Mid Eva’s Sean DeMars vs MMA

With all that’s going on in the world, it’s unsurprising to see an aspiring Big Eva pundit, Sean DeMars take aim at the most overtly Christian sport. sean DeMars is the host of the Room For Nuance Podcast, which has been astroturfed by woke Big Eva figures like Ligon Duncan, Gavin Ortlund, and Neil Shenvi. He’s recently published a book denouncing mixed martial arts, titled The Ethics of the Octagon: A Christian Evaluation of Mixed Martial Arts. But the reality is, this is effeminate naval gazing that draws lines that do not exist to clutch at pearls. The book is endorsed by Wayne Grudem, Andrew Spencer (The Gospel Coalition), and vaccine salesman, Dan Darling (ERLC).

Sean DeMar’s Premise

DeMar tweeted what looks like a quote from his book and got predictably ratio’d by Christians on the internet.

“Let’s conduct a thought experiment. Can you imagine a world without sin where men and women injure one another for sport? Can you picture a sinless society where breaking bones or rendering someone unconscious would be considered a form of recreation?

Scripture gives us no reason to think so. In Genesis 1 and 2, there is no violence between image-bearers. The first act of violence appears only after sin enters the world. That observation should give us pause. Violence, in sport or warfare, is foreign to the goodness of creation.”

Sean DeMars introduces a premise whereby in a prelapsarian world, combat sports would not exist. Perhaps this is correct. However, DeMars is singling out the rising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in his book with this logic, while allowing for collision sports like football and hockey, and other combat sports like wrestling, unless he’s referring to WWE.

Additionally, DeMars paints MMA in a barbaric light, describing its objective as “breaking bones or rendering someone unconscious” for entertainment. Indeed, these things can happen, but fighters tap out before being rendered unconscious, and gloves prevent hand injuries. If we want to reference Anderson Silva’s double compound fracture in 2013 (UFC 168), a freak accident, that same injury has also occurred in basketball.

But Psalm 144, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle.” So whether MMA would exist in a prelapsarian world or not, where war would not exist, is moot to the ethics concerning the practice of MMA.

Other Sports and Inconsistent Argumentation

DeMar’s argument is an inconsistent one, and that showcases itself when he defends collision sports like football and hockey, where tackling and fighting are in the game.

Interestingly enough, the game of football resembles a battlefield with the linemen being infantry, the receivers on the flank being cavalry, and the quarterback and running backs in the backfield being the reserve, and the defense matching this dynamic. I would argue that football would not exist in a prelapsarian world, either. In addition, injuries are just as intentional as they are in MMA when defenses are tackling opposing players.

In hockey, fighting is not merely the showmanship of the players for the fans. It plays a vital role in keeping a high-speed game clean via a system of checks and balances. And that’s just the extracurriculars on the ice. The gameplay, otherwise, is extremely physical with crosschecks and slamming players into the boards.

As for wrestling, MMA is the only real wrestling done at a professional level. I don’t know why DeMars even tried to split that baby.

DeMars does not know sports and thus uses an inconsistent argument.

Perception vs Reality

DeMars paints MMA in the most barbaric light while ignoring the reality. In reality, MMA is like any other sport, but it should best be understood as human chess. Who is the better man in the ring at this time? To the fighters, it’s usually not personal, and sportsmanship is the norm, even when fighters say things to sell the fight.

Additionally, MMA is the most overtly Christian sport. UFC fighters from around the world, be it America, Brazil, or even Asia, praise God and explicitly evangelize in the name of Jesus Christ after winning a fight regularly. The second most Christian sport is probably football, which is a collision sport. Meanwhile, basketball, only a contact sport, is far less culturally Christian, especially women’s basketball, where even the baptized stars sell their sexuality. It seems as though there is a correlation between physical contact, confrontation in a sport and how many of its athletes are Christian.

It seems as though God is using the UFC fighters to confound the effeminate Big Eva naval gazers.