[Pops Maellard]

It would be quite hard to reconcile devout religious practice and a tennis career. Tennis players can't attend regular church services or fast for starters . Maybe if they give up something other than food...

I guess many religions are different and don't call for regular church service, but many Christian ones do...

[Monzanator]

Originally Posted by Raiden

Radwanska must be in shock today (cause God's rottweiler a.k.a the pope unprecedentedly decided to resign/abdicate)

I don't think she was This Pope was way too old when he got elected in first place and never had the support of the youths like the one before him. This is a common mistake among non-Catholics to think all the Popes are the same. I think Ratzinger was very popular with the cardinals but not among the actual people (bit like Paul VI).

[swissmr]

One of my pet peeves is when athletes/sportsmen look to the sky/thank God after their victory

[swissmr]

In 2008, intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg examined whether IQ relates to denomination and income, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, which includes intelligence tests on a representative selection of white American youth, where they have also replied to questions about religious belief. His results, published in the scientific journal Intelligence, demonstrated that atheists scored an average of 1.95 IQ points higher than agnostics, 3.82 points higher than liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than dogmatic persuasions.[9]

Nyborg also co-authored a study with Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Ulster, which compared religious belief and average national IQs in 137 countries.[10] The study analysed the issue from several viewpoints. Firstly, using data from a U.S. study of 6,825 adolescents, the authors found that atheists scored 6 IQ points higher than non atheists.

Source: Religiosity and intelligence

[ranfurly]

So Anyway...

Coetzer, Grandin, Mariaan De Swardt, Black, Scheepers are I would hazard a guess if not religious, belong to the Dutch Reformed Church.

[GrassGOAT]

Originally Posted by ranfurly

So Anyway...

Coetzer, Grandin, Mariaan De Swardt, Black, Scheepers are I would hazard a guess if not religious, belong to the Dutch Reformed Church.

Grandin and Black are both from English descent, so I highly doubt they are in the Dutch Reformed church. My guess would be Protestant. You are probably right about the other three - definitely Coetzer, I know a couple of her cousins and they are a VERY religious Dutch Reformed family, although Amanda herself is now married to a Jewish guy in the States, so I am not sure if she converted to Judaism prior to her marriage, or kept her previous religion.

[stromatolite]

Originally Posted by swissmr

One of my pet peeves is when athletes/sportsmen look to the sky/thank God after their victory

Even though I'm an atheist myself, I try to be respectful of other people's religious beliefs, but this is one of my peeves as well.

I mean, what do they think, that god is a match-fixing tennis fan?

[crystal ball]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

Even though I'm an atheist myself, I try to be respectful of other people's religious beliefs, but this is one of my peeves as well.

I mean, what do they think, that god is a match-fixing tennis fan?

No, they thank Him for this moment of happiness.

[Caesar1844]

It is just evidence of the staggering hubris of your average religious person, in assuming that any omnipotent and omniscient transdimensional being would give two fucks about them.

[stromatolite]

Originally Posted by crystal ball

No, they thank Him for this moment of happiness.

I suppose this is one way of looking at it. But you still have to ask what exactly they are thanking him for.

Either they won under their own steam, in which case god didn't do squat and deserves no thanks, or god interfered to alter the outcome of a tennis match, in which case he's a match-fixer.

[dsanders06]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

Even though I'm an atheist myself, I try to be respectful of other people's religious beliefs, but this is one of my peeves as well.

I mean, what do they think, that god is a match-fixing tennis fan?

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I suppose this is one way of looking at it. But you still have to ask what exactly they are thanking him for.

Either they won under their own steam, in which case god didn't do squat and deserves no thanks, or god interfered to alter the outcome of a tennis match, in which case he's a match-fixer.

Yup. And as Agassi said in his autobiography (bitching about when Chang did it), it's disrespectful/insensitive to your opponent, suggesting that God if there is one would've preferred your opponent to win than you.

If there's a God, I'm pretty sure he has higher priorities than intervening in tennis matches.

[Monzanator]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I suppose this is one way of looking at it. But you still have to ask what exactly they are thanking him for.

Either they won under their own steam, in which case god didn't do squat and deserves no thanks, or god interfered to alter the outcome of a tennis match, in which case he's a match-fixer.

Only an atheist HAS to ask those kind of questions It's funny because the atheists are so interested in beliefs of other people whereas I for instance don't care what atheists' spiritual life is And there's no ban on expressing religious faith, it's just the atheists don't have a similar sign/body language that they can display in the public and therefore indicate they're atheists.

[Serenita]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I suppose this is one way of looking at it. But you still have to ask what exactly they are thanking him for.

Either they won under their own steam, in which case god didn't do squat and deserves no thanks, or god interfered to alter the outcome of a tennis match, in which case he's a match-fixer.

For you, but for 60 % of believers thats not the case. Many believers feel/think .. (have Faith) that God does have influence in their lifes. So yes it can be he is match fixing, taking life,and giving life.

[stromatolite]

Originally Posted by Serenita

For you, but for 60 % of believers thats not the case. Many believers feel/think .. (have Faith) that God does have influence in their lifes. So yes it can be he is match fixing, taking life,and giving life.

I don't want to get into a theological discussion here, but even if I was religiously inclined, I would find it hard to worship a match fixer (or an arbitrary giver/taker of life). Bit too old testament for my liking: you do right by me and I (maybe) won't kill your sons or destroy your crops.

[crystal ball]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I don't want to get into a theological discussion here

Good, because this is not a place for it
But just consider a person thanking their parents on the graduation day/wedding day/after some professional success. This person doesn't suggest that the parents corrupted professors/the bride /the boss. It's more complex than that. You don't have to understand the emotional need to express thanks to God in this moment, but don't treat religious people as simpletons who don't understand the mechanisms of the world. We are talking about athletes, who are working many hours every day. They are not believing that their success is a simple transaction - I will believe in God and he will give me win. But they feel, that they owe Him something - and it's a very personal something. It's also not a gesture against an opponent - not in the slightest and no religious person should take it like this.