Should fighting sports be legal? Are they moral?

[We Never Know]

Football is not meant to be a fight. It’s meant to be a game. Yes they play rough, but it is not purposeful violence.

not purposeful violence

Really? So a 375 pound linebacker who runs full speed at the quarterback and knocks the sense out of him isn't purposeful? Do you think its accidental?

 

[JustGeorge]

Why do you not have a problem with it when violence is against the Christin way?

You do realize that many of us here aren't Christians, right?

Its perfectly fine if you are; that's great! But the Bible or its morality/ethics aren't going to be very relevant to the Buddhists/Pagans/Atheists/Hindus/Agnostics that have so far participated in this thread.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Not so, when the fights have no real reason other than profit.

And legality is not the same as morality.

If you see no reason to do boxing or MMA, then I suggest you don't do those things.

OTOH, we can infer that the people who engage in these activities do have a reason, otherwise they wouldn't be doing them.

 

[We Never Know]

Why do you not have a problem with it when violence is against the Christian way?

1. Not a christian.
2. The bible is full of violence.

 

[Twilight Hue]

But just because it is with consent does not justify it ethically

The confidence that comes with the ability to face adversary and role model aspect it provides for inspiration says otherwise.

Without fighters, society would be ill prepared to engage it's demons.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why do you not have a problem with it when violence is against the Christian way?

If you try to impose your religion on me, then I'll demand a say in your religion. Are you comfortable with this?

 

[Mr. Muto]

I am comfortable standing up for what IS right. Ethics is OBJECTIVE.


And as i have said before many times, simply because one wants to do something, that does not mean it is justified.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Profit is good.
Fighters do so of their own free will.

I recall Danny Trejo being asked about getting
hurt in movies for money. He said it was better
than getting hurt in prison for free.

Muhammad Ali, Benny the Jet, and of course......

Chuck Norris!

A Christian at that as well.

 

[We Never Know]

Muhammad Ali, Benny the Jet, and of course......

Chuck Norris!

A Christian at that as well.

Chuck Norris was once bitten by a king cobra.
After three agonizing days, the cobra died

 

[Mr. Muto]

@Twilight Hue They're still doing wrong by the Bible standard.

 

[The Hammer]

Ethics is an OBJECTIVE thing

Not really it's not. Wanna try again?

 

[Mr. Muto]

First off, don’t mock me.

Second off, ethics is ethics.

Right is right and wrong is wrong.

That’s the way it is.

When people say no to the laws of morality and make up their own laws, then that’s most certainly immoral and wrong.

 

[The Hammer]

I am comfortable standing up for what IS right. Ethics is OBJECTIVE

Prove this. And we can start here.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I think they’re not moral under any circumstances. Boxers and martial artists unfortunately think that with rules and golden glitter, fights are justified and these fights happen for little reason other than money. It is a cruel and unusual thing with or without consent to hypocritically allow violence of any kind in our society. Violence is for the animals. We are people. Not just as sons of God, but by nature we are supposed to be above the animals, not copying them or doing worse things than those unreasonable creatures.

In ideal space, sure; but people aren't ideal. People are not crystalline pristine beings of light. I can see how if people were that sport fighting would be relatively unethical, but compared to the way people actually are its very ethical. We start putting absolute ideal and divine measures against human behavior, and nobody will survive it.

I'll give you an example. In the Christian scripture James says that the human tongue is evil and cannot help but cause evil. So do we no longer speak?

 

[Mr. Muto]

@Brickjectivity To answer your question, you can talk and you can play sports but when sports involve legit all out fighting even with rules, and endorsing violence in a place in society, then it is wrong.

Assault, punching someone is illegal in contemporary society. And yet, even if a boxer legit DIES in a fight, the other fighter is held guiltless. That is a complete hypocrisy of the law.

 

[Twilight Hue]

@Twilight Hue They're still doing wrong by the Bible standard.

Guess that takes Jesus out of the running.

The Bible had Jesus whipping the snot out of the money changers. What a brawl to behold!

 

[Mr. Muto]

Jesus didn’t throw hands with anyone. He just wrecked the illegitimate market in the temple.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I want to clear some things up:

1. Ethics is an OBJECTIVE thing. The Bible spells out ethics, it IS where ethics came from.

God is the Father of morality. It is an objective thing.

No, ethics are relative. Even biblical ones.

2. The Bible condemns ALL violence with the exclusion of self defense with life I believe. I don’t know. But I do know Jesus Christ said,

“If someone slaps you, turn the other cheek,”

That is more of a New Testament sort of thing, but that was when someone hit you without agreeing to get hit. I don't recall Jesus saying anything about those that do various combat sports.

3. Consent or simply wanting to do something does not make it ethically correct.

Though it does help a lot .

If I thought it was right or justifiable to kill someone, is that ethical?

It would depend. Is not self defense ethical? How about defense of your family. Let's take a hypothetical. You are married to a lovely young woman, but she is not "saved" yet. You have been discussing religion with her regularly and she appears to be close to changing her mind. Suddenly one night some deranged man attacks you and your family threatening to kill all of you. Your wife, if she dies now, is doomed by your religion to hell. What do you do? Do you turn the other cheek yourself, possibly dying as a result and guaranteeing the death of your family or do you kill in self defense?

In the same way, even when fighters get into the ring to hurt the other and themselves, it is still not ethically justified.

That needs a lot more than a "because I said so". Now you may be able to show that most of them are not justly compensated for the risks that they take. But here is the weird thing. Some of them. Even if they lose, enjoy the experience. They look forward to the competition. How is their competing with others of the same mind unethical?

 

[Mr. Muto]

BECAUSE the competition is a fight in which people go to get hurt and to hurt others.

And stop trying to contradict me with imaginary scenarios

And, ethics are objective, if they were subjective anything could be right.

Even rape in an extreme case.

And ethics says all violence outside self defense is wrong.

 

[The Hammer]

BECAUSE the competition is a fight in which people go to get hurt and to hurt others.

So what?

And stop trying to contradict me with imaginary scenarios

Meh

And, ethics are objective, if they were subjective anything could be right.

No they are not objective, prove that they are.

Even rape in an extreme case.

Where? When? What?

And ethics says all violence outside self defense is wrong.

No it does not say this. "ethics" says nothing. We add value and meaning to things, creating "ethics".