Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism

[Mister Agenda]

Or, if you haven't got your bigot blinders on, like it's a widely-despised minority that's making progress in social acceptance.

Discouraging incorrect beliefs is not in any way bigotry.

Not being able to tell the difference between religion and being happy your minority is making progress is either bigotry or stupidity. Take your pick. Since you're trying to change the subject and are able to spell, I'm inclined to the former explanation.

Is your cluelessness pretend or real?

I just like things to make logical sense.

You seem to be demonstrating the opposite of the trait you're claiming for yourself.

I'd be happy they felt safe enough to be open about it. It's no sillier than things hundreds of millions of other people believe.

GC did not post that, I did. So it does not matter what you believe, as long as you’re in the minority?

What a person believes matters very much. So does their right to believe something different.

I wonder...do you apply that same standard to those who reject Neo-Darwinism and anthropomorphic climate change?

Absolutely. The only tools appropriate to use to change their minds are evidence and sweet reason and maybe a dose of mockery for extreme cases. No one's career should be endangered if it doesn't require a proper understanding of those aspects of science to do their job, and even then, it should have to be shown that their position is actually a detriment to getting their job done. Lots of people can separate their opinions from their work well enough to do their job effectively. Like an anarchist who works for the government.

I have trouble imagining what beliefs a football player could hold that could disqualify them from playing football, as long as they don't break their contract or the law.

There are lots of minority beliefs. They don't have to align, just be tolerated to the same extent as other beliefs.

According to whom?

According to anyone who holds freedom of speech and religion as ideals. Perhaps you represent a minority belief on such matters.

It's not a bother, but it certainly takes no courage to be open about it.

It’s better to be courageously wrong than simply being right?

No, but sharing the majority opinion certainly isn't noteworthy. I see you are trying to deflect the conversation from your original point that some atheists being glad of this man's openness about his religious views somehow makes atheism like a religion.

But you still sound like your goal is to sound like you're being deliberately obtuse. You're certainly succeeding at that.

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Are you saying that people have a moral imperative to believe what is true?

Um, no.

I'm not sure it's even possible for someone to believe something they don't think is true; so I don't see how a moral imperative kicks in. Everyone is limited to the tools they have to work with, and all they can do is the best they can with what they've got.

Someone who believes daddy longlegs are deadly poisonous isn't morally wrong, just regular wrong. Someone who believes children require regular whippings to grow up to become productive citizens is wrong, but they don't know any better, so it's more a matter of ignorance and failure of empathy than simply being incorrect. The actual act of abusing their children would be the moral wrong.