The New York Times gives us a peak at how the evangelical movement is manifesting itself in Brazil, one of the world’s most Catholic countries. And it includes an awful lot of fighting. Here’s the lead:
The atmosphere was electric at Reborn in Christ Church on “Extreme Fight” night. Churchgoers dressed in jeans and sneakers, many with ball caps turned backward, lined a makeshift boxing ring to cheer on bare-chested jujitsu fighters. …
With the crowd still buzzing, Pastor Mazola Maffei, dressed in army pants and a T-shirt, grabbed a microphone. Pastor Maffei, who is also Pastor Meira’s fight trainer, then held the crowd rapt with a sermon about the connection between sports and spirituality.
“You need to practice the sport of spirituality more,” he urged. “You need to fight for your life, for your dreams and ideals.”
The Times tells us that about 15 percent of Brazilians describe themselves as evangelicals these days — quintuple the number who said so 50 years ago. They’re attracted to the movement because, in part, of the freedom of worship: Evangelical churches are obviously unfettered by many of the rituals found in the Catholic Church and, apparently, attract folks through their doors with mixed martial arts fights, raggae and makeshift tattoo parlors.
I’ve been to a lot of churches stateside, but I’ve yet to go to one that’s hosted a cage match or allowed me to get some new ink. When we hear about the burgeoning worldwide Christian church, I think I sometimes make the mistake of assuming they all worship much like I do: Some nice, tuneful worship music, a 40-minute sermon, coffee and donuts afterward.
That’s obviously not the case. But the question is, is that a bad thing? Does mixing MMA fighting with Christianity bother you? Or does it excite you? Let me know. I’d love to hear.
