Cassie Huntsberry- Jesus|Sports

Through sports, many people have found their own ways to express their religious beliefs.  From the readings, documentary, video clips and podcasts, I have realized that there are so many different ways to represent Jesus Christ through athletics.   Christian athletes have definitely been sharing their faiths more, which probably has to do with media coverage and positive attention.  While I think it is influential to express religious beliefs through sports, I also think there are some issues with it.  For example, in Wresting For Jesus, I noticed that the wrestlers were focused more on specific versus they chose to follow, rather than following the Bible as a whole.  Timothy was obviously a Christian and built his marriage around the Church, but I found it odd that they ended up getting a divorce when the Bible strictly forbids it with only a few exceptions.  I respected Timothy a lot in the beginning of the documentary because I felt that he was a true Christian and he was strictly wresting for Jesus.  As the documentary progressed, I realized that he was disobeying very common rules in the Bible such as living with another woman while still being married.  Many turned away from Wrestling for Jesus, and I think it really tested the true faith of the members.  When Timothy’s life began to change, I felt that he was no longer focused at all on his commitment to Christianity.  When Matt Cruz was asked to explain why he was awarded the “most Christ-like” trophy, he was unable to do so.  Christ has many attributes that can be relatable to his followers, so I thought it was strange that he was unable to give examples.  I think that athletes need to be cautious about bringing religion into sports, because they may gain the positive attention of others but will be unable to back their beliefs up biblically.