The other night I caught the end of a UFC fight on TV that was, well, consistently “high energy.” Both fighters just wouldn’t give up. Punches, kicks, holds; all of the pieces that make for a well-rounded match were there. The audience was captivated to say the least. Not to mention, by the end of the match it looked like one of the guys had lost enough blood to cover an entire Red Cross drive.
After the winner was announced, Joe Rogan (UFC spokesperson) hurried into the ring and excitedly pronounced, “If that wasn’t entertaining for you, you must be dead.”* And so this got me thinking about our culture of violence. I’m not going to go on about how detrimental video games, toy guns etc. are, but there’s something unique to professional fighting that crosses the lines of the “make-believe” cops & robbers games you’d play as a kid. I mean, this is the real thing. Two guys beating each others brains out! Some people say MMA has recently become an even bigger industry than boxing. And it seems to make sense; it’s more raw & allows for a more diverse way to do damage to your opponent.
Is this a healthy direction our culture is headed in? MMA seems to be the modern equivalent of the Roman colosseum, minus the “fighting to the death.” In defense, supporters of the sport will say that there are strict rules to protect fighters. So the comparison to ancient gladiator games is not fair. But the principle seems to be the same: watch two guys inflict damage to each other, & be entertained. Is this something Christians should be celebrating?
Food for thought: consider the similarities between this issue and others you may have used “your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit” as an argument against a particular habit.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”
Romans 14:17 (NIV)
*Something along those lines.
I don’t get why men like it! My husband watched that fight too …It must be a guy thing.
meh, and next you’ll say that video games that have blood in them are bad? so maybe we should all play with barbies? or only watch G rated shows?
an interesting question comes to mind: if at a church bbq a soccer game was going on, do you think Jesus would play too?
where do you draw the line about what Jesus would or wouldn’t do? (i think this turned into a legalistic rambling)
I don’t think that it matters if Jesus would play soccer or not, the message that fighting, such as MMA, sends out to the viewer is what should. Everyone has a calling, some people raise money by playing sports for charity. There’s nothing wrong with that. The idea the fighting under limitations and restrictions such as a sport is a OK I think should raise the question.
Flav, you write, “meh, and next you’ll say that video games that have blood in them are bad? so maybe we should all…”
But, if you didn’t already realize, in the original entry, the writer states:
“I’m not going to go on about how detrimental video games, toy guns etc. are, but there’s something unique to professional fighting that crosses the lines of the ‘make-believe’ cops & robbers games you’d play as a kid. I mean, this is the real thing. Two guys beating each others brains out!”
I don’t want to get into a debate about all of the stuff you said, but it appears to me that you are simply justifying yourself (trying to) instead of trying to find a real solution (if “solution” can even be used here at all).
Flav,
As Jessireebob suggested, I would not say those things are bad, nor that we should play with barbies. The only issue I raised was professional fighting.
Furthermore, though I highly doubt Jesus in his glorified state would kick around a soccer ball or stop by my church BBQ for some ribs, I’m almost positive that while on earth he did participate in those types of activities.
I think the question should not be posed as “WWJD?”, rather, What would Jesus want ME to do?