If you are a Christian who participates in, follows, or likes sports then you should give this book a read. If you are a Christian who has children who participate in, follow, or like sports then I am begging you; please, please read this book.
Shirl Hoffman is a professor emeritus of exercise science. He is also a former coach and former college athlete. However, he thinks sports in our culture have crossed a line and Christians ought to be concerned about it. Now, as much as we might want Hoffman to be wrong, the anecdotal, statistical, and biblical evidence he provides is pretty hard to argue with.
Whether Hoffman is right or wrong overall, there is one thing he is surely right about. Christians in our post-modern western culture have not done a very good job of filtering their involvement with sports (and other aspects of culture) through a Christian world view. Here is a great place for us to begin doing that. Sports are extremely popular among Christians. Yet, how many of us have really thought about whether or not the attitudes and practices surrounding sports can be properly synthesized with a life of following Jesus?
Finally, if you are a Christian with kids who like sports you owe it to them to read this book. Why? Not simply because you need to learn to analyze your life in light of scripture, but you also need to teach your children to do so. Read the book, think about what Hoffman says, pray about it, draw some conclusions. Then, discuss some of Hoffman's ideas with your kids. Help them think through those ideas based on what the Bible says rather than what we like or what culture says.
If you have read my previous posts about sports (here, here, here) and you still think sports build character then you really should read Good Game.
Hoffman, Shirl. Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports. Waco: Baylor University Press. 2010. 292 pages.
