AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Can professional-style wrestling really be the next frontier for Christian outreach?
Small bands of masked evangelists, clad in tights and armed with biblical names, argue it is. The violence and intensity of wrestling, they claim, can be the perfect way to attract the alternative, younger crowd.
At the beginning of some "Wrestling for Jesus" shows, wrestler Chase "Darkness" Cliett is strapped to a massive wooden cross on stage as piercing music is played. A group of evil wrestlers beats and bloodies him before the good guys dramatically come to his rescue. Later, after a horned fellow in a red suit is knocked out, the preaching begins.
It's not all fun, at one 'Wrestling For Jesus' show, a real brawl broke out that left one poor dude face-down and weeping. This isn't a new thing either, there is Christian Wrestling Federation in Texas and Ultimate Christian Wrestling based in Athens, Georgia.
Very....interesting. Indeed.
*=Who Would Jesus Slam?
(hat tip to Pam)
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