Monday, September 8, 2025

It is the 8th of September 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Well, if it’s Monday the 8th, I must be somewhere in the Saxon region of Germany… but thanks to the magic of asynchronous broadcasting- here we are…

A Week of Mailbag shows! As I combed through to grab 5 questions, I came to the realization that I will never be able to answer all the emails I get- thank you for your questions- keep them coming though…

Eric in Corvallis has written from time to time- he tells me he was recently at a Corvallis Knights vs. Portland Pickles game…West Coast League wooden bat baseball is the best- I’m a Nanaimo NightOwls guy largely because I wish I lived on Vancouver Island. Eric wrote:

“Is fellowship and ministry among athletes recent in church history, or did the gladiators in the Roman Empire have a Fellowship of Christian Gladiators? What is the history of ministries among athletes in America?”

So- let me answer this along with the pretty evergreen question I get about the history of Christianity and Sports in general (as I am vocal about my love of sports and sports entertainment).

Paul seems to have thought sporting analogies were helpful- “run the race,” “win the crown,” etc, without warning us against the frivolity of sports or some such…

The Early church did have concerns about the Roman sporting culture as it developed, and as the church developed a counter-cultural stance (at least initially), it opposed sport for a variety of reasons. These included:

Idolatry- sporting events were often done in the name of, and in honor of, the Gods. What’s the famous show company? Nike? After the goddess?

Sporting events were often brutal- gladiators and the like, and so it was seen that Christians should avoid them. This could spill into a kind of gnosticism that saw the body, and by extension sports, as “less than”.

As the Empire and later Medieval Europe and the church merged, we see the “baptism” of certain courtly games associated with chivalry- jousting, archery, etc, become appropriate for Christians.

But others saw this as a weak justification, and at the Reformation, it was various “puritan” impulses that sought to revert to the early church’s rejection of sport.

The Reformation, as it represented the end of Christendom, helped to hasten the division of the world into “sacred” and “secular”. And if sports were “secular,” what good were they? We see the impulse of the early church in the Puritans, who saw sport not only as “secular” but increasingly enjoyed on Sundays, which for them was a no-no. King James (yes, that one) famously published his “King's Book of Sports,” a declaration that sought to defuse a conflict between the Puritans and the Catholic gentry, who liked a good Sunday hunt, some archery, and maybe a Maypole. James said that would be permissible after church, but bowling and bear baiting should stay on Saturday.

There would be a perennial unease with sport amongst some Christians that will be resolved in the 19th century, and the missionary impulse we see developing. “Muscular Christianity” would be promoted as an antidote to industrialization and mechanization. Muscular Christianity would promote athletics as a promotion of “Christian ethical values”. And as athletes became celebrities, they were seen as ambassadors- think of C.T. Studd, the famous Cricketer turned missionary to China. Stay tuned to tomorrow's show for my list of the most famous Christian athletes who were also ordained ministers.

Muscular Christianity and missions would come together with the YMCA, formed in 1850 in London. It was initially formed out of a drapery house for the “improvement of the spiritual condition of young men in the drapery and other trades.” It spread throughout the world such that by 1929, it was tasked by the Geneva Convention with providing recreation in prisoner-of-war camps. Fun fact for Almanac listeners- many of the shows you hear come together in my head whilst on the elliptical machine at the Mission Viejo YMCA.

FCA- the Fellowship of Christian Athletes can claim all of this as part of its past, but I would also see it as part of the so-called “Third Great Awakening” in America- the post-war boom of churches and para-church ministries. It was Don McClanen who had the idea in 1947 of Athletes promoting their faith instead of pitching products. By 1954, with the assistance of then Pirates executive GM Branch Rickey, among others, they were officially founded in Norman, Oklahoma. With their 70th anniversary last year, they celebrated over 20,000 “huddles” or FCA groups across the globe.

Among the famous FCA athlete ambassadors are Browns quarterback Otto Graham, Cowboys coach Tom Landry (who I always thought was Lutheran- he was a Methodist), and the greatest underdog story in American history: Rams legend Kurt Warner.  

Thanks, Eric, in Corvallis- which, while not Vancouver Island, I could live there too… stay tuned for the show tomorrow for some more sports and church history. You can send me your questions at danv@1517.org.

 

 The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and 1 Peter 3:

14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
    was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,

    was preached among the nations,


was believed on in the world,

    was taken up in glory.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 8th of September 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose Purdue Boilermakers now have Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell as a prominent member of the FCA- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man interested in Aidan O’Connell’s story as I’m pretty sure you can’t be a Christian and a Raider… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.