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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 3:48 pm
(January 20, 2015 at 3:38 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote: (January 20, 2015 at 11:02 am)FatAndFaithless Wrote: Just thought this was a cool little thing, seeing as the NFL is overwhelmingly Christian in its players and they routinely thank God for wins or touchdowns or nice catches, and tweet about their God-sponsored play constantly.
Arian Foster for those who don't know is the running back for the Houston Texans, and is a pretty damn big name in football, so it's nice to see someone with a big reputation on the line stand up proudly with their unbelief.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyath...qus_thread
Why is this nice to see? Why do you care what a NFL player thinks about the existence of a god or gods? You all sure behave as if atheism is a religion.
O, Statler, don't be so dim. Ever heard of a role model? Ever heard of smashing stereotypes?
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Science is not a subject, but a method.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 3:48 pm
Don't be dense, Dorf. It's nice because it's a minority (un)belief that I share, and seeing as many times atheists are made out to be somehow "bad" by many Christians, it's nice to see someone with a very public face express that unbelief.
In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty.
- Thomas Jefferson
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 3:52 pm
I am so happy to read that.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization join today.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 3:55 pm
It's nice to see any public figure come out, but especially so in the NFL, where the overwhelming majority are theists... where coming out as atheist would be extra hard, and come with a lot of unknowns and possible consequences, and therefor admirable.
I can't remember where this verse is from, I think it got removed from canon:
"I don't hang around with mostly men because I'm gay. It's because men are better than women. Better trained, better equipped...better. Just better! I'm not gay."
For context, this is the previous verse:
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 3:58 pm
(January 20, 2015 at 3:47 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote: …so this is nice to see simply because he believes something different than the rest of the NFL? Would you be happy if a player came out and said they believed in pink unicorns? Or does the minority belief have to align with your beliefs? I cannot figure out why the fact that a player genuinely believes that his abilities are a result of God’s grace bothers you at all. Just interesting.
Speaking as a football fan, if you believe that God is influencing the outcome of the games, what's the point of pretending there's actual competition going on, or that the players and their athletic skills matter in the slightest? If God is really involved, the whole thing is a total farce.
But, that's true about life in general, really.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 4:05 pm
(January 20, 2015 at 3:58 pm)Ryantology (╯°◊°)╯︵ ══╬ Wrote: Speaking as a football fan, if you believe that God is influencing the outcome of the games, what's the point of pretending there's actual competition going on, or that the players and their athletic skills matter in the slightest? If God is really involved, the whole thing is a total farce.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 4:09 pm
(This post was last modified: January 20, 2015 at 4:14 pm by Faith No More.)
(January 20, 2015 at 3:03 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: I don't know if it works like that. Winning is EVERYTHING in the NFL. They only get rid of murderers, child molestors and wife beaters if they get caught. It'll seriously say something about how poorly we are regarded if an NFL team dumps a star player because he's an atheist.
This warrants close watching.
No, making money is everthing in the NFL. If people refuse to come to games because of an open atheist on the team, he will get traded. My comment was facetious, but considering it is Texas, I don't think it's too far-fetched of a scenario.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 4:34 pm
(January 20, 2015 at 2:38 pm)Spooky Wrote: Interesting. I rarely watch football and didn't realize god cared so much about the sport. I wonder how much money he'll now lose.
Word is, he's busto after betting everyone on Seattle to cover the spread last Sunday.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 4:42 pm
(January 20, 2015 at 4:09 pm)Faith No More Wrote: (January 20, 2015 at 3:03 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: I don't know if it works like that. Winning is EVERYTHING in the NFL. They only get rid of murderers, child molestors and wife beaters if they get caught. It'll seriously say something about how poorly we are regarded if an NFL team dumps a star player because he's an atheist.
This warrants close watching.
No, making money is everthing in the NFL. If people refuse to come to games because of an open atheist on the team, he will get traded. My comment was facetious, but considering it is Texas, I don't think it's too far-fetched of a scenario.
The NFL as a whole doesn't care who wins of course, as long as the league makes money. For an individual team though, winning usually equates with making money. There is little market for a sucky team. There is revenue sharing in the NFL though I don't have a good understanding of how it works.
Owners want to win though and so do the fans. I have doubts they will expunge an openly atheist player. I think the gladiator spirit will prevail and they will root for the uniform - regardless of who is wearing it.
We'll see.
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RE: Big Name NFL Athlete Asserts his Atheism
January 20, 2015 at 5:02 pm
(This post was last modified: January 20, 2015 at 5:03 pm by SteelCurtain.)
Also, this wasn't an event for Arian Foster. It was just a tweet that got picked up.
He's been openly non-religious for years. I remember seeing an interview on PTI or something stating that he "wasn't big on religion" quite a long time ago. Point being that if he hasn't seen any backlash yet, this won't start any.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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