New York Times on Evangelicals and MMA

Anyone familiar with MMA knows that Evangelical Christians were quick adopters (there is even an apparel line entitled "Jesus Didn't Tap" as seen above).

The New York Times reports on this trend: 

Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events.

The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries - and into the image of Jesus - in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. "Compassion and love - we agree with all that stuff, too," said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. "But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter."

The outreach is part of a larger and more longstanding effort on the part of some ministers who fear that their churches have become too feminized, promoting kindness and compassion at the expense of strength and responsibility.

Sports and religion have mixed for a long time especially when an athlete is putting their body at risk. 

But It is interesting to see the theological step these "Evangelical Martial Artist's" are taking and how their idea of capturing machismo culture is missing the mark in regards to the spirit of MMA.

Take the "Jesus Didn't Tap" apparel line. This is simply an out of touch marketing tag-line with what it truly means to "tap". The New York Times article describes it as "giving up", which, while on the surface is true, doesn't capture the spirit of Jiu-Jitsu or submission grappling. When one is caught in a submission, and one taps, it doesn't mean one is a coward or lacks the strength to preserve. Rather it is one participant yielding to an opponent's superior skill to avoid unnecessary injury. If anything taping out is a sign of respect and honor between two combatants.

Despite what Tony Kornheiser and others think, MMA is not about maiming, hurting or beating your opponent into submission. This false idea is being indirectly advanced by the Evangelical MMA community as they equate "taping" to crucifixion.

HT: MMA Fighting Stances