Are there any Christian UFC fighters?

Answer 1

First off, the claim to Christianity is had by many, but Jesus Himself will decide who has followed & who hasn't (according to The Bible, the basis for "Christianity"- a religion not intended by Jesus to be started, but rather the change of heart towards God shown by Jesus). In other words what we claim is meaningless (i.e. Matthew 7:23, and 25:44-45). If I call myself a builder & I don't build, or a Shepherd & I don't care for sheep... I fool myself. But not others.

Those who claim to know God's love and seek to glorify Him with their lives:

Anderson Silva(http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Q9fjg0hu-KwJ:huggingnuts.com/anderson-silva-felt-god/+anderson+silva+faith+god&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&source=www.google.ca)

Feodor Emilianenko (REGULARLY refers to God's will for his future, i.e. http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/07/the-mma-hour-with-fedor-emelianenko-gian-villante-john-cholish/ OR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Hpve_k5nk, and how about that humble cross necklace for bling?)

Jon Jones

Vitor Belfort (really demonstrates God's grace; trusting Him despite going wrong in the past. Still wrestles with his faith I would say- i.e. not being fully prepared in his fight against Anderson Silva- how I concluded that see bottom; his sponsor "Jesus")

Rich Franklin(http://www.richfranklin.com/)

Jose Aldo

Nate Marquardt(http://www.myspace.com/natemarquardt)

Randy Couture

Matt Lindland

Dan Henderson

Matt Hughes

Quinton Jackson

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Those who have publicly glorified God for either their performance, His role in their life are:

George St. Pierre (has cited Jesus as one of his role models; I asked him in 2009 at a Montreal wrestling practice who his role models were, he didn't cite Him. There may be a fear of being seen as a hypocrite- as many who claim to be are, though I would say he personifies Christ in many ways (i.e. if your ways are more like Him than those that claim they are, and you don't claim it- what do you say? Lol). Is a church-goer anyways, and ).

Mark Coleman (offering props to God after winning Pride Grand Prix)

Wanderlei Silva (same)

Hypocrisy:

There are many who contradict nature of Christ but claim to follow him. This is, according to scripture, THE WORST SIN a human being can commit. The reason for this is that although we can harm people emotionally & physically, to hurt someone spiritually takes on another dimension of offence- since it means moving them away from God. Acting as though we know our Maker's love in our life, and hurting people/turning them away while holding this claim is the worst sin, according to the Bible. (The 3rd commandment- after God states that only He will fill our spiritual void- it is stated that 'No one who uses the Lord's name in vain will be held guiltless'/Matthew 18:6- better to (tie a millstone around your neck & throw it into the sea than to cause 'one of these little ones' to sin- 'sin' means to be separated from God. This is possibly considered 'the unforgivable sin'). Crazy eh! I wish EVERYBODY knew this. It's very clear in the Bible- for any who read it.

I can't judge, but I will point out those who haveseemed to have struggled with glorifying God vs. glorifying themselves using God:

Kimo

Matt Hughes (I don't condemn his journey, any more than I condemn my own, although for his sake I post my opinion that he has IN THE PAST lacked awareness of the 3rd commandment)

MANY others.. myself included.. (not MMA, but yeah)

Controversy: Is it ethical?

After (basically) a thesis on the topic, I deduced that a man intentionally harming another man was not God's will; although you could win without harm. However the question of mutual agreement has to be asked, and weighed with the call for our body to be a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Irrespective of the answer, I believe organized fighting competitions really honor the character God creates through faith in His (love, Nature, Way).

The Real Deal:

As a champion in a combat sport (and national record-holder) I can attest to the liberation & fearlessness God brings about inside our very spirit on performance day. This is also needed in training. Ultimately, it's needed in life.

ANYBODY personifies Christ when they train with Faith/Positivity (think about it, it's the same 'faith' in a positive outcome despite the circumstances, based on an innate understanding of the universe);

ANYBODY is Christ-like (or, literally Christ-ian)when they exemplify Christ's pure, humble,faith-in-an-all-powerful-force charachter & believe Christ to be who he said He was. *Note: humility- recognizing that we've done a lot of damage to the world, no matter how good we are.

By this definition, there are very many who believe in Christ & have, through faith, seen Him bring about victory in what they do (MMA) and later (right after) glorified Him.It's time to demystify the faith or Christ-likeness we see in so MANY MMA fighters. I believe, anyways, we all already know.

** I believe the end is near, and we all need to turn back to our Creator, confess of our hurts to our fellow man (as we would want those who've hurt us to do) and repent (not a prayer, but a turn-around, a re-faith in All that is good for all). We've been forgiven.**

Affiliations or Mis-directions:

Jesus Didn't Tap: Clothing line started by David Frank (former actor- Power Rangers, lol; current MMA Fighter); my impression is that it seeks to have a successful clothing line versus focus on spiritual transformation or ministry. This seems worldly, according to what Jesus said about loving the world versus things of the Spirit. Jesus didn't come to have a successful name brand, but to shape lives. That ought to be our focus, according to him:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/breakingnews/Jesus-Didn_t-Tap_-Christian-based-MMA-clothing-line-takes-off-41111702.html

CageReligion.com: A website for people who 'idolize' MMA, pun intended. I still think the greatest thing you could discover in MMA is what Anderson & Fedor point to. I know that if I put my hope in sport/whatever, it's not going to fill my void. It just isn't up to the job. And if we doubt- fail to walk into the next awesome open door God has for us- and hold onto MMA (as a fighter) or simply as a fan try to have MMA fill God's place (vs. accepting it as a cool way He glorifies Himself, a gift of life, etc) than we'll also be disappointed.

Sooner or later we discover that it's the love of, and relationship with our parents that made the thought behind the Christmas present so sweet. It just took a while for our love/hope in the gifts themselves to wear off. Watch too much MMA, and you will feel the bland void I am talking about. Connect with God- arguably the toughest thing a human can do, and you might see just what some of these guys are talking about. "He's the real deal"- to paraphrase it.

"So that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: 'When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven." Friends, time is short- don't let this be you.

Gladiators of Christ: www.gladiatorsofchrist.com; right now I haven't checked this out/thought about them yet