In Theory: Letting the waves wash over them
A Nov. 2 article that appeared on worldreligionnews.com focused on the spiritual experiences shared by people who are religious and people who like to surf, including feelings of “wholeness, giving your physical body up to a higher power, and baptismal splash into refreshing water.”
Q: Is it fair to say, as the article’s headline suggests, that religion, God and spirituality could all have connections to surfing? Have you had religious experiences yourself, in surfing or in other sports activities?
One might argue that drugs produce similar physical and mental effects for some people as surfing does for others. But that doesn’t make them necessarily spiritual or even good. Many cults rely upon the effects of physical stimuli (walking on hot coals, severe deprivation of the body, situations of severe danger, etc.) to produce altered states in the psyche, but that’s just another way of manipulating the chemicals in our brains and not authentic spirituality. I wonder if that’s a large part of why some folks equate surfing with spirituality.
It’s a profound (yet a common and ages-old) error to confuse God with his creation. The Bible calls that idolatry. And that’s the danger of taking these experiences too far. God created the earth and the waves and tides, and man was able to invent surfboards and enjoy God’s creation. But to say that man can be spiritually complete with experiences apart from a relationship with the God Who made Him, and instead seek fulfillment in his activities and accomplishments is idolatry in its purest form. What a lie Satan could perpetrate on people with this: “You don’t need to go to church or pray or read the Bible or live a righteous life — just go surfing and feel good!”
I enjoy exercise and the physical and mental effects it produces afterward. I thank God for the ability and strength he has given me. But probably my greatest ongoing religious experience with sports is praying for my son every time he pitches. And God seems to hear my prayers, too, because he’s doing great, and we give God the honor for it.
Pastor Jon Barta
Burbank
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Time spent in the sea often instills a feeling of peace and tranquillity and, certainly, the power and glory of God is reflected in nature. Ancient prophets often climbed to remote mountaintops to commune with the Lord. The author of Psalm 8 saw his majesty in the moon and stars.
That said, surfing isn’t a religion nor can our interactions with nature supplant prayer, worship, scripture study and sacred covenants. When we do these things, we are very specifically seeking direction from the Lord. These activities can lead to a spiritual experience that far exceeds what may be offered from time spent among the waves.
I can see the analogy that some are making between entering the sea and stepping into the waters of baptism. The difference from a Christian perspective — and it is profound — is that when we are baptized, we make covenants to follow Christ. We agree that we will do our best to follow his example of kindness, love and sacrifice. As we do this, we trust that his atonement will compensate for our weaknesses and failures. Based on the comments by surfing advocates, a morning in the water doesn’t involve these commitments.
Religion should bring us joy and happiness. However, scripture teaches us that the path isn’t always easy. Abraham, for example, didn’t ascend Mount Moriah to enjoy the sunrise. I believe activities such as surfing can help us appreciate God’s creation, but we must not assume that they can replace more direct and valuable means of feeling his spirit.
Michael White
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
La Crescenta
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I am not a surfer and, even with the inspiration of “the surfer priest” of Huntington Beach, I am unlikely to become one at my age. But I can identify with the feeling of oneness with my spiritual self that many surfers describe. It is just that surfing is not my inspiration. So I would not say that surfing is a religion but simply a means to connect with the divine, in whatever mode that might appear. And there are many ways that such inspiration may be found.
For me, the experience of connecting with the spiritual can come in a variety of forms: viewing a vibrant sunset, experiencing quiet times of meditation, walking on a mountain path, listening to a beautiful piece of music, feeling the touch of a baby’s small hand, joining in a tender embrace, participating in a worship service. All of these experiences, and many more, can provide me with a sense of wonder and oneness with the “interdependent web of all existence” that I would call God.
So I am glad that surfers seem to have found a way to be inspired and connected to something within and beyond themselves. My hope is that other people will find such a connection to that sense of oneness in whatever way they may discover it, whether they call it “religion” or not. And then, I hope that those people will find a way to put that sense of connection into action in their lives.
I believe that when we are able to experience a deep interdependence with our world in all its variety, we can recognize our responsibility to do all that we can to preserve and nurture that bounty for all those people and creatures who share it with us. That is the religion I believe in and practice in all the ways I can, as well as I can — whether I am a surfer or not.
Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Verdugo Hills
La Crescenta
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“Religion, God and spirituality” do indeed connect to surfing, and it’s because God created nature, and surfers are part and parcel of that. And they often get very meditative before dropping into a monster swell that has the strength to slam them straight to the ocean floor. I never board-surfed, but I used to love wilderness backpacking. Hiking without trails, cooking over fire, breathing thin air, staring at stars in the night and keeping calm when bears or lions traipsed through our morning camp, all gave me the exhilarating sense of earthiness and appreciation for God. It was spiritual, and I’m guessing it’s what surfers feel, or rock-climbers, or hang-gliders, hunters, skiers or any enthusiast of nature sports. People who love these do them repeatedly, “religiously,” if you will.
However, nature is not God. Waves are not God; sharks, sea gulls, and ocean breezes are not God. These give witness to their creator, but they didn’t create themselves, and they mustn’t be perceived together as bona fide religion. The Bible says God’s “eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” and there are, and were, dire consequences for those who “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:20 and 25).
So when someone says that surfing is their religion, or similarly, golf, then I know theirs is a pagan faith in Mother Nature; idolatry. They don’t know God or really care to, they simply enjoy playing on his property. It’s all pastime stuff that doesn’t ask what God requires, unless it’s where one goes to contemplate that very thing and where appreciation and credit is duly given. Remember, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). Hang Loose!
Rev. Bryan Griem
Montrose Community Church
Montrose
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I would say that we all seek out refreshing experiences that impart a feeling of physical wholeness while simultaneously taking us mentally beyond the realm of our daily existence. It is no stretch to recognize that believers would tend to see and feel these moments through the lens of their religion.
“Homo Ludens (Man the Player),” a landmark book by Johan Huizinga, points out that play is a big part of human culture and further that diversion was necessary for civilization’s formation and for our continuation as a species organized into societies.
We seek ecstasy via avenues as numerous as there are people, and equally diverse. I think that sports and fitness activities are among the most popular routes because of the physical component. Our organs benefit from more oxygen than when we are sedentary and our brains are flooded with endorphins, which WebMD tells us reduces the perception of pain and in general triggers a positive feeling in our body. I have never surfed, but I am prepared to accept that surfing can deliver this legal, unrestricted happy juice as well as any other pastime.
Much as I enjoy walking, swimming and yoga, they are not religious experiences for me. Motivated mostly by wanting to save our local course without adding more meetings to my life, I recently resumed golfing after quitting in humiliation decades ago. It remains frustrating — they had to call it “golf” because all the other four-letter words were taken. For a brief moment after sinking a 25-foot putt the other day even I flirted with the possibility that a divine course marshal guided my stroke.
Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose