Roy Exum
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has just announced what appears to be a major fund drive. The group, which spews its reverse discrimination in a way that makes left-wing liberals wiggle and other minority activists dance, has named “more than 25 public institutions” that allow football coaches to “impose their personal religion on players.”
The foundation threatens legal action, claiming that the separation of church and state is being directed violated when team chaplains “are attributable to the university and those actions are unconstitutional.”
As you might guess most of the teams in the Southeastern Conference have received letters, including Tennessee and Alabama, along with Florida State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and others most particularly in the nation’s Bible Belt.
Auburn, where former Tiger football player Chette Williams, regularly conducts Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ meetings and often counsels athletes, was quick to respond, the statement reading, “Chaplains are common in many public institutions, including the U.S.
Congress. The football chaplain is not a university employee, and participation in activities he leads is voluntary.”
The FFRF is especially irked that Williams, an ordained minister, baptized former players Sammie Coates and Trovon Reed, and leads the team in prayer. “No student athlete should be baptized as part of a public university sports program,” fired the foundation’s Annie Laurie Gaylor, “They should not be put in a position of feeling they have to pray to play.”
That is certainly untrue. Competition demands the best athletes play and, as Johnny Majors once quipped, “You don’t win many with choir boys!” But it is very true that chaplains serve as counsellors for many players, some who come from one-parent homes and others who need to be often reminded they must behave.
The FFRF claims to have over 20,000 members and states its goal is "to promote the constitutional separation between state and church and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism."
Nontheism? According to my Urban dictionary, “A nontheist sees the God question as insoluble and irrelevant. Nontheists approach the God question from an empirical position, which has so far shown them that it has been impossible to either prove, or disprove the existence of God.”
It goes on to read, “A Nontheist considers the god hypothesis as dealing with matters that are unfalsifiable, therefore placing the question outside the realm of human knowledge. Nontheists see the question of debating God's existence as irrelevant as debating the existence of leprechauns, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Invisible Pink Unicorn, etc.”
As you might suspect, the threats from the FFRF triggered a tsunami of comments on the news website AL.com – over 2,000 and counting -- and in the spirit of fun, here are some of the best ones:
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“Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF): Your days are numbered. Trump ‘16”
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“Whoever stirs the pot, should have to lick the spoon. If the players have no problem, who is anyone to say they can't. Is this organization paying the teams bills and education fees? These players chose this school, knowing full well as adults what happens there. If they were against any practices, they would not attend. This "FFRF" should be very careful, as what they do to others should also be done to them. Believers and practicing participants of faith should not be harassed and bullied.”
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"You can be hopeful because there is a loving God. Whether you agree with that statement or not is your choice. It is not your government's choice," President George W Bush said to applause. "It is essential to this nation's future that we remember that the freedom to worship who we want and how we want, or not worship at all, is a core belief of our founding."
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“The (FFRF) organization operates "to promote the constitutional separation of church and state"...sounds neat, but there is no such thing. There is no constitutional language supporting separation of church and state. As an Alabama fan, but more so as a Christian, I applaud Auburn's stance on this and I say "keep on keeping on" Bro Chette! Tired of Liberals redefining the Constitution.”
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“This same group of people tried to do the exact same thing to Ole Miss last year and Clemson, Georgia, etc. Every program has told them to kick rocks.”
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“The FFR is a hate group and should be treated as such. This (chaplain) is a part of the FCA and not paid by the university. The prayer and counsel is voluntary. The whole concept of taking all Christian life out of the public based on separation of church and State is flawed. Additionally, this country needs tort reform to stop political law suit abuse by the FFR and others. An out-of-state organization should not be able to sue/threaten to sue a University that it has no vested interest in, including human and financial capital. No one on the team complained. Some of the players participate in the prayers...some do not. You Christian hating bigots make me sick.”
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“Wow, they have 22,000 whole people nationwide?! There are more people than that in the (restrooms) at halftime of a Jordan-Hare home game. Go pound sand.”
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“Really! This article shouldn't even have been written in my eyes. These people are a bunch of hateful people who want to form a theocracy using atheism. They want nothing else to be taught or practiced anywhere. They've been chipping away at Christian practices in America for decades, and if we don't wake up and do something about this it will continue. I'm not saying we need to force Christianity down atheists' throats, but I'm saying I'd sure as hell appreciate them returning the favor. I'm not even saying I don't like atheists, I have no problem with them and have many atheist friends. What I have a problem with is these types of atheists, who think they have a right to force their non-belief on Christians but wet their diapers if a Christian tells them about Jesus.”
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“A team chaplain fulfills the needs of athletes who want spiritual guidance. Can they get that guidance from other sources? Yes they can. But most of these athletes want a chaplain’s guidance by their own free will. Yes, he will lead prayers for those who wish to participate, and offer advice and counseling to those who seek it. It is completely voluntary and nobody is forced to participate. Many of these athletes come from homes where there is no Father, and sometimes not a Mother. They sometimes come from tough circumstances and want guidance from a person they trust. They are usually from homes where Christianity is taught. If the chaplain is a comfort to these athletes, and the athletes themselves want their guidance and it is voluntary participation, then it isn't hurting anyone's freedoms or liberties. They are not paid by the university, either. So why is this a problem? Only one reason, atheists with an agenda and pure bigoted politics.”
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“These people must not know too much about the state of Alabama. They are messing with two of the most important things to people in the south. God and football. What do they hope to accomplish? Do they know Auburn just spent $14 million on a TV for their stadium? Auburn has plenty of money to waste if they think about suing them. Hell, we pay football coaches more money per year than this organization has ever made in their existence. I hope Auburn and Alabama tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine.”
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“I have a pretty simple stance on atheism... As a Christian, if I'm wrong, when I die, I'll just be dead and there will be endless nothingness. But if I'm right... You non-believers are pretty screwed... “
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I think by now you’ve got the idea the FFRF isn’t too popular in Alabama.
royexum@aol.com