Hmmmm…. it’s an interesting morning so far. Most of my life I’ve avoided white shirts of any kind…. because they end up being evidence of what I had for lunch. This weekend I got to buy a couple of sweet button up shirts, and one of them is white with a pattern on it. Within 20 minutes of having it on, I have spilled two big blobs of coffee down the center of it. Great. I digress…
After just running a Google search on “Jesus and MMA,” I found an interesting thread at ProElite, who’s tagline is “empowering the fighting community.” And what do you know… there’s a thread that’s named exactly that, “Jesus and MMA.”
You may be asking yourself why I’m searching this. Yesterday the latest copy of ESPN the mag came out and the cover story was on Kimbo Slice, a once homeless guy turned bouncer turned YouTube sensation turned MMA fighter. His story is quite remarkable, but one can’t help but get the impression that it’s a little doctored up to make him out to be a better guy than he is. So I read the article on him last night, and I couldn’t help but making my way to the internet to watch the infamous fighting videos that made him the most watched person on YouTube.
This guy doesn’t mess around. He quickly puts guys on the ground, leaving their faces mauled as if he were using some sort of weapon. I watched a couple of the original videos (I don’t care for that remix crap people do) before turning it off and slipping into bed. Ashley was half asleep but I had to tell her about my adventures on YouTube. She quickly responded by lashing out at me about why me or anyone in the world would want to watch something so grotesque. If you know me, you know that I’m not actually a big fan of MMA or UFC or whatever. I have deep questions about the relationship of violence and being a follower of Jesus. Which brings me to the ProElite forum. Check out this t-shirt:
Jesus “didn’t tap?” Wonderful. Turning the event of the Cross into a virtual MMA match up. (sarcasm… please see sarcasm…). Check out some wonderful quotes:
“I wouldn’t take a 10 billion dollar bet against Jesus.”
“Yeah great T-shirt! My thing is that MMA is a sport, albeit a vicious one. MMA fighters are athletes and I believe that as long as athletes compete with fairness, compassion for their opponents and give all glory to God then it’s all good for a Christian fighter. However, the sideshow T & A and stupid hating is something that Christian fighters can take a stand against. Also they must be careful who they have as sponsers. Christian fighters WILL be held accountable (by God) for their actions and the actions of those they represent.”
“There are a lot of neat tees for sale on ebay under ‘Christian tees’.”
“I imagine that Jesus wouldn’t be thrilled about MMA, but he wouldn’t exactly condemn it either. He would treat the fighters with respect and compassion like everyone else. I’m sure if he had a choice, he’d choose being around fighters than tax collectors any day. I imagine He’d choose the company of a fighter like georges st. pierre (nice, respectful, considerate) than a lot of priests who like to judge everyone.”
I’m dumbfounded. Oh, and the comment about the t-shirts has no relevance but I thought it was funny. So collectively, most of these quotes see justification in beating the crap out of people. To the glory of God, of course. And then this last cat obviously thinks Jesus would prefer an MMA guy to a tax collector… although we know Jesus chose to hang out with tax collectors. I think he misremembered a moment from Vacation Bible School. I agree that Jesus and St. Pierre might be friends, I even think he would hang out with Kimbo. But the issue at hand is not whether Jesus would value them as people (which he would have), the issue is whether or not Jesus would have been ringside or paying PPV or endorsing it. And I don’t think he would. He loved tax collectors but didn’t exactly give them the thumbs up for ripping off Jewish citizens. He wouldn’t give Kimbo the thumbs up for crushing some dudes’ noses.
I really don’t think all forms of martial arts are “bad.” I think there’s beauty (hence the word art) in some of the traditional styles of self-defense. Honestly, my personal opinion is that there are better ways for followers of Jesus to invest their time and money. And, again, to be honest–my opinion on this could be changed. I would love to hear someone make a good argument for the God-honoring possibilities of this “sport.”
What an interesting article; you used my post on where to find Christian tee shirts! The Christianity angle appeared on the ProElite site after a lot of “christians” bashed MMA as not being an appropriate sport for the “God Fearing Sports Fan” to watch. Apparently it is much holier to watch baseball and the NFL or MHL than to watch all the mma heathens bash in each others’ brains. Personally, as a sports fan 62 years of age and female to boot, I do not find MMA to be an anti-Christian sport. I do find a lot that is objectional about those proclaiming to be “good Christians” (what other kind are there?) telling the rest of us we are going to hell for loving the sport of MMA. So, other than my cute remark about the shirts, what do you think about that?
Hi Dorothy,
The shirts were funny. I thought they needed to be exposed to as many people as possible :).
I think you make some good points. I hope my writing didn’t come off telling people they’re going to hell for loving MMA. I think there’s unhealthy allegiances by people of all faiths to sports in general.
That being said, I think my primary stance is that I’m unconvinced, as a follower of Jesus (and I think I do that poorly most of the time…. I guess a “bad Christian” can exist), that it’s the best use of my time, money, and energy.
I don’t think anyone can judge MMA or any other sport as anti-Christian. I don’t think it’s utterly ridiculous. A big part of what I wrote today had to do with Kimbo Slice and the typical sports write up of “he acts like a bad guy but we found out he’s really a saint” deal. I watched videos on Youtube where this guy came after dudes who had given up and bashed their heads in from behind. I don’t think there’s any way to call that a real “sport.”
Here’s the problem I do have with MMA, but I don’t think it’s exclusive to the fighting business. There’s a highly pervasive bad a** attitude that seems to go along with the sport and brand. I think Jesus taught humility, peace, and equality, so saying that you’re going to “fight for the glory of God” doesn’t exactly work out. And to be theologically correct–Jesus DID tap out. And he taught submission and non-violence.
Again, I don’t want to take an exclusive stance here, neither towards Christians/non-Christians or the MMA. Just how I see it playing out.
Geeze Petey…now you’ve done it. I guess you might as well tell us to throw away our television (hmmm…that reminds me of a RHCP song).
I can understand the debate going on right now about Christians and MMA. As an actual cage fighter, and a Christian, I can only tell you my point of view. I know there are some people out there representing MMA in a very bad way. Some are rude, disrespectful, and arrogant. I’m very sorry about that, and I hope to help change that about MMA. However, there are many christian MMA fighters who are humble in victory and defeat. Kimbo Slice is a baby Christian… what do you expect from him? How did you act when you first became a Christian? Let the guy grow in the Lord and make a few mistakes. Ok, enough about Kimbo.. back to my main point. I love cage fighting because it is a very challenging sport. The training that goes into it is huge. I never get in the cage with anger or a desire to bash someone’s brains in, I get in the cage excited to compete in a sport that I love. There are rules and serious injuries are very rare. I just see this as an opportunity to be a light to the MMA community. I really don’t see how football or boxing or wrestling can be ok but MMA is not. The rules in MMA keep the fighters safe… again serious injuries are rare. I love Jesus Christ, and I am a follower of Him. I am also a cage fighter… oh, and a woman… so I’m sure there are those who don’t like woman in MMA either… but oh well. I’m doing what I love and prasing Jesus in victory and defeat.
Christianity & violence is something I struggle with, but so is Christianity & hatred or hypocrisy.
Boxing & Wrestling are one thing, but come on… football? If there’s violence in football, it’s the biproduct of the goal. The goal in football is not to beat up your opponent but to score more points than them. You don’t get points for hitting people harder. There are lots of teams that hit hard and rarely win. Lots of guys who hit hard and never make a tackle. Contact is allowed, and I would argue violent contact has only become common in the last 20 years. But again, the beauty in football is watching a QB hit a receiver in stride or a well executed running scheme, not in one person head butting the other or putting them into a headlock until they pass out.
I think women doing MMA is great…. and it’s conflicting, because I’m all about MMA as a form of exercise or expression.