I’ve written previously about a new brand of legalism advocated by Christian fitness enthusiasts, as though a certain definition of physical fitness were nearest to godliness. I write again here with a desire to question what the Gospel has to do with this and with other ongoing miscalculations about the physical body continuing to be… Read More The Self-Righteousness of Christian Physical Fitness (or Avoidance)
I have written previously about my disdain for a new legalism imposed by some Christians on our health and fitness pursuits, as though anything makes us acceptable before God other than the blood of Christ. My intent was to safeguard the Gospel and free people from thinking that they are lesser if they do not… Read More Pleasing God in Our Fitness, Part 2
Having established that mankind was created “very good,” in the image of God, overflowing out of the infinite joy of the Trinity, we must start to peel back the layers to understand why this does not square with our current experience, why the physical body often does not seem to aid our hedonistic pursuit of… Read More The Fall of Mankind and Consequences for the Physical Life -Toward a Theology of Health and Fitness, Part 5
They were both rich. One had known and kept all the commandments from his youth. The other made his living off of stealing from his neighbors. Jesus asked the “good” one to “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me,” Luke 18:22.… Read More A Scandalous Manger Scene
I binged. I restricted. I binged. I restricted. While this destructive pattern ruled my behavior for so long, there was a far more destructive pattern buried behind all the food and famine. I binged. I restricted His grace. I binged. I restricted His grace. I binged. I restricted His grace. Caught up in a frenzied… Read More Craving Confession
For your reading pleasure as an addendum to the previous post, since the poem “Invictus” is common in fitness circles. Ironically, the author of the poem is dead (Full Stop). Below is a Christian response written by Dorothy Day in the early 1900’s, which may be helpful for Christians trying to make sense of their… Read More “Invictus” vs “Conquered”
Pleasing God in Our Fitness, Part 1 Can we then please God with our health and fitness? My beef is not so much with the fact that we can please God in our bodies, because the New Testament makes it clear that we do indeed please God, which we will get to. My beef is… Read More Pleasing God in our Fitness, Part 1
My hands fall into my lap as I finish playing, “I Surrender All” for the congregational “Hymn of Response”. We would always end the hymn singing the chorus acapella. As my voice joins the congregation, my heart is a mixture of hope and doubt. Why do I continue singing this song throughout my life not… Read More I Surrender All
The Goodness and Goal of Creation Before turning to the Fall’s impact on our theological discussion, we must pause to re-emphasize the inherent goodness of creation. Why do this? Because inherent to the theology of fitness and health is this realization. To establish the inherent goodness of creation is itself to lay the foundation for… Read More The Goodness and Goal of Creation – Toward a Theology of Health and Fitness, Part 4
Hearts long to be home. They yearn to belong. They want to be found. But things tend to get complicated quickly, when our hearts pull us in directions that promise all these things, and yet miserably fail to deliver, and we find ourselves on yet another goose chase. But the goose chase is good. For… Read More An Augustinian Insight on Sheep
Every Square Inch Fitness 