"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
If Christ came to the Olympics
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If Christ came to the Olympics, William J Baker, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2000 ISBN 0 86840 579 5
The book started life as a series of lectures delivered at New College, Sydney in 1999 under the title, "If Christ came to the Sydney Olympics".
The book consists of 84 pages arranged in 6 chapters and covers:
The original idea behind the modern Olympics
the religious origins of organised sport
the changing goals of the Olympic Games
the meaning of Olympic symbols and ceremonies
amateurism and professionalism in sport
women in sport
evangelicals at the Olympics
There is an account of how, as a 12 year old Pierre de Coubertin read Tom Brown's School Days and was so impressed that he later visited Rugby School. How de Coubertin's "The essential thing is not conquering but fighting well", is thought to have got from a sermon by an American Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at St Paul's during the 1908 Olympics. (Page 17 )
The book contains several pieces of speculation about what Jesus would think of the modern Olympics: "If Christ came to the Olympics, He would be impressed with quasi-religious aspects of Olympic rituals and sterling athletic performances on the field, but He would also be uneasy with some less positive features of the Games. He might well be inspired to bring out His whip against the modern scene, for he would most certainly recognise some idolatrous tendencies embedded in today's Olympism." (Page 44) and
"If Christ came to the Olympics, He would witness a scene curiously peppered with religious references and gestures. In addition to a subtle, quasi-religious atmosphere generated by various rituals and rhetoric, a hand-painted sign inevitably pops up in the stadium announcing that Jesus Saves. Other signs call attention to Biblical passages such as John 3:16, the apparent favourite of evangelicals: 'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in Him may no die but have eternal life'. Another favourite verse for display is the more athletically appropriate Philippians 4:13: 'I have strength for anything through Him who gives me power.'" (Page 58)
He identifies 3 idols in modern Olympic movement; "Sport itself links up with patriotism and commercialism to constitute a kind of modern trinity. This idolatrous threesome thrives at the Olympics, inspiring commitments and stirring passions that have traditionally been directed towards God." (Page 52)
He sees reasons why sport appeals to evangelical Christians - both like life to be black and white. In sport you either win or lose. For evangelicals a person is either saved or not. (Page 68)
His view of evangelicals and major events is interesting: "Impulse to 'witness', to spread the word that convinces others to accept Christ, lies at the heart of the evangelical's eagerness to use the Olympic Games as a pulpit for the greater glory of God. Television cameras afford a global audience for goldwinning preachers. Sports literature scholar Jack Higgs reminds us, the Olympics have become a 'prime time for religious proselytism.'" Pages 60-61
His final conclusion is provocative: "But if Christ came to the Olympics, we don't know whether He would be embarrassed or delighted at things done and mantras uttered in His name". (Page 70)