A Theology of "Play"

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Do you have one?

Do we need one?

Do you even care?

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This is the subject of a fascinating book by Robert K. Johnston, entitled, "The Christian at Play."

Here is Johnston's description of play:

I would understand play as that activity which is freely and spontaneously entered into, but which, once begun, has its own design, its own rules or order, which must be followed so that the play activity may continue. The player is called into play by a potential co-player and/or play object, and while at play, treats other players and/or "playthings" as personal, creating with them a community that can be characterized by "I-Thou" rather than "I-It" relationships. This play has a new time (a playtime) and a new space (a playground) which function as "parentheses" in the life and world of the player. The concerns of everyday life come to a temporary standstill in the mind of the player, and the boundaries of his or her world are redefined. Play, to be play, must be entered into without outside purpose; it cannot be connected with a material interest or ulterior motive, for then the boundaries of the playground and the limits of the playtime are violated. But though play is an end in itself, it can nevertheless have several consequences. Chief among these are the joy and release, the personal fulfillment, the remembering of our common humanity, and the presentiment of the sacred, which the player sometimes experiences in and through the activity. One's participation in the adventure of playing, even given the risk of injury or defeat, finds resolution at the end of the experience, and one re-enters ongoing life in a new spirit of thanksgiving and celebration. The player is a changed individual because of the playtime, his or her life having been enlarged beyond the workaday world. (p. 34)

Johnston devotes a good portion of his book, analyzing views of play from the writings of Sam Keen, Jurgen Moltmann, Peter Berger, and C.S. Lewis.  Something Johnston highlighted about C.S. Lewis really stuck out with me:

In Lewis's view, however, Joy is not only the player's experience.  It is also a voice 'from the world's end' calling him --- also... Play having opened him up to the possibility of relating directly to Joy itself, Lewis later found that Joy to be fully actualized in his personal experience with Jesus Christ.  Lewis ends Surprised by Joy by relating, very simply, this second-order experience of Joy: 'I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning.  When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did' (p. 77).

Johnston goes on to investigate the biblical model for play, drawing heavily from the Old Testament -- especially from Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, as well as the reoccurring themes of festival, dance, sabbath, and hospitality.  His conclusion is that:

The evidence for "play" in the Bible is extensive.  Yet we have for the most part failed to recognize it or act upon it because our work-dominated culture has biased our interpretation...We have mistakenly interpreted the Song of Songs to be about God's love for his people, unable to consider that it could actually be a song in praise of lovers at play. We have limited the Sabbath to that necessary pause that refreshes, failing to understand its prior rationale as reflecting the pattern of God himself.  We have failed to note the playful counterpoint that festival and feasting, music and dance provide -- and are meant to provide... We have failed to see their function to be that of surprising us with joy.  We have understood the Old Testament custom of hospitality solely in ethical terms, viewing it as necessary for a traveler's well-being but failing to note also its wider context in play... As Christians we have failed to let Scripture speak authoritatively to us about our need to play (pp. 123-124).

What came to mind as I read through Johnston's book is that the Church in general has not only abandoned the legitimacy of and need for play in it's theology and practice, but in its neglect, has only confirmed why Christians have been stereotyped by the culture at large as being uptight and repressed.

Therefore, not only is it not a sin to have fun -- but play may be just what today's world needs to see us do!

Is ANYONE addressing the missional value of play?  Maybe it's time we do so.

Comments

[Sivin]

this is so so good thanks

[tammy]

i try to have fun all the time. sometimes i have too much fun for other people's comfort. however, most of my fun is tied in with work of various sorts. so is that really play? not according to this book.

[Karl Thienes]

I'm suprised Johnston didn't mention Josef Pieper's classic, "Leisure: The Basis of Culture"

[John W. Morehead]

I just found this post as I did a search on theology of play. I touched on this on my blog in relation to Burning Man Festival, and incorporated a section of it in my graduate thesis on the topic. Keep up this line of thinking!