{"id":6633,"date":"2010-02-08T00:03:33","date_gmt":"2010-02-08T05:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/"},"modified":"2010-02-08T00:03:33","modified_gmt":"2010-02-08T05:03:33","slug":"jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"MMA.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>I read this piece by James-Michael Smith<\/a> the other day, and I thought it was so good I lifted a couple paragraphs and would love to have a discussion here: What do you think of \u201cmanly\u201d and \u201cfighting\u201d images for Jesus?<\/b> (The italicized was the context and the author\u2019s own article begins when it turns to regular font.)<\/p>\n

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The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries \u2014 and into the image of Jesus \u2014 in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. \u201cCompassion and love \u2014 we agree with all that stuff, too,\u201d said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. \u201cBut what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.\u201d<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n

This is not an unknown sentiment among evangelical Christians.\u00a0 Writer John Eldredge has built\u00a0an entire ministry<\/a>\u00a0on the concept of portraying the Christian life in masculine terms.\u00a0 His best-known book, \u201cWild at Heart\u201d has become a staple among churches\u2019 men\u2019s ministries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll drew criticism for his desire to portray a manlier Jesus\u2013or in Driscoll\u2019s words, an \u201cUltimate Fighting Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 For an overview of this phenomenon, particularly how Eldredge and Driscoll have contributed to it, see the April 2008 article in Christianity Today entitled \u201cA Jesus for Real Men<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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There\u2019s no need to re-image Jesus as a fighter in order to appeal to the MMA lover\u2026just as there is no need to re-image Jesus as a football player in order to appeal to the Superbowl lover!\u00a0 Jesus is Jesus.\u00a0 Rather than trying to make His message more \u201cmacho\u201d, those of us who follow Him should strive to redefine the very concept of \u201cmacho\u201d in light of who He is and what He teaches.\u00a0 In the end, that is what will have lasting impact; that is what will penetrate even the most battle-hardened fighter\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

And for the record, the gentle-Jesus-meek-and-mild presentation is every bit as skewed and unbiblical as the Ultimate Fighting Jesus.\u00a0 The truth lies in the middle of these two extremes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read this piece by James-Michael Smith the other day, and I thought it was so good I lifted a couple paragraphs and would love to have a discussion here: What do you think of \u201cmanly\u201d and \u201cfighting\u201d images for Jesus? (The italicized was the context and the author\u2019s own article begins when it turns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJesus and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I read this piece by James-Michael Smith the other day, and I thought it was so good I lifted a couple paragraphs and would love to have a discussion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jesus and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I read this piece by James-Michael Smith the other day, and I thought it was so good I lifted a couple paragraphs and would love to have a discussion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-08T05:03:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/assets_c\/2010\/02\/MMA-thumb-250x281-11299.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-08T05:03:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-02-08T05:03:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"I read this piece by James-Michael Smith the other day, and I thought it was so good I lifted a couple paragraphs and would love to have a discussion\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/08\/jesus-and-mma-mixed-martial-arts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jesus and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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