Sports Historian Shares How Christian Athletes Can Make an Impact for Christ
By Movieguide® Contributor
Sports historian Paul Putz joined the “Sports Spectrum” podcast to describe the impact Christian athletes can have by giving glory to God, whether they win or lose.
“…Jesus calls us to his faithfulness–and success may or may not come by the world standards,” Putz said. “You know, it sometimes does, and it sometimes doesn’t. But He calls us to faithfulness regardless of circumstances, and so, at its best when prominent Christian athletes or coaches are telling their stories, they are being faithful witnesses to what Christ had done in their life, whether or not they win or lose. And I think that’s why it can be really powerful for someone on a losing team to still testify to who they are in Christ.”
For more inspiring sports stories, check out Sports Spectrum.
In a recent article, Putz explained how Christianity is “deeply entwined” with basketball.
“From the beginning, basketball was designed with clear limits,” he wrote. “It was a game for the in-between, meant to fill the gap from the fall football season to the spring baseball season. It was not an all-encompassing vision for life—certainly not for its founder, who quickly turned over stewardship of the game to others. But basketball does have something to say about moral formation and human development.”
For example, “basketball’s origins remind us of the dignity and worth of our God-given bodies, a value that is affirmed in the story of Christmas, in which ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14), Putz wrote in a Substack article.
He explained that “Muscular Christianity,” a nineteenth-century movement that looked to correct “faith’s disconnect from the physical,” helped move the church “towards a more positive view of the human body.”
“Muscular Christians like Naismith suggested instead that sports could help fellow believers recognize the sacred value of their bodies,” Putz wrote.
“Basketball really was shaped and inspired by Naismith’s desire to use sports for evangelical Christian ministry,” he added.
Putz serves as the assistant director of the Faith and Sports Institute at Baylor’s Truett Seminary.
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