Science in Christian Perspective Physical Fitness and the Course
of Life Edmund R. Woodside 660 Forest Avenue Pasadena,
California 91103 From: JASA 34 March 1982): 37-39. Athletic
contests along with the corresponding competitive emphasis on
the physical fitness that of necessity accompanies them have
become a way of life in contemporary America. Being in good
condition is considered a basic essential of better living. This
point can be extended into that unique feature of the body of
the Christian, namely, that of being the temple of the Holy
Spirit. In fact, in the New Testament, these two phases, the
physical and the spiritual are combined, with the physical
either leading into its spiritual counterpart, or the physical
being so described that it is in some degree an example of such.
In doing this, the New Testament authors, and in particular Paul
as the apostle to the Gentiles, have drawn from a long cultural
history of physical fitness and prowess exhibited in widely
publicized and attended contests. The