meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Quick to Listen

Do Women Fighters Undermine the Bible’s Understanding of Gender?

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3622 Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2017

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you were too busy watching college football and the NFL this weekend, maybe you missed the craziest minute of sports since the Olympics. In her first fight back after a stunning 2015 defeat, acclaimed MMA fighter Ronda Rousey lost in 48 seconds. But should Christians watch this fight at all? What are we to think of female MMA fighting itself? And what does our culture’s embrace of female MMA fighting reveal about what it values and how it understands gender? These are the types of questions theologian Alastair Roberts raised in recent piece for The Gospel Coalition. “There’s a lot of celebration of the strong female character, whether that’s Laura Croft or Sydney Bristow. All of these characters represent an image of female strength that’s very much modeled after a model of male strength. As we celebrate these images, what is the actual consequence of this for women?” said Roberts, who is the author of the forthcoming Heirs Together: A Theology of the Sexes. “The more that we celebrate this sort of sport and image of female strength the more we are in danger of devaluing the sort of strength that the vast majority of women have which is a very distinct sort of strength which is not seen in pugilism or the sort of the violent conflict you see in the UFC ring.” Roberts joined assistant editor Morgan Lee and editor-in-chief Mark Galli this week to discuss whether the sex of the person fighting affects the morality of MMA, what it will take for culture to more broadly value feminine strength, and what the ministry of women is to the church. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.

0:11.0

Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.

0:14.5

Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.

0:27.2

Music Michael Del Rosario at apologetics guy.com. Hey, everyone, you're listening to Quick to Listen.

0:30.3

Each week we go beyond hashtags and hot takes and set aside time to exploring the reality

0:34.9

behind a major cultural event.

0:37.1

Today, we will be talking about

0:39.7

MMA and women and women's participation in mixed martial arts activity. I'm Morgan Lee. I'm an

0:46.8

assistant editor at Christianity today, and I'm joined by C.T's editor-in-chief, Mark Galley. Hey, Mark.

0:52.5

Hey, Morgan. How are you today? Happy New Year. Good.

0:56.5

It is a good new year. So far. Three, four days old. Nothing to complain about yet. I'm sure we could

1:02.0

find something, but I'm glad that you're not the type of person that looks for things. No.

1:06.3

All right. So who's our guest today? Our guest today is Alistair Roberts, author of a forthcoming book,

1:11.7

Heirs Together, A Theology of the Sexes, published by Crossway, or is about to be published by

1:17.1

Crossway. He's a participant on the Mirror Fidelity podcast and earned his PhD from Durham University.

1:22.6

We're really excited and happy to have him with us.

1:24.8

Hi, Alistair. How are you? I'm doing well. Thank you.

1:27.4

Where are you calling us from?

1:28.9

Durham, UK, in the north of England.

1:31.0

It's a beautiful cathedral town, and it dates back to the turn of the 10th century.

1:38.6

So I'm imagining it's overcast or foggy or cold.

1:42.5

What's it like there right now?

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christianity Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Christianity Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.