1996 issue 7 - the religion of olympism: why the church should never celebrate olympic sunday -...

7/27/2019 1996 Issue 7 - The Religion of Olympism: Why the Church Should Never Celebrate Olympic Sunday - Counsel of

1/5

After

living

in Atlanta

highlights

of

the Olympic done

for

their honor.

On

the

during the

recent celebration of

(james as

celebrated in

(jreece fifth and

final

day of the

the

Centennial

Olympic

from c 776

BC

to AD 393.

(james,

each of

the victorious

(james, I

have

a better

This information

is

widely athletes exchanged the

palm

appreciation

of the

apostle

available so I will only provide branch that had been awarded

Paul's emotional state as he

a brief summary.' to them after their individual

witnessed firsthand the depth of

THE OLYMPIAD honored

contests

for a wreath of wild

Athenian idolatry. As

you

will

the

chief of the

pantheon

of

olives. This exchange linked

see

,

my concerns are

not

the

(jreek

gods, Zeus. Sacrifices

the victors with the

gods.

traditional ones:

enormous cost

and oblations

were offered in

THE OLYMPIAD could

and

inconvenience,

his

honor

on

the

first day of

the

not begin until the athletes,

commercialism,

or

terrorism

. I

event.

The third day of the

their

families,

and trainers

am convinced

that these (james

Olympics was considered the raised their hands over the

are an attack upqn the kingdom

most

important. It

began with

entrails of

a

sacrificed

pig

and

of

the

Lord Jesus Christ.

an

official sacrifice to Zeus. swore

a

solemn

oath. They

Though my position is an

The participating city-stat

es

. vowed that they had observed

admittedly unpopular

all

the

rules for

training

one,

I cannot

keep for

at least ten months

silent.

Every faithful

and that they would

use

child of the King must

no

unfair means

to

win

boldly stand for

His

at the

games.

interests

and Lordship

THE OLYMPIAD

against those

who

refuse

concluded with a

great

to

recognize His

claims.

banquet

for

the

victors.

The Major Sins of the The animals that had

Modern OlympiC Movement

then

presented

valuable

gifts to

been

sacrificed

to Zeus on the

The modem

Olympic

third day were

eaten by the

him in

token

of their faith in

movement

is

guilty

of

three and loyalty

to

the (jreek

gods.

athletes. The banquet hall

leading

sins

that should

be

THE OLYMPIAD

often resounded

with

songs

exposed by

all Christians;

attempted

to

bring at

least

honoring Zeus and the many

idolatrous roots, dreams of

.

temporary

peace

between the

other (jreek

gods.

Christless

world

peace

, and

warring (jreek

city-states.

THE OLYMPIAD was

commitment

to

secular

Several months before the

finally outlawed by Theodosius

humanism as

an international

event, heralds

were

sent

I in AD 393; Theodosius I was

religion

. I will demonstrate

throughout the

region

. They

a

pious emperor

who held

to

these

sins by

reviewing

the

announced the

approach of

the

the Nic.ene faith. Citing pagan

history, rhetoric, and

rituals of

.

j

a

mes

and

called for

a

idolatry as

his

chief motivation,

the (james and then

provide

a

cessation

of

hostilities. he banned the quadrennial

specific biblical response to

THE OLYMPIAD

celebration of the (jreek

each.

Olympiad.

It

was

clear to

him

celebrated the strength,

1. The

Idolatrous Roots of

endurance, and beauty

of

man

that any union

of

Christianity

the Modern Olympic

through various

athletic

with the spirit

of

Olympism

Movement

contests.

Winning an athletic

was an

impossibility.

It

will be

helpful

at

this contest was believed

to be

The recent celebration

of

the

point to

present

several

pleasing

to

the g

ods

and was

Centennial Olympic (james

September,

1996 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 'i'15


2/5

revealed an abiding connection

between the ancient

Ciames

and the modem

Olympic

movement I am not

arguing

thatbecause a

given

event

idea, ot practice .has

questionable .or

evil

origins,

modem

expressions

of

it must

be evil as well. This is a

comm()n ethical

fallacy

committed by many ChriStians

on subjects ranging

from

birth '

control o c ~

, Roll music.

Instead, Iw ll demonstrate that

the modem' Olympic

movement

is

' e l f - c o n ~ c i o u s l y

built

upon

the paganism and

idolally of the ancient

Ciames.

Some of tlie 'names and rituals

may have changed their

form

,

but there

is

ideological

continuity between

the two

events' hat

is

impossible

to

miss . .

THE OLYMPIC torch was

lit

in Cireece at

the

sight of the

ancient Ciames,

thus

stressing

the historic and ideological

continuity between the

two

events. The worship

of man's

power, determination, and

goals in honor of the

gods

is at

the heart of both events . .

THE OLYMPIC opening

ceremony

expllcitly honored the

memory:of Zeus, for whose '

glOJythe ancient Ciames were ;

celebrated. Various.other lesser

spirits

or

gods

were

theatrically represented and

invoked as thesource of

blessing, peace, and prosperity

during the games.

THE OLYMPIC oath was

taken by every athlete.

It must

be

stressed that the oath .

is

sworn to the gods of the

culture, then to Zeus,

now,

to

man and sport. Eachvictorious

athlete is elevated to the statuS

of god of the day. He is the

focus of the hopes and praises of

his particular counlly.

In

a

few

instances,

(In athlete gave

personal testimony

to

the

grace

of Ciod.

Sad.ly,

this testimony

went unheeded by audiences

and media alike.

THE OLYMPIC opening

and closing ceremonies were

religio.us events celebrating the .

gods

of our

world:

internationalism, man,

,

athletics,

and world

peace

.

2.

The

Olympic Drea:m

of .

Christless World Peace

The OlympiC dream of

world peace is well

doCumented. Commenting

on

the Olympiccongresses

held

throughout the

early part

of this

centul)', Qlympichistorian

Allen Ciultmann

wrote: Thes

,e

congresses

were

occasions at

which the idealistic

spokesmen

for internationalism gave voice

to their

dreams

of a

more paCific

world unified

by

a common

commitment

to

amateur sport . 2

David Miller gave the

follOwing

assessment of the

current

International

OlYmPiC

Committee:

'1'he IOC, under

the

guiding

force

of

Samaranch

,

is

the most

universal social ..

instrument of peacdn our

time .'

The Olympic quest

for

world peace

may

be

seen

in

the

many rituals that always

accompany

the Ciames.

4

16

THE COUNSEL of Cha\cedon September,

1996

THE OLYMPIC TORCH

is

intended to dramatite ' . '

connection and continuity .

through time and space: Its

journey throughout theVnited

States was

publicized

as a

means to bring

local

communities

together in a

common

spirtt

and support of

the Olympic

celebratio.n, -:

THE

OLYMPIC

RINCiS

' were designed byCoubertin in

1914 as a representation of the

five continents and the col()r o

their many

national'

flags.'

The

message of the rings is

clear:

:

unity and peace will be . .

achieved when nationalism

is

'

.abandoned

in favor

of the

world community.

THE OLYMPIC

.

PROCESSION

- T 1 1 ~

parade

of national

teams,

begimlihg '

with Cireece

and

concluding .

with the host

country,

is

another symbol of international

cooperation.

' . '

THEOLYMP/C

HYMN

A we1hknown opera

singer;

accompanied

by afult choir,

gave an

ode

to the Olympic .

flame

in which

he

Olympic

Ciames

were lauded

as

the

hopes of mankind. .

THE OLYMPIC DOVEs ;

The

dove

is t h u n i v r ~ l ..

symb,ol

for

peace. Doves have

been released in

evei)1

m()dern

Olympic

Ciames

. The release

of

the Olympic

doves is very

ironiC, at least from the

Christian

perspective.

When

Christ was baptized, the Holy

Spirit

descended from heaven

in

the form of

a

d()ve

r

t h u ~

;


3/5

signaling thatJehovah had Avery Brundage,

fonner

national representative mounts

interven ed to

bring

salvation

President of the IOC said, the victor's

podium,

when their

and peace

through

the Messiah .

Olympism

is

a

religion

with

flag

is raised, when their

In the Olympic cultus, man .

universal appeal which

anthem

is play

e

d, is to

wonder

releases the doves heavenward,

incorporates all the

basic

values

if

nationalism - or

sport

-

is

not

symbolizing his ability to bring

of other religions, a

modern,

the true

religion

of the modern

peace to the world through his

exciting,

virile, dynamic

wo

r

ld

:'5

pe

rson

al

efforts

and

programs.

religion:'

(speech to

the

IOC)

A

RELlC;IOVS

ANTHEM

3.

The Religious Humanism

Allen C;uttmann aptly

-

Citius

, Altius, Fortius -

Faster;

of the Modern Olympic

summarized Brundage's

Hig

her;

Stronger This year's

Movement

religious enthusiasm for the

version has been

set

to music

The modern Olympic

games: Olympism was

by a

popular

singer.

It

is

movement

has a specific

certainly

sup

erior to medieval

essentially an ode to man

as

he

religious faith in

the

beauty,

Catholicism and perhaps to

overcomes all obstacles in the

suprem

acy and ultimate

modern Christianity

as

well:'

pursuit of his goals.

triumph

of the

human spirit

in

(The

Olympics

104)

A Christian Response to the

the

face of all obstacles. These

Juan Antonio Samaranch ,

Modern Olympic Movement.

words accurately summarize current President

of

the

IOC - How would Christ, the

fonner

Atlanta Mayor Andrew

Olympism

is

a philosophy,

Head of the church and King

Young 's address to the crowds

which, by blending

sport

with

of the nations, have us respond

gathered at the

Olympic

culture, seeks to create a way of

to

these three

sins

He would

Centennial Pa

rk

to remember

life based on the joy

found

in

have us

expose

all idolatry

as

a

those

slain and injured

in

the

effort

, the educational value of

violation

of C;od's

law and

tragic

bombing. The

leaders

of

good example, and respect for

precursor to

C;od 's further

the

Olympic

movement have

universal ethical principles:'

judgment upon our once

freely

express

ed that Olympism (Olympic Revolution

237)

Christian nation

(Exodus 20:3;

is a religious faith.

Consider

There

are other minor

Revelation

19:15). Any

the

following statements made

aspects of the C;ames which.

worship

or

honorable

by

form

er

and

curren

t

reveal

that they

are

a recognition given

to

pagan

presidents of

the

International

celebration

of

the

religipn of

religious traditions should be

Olympic

Committee:

man,

his

accomplishments, and viewed

as

an insult

to

the only

Baron Pierre de

Coubertin

,

his potential for dominion and

C;od

and

Saviour, Jesus

Christ

founder

of the modem

Olympic

peace.

(Titus 2:13). And though

movement in 1896, wrote:

For

A

RELlC;IOVS OATH

athletics certainly have a

place

m

e,

sport

is

a

religion

with

"For the

glory

of

sport

and the

in the Christian

life,

they

church

,

dogma

, and ritual.

honor of

team

:

should always be pursued to the

(Mevmoires

Olympiques)

In a

A

RELlC;IOVS FESTIVAL

glOlY of C;od

and the

radio address delivered in Berlin

advancement of his

kingdom

on

August

4, 1935,

he

-

Pierre

de

Coubertin wrote that

(M

atthew

6:33; 1

Corinthians

expressed his hope that the

the Olympics "are not simply

10 :33). They

must

not be

upcoming Berlin C;ames would

world championships, they

are

exalted to the

status

of national

be inspired by

religious

the quadrennial

festival of

religion , which status they have

sentiment transformed and

universal youth:

certainly

achieved in

our

enlarged by internationalism A

RELlC;IOVS

culture, nor should athletes be

and

democracy

that distingUish

EMOTION - 'To witness the viewed as supermen,

i.e

.,

the modern age .

spectators' emotions when their demigods.

September,

1996

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

17


4/5

. World peace, moreover,'

is ;;

, ' . 2 3 : 1 6 . 2 4 J ; Scnpture5peaks to submitted to the risen Christ,

.

the result of the progressive; : this point

expliCitly.

' they do not '

knowthe

light

and

.

victorious

march of the" .: Peate is alWays 'vievied as

scope

ofChrist's gospel because

kingdom of Christ through the resu tofCiod'sblessing " we as individuals and churches

human history(lsaiah 9:7; . . upon his people as they believe' have not presented t to them

Psalm 7.2:3-7, Luke 2:14J.lt is ' his Word and obey his withgreateialacrify, boldness,

sinful to seek world peace

,'

: ' commandments- Numbers and biblical

accuracy.

through "quadrennial festivals . 6:26, Psalm29:11, 119:1651' Christians must set an

of eternal O l ) t h t h a t e i t ~ e r Proverbs 3:2, Isaiah 32:17. . example for the world by;

ignore or repudiate, Christ and , . 54:13, 66:12; Roman .2;10. seeking peace in their personal

his gospeL Christians should Peate apart from

' relationships and praying for

not jump on the bandwagons of . righteousness is a Vain the peaCe of the cities in which

such events or growfea,ry-eyed imagination and those who . they reside Ueremiah 29:7; ,

over the sinful,dreams of , seek itwiHbe completely Mark 9:50, Romans 14:19,

deluded men. The nat(ons win , , frustrated - Deuteronomy Hebrews .12:14), But peace .,

know peace only

when

they are . 29:19, 2 Kings 9:22; Isaiah ' " and unity

is

exi\ctly what does

converted to Christ's"gosp,el , , 33:7, .

,

, . .

',

.... not characterize many

(Isaiah 2:4;

11

:3-9). ' . ' branches of the visible

National

and

'wofla , '.' . church. John Murray

peace is not a right; itls ~ N a t i o n E 1 1 hdworld pea, e ;s

not

once wrote that a

a blessing that comes as ' a rIght; t

is

b,lessil'lg ,th t

.

fragmente


5/5

maintain a rigid,

uncompromising attitude

toward the rival religions of

humanism and internationalism

(2 Chronicles 19:2; 2

Corinthians 6:16i. TIl is is no

time to cuddle up with the

unbelieving philosophies

of

our

day. This was the obvious

modus operandi for the

churches and politicians in

Atlanta. Churches celebrated

"Olympic Sunday." Politicians

invited the masses to pray "each

one to his own gods."

Athletes' testimonies replaced

Priest

to

cleanse our sins with

his precious blood. At the

same time, we must not allow

our mourning

to

paralyze us

with

fear,

despair, and

inactivity. Cienuine mourning

over sins, both our own and

those of others,

w ll

motivate

us

to enter zealously into the great

work to which Christ calls us (2

Corinthians 7:8-11). Light

always scatters the darkness

(Matthew 5:16). The

preaching of the gospel is the

power of

Ciod

unto salvation

(Romans 1:16). It w ll build

me as a telling indictment of

the faith and energy of the

modem Church. The world

has stolen this message from us

But

billions of people on this

planet are far more willing to

buy into the spirit and message

of

the

Olympic

movement and

others like it than they are to

join the Church and embrace

Christ's plan for redemption

and peace. Why Because the

Church of Jesus Christ does not

appear to believe, does not live,

and rarely speaks with

confidence about Christ's

the preaching of the victory in history over

gospel

of

Jesus Christ. sin

and

Satan, the duty

And

tragically, the Politicians'invite the of personal sacrifice

for

Christian faith and its the kingdom of

Ciod,

leaders

in

Atlanta came

m sses o p r a y e a c h ~ m e to

and the glorious future

away without his

owt1

n

ods.

'

awaiting the nations as

distinguishing themselves :J they progressively

from

the religious

1 ..... . .

surrender to his

humanism celebrated by the the Church, overthrow Satan, Lordship.

Nor

does she

warn

Olympics. In an effort to and convert the world men of Ciod's temporal and

accommodate, they denied the (Matthew

16:18, 28:18-20;

eternal terror that

w ll

be

Ciospel's demand of repentance Psalm 22:27; Romans 14:20) afflicted upon those

men

and

and exclusive faith in the Christ

It

w ll

one day bring universal nations

who

refuse

to

bow

to

(Mark 1 :15; John 14:6; Acts peace as the knowledge of the His reign. May Christ forgive

4:12).

glory

ofthe

Lord covers the usfor betraying his cause,

This

is

a day for two

emotions in the Christian

life

:

deep mourning and increased

zeal for

the kingdom of Ciod.

We must mourn for the

spiritual blindness of our nation

and dullness of our churches.

While Theodosius

saw

the

Olympics as

an

obvious

celebration of religious

humanism, our once Christian

land now enters gladly into

their observance.

We

must

confess our sins

to

Ciod and

beseech our merciful High

earth as the waters cover the awaken us to the power

and

sea. The church

and

world will glory of his present reign,

and

know that glorious day only strengthen us by his Spirit

to

after many generations of Ciod's boldly proclaim the peace terms

faithful people commit of the King

themselves unreservedly

and

confidently to Christ and his

kingdom.

Conclusion

One could not tune in for

very long to the Olympic

television coverage without

being inundated with words

and images of victory, personal

sacrifice,

and

hope. This struck

tFOT much of the fcHewing informa

ti

on. r

have utilized the follOwing: Shirley Qlubok and

Alfred Tamann,

OlympiC

Qames in Ancient

Cireece (N

ew

York: Harper Row, 197

6)

.

I

Th

e Olympics: A History of the Modem

Qames

(Chicago:

Vnlversi1y of Illinois

Pre

ss,

1992). p 28,

lOlympic Revolution (London: Pavilion,

1992).

p,

258,

quotations are taken from

Quttmann's book. page 2.

~ Q u t l m a n n 2.

6Collected WrilinBs 2:335.

September,

1996

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon t

19

1996 issue 7 - the religion of olympism: why the church should never celebrate olympic sunday -...

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