Boxing and Christianity / Religion (Boxers & Fans Alike)

[The Problem Child]

I was thinking about this earlier, specially being around Christian people / environments. Violence and hurting people don't fit inside the belief... I bet it feels contradicting listening to the word of God which is one of peace and harmony, and then living / experiencing the total opposite. So I wonder how Christian fighters, or better said, what could they have found to be able to do both faithfully? Without compromising either?


I AM NOT CHRISTIAN AT ALL by the way, NOR am I judging AT ALL... I just always found it a tad weird.

You as boxing fans... if you are religious, how do you view boxing and how would you explain supporting it?

I'm curious to perhaps get a mind opening answer that gives me another perspective.

BY THE WAY, Merry Christmas to all!

[The Problem Child]

By the way, Gennady Golovkin is a Christian.

Yeah, that's where my curiosity comes from.

I haven't connected the dots in this subject... I would like to learn how this is approached mentally by a Christian or believer of any religion.

I just think it's an interesting subject.

[megadeth]

Question: "What does the Bible say about extreme fighting / violent sports?"

Answer: Extremely violent sports, such as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) are greatly increasing in popularity. Many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, struggle with whether or not to support and enjoy these sports. Some wonder if it would be allowable for a Christian to participate in sports that involve an extreme amount of violence. What guidelines does the Bible give?

Genesis 32:24-25 mentions Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord. In an athletic analogy, in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul possibly uses terms related to what was essentially "boxing" in that time period. The Bible nowhere explicitly condemns sports that involve violence. Does this mean that enjoying/participating in extremely violent sports can be biblically allowable and/or God-honoring? Not necessarily. Just as the Bible nowhere explicitly condemns violent sports, neither does it condone violent sports.

Nearly all sports contain a measure of violence. Most competitive sports involve one person or team exerting physical superiority over another person or team. So, while boxing, MMA and UFC are more violent than other sports, they are not the only sports that contain or involve violence. Gridiron football, for example, can be very violent. At the same time, there is an important difference. While other sports can be violent, boxing, MMA, and UFC are, in their essence, focused and/or centered on violence. Violence itself is the sport; it is not just a matter of the sport sometimes being violent.

While many would place boxing on a different level than MMA and UFC, the general concept of the sports is the same. In extreme fighting, the specific goal of the competition is to physically harm/injure the other person to the point that he/she is knocked unconscious or injured to the extent that he/she can no longer continue. There is nothing in the Bible which indicates that intentionally injuring another person can, in any way, be glorifying to God.

There have been many Christians who have participated in boxing. Surely, there are also genuine Christians who are involved in MMA, UFC, kickboxing, and other violent sports. Biblically speaking, though, this should not be. In no sense can intentionally pummeling and injuring an opponent in an athletic competition be glorifying to God. While the "what would Jesus do?" saying is overused and sometimes misapplied, the question "can I really picture Jesus participating in extreme fighting?" is very relevant to the question of whether a Christian can participate in or enjoy extreme fighting, MMA, UFC, and other sports that are focused on physical violence.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/extreme-...#ixzz3MYx4YBWG

[BuckToothed]

Boxing is a sport... As long as you carry yourself in a sportsmanship like conduct, then there's no contradiction to whatever your faith dictates.

Also if you look at the history of any particular religion, it's filled with violence that usually rooted by hate. See the difference?

[KingTito]

A quote from Manny Pacquiao, if it helps : "I think it is wrong that we try to hurt one another, but I also think that God will forgive us because it is our calling."

Also, here's an article pertaining to the subject. I didn't read all of it, but here you go. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/...tml?paging=off

[_original_]

"First of all, I want to thank God....." for helping me beat down another human being into submission and humiliating him in front of millions. This never made any damn sense to me. I think athletes, especially boxers and fighters, need to keep their religion and God out of the ring/octagon. If they want to believe in their fairy tales and invisible deity, than that's cool and their prerogative, but most of us don't want to hear all that God stuff after watching a fight (Bradley, Floyd, Ward, Pacquiao, ect.).

[The Problem Child]

Question: "What does the Bible say about extreme fighting / violent sports?"

Answer: Extremely violent sports, such as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) are greatly increasing in popularity. Many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, struggle with whether or not to support and enjoy these sports. Some wonder if it would be allowable for a Christian to participate in sports that involve an extreme amount of violence. What guidelines does the Bible give?

Genesis 32:24-25 mentions Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord. In an athletic analogy, in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul possibly uses terms related to what was essentially "boxing" in that time period. The Bible nowhere explicitly condemns sports that involve violence. Does this mean that enjoying/participating in extremely violent sports can be biblically allowable and/or God-honoring? Not necessarily. Just as the Bible nowhere explicitly condemns violent sports, neither does it condone violent sports.

Nearly all sports contain a measure of violence. Most competitive sports involve one person or team exerting physical superiority over another person or team. So, while boxing, MMA and UFC are more violent than other sports, they are not the only sports that contain or involve violence. Gridiron football, for example, can be very violent. At the same time, there is an important difference. While other sports can be violent, boxing, MMA, and UFC are, in their essence, focused and/or centered on violence. Violence itself is the sport; it is not just a matter of the sport sometimes being violent.

While many would place boxing on a different level than MMA and UFC, the general concept of the sports is the same. In extreme fighting, the specific goal of the competition is to physically harm/injure the other person to the point that he/she is knocked unconscious or injured to the extent that he/she can no longer continue. There is nothing in the Bible which indicates that intentionally injuring another person can, in any way, be glorifying to God.

There have been many Christians who have participated in boxing. Surely, there are also genuine Christians who are involved in MMA, UFC, kickboxing, and other violent sports. Biblically speaking, though, this should not be. In no sense can intentionally pummeling and injuring an opponent in an athletic competition be glorifying to God. While the "what would Jesus do?" saying is overused and sometimes misapplied, the question "can I really picture Jesus participating in extreme fighting?" is very relevant to the question of whether a Christian can participate in or enjoy extreme fighting, MMA, UFC, and other sports that are focused on physical violence.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/extreme-...#ixzz3MYx4YBWG

Very interesting read, thanks for sharing. Thankfully, I am a Luciferian so I don't have to go thru this. I love violence and aggression.

[The Problem Child]

"First of all, I want to thank God....." for helping me beat down another human being into submission and humiliating him in front of millions. This never made any damn sense to me. I think athletes, especially boxers and fighters, need to keep their religion and God out of the ring/octagon. If they want to believe in their fairy tales and invisible deity, than that's cool and their prerogative, but most of us don't want to hear all that God stuff after watching a fight (Bradley, Ward, Pacquiao, ect.).

LOLZ

Right... THIS IS NOTHING against Christian fighters BTW. I just always found it curious.

And I completely agree with the underlined. Thanks again for making me lol in real life though. It's always a turn off for me personally.

A quote from Manny Pacquiao, if it helps : "I think it is wrong that we try to hurt one another, but I also think that God will forgive us because it is our calling."

Also, here's an article pertaining to the subject. I didn't read all of it, but here you go. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/...tml?paging=off

That's very interesting, the underlined part. Thanks for sharing.

See... I can see WHERE it makes sense in this case. But again... your calling, from your God of peace and love, is to hurt and damage another human being? Look at what happened to Mogamed... Get my point?

Boxing is a sport... As long as you carry yourself in a sportsmanship like conduct, then there's no contradiction to whatever your faith dictates.

Also if you look at the history of any particular religion, it's filled with violence that usually rooted by hate. See the difference?

Right, I get you there. But see above post..

I really don't know much about the Bible, I go off what I see and hear of Christians and their ways of life.

Thanks for contributing to the subject though. I find it as an interesting Sunday conversation.

[Dean_Razorback]

maybe they think boxing as a sport, or isn't a sport?

i think one thing has nothing to do with the other, if the nature of the sport consist in beating someone up, be it. has nothing to do with religion.

[SlySlickSmooth]

"First off, I wanna thank Al Haymon, God, then my family. But most importantly Al Haymon because without him all this wouldn't be possible!!"