meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Quick to Listen

Why Football Will Never Be America’s New Civil Religion

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3622 Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2017

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This Sunday’s Super Bowl game is a classic good v. evil showdown. (Okay, maybe that’s editorializing. But it is true that the Patriots have won the Super Bowl 7 times since 2001 and the Atlanta Falcons have never even won a title, making the Falcons the inevitable favored underdog.) But beyond the actual teams, the Super Bowl stands atop a waning list of cultural events that bring America together. Last year, about 115 million Americans tuned in to watch the Broncos, the commercials, or Beyoncé. The fact that there’s something for everyone is one of the Super Bowl’s biggest value propositions, says David Prince, the author of In the Arena: The Promise of Sports for Christian Discipleship. “The commercials during the Super Bowl—it would be impossible for me to have less interest in that. And yet for some people, that’s the main reason they’re tuning in,” said Prince, an Atlanta Falcons fan. “The halftime show—I’ve never watched a halftime show in my life and I don’t plan to start this year—but for others that’s the main reason they’re watching.” Prince joined joined assistant editor Morgan Lee and editor-in-chief Mark Galli to discuss whether football be the country’s new civil religion, why losing can be important than winning, and why players’ faith isn’t covered better by the media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.

0:11.0

Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.

0:14.5

Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.

0:28.4

Music Michael Del Rosario at Apologeticsguy.com. Hey, you're listening to Quick to Listen.

0:30.8

Each week we go beyond hashtags and hot takes and set aside time to explore the reality

0:35.5

behind a major cultural event.

0:37.9

Today, we're talking about the Super Bowl.

0:40.1

And I'm Morgan Lee, and I'm an assistant editor at Christianity today.

0:43.0

And I also love sports.

0:44.2

So I think I am actually incredibly qualified to talk about this topic today.

0:48.4

And to do that, I am also joined by a sports fan, one of the few in the office,

0:53.3

Mark Galley, C.T. Editor-in-Chief.

0:54.9

Good to be here, but as I've told you, for some reason, the older I get, the less interest

0:59.6

that I am in sports. So, well, did we bring a sports fan to talk about the Super Bowl?

1:03.3

We did. We have brought David Prince. He is pastor of preaching and vision at Ashland

1:09.2

Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. He's assistant

1:12.3

professor of Christian preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But his most

1:17.0

important qualifications this morning is that he is the author of, in the arena, the promise of sports

1:22.4

for Christian discipleship. He's given a lot of thought to the relationship of Christians and sports, and I'm

1:28.0

really looking forward to talking to him about that. Welcome, David. I'm glad to be here with you,

1:32.1

excited about it. We're glad to have you here too. So everyone, this Sunday is the Super Bowl. I'm sure

1:38.1

you're all aware. And the Atlanta Falcons, which are David's team, will be playing the New England

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christianity Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Christianity Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.