Author and president of Belmont Abbey College Dr. Bill Thierfelder delivered a talk entitled “The Christian Vision of Sports,” to Christendom students and faculty on October 27. Thierfelder examined how sports can be integrated into the Christian life, and made the case that world-class athletic performance and virtue are not exclusive.
Thierfelder, who received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Sports Psychology from Boston University, is the author of “Less Than A Minute To Go: The Secret to World-Class Performance in Sport, Business and Everyday Life.” In this book, he draws upon his experiences as a NCAA Division I Coach, Olympian (did not compete due to injury), and a medalist at the 1981 U.S. Track & Field Indoor National Championship.
Thierfelder began by inviting everyone in the audience to re-evaluate how they viewed sports. He spoke of the tendency of some Catholics to either passively tolerate the problems in today’s sport’s world or to run away from sports entirely as something evil.
“I think both positions are untenable,” Thierfelder said. “I don’t think they’re the right positions, certainly from a Catholic perspective, for us to take. We need to re-address sport in a way that it was meant to be dealt with and participated in.”
Thierfelder went on to speak of how sport has been an integral part of human existence since the beginning of time. Quoting ancient thinkers such as Plato, Socrates and St. Augustine, he showed how sports are not simply a hobby, but a way for man to grow in strength, develop character and glorify God. Thierfelder emphasized that although athletics have been made into an idol today, sport and religion traditionally worked together to bring man closer to God. It is up to the modern Christian athlete to bring virtue and sport back into alignment today.
Thierfelder also examined the concept of pressure in sports, as well as how athletes can use the gifts God has given them to achieve peak performance. He noted that sports require body, mind and spirit to be completely focused on the present. This remaining in the present is a way in which we can unite ourselves more closely to God.
“All of time is present to God,” he said. “He’s got no past, and got no future. And so to the degree that I remain in the present moment is the degree I remain in as perfect union as I can be with God. If I ruminate about the past or get anxious about the future, I’ve left Him. Because He’s here in this moment, willing my happiness and continued existence right now…I just told you that part of sport is putting the whole hundred percent into what you’re actually doing in that present moment, on the details of what it takes to do whatever you’re doing in the present moment. It’s the same thing. It’s being in the present moment. It’s being completely absorbed in this present moment, and as an athlete when I do that, I am in union with God.”
Thierfelder concluded by remarking on the importance of sacrifice in sports. No athlete, he explained, excels without a willingness to endure some pain. In the same way, we cannot achieve our true end as man without embracing suffering. Just as in sports we’re willing to make sacrifices for a greater purpose, so in life we accept suffering in order to answer God’s question of whether we love Him.
Thierfelder lingered after the lecture to sign free copies of his book and answer students’ questions. “And [God’s] saying to you, ‘Okay. I’m going to give you an opportunity for sacrifice in your life. I’m going to give you an opportunity to love,’” Thierfelder said. “And depending on how you take those sacrifices on is how you answer the question. And that is a strong enough purpose. That life dedicated to living out your yes, your fiat.”
This lecture was part of the college’s Major Speaker’s Program, an important aspect of the academic life at the College that offers the students and community an opportunity for cultural, intellectual, and spiritual enrichment beyond the classroom. Through the program, students are able to gain greater insights and depth of understanding of important issues, and to interact personally with a wide range of men and women who are shapers and critics of our society.
Watch this inspiring lecture below or download it at Christendom on iTunes U.
