Knockout games: Another form of violent ‘entertainment’

Apparently not satisfied with the modern gladiatorial games of boxing, ‘ultimate fighting,’ and American football, various ones are gaining ‘entertainment’ from watching people come up and punch strangers in an attempt to knock them unconscious with one punch.

Here is some information about this:

A knockout game is a deadly trend today among the nation’s teens resulting in deaths and numerous serious injuries. According to “Fox and Friends” live on Wednesday morning Nov. 20, 15 states are reporting knockout incidents with deaths resulting from these knockout punches reported in Syracuse, N.Y., St. Louis, Mo. and Hoboken, N.J., reports the IB Times.

This deadly game leaves no one of any age off limits. The object of this game is to knockout a pedestrian, who is a stranger, with one punch. People just walking down the street are getting sucker punched with the punches seemingly coming out of nowhere.

There is no warning, the people who have been victims of this deadly game were just randomly picked. The object is to land a “one hitter quitter,” which boils down to one punch knocking the unsuspecting victim unconscious.

Some of the incidents have been videotaped and have shown up online. http://www.examiner.com/article/knockout-game-teens-punch-random-strangers-to-knock-them-out-some-cases-deadly

Some have been killed by knockout games. They also seem to be a new form of terror from within (cf. Deuteronomy 32:25; though this passage will likely also have fulfillment in conjunction with Psalm 83:4-8).

In ancient Rome, in the gladiatorial games held in the Coliseum, there were professional gladiator contests, but also sometimes Christians and others who were not professional fighters would face beasts or other enemies to ‘entertain’ the masses.

How anyone should feel that they should be entertained by watching human beings being intentionally injured is outrageous. And it is even more outrageous to watch unsuspecting people get harmed.

Today, I heard a radio commentator mention that he felt ‘knockout games’ demonstrate that the USA has lost nearly all its morals. And while most Americans do not watch ‘knockout games,’ most do seemingly enjoy watching one or more violent sports.

Thousands of years ago, Job condemned people like those involved in the knockout games:

3 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. (Job 24:13-18)

The Bible also teaches:

9…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:9-10)

Do the people who watch this type of savagery wish to be hurt themselves like happens to the participants.

Consider that “the hope of the hypocrite shall perish” (Job 8:13). And:

5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation (Isaiah 10:5-6, KJV)

The New Testament also warns Christians against being violent or approving of those that are (Romans 1:28-32).

Church history records that early Christians would not watch violent sports. Notice one such report from Theophilus of Antioch perhaps written about 180 A.D.:

Consider, therefore, whether those who teach such things can possibly live indifferently, and be commingled in unlawful intercourse, or, most impious of all, eat human flesh, especially when we are forbidden so much as to witness shows of gladiators, lest we become partakers and abettors of murders. But neither may we see the other spectacles, lest our eyes and ears be defiled, participating in the utterances there sung. (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book III, Chapter XV. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition)

So, Christians did not believe that they were to watch the violent sports so popular in the second century.

As far as violence goes, the Bible shows that God is against violence and that destruction will come because of it:

23 ‘Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled. (Ezekiel 7:23-24)

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality…30…violent, proud, boasters,…31…unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)

While you likely do not approve of ‘knockout games’, do you approve those who practice violence?

For more scriptures, as well as the position of early Christians and others on watching violent sports or participating in other violent pursuits, as well as various prophecies, please see the following:

Is American Football Evil? Is the most popular spectator sport in the USA something that Christians should watch? What do the Bible and early writings show? Do you really want to know the answer to the question the title asks? If not, why not?
Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare? Here are current and historical perspectives on a matter which show the beliefs of the true church on military participation. Is war proper for Christians?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.