Ted Williams was an atheist

[crazyfingers]

CNN Sports Illustrated

See the last line.

"Ted wanted to be cremated," former teammate Johnny Pesky noted. "He was an atheist. He didn't believe in religion."

Chances are 10-14% of the people that you know are atheist, agnostic, humanist or otherwise nonbelievers and are just afraid to say so because of the unjustified negative reactions that they would receive.

We are everywhere.

 

[kimmee]

Im not saying this to be mean but....hasn't anyone ever told you not to belive eveything you hear?Im not saying that this statement is wrong because it could very well be the truth...but Your only getting this from ONE sorce. Alot of people in the world may hide thir belifes because they are scared of what others may say or do. We as Followers of Chirst know that this is wrong to do...but thats not saying it doesnt happen. As well...like you quote says this is what ONE man noted. once again Im sorry if that sounds a little mean, I dont mean for it to sound like that.

 

[crazyfingers]

Lacking information to the contrary, I do think that it's reasonable to conditionally accept the word of a friend of his, given that there are about 30 million non-believers in the US and that non-believe in a deity has nothing to do with the quality of ones' character.

Mainly I wonder if peoples' opinion of Ted Williams would change simply based on the knowledge that he was an atheist. If it does, then I think that those people have some "soul" searching to do.

 

[Gunny]

Well, once again, Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters of all time. Personally, I don't see another ballplayer batting .400 or over in a season. Extremely hard endeavor to say the least.


My father got to see many of the greats in professional baseball.
I would have loved to have been able to see some of the old great players of a different era.


Who cares if Ted Williams believed in flying monkeys, the fact of the matter he was a baseball legend at a time when the allmighty dollar didn't rule the game as it does now.

Ted Williams desrves recognition of his great baseball skills not if he was an atheist.

If he was still alive I bet bottom dollar he would be in agreement.


GySgt James

 

[Raging Atheist]

Originally posted by gunnysgt

If he was still alive I bet bottom dollar he would be in agreement.

Or maybe he was a real jerk and would want to argue over the existance of god with you, just for the sake of arguing...

 

[strathyboy]

Originally posted by crazyfingers

Chances are 10-14% of the people that you know are atheist, agnostic, humanist or otherwise nonbelievers and are just afraid to say so because of the unjustified negative reactions that they would receive.

We are everywhere.

Ummm....... and? So? Did this really warrant the creation of a thread?
I find it interesting that atheists care more about what religion a person is than what they have accomplished in their life.

 

[Duster]

Yeah, who cares? Thats Ted's problem.

Great ballplayer, but if he denied his savior, his .400 batting average isn't going to mean beans to him now huh?

10-14% ? Pretty small odds, Should we make Atheists a seperate minority?

 

[Duster]

So what 85% are theist?

WE ARE EVERYWHERE

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by strathyboy


Ummm....... and? So? Did this really warrant the creation of a thread?

Yes. I have already stated the point but I'll state it again in a different way. Given that something like 45% of the US population thinks that one must believe in a supreme being to be a good person, I wonder how those people would view the info. that Ted Williams was an atheist.

He is honored not just as a great baseball player but also for his service to the country in war and his dedication to the Jimmy Fund, if I remember correctly.

Will those 45% of Americans who think that God is necessary for moralily change their minds about their beliefs? Will they change their minds about him? Will they rationalize him away as an exception?

I find it interesting that atheists care more about what religion a person is than what they have accomplished in their life.

Frankly, I was rather wondering the same thing about that 45% of Americans who think that one must have a god to be good.

That was the point. You jumped to a very erroneous conclusion regarding my intent I'm afraid.

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by Nucleon
Yeah, who cares? Thats Ted's problem.

It's to his credit.

Great ballplayer, but if he denied his savior, his .400 batting average isn't going to mean beans to him now huh?

Since he is, unfortuately, gone, it most certainly doesn't matter to him any more.

10-14% ? Pretty small odds,

30 million people in the US is a lot of people. If atheists constituted a church I believe that we would be the second largest, falling between Baptists and Catholics.

Should we make Atheists a seperate minority?

How about all those 45% of theists just quit treating us like second class citizens. That's be a start.

 

[Duster]

Whatever, like I even recognize an Atheist on the street, where do Atheists get treated like second class citizens? No where!

 

[strathyboy]

Originally posted by crazyfingers

Yes. I have already stated the point but I'll state it again in a different way. Given that something like 45% of the US population thinks that one must believe in a supreme being to be a good person, I wonder how those people would view the info. that Ted Williams was an atheist.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that 45% statistic from? And that still doesn't really explain why you started the thread. Is this an outcry against something Christians have done to you personally?

Originally posted by crazyfingers
He is honored not just as a great baseball player but also for his service to the country in war and his dedication to the Jimmy Fund, if I remember correctly.

Will those 45% of Americans who think that God is necessary for moralily change their minds about their beliefs? Will they change their minds about him? Will they rationalize him away as an exception?

Frankly, I was rather wondering the same thing about that 45% of Americans who think that one must have a god to be good.

That was the point. You jumped to a very erroneous conclusion regarding my intent I'm afraid.

Up until this point I haven't seen any Christian claiming Ted was a Christian. So the first thread I saw regarding Ted is a thread by an atheist announcing that he was atheist. This is why I reached the conclusion I did. I asked the question "who cares what religion he is?" And in these forums, guess who gave us an answer? An atheist did.

 

[Duster]

Do you wear I am an Atheist T-Shirts? How would anyone know you are atheist? Let alone a second class citizen.

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by Nucleon
Whatever, like I even recognize an Atheist on the street, where do Atheists get treated like second class citizens? No where!

How about the G.H.W. Bush quote where he says that atheists can't be considered good patriotic citizens because we are one nation under god?

How about all of that outpooring of hate when the 9th correctly ruled that the law that added "Under God" to the pledge is unconstitutional? I was called by my local paper on that so that they could get the opinion of an atheist. But I declined to do it for fear of retribution by those who think that it's OK to ignore the rights of the non-religious.

How about the whole McCarthy era for that matter.

How about the fact that the Boy Scouts will not allow an atheist boy to join or an atheist parent participate? They exclude not just gays but atheists. Why? On what moral grounds do they do that? I called them myself once. I will be adopting a child soon and wanted to know whether to consider allowing him to join the scouts.

There are many many examples of this kind of stuff.

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by strathyboy

Just out of curiosity, where did you get that 45% statistic from?

Poll

See page 3. 47%.

And that still doesn't really explain why you started the thread. Is this an outcry against something Christians have done to you personally?

I'd say some christians. See above for a few examples.

I am trying to point out that some christians, 45% or so +- think badly about the nonreligious for no good reason.

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by Nucleon
Do you wear I am an Atheist T-Shirts? How would anyone know you are atheist? Let alone a second class citizen.

Of course not. I don't want to cause problems for myself.

Are you arfaid to state in public, at work, to the extrended family that you are Christian?

We'll I do fear stating in public that I'm an atheist. And that's because so many xians have such negative views about atheists no valid reason.

 

[strathyboy]

Originally posted by crazyfingers


How about the whole McCarthy era for that matter.

I'll just address this one point. If you're going to blame McCarthyism on Christians as an attack on atheists, then I feel perfectly justified in blaming Stalinism on atheists. How many people did McCarthyism murder?

I have no idea what you're talking about with the other ones. I notice that no other atheists are jumping up to declare that they are also discriminated against by the US. Perhaps you should move to a different neighbourhood.

 

[kimmee]

How did this get from one of the greatest baseball players of all times to BOYSCOUTS! if you are going to make a statement then please have something to say to support it!

I am trying to point out that some christians, 45% or so +- think badly about the nonreligious for no good reason. [/B][/QUOTE] I would never ever think bad of others even if they arnt religious!who cares!If they can't find God and don't want him in their life so let it be!Some of the nicest people I know dont belive in God,but they most surtinly DO NOT go around bad mouthing any people that belive in God!

 

[strathyboy]

Originally posted by crazyfingers


Poll

See page 3. 47%.

I have some issues with your source and with your presentation of the statistics presented within.
First off, your source says that 47% of Christians say that belief in God is necessary to be moral. This does not mean that 47% of Christians think that atheists are bad people. I do not equate morality with the worth of a person in any way. For instance, I have a roommate who, to put it mildly, gets around. He's a real ladies man. I think his actions are immoral, but I do not hate him, think he's a bad person, or otherwise discriminate against him because he does not share my beliefs.
Second, the first few pages of the essay seem blatantly anti-religious. It mocks those who have joined a religion since September 11th, suggesting that religion as a whole was to blame for the attacks, and is still to blame for much of the conflict in the world today. I would question just how "objective" the poll used to gain that 47% statistic is.

Originally posted by crazyfingers
I'd say some christians. See above for a few examples.

I am trying to point out that some christians, 45% or so +- think badly about the nonreligious for no good reason.

Do you think badly about Christians for "no good reason"? I still question why Ted Williams was used as an example. Using him to try to push an atheist agenda by proving to Christians that some non-Christians can be famous too seems low.

EDIT: Apparently you didn't even read the website you gave. There are several reasons in there why that website believes Christians would believe atheists to be immoral. Again, if I think an atheist is immoral, I do not think that they are bad or desire to harm them in any way.
Your suggestion that Christians near you have such feelings is a thoroughly unconvincing argument. Using unproveable personal examples to attempt to prove a generalization about the whole of Christianity is simply bad logic.

 

[crazyfingers]

Originally posted by strathyboy


I have no idea what you're talking about with the other ones.

I don't know why you don't understand.

I notice that no other atheists are jumping up to declare that they are also discriminated against by the US.

It's as much the Federal government. It more an issue of society in general appear to think badly of nonbelievers.

If you like, I can PM you with a webiste where you'll find a lot of examples of how badly atheists tend to get treated by others in their towns and family when they are found out. But I believe that I'm not allowed to post the link here.

Perhaps you should move to a different neighbourhood.

I think that your perception might be tainted by your location. Generally Canada is seen as a much more hospitable place to be an atheist than the US.