Praying to win: reflections on the involvement of God in the outcomes of sport

Abstract

This article applies to sport the question: to what extent is God involved in the outcomes of worldly affairs? It examines Lincoln Harvey’s assertion that sport is one unique area of creation in which God has left the outcomes entirely up to us, as a ‘liturgical celebration of our contingency’. Not entirely satisfied with this answer, I take up concepts from Kathryn Tanner’s work to try to arrive at a solution wherein God’s providential care over all worldly affairs is maintained but with sufficient care so as not to imagine God choosing one team over another during every sporting event.