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The ancient Olympics lasted more than a millennium before they were stopped by\u2014you guessed it\u2014Christians. It\u2019s true: In AD 390, Emperor Theodosius I criticized the games as pagan and banned them. Ironically or not, faith also played a role in the beginning of the modern Olympics. One of the theologies undergirding the resurrection of the Olympics was \u201cmuscular Christianity,\u201d a philosophy of \u201cdeveloping leaders with moral integrity and grit while also being physically strong,\u201d said Nicholas Watson, a professor of sport and social justice at York St John University in the United Kingdom. \u201c[Modern Olympics father] Baron de Coubertin\u2019s vision and philosophy for the Olympics came by welding together ideas from the philosophy of the ancient Olympics in Greece and muscular Christianity that was birthed in the UK,\u201d Watson said. This week on Quick to Listen, Watson joined associate digital media producer Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss Western Christian beliefs about exercise in the 19th century, why world peace was a goal sought by the Olympics\u2019 creators, and the countercultural narrative presented by the Special Olympics.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices