SHOULD Christians do MA?

[thaiboxerken]

I don't think Kung Fu is mentioned in the bible, nor Karate or Silat, unless I'm mistaken. Personally, I don't see any conflict between Christianity and Martial Arts.

 

I can only speak from personal experience from when I used to be Christian....Oh wait, maybe the martial arts are bad for Christianity.

[foreveryoung001]

i admit, i haven't read this entire thread, but wanted to through this into the pile.

 

at one school that i taught at, the school shirt featured a yin-yang with red and blue colors because it was primarily Korean-based.

 

A couple of the students weren't allowed to wear the shirts to their Catholic schools becuase of the yin-yang.

 

Hence the problems with a lot of the belief systems, not only Christian. The yin/yang symbol may have derived from philosophies which are not congruent with fundamental Christian beliefs, yet at this point, with that symbol, it was not representing a philosophical bend, nor a religious statement, it was a show of pride and support for his MA school. There are many people out there pointing fingers today, Christians included.

 

In my town, the high school mascot is a "Blue Devil". I can recall several churches in the area trying to fight that at one time. "Why would we want our kids to wear a picture of the devil on their clothes?" This misses the whole point of Christianity in IMHO. In this country, the U.S., Christians are caught up in political debates, issues that divide the country, and silly causes like trying to change a school mascot. Most Christians, forgetting the whole purpose of being Christian, to spread the love of Christ. Now, I am against the issues that the news says Christian groups are against. I do not believe abortion is right. However, to go to an abortion clinic and shout nasty things at the scared young ladies that would be their clients is not going to do one thing to spread the gospel. It will only divide our country more.

 

Would I vote for an amendment to ban same sex marriage? Yes I would, but how is pointing my finger at someone and telling them that they are going to hell going to show them the love of Christ?

 

The same with the Martial Arts. I saw one post that was quite derogatory on insisting that Christians should spend their time praying and reading the bible. I couldn't agree more. I don't spend enough time with God's word, yet there is an important passage where even the apostle Paul says that physical exercise is good for the body. The bible also tells us that whatever our hands find to do, to do it with all of our might.

 

This is an interesting question and debate, yet the question a Christian should ask themselves is, is my Martial Art helping me show the love of Christ? If we are mentoring young children, helping persuade them to work in a MA rather than getting into drugs... if our own children have learned commitment and discipline because they got involved when they saw their parents get involved... If just one classmate asks why you truly care about people, and that gives you an opportunity to share God's word...Isn't it worth it? Even if we have a Yin/Yang symbol on our school logo?

[kchenault]

Amen Brother!

[Jbone1]

foreveryoung001:

 

That was great and I 100% agree with you. It's about the love and some of our fellow brothers and sisters that say they live for Christ are missing the entire whole point.

[kchenault]

Here is an article I just read this morning. The man is a Christian and he created an American style of Karate. Pretty intersting read, check it out.

 

http://www.worldblackbelt.com/pages/Oct04.04_KarlMarx.asp?trck=NL_092804

[47MartialMan]

http://www.pastornet.net.au/response/

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Martial1.html

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Martial2.html

 

http://www.bible-truths.org/tracts/martia~1.htm

 

http://www.probe.org/docs/martial.html

 

http://www.probe.org/docs/e-martial.html

 

http://www.focusonyourchild.com/entertain/art1/A0000622.html

[foreveryoung001]

Here is an article I just read this morning. The man is a Christian and he created an American style of Karate. Pretty intersting read, check it out.

 

http://www.worldblackbelt.com/pages/Oct04.04_KarlMarx.asp?trck=NL_092804

 

Intersting article. I'm glad he has found a way to use his abilities to glorify God. The only thing I thought they could have covered more was his MA history. Early in the article, when he was quoted as saying he was 10th dan, little buzzers started going off in my head. I don't know anything about him, so I can't say he is or isn't, but there are so many... um let's call them "false prophets" out there, I wish the article would have taken a paragraph or two to expand on that claim. Such as what organization gave him his rank. I think that may have added to the credibility of the article... but maybe it's just me.

[kchenault]

What great links 47. Thanks.

 

I must admit, some of them sound like crack pots, but the underlying theme for those people would be, I hope, that they don't want anyone to fall prey to Satan. So hopefully in their love and commitment to Christ, they say what they say. However, sometimes Christians in their humanity don't always share their love properly, if at all. I know I have fallen victim to my sins. I just hope people will forgive my shortcomings as easily as God does.

 

Again, great links!

 

Pilsung!

[47MartialMan]

Yeah, man do I have many interesting situations on this subject.

 

There are those in either camp and both tend to interpret srcipture for their own benefit.

[kchenault]

One of the keys to interpreting scripture properly is CONTEXT. SOOOO IMPORTANT!