Bloomfield, Anne. “Muscular
Christian or Mystic? Charles Kingsley Reappraised,” International Journal
of the History of Sport Vol. 11, No. 2 (August 1994): 172-190.
In her treatment of Kingsley’s role in the history of human movement,
sport, and aesthetic gymnastics, Bloomfield examines his mystical nature
and his changing views on the religiosity of body, mind and soul.
She also hypothesizes that Kingsley’s views were influenced by the work
of the Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). She concludes
that Kingsley’s work in human movement must be viewed as being more significant
than his commonly accepted role in Muscular Christianity. “Kingsley
possessed a deep commitment to the mystical aspects of Christianity as
well as its physical elements, and in terms of the philosophical development
of human movement this accords him a place uniting two important branches
of human movement, the sports ethic and the dance ethic, both of which
currently stand distanced and bifurcated at polemical points within a common
aesthetic field” (189).
Muscular
Christianity; Swedenborg,
Emanuel; Sport;
Athleticism;
Sexuality. |
