The latest Jesus movie mixes Christianity with MMA fighting. The Forward, a Jewish publication, criticizes a movie about Jesus as a mixed martial artist for being unrealistic and historically inaccurate.
I’m Jewish myself, and I read the Forward regularly. I’m baffled why they chose to run this review of this movie. I read it, and I’m now sharing it, so maybe that’s my answer. https://forward.com/culture/675139/jesus-mma-movie-muscular-christianity/
@mitchw I can see that there might be an issue if the portrayal is tied into the "muscular christianity" movement.
On the other hand I like a good fight in a film. I think maybe Ninja Jesus though.
@ordinal The review makes it sound like the latter. It's sport, not violence. I want to see the movie now.
@mitchw Thinking about this, "young man engages in competitive fisticuffs while learning maturity from a spiritual master/father figure" is a super common theme for martial arts films in general. I mean that spiritual master figure is not usually Jesus but hey.
@ordinal If I read the review right, Jesus is the young man in that "Karate Kid" formula.
@mitchw I thought it was supposed to be that there's this red-headed scandinavian orphan in the region for some reason, and he becomes an apprentice to Jesus but also boxes as a side hustle.
@ordinal You’re probably right, but Jesus as a MMA fighter would be a great movie.
