JW's allowed to participate in school sports?

[Matthew9969]

Hello, I recently was involved in a discussion with a jw mom with kids who are involved with school sports. While I was growing up in a jw home, participation in school sports was a big no-no. Has that changed?

[The Librarian]

I agree with your concern on this:

Here are some of my previous posts:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/102700846623/is-it-wrong-for-a-christian-brother-to-enjoy

Here is someone who was not allowed to play sports as a JW:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/92350221863/michael-samthe-football-player-who-came-out-as

Here is someone who left sports to be a better JW:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/113374503613/brother-jason-worilds-nfl-player-quits-football

Someone who was counseled not to:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/105936873303/anaisiyana-shares-with-us-my-life-seemed-to-be

 

Can a "Christian" truly enjoy sports? Check this post out:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/105188231763/what-would-jesus-do-should-a-christian-enjoy

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/102700846623/is-it-wrong-for-a-christian-brother-to-enjoy

Yet some choose to idolize sports figures:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/103015077066/jehovahs-witnesses-announcements-of-deaths-and

 

And this is the official opinion of the GB:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/137034891278/i-have-some-counsel-for-you-brothers-about

 

I hope that is clear.....

Agape!

[The Librarian]

oh and then there is this ESPN reporter:

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/131839578048/sportykev-shares-with-us-as-a-sports-reporter-i

[Evacuated]

 

3 hours ago, Matthew9969 said:

While I was growing up in a jw home, participation in school sports was a big no-no

Young people in my congregation had great games of football with Bethel workers over the years, even in the Bethel grounds, so I suppose, like many optional and non-essential recreational matters, it depends a bit on parental and local attitudes.

This seems to be a current view.

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/teenagers/ask/sports-what-should-i-know/

[TrueTomHarley]

49 minutes ago, Gone Fishing said:

While I was growing up in a jw home, participation in school sports was a big no-no

If a family head makes rules for his family over such things - and many have - is it so horrendous to obey? It is only for a period of three or four years, which will pass soon enough. Must everyone be obsessed with short-term considerations?

Having said that, when a certain young brother wanted to join his school's golf team, his father, a local elder, assessed his son's spirituality and told him: 'just do it. Don't advertise - just do it if you want.'

Of course, golf is probably the least 'team' of team sports. Some people think it is not a sport at all.

[JW Insider]

I think it's about the same as it has been for decades. In the US, sports in school were once provided in a gym / PE class, which has become rarer, so that the only way to participate in some schools is to join a team where competition with other schools comes into play, along with the likelihood that practice and games will interfere with meetings. We have less meetings, shorter assemblies, and a bit more flexibility in our schedules on the one hand. On the other hand, kids have less opportunities to participate in sports without a larger time commitment. Balance is a difficult thing.

[Evacuated]

2 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

  2 hours ago, Gone Fishing said:

While I was growing up in a jw home, participation in school sports was a big no-no

Actually, this was Matthew 9969 who said this. I did not grow up in a jw home.

[Noble Berean]

I think a lot of non-religious people do not want their children participating in sports like football and hockey. Too many reports of concussions that cause permanent brain damage and pain. As Christians, school sports just take away too much time from our faith. Coaches demand practices whenever they see fit. That doesn't mean JWs can't play sports on their own time. In fact, many JWs I know organize intramurals.

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

I think a great sporting event for children would be the sextathalon ( which has nothing to do with sex...) 1.) First you jump out of an airplane at 25,000 feet above the ocean, land in the water, and 2.) swim 11 miles to shore, 3.) run 16 miles along an uphill slope 4.) fight an angry bear with only your diver's knife from the swim, 5.) Read Robert A. Heinlein's book "Starship Troopers", and 6.) take a comprehensive exam on the contents. Then breakfast, and a nap.  

Sounds to me a GREAT way to get involved with sports without the evils of competing against other humans, as we have been warned against so many times.