Is watching TV or turning on the radio a sin?
No, and I don't see where anyone has made that claim in this thread.

I turn on the TV every night, here is what I see. Sex, drunkenness, drugs, foul mouth, murder, and so fourth. Which would you rather watch? Sports or Jersey Shore? Which is more beneficial?
Why do you present sports vs Jersey Shore as the only viewing options? Why do you even consider that watching TV period has to be an option? Which is more beneficial of the two? Well they are of the same benefit in that they are both entertainment and really not beneficial at all.

Sports show good values, it is for the most part pure entertainment.
Sports shows good values sometimes, and this lessens in professional sports.

To say being a sports fan is sin, is to go too far. To say having sports as idol is sin, is right on the money.
What draws the line between the two?

If we can't enjoy activities that our outside of theology then how can we see God's glory? I enjoy theology God is more present in theology then he is in sports. My sport is hiking, while its not the study of God, I can see God's glory in it.
Sorry, but I don't consider hiking a sport. It's good exercise and a nice hobby, but not a sport, but I digress...

Just as when I'm watching a baseball game, I'm relaxed and calm in the spirit. While my mind is on the game, my mental state is relaxed. If I'm always uptight is that beneficial to my temple?
if you are arguing that sports is a good way to relax, then I would actually buy that argument, to a certain extent.

---------- Post added at 12:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 PM ----------

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Sportsmanship and playing sports could fall under this...
What does this look like for the Christian? How does a professional Christian athlete do his/her profession completely to the glory of God? For fans, how does a person be a fan unto the glory of God? I know this sounds silly, but if we are to do "all things" to the glory of God, then being a fan has to fit in there.

To say being a sports fan is sin, is to go too far. To say having sports as idol is sin, is right on the money.
I agree, but where is that line between enjoying sports and it becoming an idol? If you watch one game is that simple fanship? If you buy season tickets, is this idol worship? If you admire a specific athlete, is this permissable fanship? What if you own that player's jersey and have his posters all over your walls, is it now idol worship?

These are some questions I am really trying to understand.
 
I'm about to head off to work brother, but I will answer your answer your questions sometime in the next two nights.
:)
Please note I'm a laymen in his 20's so take my word as that.
 
Many good points on this thread, but one I have not seen thoroughly discussed is that of Christians competing against in each other in "Christian" leagues, especially those of the youth variety.

The school my sons have attended for elementary school has a basketball team, and both my sons have been on it for the last several years. The team is in the southside "Christian" league, and believe me, that league is often anything but Christian.

The behavior of fans, coaches, and sadly, even the players, has at times been appalling. A few years ago, a team was beating my son's team rather badly, and the parents of the other team cheered as their team continued to run up the score, even continuing to full court press while we had no chance to catch up. One of their fans had been sitting next to me and had been really obnoxious, and while I should have just left, I did not, and confronted his behavior there in the stands. As my voice gradually started to rise, He said, "Look, we are a Christian school here." I told him it might be a good idea if he and others started acting like it, and not be hypocrites.
My wife was upset with me, saying I should have kept quiet. But guess what? He kept quiet the remainder of the game, and the game was at least tolerable, if the score was not. Could I have handled it another way? Maybe I could have waited until after the game was over, but I did not. I had simply had it with him.

In another incident 6 weeks ago, my youngest son was playing with a broken hand in a splint, because they did not have 5 players due to illnesses. He still played ok, but was obviously limited. Prior to the game, two people informed me that a few players from the other school, Destiny Christian, were overheard devising ways to "take out the guy with the splint" so that my son's team could only go on with four players. Absolutely unbelievable, to say the least.

I think the culture has placed such a premium on sports that the Church, as with many other things, has been infected with the negative aspects of the sports arena.

I have seen students at Christian high schools act very rudely and obnoxiously toward opponents
of the team - fans, players, and coaches. Players use foul language and engage in unneeded aggressive behaviors just as much as non-Christian players; and rarely have the teachers or administrators done anything about it, except perhaps sheepishly for the moment telling the students or players to "behave."

So the competitive sports world has run amok, especially among youth in league sports, and many Christians are caught up in it. Other than quitting altogether, I do not know what a good solution is.
 
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