Vol. 1 No. 1, February 2022

A Philosophical Examination of Pauline Thought on Sporting Activities (Recreation), Spirituality and Well-Being in Letters to Timothy

Joseph M. Talabi, Dapo F. Asaju & Exradallenum O. Akinsanya

Abstract

Sporting activities have immense benefits for the well-being of humans. In the canon of Christian scriptures, there is a seeming silence on the matters relating to recreation, spirituality and well-being. Indeed, there has not been tangible evidence of the essentiality of sporting activities to the full development of the human body. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, there is an identification of the significance of recreation and its links to spirituality and well-being. The import and implications of this have not been appropriately critiqued in recent scholarly discussions. As such, this paper examines, from a philosophical perspective, Pauline thoughts on recreation, spirituality and well-being in the context of Letters to Timothy. The methodological tools that the paper engaged are purely analytical and historical-critical. Attempts were made to deploy the historical-critical tools in examining the portion of Pauline letters to Timothy within its historical and sociological context. The imports of Pauline’s statement in the text was rigorously critiqued using analytical tools. This paper hopes to establish that when the Christian scriptures are directly silent on matters involving recreational and sporting activities, the need for humanity to engage in them for more remarkable physical improvement is encouraged within the context of the scriptures. In the end, the paper attempted to identify boundaries and parameters for Christian involvement in sports and the extent to which these can go to promote core Christian virtues and values.

Keywords

philosophical, recreation, spirituality, Timothy, wellbeing

Full Text

Download

References

Alpert, R. A Case Study Textbook on Religion and Sport. West Sussex, UK: Columbia University Press, 2015.
Benn, Dagkas and Jawad, Embodied Faith: Islam, Religious Freedom and Educational Practices in Physical Education.
Sport, Education and Society, 16, 1: 17-34; 2011.
Benn, Pfister and Jawad, Muslim Women and Sport, London: Routledge, 2010.
Brasch, R. How did Sports Begin? New York: David McKay Co., Inc. 1970.
Hendriksen, William Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1957).
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/leisure-recreation-sports-evidenced-in-bible-he-says/ accessed on
28/1/2022
https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/75240.pdf accessed on 28/1/2022.
Kittel, G. Bromiley, G. W. & Friedrich, G. Ed., Vol. 1: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans Publishing, 1964).
Koch, A. The Christian View of Sport: Its Foundations in the Holy Scriptures and the Church Father’ Writings, in K. Lixey,
K., C. Hübenthal., D. Mieth, and N. Müller (eds.), Sport and Christianity: A Sign of the Times in the Light of Faith
Washington, DC, USA: Catholic University of America Press, 2012.
Loersch, Nathan F. “The Impact of Regular Physical Exercise on the Pastor and His Ministry” A Thesis Submitted in
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary March 2015.
McLeod, H. Sport and Religion in England, c.1790-1914, in N.J. Watson and A. Parker (eds.), Sports and Christianity:
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, London: Routledge, 2012.
Novak, Michael “The Natural Religion” In Shirl Hoffman (ed.), Sport and Religion (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics,
1992).
Oswald, Hilton C. Ed. Luther’s Works, Vol. 28, Lectures on 1 Timothy (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973).
Schuetze, Armin W. 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 1991).
Treat, J. Sports in Biblical Narrative, in Global Perspectives on Sport and Christianity (eds) Afe Adogame et al., Routledge:
Abingdon, 2018.
Watson, N.J. and Parker, A. Sports and Christianity: Mapping the Field, in N.J. Watson and A. Parker. (eds.) Sports and
Christianity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (foreword by Michael Novak), London: Routledge (2013).