The Art of Being a Christian in the Martial Arts World
Many people ask me, because they know I have been a practicing Christian for over 30 years, how to navigate through the world of martial arts without compromising their faith. Surely, most martial arts have a very deep connection to the spiritual world, as warriors toiled with the life and death on many occasions, and many styles have been influenced by the religions and beliefs of the people who created the specific style. Let’s take an in depth look at how we can continue to demonstrate a Christ-like lifestyles in which we can maintain an upright testimony while walking the path of martial arts.
The purpose of this essay is to simply inform you of the steps you can take physically and spiritually to freely participate in martial arts, especially when certain aspects of the curriculum or beliefs contradict your values and beliefs as a Christian.
Know Your Christian Cardinal Doctrines
I find it truly amazing that the average Christian knows very little about what they should believe in as a Christian. If you do not know what you are supposed to believe in, then it is fairly impossible to know whether you are doing things the right or wrong way, or whether someone is telling the truth or feeding you a lie. Therefore you should know the core values, the 7 Cardinal Doctrines, known as the Nicene Creed, that have bound the orthodox Christian world together since the year 325.A.D. Knowing and understanding what Christians are supposed to believe will give you a baseline to rightly delineate whether you should follow certain aspects of your particular martial art. They 7 Cardinal Doctrines of the Christian church are namely:
1. We believe the Bible (in its original rendering) to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God to man (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)
2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons (the Holy Trinity) as the Father, on, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30)
3. We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33), His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35), His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 7:26), His miracles (John 2:11), His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9), His resurrection from the dead (John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:4), His ascension to the right hand of God(Mark 16:19), and His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11).
4. We believe in the absolute necessity of the regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation to take place. We believe that the confession of our sin and the justified on the ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ through faith saves (John 3:16–19, John 5:24, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8–9, Ephesians 2:8–10, Titus 3:5).
5. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved… the saved to the resurrection of life, and the lost to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28–29).
6. We believe in the spiritual unity of all true Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. That all true believer in Christ Jesus belong in one body and share one eternal destiny (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:12–13, Galatians 3:26–28).
7. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is filled and enabled to live a godly life (Romans 8:13–14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 5:18).
Yes, Sir or Ma’am, that is what Christians are supposed to believe. If you don’t know, don’t believe, or never heard of these before, that is whole different issue that should definitely be addressed. The gist of this point is that when you know these doctrines like the back of your hand, you will know when something is not right in your environment or with what you are doing. It will be like a red light that causes you to stop and ponder certain practices and values, and weigh them against the scriptures for clarity.
Know the Values of your System of Martial Arts
If you are going to be a part of a martial art system, then you really need to know what the core values of that martial art system are. You must do some research. You must understand its origin and background. You need to understand the cultural and religious influences that helped define what it was when the martial art started and what is has developed into up until this today.
For instance, in my main martial arts style, Capoeira, many of the traditions and rituals within class and the community at large come from African religions. Not only African religions, but also Catholicism, which was the religion of the slave masters that brought the Africans to Brazil. The religions corresponding to the other styles I practice, Jiu-jitsu, and Muay Thai are a mix between, Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism and Ancestor Worship. That is a lot of beliefs to know of and a lot that can potentially trip me up as a Christian if I don’t understand the beliefs and/or the rituals.
Don’t fear though, you don’t have to dis-enroll from your classes right now (unless God tells you to), but make sure you read on to see how you can nullify the effects of these philosophies and religions and continue in your faith and martial art with a clear mind.
How do you find out the values of your martial arts system? Well, you could ask your teacher, or he values are probably hanging around the wall or found in the student manual or on the website. Some aspects of martial arts you will see are very general, all-embracing values that most people in the world strive for; honor, integrity, etc. However, some values are much more specific to the martial art style, to the person who is teaching, or to even to the religion of the teacher. Contradictions to your faith could come from one or more of these three areas.
Finish up your list of the core values, and then you can start your true study into the Bible to find the fact and the fiction behind each value or practice.
Know the Scriptures that Override Contradictory Values or Activities
I mentioned earlier that the average Christian today does not know what they are supposed to believe and. For the lack of a better analogy, it’s like people claiming to be military veterans, and then you start to ask them general questions a service member would absolutely know, and they don’t even know standard military knowledge. It’s like a person who says they play Professional Basketball, but they are talking about scoring touchdowns when they should be talking 3 pointers. In Christianity, people are holding up a lot of truths that Christians are not able to combat, because we don’t know what we are supposed to believe. We don’t have our own rule book memorized (The Seven Cardinal Doctrines). Some Christians don’t know and then some Christians don’t even care enough to want to know that certain values, beliefs or actions are out of line with the Word of God.
Well, if you are going to participate in martial arts, especially ones with deep spiritual roots, then you will want to know exactly what parts of your martial arts system you can participate in as a Christian. Therefore, for each of the major principles you come across in your particular martial art, you should research corresponding scriptures in the Word of God that either validate or negate those values. Again, you will find that some values are universal in the Word of God and around the world, but for some values, sayings and practices, you will definitely find scriptures that will tell you to steer clear and why. Remember, as a researcher of the scriptures, every value or principles you study out should be validated or negated with at least 2 or 3 scriptures that clearly provide guidance. Remember the Rule of the Inch as well; if the Bible says a lot on a topic, so can we. If the Bible says very little on a topic, so should we. Don’t stretch or shrink clear scriptural guidance for our own purposes. Study for clarity and then run with the answer you receive.
Know Your Boundaries
After you know what scriptures coincide with your style’s values, you must know your boundaries; how far and how much you can participate in some aspects of your martial art before you compromise your witness. A big part of eastern martial arts is meditation. I actually don’t refuse to meditate, but I just meditate on Jesus, and when I put incense at a grave site, I say a prayer to God, through Jesus, for the family and friends who survived the deceased. I don’t pray to deceased martial arts masters, other people or local gods. Likewise, when participating in Capoeira traditions, I do not pray, sing to or pay homage to any of the various African/Brazilian gods that have been interwoven into Capoeira traditions. There are also some songs I do not sing, for example "Leva Morena me Leva, Me leva pro seu Bangalo…," because the values expressed in the song, taking a girl back to my hut so we can make a love child, don’t coincide with what I need to portray or speak as a Christian, and of course I can find tons of scriptures in the Bible that would solidify that stance. Of course the song can be interpreted on many levels, but if it does not pass the What Would Jesus Do, or Sing in this case, then I don’t need to sing it. Further, sing the song to yourself in your own language, and then imagine singing it in front of your friends, family or even the pastor of your church… still think you should sing it?
Furthermore, depending on what physical activity is going on, I may also decline to participate. Not because I can’t, or that the particular movements are sinful, but because of the context in which the physical activity is done. It can offend those weak or young in the Christian faith, because to them, I would be dancing to idols and false gods. It takes a certain level of maturity of the faith to know the difference, and some people are just not there yet. Which is quite alright. I don’t want to be responsible for blowing out a weak flame(1 Corinthians Chapter 8), but I also have to remember that there will be certain times when the Holy Spirit will direct me to participate in certain activities for a greater purpose. During those times I need to obey the voice of the Lord over fear of offending people. I would say in both instances where I refrain or participate, the Holy Spirit will tug at my heart to do as He pleases, and there will be a definitive peace about the choice that is made despite any naysayers. All in all, let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit set your boundaries. If any person lacks wisdom, let them ask God (James 1:5).
Conclusion
Martial arts is an enjoyable part of our lives. It is something we look forward to every single day. However, our Christian values are who we are, while training is what we do. We must never forget that the greatest fight is to guard our greatest treasure, our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our greatest and most precious gift that must never be neglected. There are many things in this world that try to take that precious gift, and though we guard our hearts, no one wants to live like hermits, never do anything fun and enjoyable, and opt out of participating in life.
I want to remind you that everything God made was good. Remembering back to Genesis, do you ever remember reading, "Then God examined all He had created then said this was bad and the evening and the morning were the first day?" No right! It says, "God said this was good." The point I am making is that before anything in this world was corrupted in any way, form or fashion, it was good. Therefore, don’t let people say you can’t do this or that when the scriptures indicate that there is nothing wrong with it. The focus then should be taking any perversions of truth out of the activity or at least out of your own equation within the framework of that activity. Once that is completed, you can fully participate in the wholesomeness of an activity again.
Let’s be spiritually smart about how we participate. Use the above system to answer any questions you have about your martial art or activity. Know your Cardinal Values, Know the Values of your Martial Art, Know Scriptures that Override Contradictory Values or Activities, and finally, Know your Boundaries. You will find that you can maintain your martial arts lifestyle free of guilt and knowing that you can do your best without compromising your faith in Jesus Christ.
Thank you for reading!
Benjamin Moriniere "Sensei"
"Pressing for the Mark, For the Prize."
@CapoeiraOkinawa
