haxrnick
Well-known member
'Nuf said...
Lol probably pains you to agree with what I say with our nice avatars.
'Nuf said...
Lol probably pains you to agree with what I say with our nice avatars.
I know the history and background of NASCAR. But by having very public, very specifically Christian prayers, they are turning off a demographic (those with no or a different or no religion) that could be very valuable to advertisers and therefore ultimately to NASCAR and the drivers. Maybe NASCAR has figured this out and decided the trade off was worth it.
What I don't like about public, group prayers like for NASCAR is that even though drivers may not be forced to pray, there is a lot of pressure to conform to it. Just like I mentioned above where there are issues with pressure to conform to religion at the military academies. I have no issues with in-public, but private individual prayers such as Tebow kneeling in the end zone.
From a believers standpoint, the money is secondary and will be taken care of. ...(snipped)...I have no issue with NASCAR making that decision, I just think its the wrong one from a monetary stance.
As I've stated o numerous occasion, that is the beauty of having choices. Still, Chick-fil-A's Christian stance is legendary and has served them well for a very long time. Even when their beliefs came under attack last year and they were threatened via an attempt to hurt them monetarily, they survived basically unscathed and their beliefs are still intact. Some people find it difficult to understand why that is or why the threat of monetary penalties have no effect, but believers clearly understand...(snipped)...Same with Chik-Fil-A. They can have their beliefs and I can find another place to eat.
I have no problem with this....(snipped)...I don't have a problem with public displays of religion, per se. If a church wants to hold a service on a public park, I have no issue with that as long as other organizations are given an equal chance (including a equal shot at a specific time and date, that is if for instance an atheist group and a church want to hold something at 9am on Sunday in a public spot, then it should be decided by a coin flip rather than deferring to the church because it's Sunday).
It has been the opposite in mine...(snipped)...I have no problem being respectful of others practicing their religion, as long as they are respectful of my right not to. And in my experience, that respect of my lack of belief is hard to find.
Me, too. Good post, by the way...Anyway, just my thoughts and as stated above, I'm glad we're keeping this civil.
Why? The guy was filled with joy and is thankful to be in the position he & his teammates are in. Wasn't it a teammate who stated that the Ravens team are a praying team?Hey! Don't take Sports out of the equation.
I'll steer the topic back around. Last night, after the Ravens righteously whomped the Patriots, a Twitter friend went on a tirade about Ray Lewis, and how profane it was for him to pray
Wrong. "People" tend to not forgive, not GOD. One of my best friends find it difficult to forgive Ray for that 2000 murder indictment and no matter how much Ray has clearly changed and all the good that he has done from that time forward, that one incident remains locked in my friend's mind. That is him not forgiving Ray and his lack of forgiveness is based on his perceptions and not that of GOD's.and that you can't be forgiven for all your sins just by becoming "born again." (Referring back to the 2000 murder indictment.)
We've seen this quite a bit and some are truly repentant and some are not. As for your final question, If those athletes were truly sorry and repentant, then yes, HE forgave them. People find it difficult to understand the importance of forgiving. Forgiveness is essential to healing and we tend to think that if I haven't forgiven him then that means GOD hasn't and HE is greater than I am. Yet, it is because HE is greater that HE can forgive when we cannot.so While Lewis was never convicted, how often do we see people (particularly athletes) commit crimes and repent because they've found God? And does God really forgive them?
Hey! Don't take Sports out of the equation. <sniff>
I'll steer the topic back around. Last night, after the Ravens righteously whomped the Patriots, a Twitter friend went on a tirade about Ray Lewis, and how profane it was for him to pray and that you can't be forgiven for all your sins just by becoming "born again." (Referring back to the 2000 murder indictment.) While Lewis was never convicted, how often do we see people (particularly athletes) commit crimes and repent because they've found God? And does God really forgive them?
I'm going to respectfully bow out of this discussion, simply because there are two sides to this debate that will probably never come to a median point. As a religious person, i feel a certain amount is lacking to people's choice to express it in public, and i can understand the feeling someone has who is not religious but is surrounded by it, it must be quite uncomfortable...hopefully these two sides can find peace more often than not.