The Mystical and Sublime in Extreme Sports: Experiences of Psychological Well-Being or Christian Revelation?

Summary

Extreme sports athletes sometimes describe experiences resembling mystical or sublime states, but a Christian theological analysis shows these are not genuine encounters with the Holy. Drawing on theologians like Richard Zaehner and scholars of religious experience, the article compares positive psychological states such as 'flow' with theistic mystical experiences from the Bible and Christian tradition. It also examines whether nature-person interactions in wilderness settings can evoke the sublime. The authors conclude that extreme sport does not provide access to the mystical realms described by figures like Rudolph Otto or St. John of the Cross.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the legitimacy of claims that athletes in extreme sports may encounter the mystical and sublime, when examined though a Christian theological lens. Drawing on the works of theologians and religious studies scholars – in particular, that of Richard Zaehner (1961) – and social scientists who have written on the topic of the mystical and sublime in sporting experience, the two major themes explored are first, the differences and similarities between positive psychological states commonly reported in extreme sport, for example the ‘flow’ experience, and theistic mystical experiences articulated in the bible and in Christian theology, and, secondly, the possibility of experiencing the sublime through the nature–person interaction in wilderness settings. As to whether extreme sport experience provides access to the mystical realms of the Holy that Rudolph Otto, St Paul, Jonathan Edwards and St John of the Cross refer to, our answer is an emphatic no. That said, we wish clea...

Tags