Based on just the title of this post, I can hear lots of people cheering and lots of other people rethinking whether or not they want to go to heaven.
No sports in heaven? For some that is truly heaven, while for others it sounds like hell.
Whichever feeling wells up within you, bear with me…
Someone once told me that since there wasn’t any mention of sports in the Bible, this means that there will be no sports in heaven.
I think that logic is pretty bad, but recently as I was listening to a news update about the passer rating of a certain quarterback, it occurred to me that there was a pretty good theological reason for there not to be any sports in heaven.
Except for baseball…. Kevin Kostner proved that there is baseball in heaven…. 😉
The Theological Reason for No Sports in Heaven
It is often taught in churches that when we get to heaven, we will never get sick, we will never die, we will have all our questions answered, and we will be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.
That sounds nice… until you begin to realize what this means…
I like the idea of no more sickness and no more death, but the more I think about having all my questions answered and being perfect in everything, I am not sure I like that at all.
I am not a sports fanatic, but I like watching some sports, and I even play a bit of sports. … Well, no I don’t. Not any more. But I used to.
But here’s the point:
Sports is based on the universal reality that humans are not perfect in everything we do. That’s why we have batting averages. Free-throw percentages. Quarterback ratings.
Imagine if there was a person who always batted 1000, who never missed a free throw, and whose every pass of the football was for a touchdown.
Such a player would dominate the world of sports. Whatever team he was on would always win. Always.
Now imagine that every single player on both teams played just as perfectly. It sounds thrilling for about one second until you begin to think of what that game would be like.
Imagine a basketball game where every single shot was good. The announcer’s job would be easy. All he would have to say is “He dribbles down the court … he shoots … he scores!” over and over and over. Heck, the players wouldn’t even have to dribble down the court to shoot. All the shots would be full-court shots with 100% accuracy. It sounds thrilling to watch … for about five minutes. Then it becomes incredibly boring.
Of course, it is here where we start to run into problems. Take baseball as another example. It is logically impossible to have a player bat 1000 and have a pitcher throw a perfect game.
So you see? Sports are based on the fact that nobody is perfect in everything.
But if in heaven, everybody is perfect in everything, this means that there could be no sports.
So Heaven Sounds Pretty Dull After All…
Frankly, I find this highly depressing. Not because I am such a sports lover, but because I am such a lover of learning.
I love the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Just as some people love sports, I love the feeling of my mind and heart racing as I encounter a new idea from a book or insight on a particular passage of Scripture.
I wonder what life would be like without this. I think it would be pretty boring.
All in all, heaven is starting to sound like a pretty dull place.
So the only thing I can conclude is that we won’t be perfect after all in our eternal state. We will not be perfect. We will not know it all. We will grow and develop and think and ask questions and learn by trial and error. We will invent, inquire, and inspire.
As it turns out, imperfection is the only way heaven can be real and not be hell.
So maybe there will be sports in heaven after all…
All you football fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
But if Heaven Requires Imperfection…
Then the ramifications of this got me thinking.
If we are not perfect in what we know and what we do, does this mean that we can get injured and hurt after all? If, in heaven, I decided I want to learn to become a tightrope walker, and I become so good I decide to tightrope across the heavenly version of Niagara Falls, what happens if I make a mistake and I fall?
Or, what happens if I decide to become a Master Chef, and in cutting potatoes one day, I slip with the knife and slice my finger? Will it cut? Will it hurt? Will it bleed? I cannot see how it cannot. If I remember correctly, I think C. S. Wrote about this is The Problem of Pain. I don’t have the book in front of me, but I seem to remember Lewis explaining that pain tells us when something is wrong. (If you find the section, let me know!) If I cut my finger with a knife, I need it to hurt so that I can know I should stop cutting! If it didn’t hurt, I would keep cutting, and do great damage to my finger.
If there is no pain in our eternal bodies, does this mean that we will never cut our fingers? That the knife turns to rubber if we try? If we are out for a hike on Pluto, and we fall off a cliff, does that mean we will bounce when we hit the bottom? I cannot see how. But on the other hand, there will be no more death, so will we be like the Wolverine from X-Men or Claire from the TV show Heroes who can regenerate no matter what? That’d be cool…
But this then leads me to the question of God.
Earlier when I said that we will be perfect as God is perfect, I intentionally misquoted Matthew 5:48. Why? Because how I misquoted it is how I sometimes hear others misquote it.
In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says that we should be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. I have written on this text before by saying it is impossible to live perfect lives, but for our purposes here, note that Jesus does not say that we will ever be perfect just as God is perfect, nor does Jesus even say that God Himself is perfect. Jesus simply says that we should strive to be perfect, in the same way that God is, however that is.
Some people point to 1 Corinthians 13:10 as evidence that when we get to heaven we will be perfect, but this verse is talking about spiritual gifts and is not teaching anything about mental or physical perfection when we get to heaven.
Then there is 1 John 3:2-3. Some say that since Jesus is perfect, when we see Him, we will become just like Him, and hence, we will also be perfect. Well again, I am not denying that we will become like Jesus. And I am not denying that through glorification, we will achieve moral perfection.
Come to think of it, I cannot think of a verse anywhere in the Bible which says that in our glorified bodies, we will be perfectly perfect in every way, including all our mental, moral, emotional, spiritual, and physical capacities. Can you think of anywhere that teaches this?
If were to achieve this perfectly perfect perfection, then we would be exactly like God.
Or maybe …. could it be? …. maybe God is not like this either? Maybe we constructed a God of our own liking according to platonic philosophical ideas of what “perfection” entails, and God is not like that at all!
Is it possible that God Himself learns, invents, and inquires as well?
Could it be that our creative desire to see and try new things comes from the very nature of God Himself?
Maybe we seek answers to life’s problems because God does.
Maybe we want to explore, discover, and seek because God has these desires too.
Of course, maybe, just maybe, we have no clue what heaven will be like after all, and this whole post is a bunch of malarkey.
One thing is for sure … who ever knew that sports could get you thinking about heaven?
TENNIS IS INT THE BIBLE TOO IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT dAVID SERVED IN SAUL’S COURT.
Someone told me there was two reasons why he did not believe there will be sports in Heaven
1. Will there be sports in heaven? How will one side lose if they’re all perfect?
2. i dont think there will be sports because that would pit one against another
But I believe that there will be fishing tournaments
Ezekiel 47:9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes
Your assessment of being perfect in every day is quite a bit inaccurate. We will be without sin, temptation, death, fear or anxiety, where in the Bible does it say that we will be perfect in every way. I believe that there will be sports in heaven, and we will be the very best that we could have ever been, that does not mean that any ballplayer will bat 1,000 or every golfer will always make a hole in one or that tennis players will never miss a shot. You are being quite inaccurate in perfection as it is intended by God, and that sports will be even more competitive but that no one will be perfect competitively, logic more than anyone makes that quite clear!
Your next to the last paragraph is probably closest to reality. Most of what I heard in church and Sunday School was based on someone’s imagination. Then again, we can dream about what it would be like to win the lottery and what heaven will be like.
It is amazing how one group of imaginations about eternity becomes dogma so that anyone who uses their imagination to think of something different becomes a heretic…
I love this post! First, it’s encouraging to see others have had similar musings as me. I love sports, and still play. Part of the thrill is the challenge – to get better, the pain – of growing, the competition – healthy, of course. I hope to play golf for eternity, and I WANT golf to be… golf – hard as heck, but SOOO rewarding.
As far as Heaven, I, like you, admit I have no idea what it will be like. None of us do, and most of our fascinations are about misunderstood Scripture, I think. Regardless, in trusting God, who is Good, and beyond all I could imagine in His Goodness – has already prepared an Eternity that is the same – beyond (in a Good sense) all we could ever imagine.
I AM seeing, though, that The Kingdom (of Heaven) is FAR more about Life now. In that sense. Maybe sports are in Heaven after all, because for more and more of us – we are realizing we are already ‘there.”
Yes. The discussion you had with Jimal (sp?) touched on this sort of thing, didn’t it?
I disagree with this post. There will be sports in heaven. We will be in our glorified bodies, but that does not make us physically perfect, only spiritually and internally perfect. Why can’t we lose in heaven? Why can’t we be out-matched, yet still not sin, but glorify God through our activities? Zechariah 8:5 states “the city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” If the young can play in heaven, why can’t the older? There is no reason to think heaven won’t have our favorite things, namely sports.
The bigger question is how can there be any skiing in heaven if the snow all melts from the intense light of God’s glory?
The implications of this article manage to undermine the most common proofs that there is no God, whilst simultaneously underming the most common proofs that there is a God, by re-defining God to something that neither side defines as being “God”.
Most modern definitions of God are based on Platonic philosophy anyway, so maybe it is time for a reset on the entire debate about God anyway…
The definition is not based on anything but belief and spiritual understanding. It is time for a reset on subjective theoretical hyperbole. There is NO debate God Lives and has always lived, the debate is the stiff-necked refusal to believe in him.
When the scripture says we will be given new (perfect ?) bodies, I believe it means only that those new bodies will function as designed without error. There will be no more genetic malfunctions; no progeria, ostiogenesis imperfecta, cancer, or other genetic diseases. I believe Jesus’ body was formed new in Mary’s womb, without flaw and that this is what is meant when the bible says we will be like Him.
The bible also says there will be a new earth perhaps a return to eden-like conditions. In my studies of apologetics I have come across a number of ‘experts’ who believe atmospheric conditions were quite different before the flood of Noah. It is believed that the air was thicker and contained higher amounts of oxygen and carbon-dioxide. Greater oxygen and genetic ‘perfection’ would mean more rapid and more perfect healing (no scars).
I don’t recall anywhere in the scriptures that claim there will be no more physical pain (though I am no theologian) but it does say there will be no more sorrow and no more toil. So… what is meant by ‘toil’ ? To me it means unproductive, meaningless labor. I firmly believe (certainly hope) there will still be work to do.
Excellent. I would agree with that. It means that they will function as they were meant to function. This means work, learning, etc.
This post was way more interesting than the title led me to think.
From this we come to some of the great theological questions of our time.
Will Jesus be able to dunk on Dikembe Mutumbo?
Could Nolan Ryan strike out Jesus?
Disclaimer: I do not claim to have any intimate knowledge of the eternal destination of either Dikembe Mutumbo or Nolan Ryan.
As you know heaven actually comes down to earth at some point, as N.T. Wright likes to emphasize. We tend to have a very artificial if not, purely academic, understanding of heaven. If, on earth, we can enjoy the infinite number of imperfections, then why not simply expect to enjoy an infinite number of perfections. Just as a game can be played imperfectly in an infinite number of ways, so can it also be played perfectly in an infinite number of ways. As long as we aren’t saying that perfection is a finite concept, then there is no end to how much joy an activity can bring you. For instance, in chess (which I play a lot), if both sides play perfectly then the game is drawn. But!! Just because the game is drawn does not mean that there is no titanic battle to actually do that. Moreover, there are endless number of ways to draw a game involving sacrifices and deep strategic planning. That’s only for a game restricted to 64 squares. Nevermind other realms and realities of living and being.
Yuri, That is very possible. I do believe, as NT Wright says, that heaven will come down to earth… In fact, I believe we are to live in light of that now.
For me, one of the greatest satisfactions and enjoyments in life is actually learning to do something. The frustration in learning is the lack of time to do it. I am hoping that God lets me learn how to do things in heaven.
This is a great article. This topic was on my mind and I found this on a Google search.
It would be sad if we were literally perfect in every way. I’d like to think we could play games with each other, but the loser won’t feel like punching out the winner,nor will they bear jealousy. They’d say “Oh darn, I’ll get you next time!” and laugh.
And if we hurt ourselves, we will be healed…won’t be in intense pain and die. I sure hope it’s this way.
When Jesus was here, he learned stuff.Joseph had to teach him carpentry,right? And he probably made beginner mistakes,I would think.
So, yes, I’m hoping “perfect” means just morally perfect. We’d still even be able to disagree and debate with one another,but in a positive, non-threatening way.
Ok, so the idea here is that ..A. since sports is so awesome here and people love it, and it’s somehow based off of flaws that people ultimately will be better than another in some way. And B. no sports no fun, we have to be flawed so we can have fun.. you know beating one another and being awesome.. i wanna be awesome! and win a game so i can feel proud of my achievements beating another and boast over it at heart.. isn’t that why we want to win deep down? And then going on to say.. God isn’t as perfect as we think.. He learns and adjusts and is growing to be wise.
He is perfect in every single possible way period. God is all knowing all powerful, and in control of everything all the time, all good, wisdom and knowledge comes from Him. You can dream up ways of how heaven will be like all day, but there will be no more pain, no suffering, no disappointment, no prideful spirit, and no one will want to be better than anyone else in any way and we will be equal. Let a new idea rattle in your brain for a moment, the kingdom that those who trust in Jesus Christ and know who He is.. will all sit with Him.. Fun.. you think sports is the apex of fun. how about being with God.. and walking with Jesus and watching our God do wonders and be filled to the rim with love.
And there will be things that you or I can never imagine, and say it’ll boring… if you think that having the spirit to be prideful to beat others to show how awesome you are is heaven.. i dunno what kinda heaven you’re expecting… My Father in heaven is perfect period, and He will give to those who love Him unimaginable joy and things that you could never perceive here on earth.. God is holy holy holy, He is God almighty, the beginning and the end. The One Who knows all and is lacking in nothing. My Lord and Saviour.
The bible said we were like a grain of wheat or corn and must die ‘to that form’ (implied) as the plant to arise only represents that seed in its natural purpose, and does not resemble it at all. I kinda figured , we will be nothing like our present form ( most people speak from personal stuff , change is scarey til you are doing it )I don’t think our pursuits will be anything like our dirt existence . Our stations are known God the farmer knows a kernel of corn for sweet corn or alcohol depending on the need or wheat grain for bread or wallpaper paste. vessels now . Hmmm I think , all that is a similitude.It may take us a while to get accustomed to a glorified self (yikes) maybe we can be working at it in this life at least working at accepting the concept. Yes, walking by faith.
To be honest the end was completely heretical. God is perfect in ALL He does. Whether that’s thinking, remembering, or just plain knowing stuff. When we get to heaven we will be perfect morally, not physically or mentally. We will fall down (it won’t hurt, and we won’t be clumsy). When we fall off into “Niagara falls” it will just be a fun adrenaline rush and then we will ascend back to the top of the Falls. There’s no reason for there not to be sports. We will be competitive but not overly competitive to the point of being angry. It will ultimately be for fun. I think we will learn forever too. The Bible says that even the angels learn, despite them having great bodies (1 Peter 1:12)
God bless. I enjoyed reading about all the sports that won’t be in heaven…praise God. The good news is…the word for “perfect” is the Greek word “telios” and in the context it has the meaning of, “full maturity, full grown and complete in Christ”. It isn’t about being, in a worldly sense, perfect. Uh…since we won’t be in a worldly sense any longer…but a spiritual one 😉 That said, quite possibly there will be plenty of sports…and folks lose on purpose because we’re all so loving! I have a brand new blog…still learning to get fully mature in writing! That’s for the great blogs.
Thank you for your post. I found this after searching google “is there baseball in heaven.” This is a good analysis of it. I sure hope we can play up there!
I feel sorry if this is your view of heaven..
God is infinite, and we are finite. In heaven, God will be infinite still, and we will still be finite (we will not share God’s deity). We will not learn everything in an instance. A hundred million years will go by and we will still be learning and experiencing God’s glory as new.
Also, we will most definitely be perfect, as sin and death will be no more. But we will not be PHYSICALLY perfect in a sense to “pitch a perfect inning or game”. We will be physically perfect in a sense to have no sickness or pain. There’s no reason to think we can’t play a sports game in heaven.
There are sports mentioned in the Bible too. What about 1 Corinthians 9:24-27?
I agree, if God thinks you need sports to be happy in the vast heavens above, I’m pretty sure He will allow them. Maybe even have galactic games of sorts? Should be very interesting and fun, especially if we can fly!
Since the bible talks about hell and Jesus is The Word, then yes, he did talk about that place. Therefore it is real and people need to be aware of it lest the fall into it after their time here on earth. It’s as simple as that for anyone who has discernment. Some people need the carrot of love and grace, and other’s need the stick of fear to drive them into the arms of our Great Shepard, everyone is different, but the Holy Bible does provide the answer for all who truly want to know the Creator God and desire to have eternal life with Him and other saints in the vast heavens above.
EDIT TO ABOVE COMMENT:
Since the bible talks about hell and Jesus is The Word (John 1), then yes, He did talk about that place for centuries. “before Abraham was, I am”. Therefore it is real and people need to be aware of it lest they fall into it after their time here on earth. It’s as simple as that for anyone who has discernment. Some people need the carrot of love and grace, and other’s need the stick of fear to drive them into the arms of our Great Shepard, everyone is different, but the Holy Bible does provide the answer for all who truly want to know the Creator God and desire to have eternal life with Him and other saints in the vast heavens above and not be stuck in the abyss which is a place that was designed for satan and the fallen angels who hate all humans because they are made in the image of God who they rebelled against and therefore they will most likely do some pretty bad things to those poor human souls who elect not to spend eternity in the heavens. DON’T TAKE THE RISK ACCEPT JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR ASAP.
There is one sport in heaven: RUGBY
I may be one of the half percent of people who wonder why people compete here when in heaven there’s no competition. Competition is fun but becomes mean and destructive in this life for the most part. I don’t think people would ever be interested in playing chess in heaven. Love will overwhelm any idea of competition.