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Topic: Wrestling for Jesus (Read 541 times) |
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David Lucifer
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Wrestling for Jesus
« on: 2005-05-16 10:37:21 » |
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source: Winnipeg Sun
Spirit wrestlers
Can grapplers grow a flock?
By ROCHELLE SQUIRES, STAFF REPORTER
Christianity and wrestling have more in common than you may think, says Winnipeg Christian wrestling promoter Louis Hendrickson.
Following a traditional church service yesterday at St. Philip's Anglican Church with hymns and prayers led by priest Brian Flowers, members of the mostly-elderly congregation were treated to a wrestling match in the basement.
"My goal is to entertain them with the wrestling show while sending them the message that God and Jesus is important," said Hendrickson, the born-again Christian wrestling promoter known to local rasslin' fans as Lawrence Fozzworth III.
Others in the church were equally enthusiastic about the wrestling mini-card, held in the hundred-year-old church basement.
"I'd love to see more youth here, and maybe this will bring them back," said 29-year-old Christy Bettess, a member at St. Philip's and the former youth group leader. "Our youth group closed down two years after all the youth grew up. Now it's mostly an older congregation."
Yesterday's two-match mini-show featured six mostly-Christian wrestlers from Winnipeg.
"They're not all Christians, but we're working on them," said congregant David Bain, who does outreach work for the church and is the brainchild behind the wrestling-in-the-church concept.
There are only about 40 members who regularly attend the Norwood-area church.
BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
"God always wants a packed house, and that's my goal," said Bain, adding he believes wrestling is the perfect example of the battle between good and evil and will help bring in newcomers.
Wayne Stanton, the ring master at yesterday's event and owner of River City Wrestling, echoed Bain's mantra at the start of the first match when he charged the 35-member audience to get in the action.
A wrestling match is like your relationship with God and the devil, "you pick your hero and you cheer him, and you boo your enemy," said Stanton.
The priest, who was also in attendance, admitted he wasn't much of a wrestling buff but is willing to give it a try.
"I have a lot to learn about wrestling, but I thought it had potential to reach out to the young people," said Flowers, adding he'd like to see his congregation grow to 400-plus members.
But not every member of the dwindling congregation was as open-minded about the event.
"For 55 years we've been going to this church. It was a lot different when we started going," said Doug Bradley, who was in the audience with his wife, Kay. "But if this is what it takes, then I guess we'll go with the flow."
Bain and Stanton have plans to launch a summer event that would include four big-name Christian wrestlers who would fight on Saturday and preach on Sunday at four different churches.
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knives
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Re:Wrestling for Jesus
« Reply #1 on: 2005-05-17 13:12:00 » |
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Man, I wish I could have got a hold of this article before. I just finished a research project for my english class which I chose the topic of religion and profit. It seems to me that the church has to attract customers to their faith as Burger King has to attract customers to their hamburgers. I got hold of another article which explained how a man made himself rich from evangelism after being merely a bus driver with a criminal record in London.
It seems to me that wrestling itself goes against many direct teachings of JesusChrist himself. Wrestling has the same purpose as the gladiators in Rome, except that wrestling now has to serve to some established morals but the essence to me is the same. Christianity attacked that Rome, the one that went to the gladiator arena, the one that worshipped the emperors, the so called, pagan Rome. Now look how the times have caught up with them again. Although I have the strange feeling that he really won't succeed in this "innovative" idea, yet it wouldn't surprise me.
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God is just an equation,
who equals slavery.
God is just a perception,
of people's misery.
(Mindfuckers, Victor Rivera 2004)
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Pabreetzio
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I'm Patrick
 
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Re:Wrestling for Jesus
« Reply #2 on: 2005-05-22 22:37:26 » |
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knives, i find it hard to believe that you acutally think wrestling is evil. Have you ever watched it? its a pretty cool even, i used to have a girlfriend who wrestled. modern day wrestling has hardly anything in common with gladiatorial games.
Perhaps you have heard some of the public service anouncments, and the truth is that a lot of these activities keep people doing something that keeps them healthy, challenges them to become better, and encourages healthy interaction and sportsmanship. Sometimes activities like these can keep kids from running around and getting into trouble. The PSAs that are put on TV cost money, that could have been put on to sell some product. Instead they are put on to promote things that stop drug use. We pay for this because we would have a better more productive society if there are less people buying drugs than if there are more people buying whatever other commercial would have been put on there. If you dont know the PSAs im talking about, im sure i can find an article if you ask me to.
Events like this with a lot of people with similar beliefs seem rather cool to me. its nice to have family friendly events like this that bring people closer together. If this church ever gets large enough I'm sure we'll want some cool events that are mematically successful for getting people interested, and that serve the public good. I dont know about wrestling for the MetaMeme, although it is fun to watch and all, i think id be more interested in sponsoring debate teams. "Debating for the Metameme" now theres an article that id like to see.
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knives
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Re:Wrestling for Jesus
« Reply #3 on: 2005-05-26 10:45:17 » |
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Well, I sounded like I hated it, or founded it evil, but in reality I watch the WWE. But I forgot to mention why i compare it to the gladiator games. When I meant that they serve almost the same purpose, I meant to say not the fact of the innocent killing and brutality (although it shows how violence keeps selling and driving a crowd) but I meant as to how the people react to it, how the people get involved in it. As it is used, and don't say it isn't, to promote political agendas. By this I didn't meant to say it was evil, I meant to say that politically speaking they are very comparable to the gladiator games. Althought psycologically speaking, it also accounts for the violent nature of the human being, always escaping reality by satisfying, and oversatisfying their instincts, and this keeps the rich in power and blinds us while we accept everything they do even at our own expense. That is the special relation I give. I keep an open mind in this, but you wouldn't believe I like wrestling, but I bet this church would be able to do anything with their believers if the wrestling events got them thoroughling blinded (further than the religion already has)
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God is just an equation,
who equals slavery.
God is just a perception,
of people's misery.
(Mindfuckers, Victor Rivera 2004)
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