Professor of Christian Thought Brad Swope joins Rex and Mark to explore violence as entertainment. Does the Christian faith influence the way we consume violent sports, violent video games, or violence in television or film?

TRANSCRIPT

0:00

Welcome to Jessup Think, Jessup's official podcast. That's right. And this is your co host Rex Gurney.

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And I'm Mark Moore.

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I think you'll find today's topic. Fascinating.

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Yeah. Today on the show we have one of our professors here Brad Swope, he's also a pastor, he's

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actually my pastor. Oh,

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there we go having your pastor on exactly. Really watch what I say, exactly, you have to be on your best behavior. Exactly. And he's going to be talking about the topic of violence as entertainment, and how we consume violence. And especially within the church, we've we've done a good job within the church of not consuming sexually graphic content. But violence has been another conversation, violence in our movies and TVs violence in our sport, or a conversation

0:47

that actually hasn't happened. And it's a conversation that we really need to have.

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It really is. And so we hope you enjoy this episode, and I think it will be thought provoking. And you might might even be a little upset sometime. Okay, that's good.

1:06

Well, Brad, we have you on the show today, because we want to kind of talk about the research that you've been doing. Recently, research in your doctoral studies on kind of the effect of violence as entertainment, and especially within the church, maybe churches, consumption of violence, as well as our culture. And you kind of know, our culture's love for violence. And that has bled into the church a little bit, you kind of noted as an evangelical blind spot. So would you mind kind of as we begin here, just maybe summarizing your kind of research points and, and maybe particularly how it has an effect on the church.

1:48

Yeah, near the end of your doctorate, you're going to have to pick a focus area, and I'm in a coffee shop. My final for my final project, and I'm listening to two pastoral interns from a local church, talk with great joy about this MMA fight that they had just watched, and the vicarious thrill in the blood in the and at the same time, I'm reading primary sources about the early churches response to gladiatorial contests. And so I'm thinking, how is it that were the Christians had such a strong voice to end a form of violence? Now? If Of course, it doesn't end in killing, here is a Christian community that supports it now. And then you just blow it up and you think, Well, I know of churches that use MMA fights to support their men's ministry.

2:39

Then there's actually a documentary called fighters fight church, Pastor versus pastor Well,

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there's also be good at that.

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There are churches that set up outreach programs to youth that set up essentially MMA training. Right, right for kids. And so it just made made me think about the question, how is it that what was something we were so against and actually help stem the tide? The early church? We have no voice. There are the Christian Avondale community has a loud voice on lots of issues. But this is one that we have absolutely no voice in. In fact, what I found is just by asking the question, should we consume this? Typically, the pushback, especially for men was what are you a pacifist? Right?

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What are you a weakling? Right? They didn't say that to my face, because I need that.

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But obviously, I wouldn't, but you're violent, exactly. But let me teach you how non violent I am by beating you up. Now. The idea is, it's almost like, you're less of a man by just asking the question, should we be consuming this as a product of entertainment?

3:45

Right, which is a problem I mean, within the church to to stop that conversation before it even begins? We just say, Hey, I'm just asking h