Sports and Play in Christian Theology

John Tucker is principal of Carey Baptist College, where he teaches in church history and homiletics.Philip Halstead lectures in applied theology with a specialty in pastoral care and counseling at Carey Baptist College and Carey Graduate School.

• 1. “We Played the Flute for You and You did not Dance”: A Theology of Play Myk Habets 2. Sporting Identities: What We Play, and Who We Think We Are Robert Ellis3. Child’s Play in the New Testament Sarah Harris 4. Identity Formation as an Antecedent to the Practice of Sports Chaplaincy Steven N. Waller 5. Sacred Pilgrimage in Playful, Digital Spaces Stephen Garner6. An Enemy to be Fought or a Tool to be Used? Baptists and Sport in New Zealand John Tucker7. Sport and the Bible Class Movement Peter Lineham8. The Role of Sports Chaplains in Australia B. Grant Stewart9. The Winter Game in the Autumn Season: An Exploration of Motivations, Masculinity, and Faith among Older Christian Male Rugby Players in Aotearoa-New Zealand Simon Moetara10. Helping Churchgoers to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Sport: Pastoral Stories from the Hospital Wards, the Slow Lane, and the Mountain Tops Philip Halstead

Until I read this book, I failed to appreciate what a gift God has given us in the gift of amusement, play, and sport. God has created us not only as rational, creative creatures but also as Homo Ludens. This is the best treatment we have on a Christian theology of play, a serious, biblical, vibrantly theological exploration of a joyful human inclination that is a divine gift. Here’s a serious theology of fun that is such fun to read.