Sunny Side: Christians Give Glory to God at Olympics Despite Hostility
Anti-Christian hostility may have been evident at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, but many Christian athletes still found ways to worship and give glory to God.
As is now well-known, drag queens mocked the Last Supper in the opening ceremony. But the hostilities didn’t stop there.
Report: Jesus Depiction Not Allowed
Olympic officials prevented Brazilian surfer Joรฃo Chianca from using a surfboard with the image of the Christ the Redeemer statue painted on it because “Christ is a religious figure.” That’s according to a post on Twitter by @DiedSuddenly_, an account that publicizes COVID vax-related deaths. The post says the surfer shared this information in a deleted Instagram story and appeared to have complied with the rule. The Stream was unable to reach Chianca to confirm the report.
The opening ceremony wasn’t the only anti-Christian message sent to the world by the Olympic committee.
Two weeks before the games, Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was ordered to remove the image of Jesus Christ from his surfboard, or be barred from competing.
Chianca commentedโฆ pic.twitter.com/FSZdAPTUOY
โ . (@DiedSuddenly_) July 27, 2024
Report: Catholic Mass and Islamic Head Coverings Banned
Additionally, the Polish publication tysol.pl offered a troubling report on Wednesday. As summarized by the Catholic Arena, the Polish team chaplain, Father Edward Pleล, had served as an Olympic chaplain 11 times, but said this was the first year the IOC banned him from performing Mass in the Olympic village for the athletes outside of COVID.
“During the previous Games, it was possible to celebrate Mass in the Olympic village,” Pleล said in comments translated to English. “Now, however, the possibility of celebrating the Eucharist has been blocked. I don’t know who came up with such an absurd idea.”
The anti-religious hostility in France affected Muslims athletes too. One female basketball player, Diaba Konate, had previously won silver in the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics on the French national youth team. But that was before she started wearing hijab. Due to a 2022 French Basketball Federation rule change, she now found she was unwelcome to even attempt to prove her merit to compete in the 2024 Olympics unless she violated her religious conviction and removed her head covering. She was effectively banned from representing her home country in the Olympics as the host nation perpetrated religious discrimination.
Athletes Still Worshipped Jesus
Despite the heavy hand of French officials and the IOC, Christian athletes worshipped God publicly, with those from several countries gathering around a piano one day to sing and worship.
Th Olympics may have gone woke, but God is moving with the athletes as they worship before they compete!
You canโt stop the move of God! 🔥#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/AiujI2VsT4
โ Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) August 11, 2024
Tatjana Smith, a South African swimmer who won a gold medal, wore a shirt that listed those who motivated her under the heading, “BECAUSE OF YOU, FOR YOU.” First on her list: “GOD โข Jesus โข Holy Spirit.”
South Africaโs gold medalist in swimming at the Paris Olympics, Tatjana Smith, a devout Christian, shows off her shirt displaying the names of those who helped her achieve this accomplishment. The list starts with: โGodโJesusโHoly Spiritโ
Info: The South African pic.twitter.com/L4iaCnmwFq
โ Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) August 1, 2024
Yemisi Ogunleye, a German shot putter who won gold, broke out in a hymn during her press conference.
Olympic gold medalist Yemisi Ogunleye praises Jesus during her press conference by singing a worship hymn 🙏 pic.twitter.com/PdPJvSeRhz
โ Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) August 11, 2024
She sang, “The devil really had me, but Jesus came and grabbed me. He held me close, so I wouldn’t let go.”
Aliya Kuykendall is a staff writer for The Stream. You can follow her on X @AliyaKuykendall and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.
