Would Tim Tebow pray if there were no cameras?

[usregimechange]

Poll question: Would Tim Tebow pray if there were no cameras?

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-7, New International Version (NIV).

[Ian David]

1. Maybe before having an operation or something. Otherwise, no. n/t

[JoePhilly]

2. Yes, but its a waste of time ... God doesn't even start watching football until the playoffs.

[Puzzledtraveller]

3. let dead horses lie

[eShirl]

4. Only if a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. The words of Jesus are totally without value in American so called

Christianity. They redact, rewrite, and follow whatever they wish to do, call that 'the faith' and what Jesus said is of no importance to any of them at all. Not the football guy, not any of them. Jesus is the last thing that matters to them, as that verse and their actions prove, they are hypocrites who do not care for the actual teachings.

[Thats my opinion]

34. Your capacity

to see clearly into the hearts and minds of others is remarkable.

[Morning Dew]

6. Looks like Excedrin Headache #15

"I started this schtick and now everyone expects it. Wish I'd thought of the discount double check.... or whatever that is."

[CrispyQ]

10. ...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. I could care less but I suspect that the real test of his faith

is whether he uses his enormous paycheck to feed the hungry and clothe the poor.

If he doesn't do that then he's just another religious hypocritical asshole.

[CanonRay]

8. Does he pray when he throws an interception or gets sacked?

Those were, apparently, because of Jesus too. The players have nothing to do with it, you see.

[get the red out]

11. Sometimes God likes defense

Tim Tebow = :puke:

[CrispyQ]

13. They never address that double standard, do they?

God gets all of the glory, but none of the shame.

Damn! God's got one hell of a deal!

[Thats my opinion]

35. It is remarkable

that so many of your can correctly look into the inner meditative life of someone else and know the content. What are gift you have.

[CrispyQ]

36. Not a gift, a duty,

as a Godless atheist who has no morals simply because I don't believe.

[JoePhilly]

23. The defensive guy must have prayed a better prayer on that play.

[Old and In the Way]

25. If he praises Jesus for the good plays, he ought to give Beezelbub credit for the bad ones.

Seems only fair to me.

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. Would you mock religious beliefs if you didn't have the internet?

Probably a lot less, at least.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[CanonRay]

15. Every chance I get.

[hobbit709]

17. "When viewed from the outside, ALL religions appear equally silly."

[rrneck]

27. Actually, no.

Just fewer people would hear it.

[CreekDog]

31. You mock liberal beliefs all the time here

and now you're lecturing people on being respectful?

nice try.

:eyes:

[Dreamer Tatum]

37. I mock inconsistent and hypocritical beliefs here.

Neither of which are liberal at all.

[humblebum]

38. Ya mean like some of the atheists here who get their skivies in a wad

over this, but couldn't care less if a player spikes the ball in the end zone or the crowd does the wave? He is who he is. end of story.

[usregimechange]

56. I did not mock "religious beliefs" I mocked displays of religious beliefs criticized by Jesus

[piratefish08]

14. i look like that when i have stomach cramps.......

[BOHICA12]

16. Had an English Professor once say ...

Trying to describe the joy of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to a non-believer is like trying to describe the joy of sex to a 5 year old with a bad of candy. Just no frame of reference.

As for Tebow ... it's a Christian thing, you wouldn't understand.

[Fumesucker]

18. You'd be surprised how many atheists in the USA started as Christians..

Atheists also score highest in the USA on tests of religious knowledge.

http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/U-S-Religious-Knowledge-Survey.aspx

On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions on the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers. Jews and Mormons do about as well, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively. Protestants as a whole average 16 correct answers; Catholics as a whole, 14.7. Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons perform better than other groups on the survey even after controlling for differing levels of education.

[Zoeisright]

20. Yeah, I understand.

Delusions and imaginary conversations with non-existant things are hard to describe.

[Iggo]

39. Anybody using a bag of candy to describe sex to a 5 yr old...

...needs to be arrested.

[Zoeisright]

19. He irritates the shit out of me.

And his mother has no shame. She didn't get an abortion as her doctors told her to. And because she was the lucky .1% of women who DIDN'T die, she recommends that ALL women ignore doctor's advice and keep even a dangerous pregnancy.

Which is not only unethical, but incredibly stupid.

I don't know why these pious nutjobs with big mouths seem to always get so lucky.

[BOHICA12]

22. Maybe because of a positive & joyous outlook ....

.... probably good for anyone.

[devilgrrl]

26. And rubbing it into everyone's face - so much good!

eom

[Silent3]

30. And because of counting the hits, and ignoring the misses

When someone prays a lot, and/or has "a positive & joyous outlook", and they also happen to overcome the odds, whether it's making it big in sports or surviving a risky pregnancy, those acts become stories which are told and retold.

When people don't get the results they want those stories don't usually get a lot of retelling, and the failures get excused away by people doubting if they were "positive enough", or by clichés like, "God answered your prayers, He just answered 'no'."

Intercessory prayer, apart from the attitude changes it might sometimes help bring about, shows no evidence of being effective at all. "Positive thinking" can, in some limited circumstances, improve results, but it's nowhere close to being as effective -- practically magical -- as some people like to imagine.

Positive thinking can also be overdone as well, leading people to ignore real and substantial risks. When people fail from too much positive thinking, however, they don't end up on talk shows very often telling their not-so-inspirational stories.

[BOHICA12]

33. But a negative & pessimistic outlook are better? No, you did not say that.

It's the balance that is tricky. I'd rather hang with positive & joyous if I have the choice. I understand you have to have both ... but one group is a real downer.

[mn9driver]

21. Matthew 6:5-6

“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you."

The scriptures also teach that public prayer is appropriate in certain times and places, and for certain things.Success at football would not generally be considered an appropriate public prayer--unless God is a really big Broncos fan.

Tebow has his "reward" every time his picture is taken when he does this. It's all the reward he will ever get.

[Blue Owl]

24. Probably gets a kickback from "The Family" for each televised fundy gesture

n/t

[rrneck]

29. Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

:rofl:

[Iggo]

28. Yeah, he just wouldn't be such a douche about it.

[BOHICA12]

32. A better question is - why is the praying irritating you & others?

What does it tweak in you, and is that Tebow's problem or yours? Does it diminish your life, your liberty, or your pursuit of happiness in any way? If so, in what way? If not, why all the flying electrons?

Look deep (not go deep!) and the answer is there.

[humblebum]

40. "is that Tebow's problem or yours?" - spot on. Not much more to say about it.

[darkstar3]

41. Because douchey showboating is grating, especially when it's religious in nature.

Those who claim to hold themselves to an allegedly higher moral standard most certainly do not when their first priority is to lord it over the heathens.

[Dreamer Tatum]

42. Yet Tebow has no idea who you are.

How is he lording anything over you?

That is your PERCEPTION. If you did something other than force yourself to become intimidated and angered by him, you
would lead a more secure life.

Good luck with that.

[darkstar3]

43. HA! Because his schtick in front of the cameras is anything but.

Your "PERCEPTION" defense stinks of desperation.

ETA: I don't even watch football and I know this guy's name. What does that tell you? That he's all about getting as much attention as possible for this idiocy, and it's working.

[Dreamer Tatum]

44. It tells me that you go looking for things to irritate you, and you create a fallacy of composition

...because it if annoys YOU, why...it MUST annoy everyone!

:eyes:

Self-esteem: it prevents you from fixating on people who don't know you.

[darkstar3]

46. Actually, I'm trying to explain to you why he annoys others.

Having never actually watched him, I can't say one way or the other how he might annoy me.

But thanks for your ridiculous armchair psych diagnosis. I'll refrain from asking you if projection is something you've had a lot of problems with in the past...

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[darkstar3]

48. "No idea"

There you go making wild assumptions about others again...

[Dreamer Tatum]

50. "Having never actually watched him"

Your words, not mine.

[darkstar3]

51. You'll be needing this

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KVdmpK1Q64U/TbHh8quslAI/AAAAAAAAB5o/_6Mf6-a7E-w/s1600/jump+to+conclusions+mat.jpg

[humblebum]

55. I have a feeling Tebow couldn't care less what people think of him, which

is the way he should feel. His job is to play football and he does. Athletes have been praying in public for as long as I can remember.

[humblebum]

52. "douchey showboating is grating" - Yes, that's why radical atheists are so popular. nt

[usregimechange]

57. Praying is fine, praying in front of TV cameras is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus

who he claims to worship.

[AsahinaKimi]

45. I think the guy is on a mission

Sure he loves the NFL, but I think he's trying to show the world that religon can be brought into a profession. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, but I am not sure it works for every profession. Can you imagine a bus driver doing this each time he stops the vehicle?

[BOHICA12]

49. But after every safely completed shift .... or every close call .... or for someone needing help.

Even better, if he delivers the help, then prays. All would be appropriate.

[CrispyQ]

53. ". he's trying to show the world that religon can be brought into a profession."

Many of us resist the idea of religion being brought into every realm of our culture.

Read post #21. Many non-believers come from a Christan background & this type of showboat behavior seems self-serving, bringing into question his sincerity. He's taking something he claims is sacred & making it about him.

[gtar100]

54. Don't know, but he's taken on the appearance of piety.

Hope he doesn't fall off the pedestal.