Games People Play

Robert Ellis is Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion in the University of Oxford.

"Ellis convincingly argues that humans at play reach outward and upward, signifying and participating in God toward our playful destiny. Ellis moves deftly between historical considerations of sports and thick descriptions of sport practitioner and spectator motivations, attitudes, and experiences; analysis of theological themes (sin and salvation); and contemporary social, moral, economic, and political matters which Christians must examine as citizens whose loyalty is ultimately to God's will and way on earth as it is in heaven."John B. White, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, Waco, TX"The way Ellis takes concepts based on play, salvation, and sin . . . and applies them to sport, arguing that participation in sport can be seen as a participation in God's playful creativity, is groundbreaking."J. Stuart Weir, Verite Sport, Oxford, UK"Ellis masterfully weaves a thread through the church's inconstant history with sport, dissects sport as a modern cultural phenomenon, and armed with a prodigious arsenal of evidence, dares to ask whether the transcendent moments of sport might actually be experiences of God. A must-read for anyone hoping to understand how sport fits within the Christian tradition."Shirl James Hoffman, Kinesiology Today, American Kinesiology Association"...for those seeking a diversely informed, positive account of sport's social and theological value, this book should be considered an important contribution."-Kevin Hargaden, Theology 118.6 2015"This informative and thought-provoking work has contributed to qualitative research in the field with a small but significant study of opinions of amateur sportsmen and -women, and could be developed further. It is of interest to those studying the relation of religion and sport in UK and USA, and those concerned with the theology of sport."-Danielle A. Lynch, Theological Book Review, Vol. 26 No. 2, 2016

• Introduction: A Grandstand View at the Cotswold Olimpicks1 Reaching for the Heavens: A (Very) Brief History of Religion and SportSacred Sport?"Keeping Company with the Devil"?Conversion to Sport?Conclusion2 A Question of Sport: Sport in Contemporary SocietySport and BusinessSport and the MediaSport and ConsumerismSport and GenderSport and EthnicitySport and PoliticsConclusion3 1851 and All That: Losing My Religion?Sundays: "the Lord's day" or "a day at Lord's"?Religion and Sport in the UK: What the Numbers Tell UsAmerican Exceptionalism: Sport and ReligionSport and the Functions of ReligionConclusion4 Play and Sport: Initial Theological ExplorationsDefining "Play" and "Sport"Sport in the Bible? Paul's Sporting ImageryGod the Creator: Deus Ludens and the Game of LovePlayful Wisdom: Proverbs, the Song of Songs, and EcclesiastesSabbaths and Festivals: Playful RestPlay, "Signal of Transcendence"The End of Play5 "A Matter of Life and Death"? Playing and WinningWhy Play Sport? What the Players SayWhy Play Sport? Sociocultural FactorsWhy Play Sport? Sport and "Religious Experience"Why Winning MattersAbusing Ourselves to Win: Competition's Dark Side?Deus Ludens, Deus Victor: God the Winner6 "To Boldly Go": Sport as Divine Encounter?Imago Dei: Further ThoughtsTranscendence and the TranscendentVicarious SportSin and Salvation in Sport?Conclusion: "The Theology Behind All Cultural Expressions"HighlightsSome Loose EndsConcluding Observations on a Practical Theology of SportBibliographyName and Subject IndexScripture Index