Heather Horst - Jesus|Sports

        In Hoffman and Krattenmaker’s articles, a dominant consensus was that athletes use their fame and position to show their Christian faith. In Hoffman’s article he states, “The evangelical community milked the athletic image” (129). This community is exclusive, allowing believers of Christ to come together and compete with Christian attitudes. Coaches use their faith to preach to the viewers and professional athletes as they play. When Christian athletes prepare for a game, the phase “doing it the Lord’s way” is used; this quote refers to playing without cursing, smoking, and drinking (219). Christian athletes use their faith as a prop for famous as well; using fame to get faith promoted. This mentality makes the athletes look like morality good people, not faithful believers. In Krattenmaker’s article, similar statements are made; he says, “it makes eminent sense to conceive of major league sports as an instrument for the advancement for the of evangelical Christianity” (16) This point seems to be a building stone to the Christian community spreading the word; when fans fall in-love with a team they may go so far as to follow their religion as well. Hoffman notes the some of the problems with having religion and sports combined; “The message sneaks into the soul and psyche when the audience’s moral defenses are down” (230).  This point is referenced as a lore people who are caught up in the momen of sports, not letting the religion be something spiritual and a serious decision. 

    Jesus is represented as a tool for the athletes like T-money and his Wrestling for Jesus group. Jesus was someone who could help them win or fulfill prayers about winning the match. Tim also seemed to only cry out for the Lord in his time of doubt an sadness. Similar to WFJ, other groups like Fellowship of Christian Athletes or Athletes in Action want to use their Christian influences to be witness for Christ; this is something to look at for the athletes, coaches, and fans. The people from the videos viewed, looked at verses such as Romans 10:9 which is about “believe in Christ and you will be saved” and only apply this to their lives.They seem to view God as a convenience to help them win; when he lets them down, like T-Money, it seems like faith in Christ is lost.