Attention Christian Triathletes! (Page 2)

Probably...you would just think that a faith-based missionary organization would spell it out on thier site.

I must preface this by letting you know I'm an ordained minister, so I have a lot of opinions when it comes to matters of faith.

If they were selling energy bars and tagged them with something like "Christian Power Bars" or "Energy from Christ" bars, then I think you would have grounds to criticize them for using Jesus to make a buck. There is no ministry in that.

My company is a for-profit business, as well as a ministry. We seek to make a profit by doing good service for our clients, and we pray to impact them for the kingdom while they are clients. We take money from our profits to fund other ministries, too. There is no conflict of interest there. No place in Scripture does it say Christians are not allowed to make money, nor that they should live in poverty. That's Buddism.

If these guys are making a profit while forwarding a ministry, then I say congratulations. It's when the profit comes at the expense of the ministry that it becomes a sin.

trifan76 - 2005-08-10 2:44 PM I haven't had a chance to look over the complete web site yet so I am hoping someone can answer this for me. Do you have to be a Christian to participate in these events? I don't know why someone who was not would want to, I was just curious about their rules on that. Thanks for the info!

I would seriously doubt it, esp. since ministry is just as well to non-Christians. Christianity isn't an exclusive club...we're always looking for new members .

What would your motivation be to do a Christian tri if you're a non-Christian? Well...it's a triathlon. Don't triathletes do triathlons? I've done a race sponsored by the Kiwanis club, but I'm not a Kiwani (Kiwanisian?).

It isn't unreasonable to assume that a race done "4god" and put on by a group with a specific theology is aimed at those who share that theology. A gathering of  the choir so to speak.  Seems like a good idea to me. There are certainly worse ways for folks of a like mind to gather. 

Wildflower would be the penultimate example of a race for all comers by a for-profit with a decidely Christian bent. It seems to be doing ok with all kinds of people.

When I lived in Atlanta, I swam Masters with the Atlanta Rainbow Trout...a GLBT club. I'm not gay, and they had an inclusive policy. Why did I swim with them? Simple: they had a great coach (Bruce Hayes...Olympic Gold Medal in '84 as the anchor of the "Grossbusters" 800 free relay), a great facility (Georgia Tech aquatic center, site of the '96 Olympic swimming) and convenient times. Not once did anyone try to "recruit" or "convert" me. Sure they had some weird stuff they did (they liked to wear costumes...a lot), but they were swimmers and I'm a swimmer, so we all had something in common. I suspect the Tri4God tirathlon is the same way...lots of people with something (if not everything) in common. Maybe not all Christians, but certainly all triathletes.

Jim, I'm sure you're right. My point was simply that it would not be unreasonable based solely on the name of the race and the organizing group for non-Christians to get the impression that the race was aimed primarily at Christians.

Your point about the Masters group is well taken, but doesn't apply here unless the group was officially advocating that people switch their sexual orientation. The tri4god web site does state the following:

This is a good thing. They're up front about their good intentions. It could be offputting to someone who doesn't want to be evangelized at a race, but they can find another race if that's the case.

I just used it as a personal example of my experience with a group of like-minded, but not exclusive individuals.  I have no doubt that Tri4God would love for you to become a Christian as a result of your exposure to them, but I would also be surprised if they actively tried to convert you at an event.  Conversely, the poster I was refering to earlier asked in effect why a non-Christian would want to do a tri put on by a Christian organization. My response was that it was a triathlon. That fits with my example (why would a straight guy wan to swim with GLBT swimmers? Because they are swimmers).

I obviously hadn't read the post you were replying to closely enough and responded somewhat out of context. My bad.

No blood, no foul.

Ummm there's no place in the Pali cannon that says Buddhists must live in poverty or are not allowed to make money. Buddhists are supposed to be IN the world, not retreat from the world.

Buddhists are invited to see the poverty of their cravings. In fact, Buddha chastened the ascetics for their lifestyle because even being ascetic is a form of craving.

As a minister, I understand your desire to not have your faith distorted. Please understand that the same applies to those of us who hold different beliefs.

I can't resist weighing in on this point.  I'm not an evangelical Christian, but I know the Bible pretty well, and my studies of folklore and anthropology have helped me understand a lot of belief systems better.

It always bothers me when people make statements about religious texts and beliefs without thorough knowledge of them. Often, to my surprise, even evangelical Christians have a poor knowledge of the Bible's contents and tend to get much of their information out of context, from preaching.

Not only is the statement above about poverty not an accurate represtation of Buddhism, it's not even an accurate statement about the Christian Bible. Points about poverty are addressed directly by Jesus in the Gospels, most particularly in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount. One very straightforward passage is quoted below:

²¹Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

    ²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

    ²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

    ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

    ²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."