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The Triangle of Empire: Sport, Religion, and Imperialism in Puerto Rico's YMCA, 1898–1926
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 October 2017
Extract
In 1891, Luther H. Gulik, a prominent member of the international leadership of the YMCA of the United States, established the triangle as the YMCA symbol. He saw the triangle as a symbol imbued with Christian beliefs that would become the spearhead of a worldwide missionary movement. About the Triangle, Gulik wrote:
The triangle stands . . . for the symmetrical man, each part developed with reference to the whole, and not merely with reference to itself. . . . What authority have we for believing that this triangle idea is correct? It is scriptural. . . . Such statements as, “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all they heart and soul and mind and strength,” indicate . . . the scriptural view . . . that the service of the Lord includes the whole man. The words, which in the Hebrew and Greek are translated “strength,” refer in both cases entirely to physical strength.
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References
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102. Ibid., 7.
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116. William Coxhead, Annual Administration Report for the Year Ending September 30, 1921, 2, KFYMCAA, Y.USA.9-2-26, YMCA IWPR, Box 1, CRL, 1920-1929.
117. William Coxhead to George Babcock, December 8, 1925, KFYMCAA, Y.USA.9-2-26, YMCA IWPR, Box 1, CRL, 1920-1929.
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