I don't know why it's a story.... this kind of thing is no different to me than any other story about an athlete off the field/court, good or bad. Can they play ball? That's all I care about. The guy is a great story because he was a huge underdog. If his success is attributed to god, awesome. Good for him. What he does in his personal life is his business. Whether he's a Christian or not has no bearing whatsoever.
His religion isn't what makes the story so compelling. By NOT focusing on the religion, the PC left is, in fact, being PC. Religion is personal and should stay out of discussions of sports.
faith ≠ religion. Jeremy Linn's story is so compelling because he was an underdog that nobody believed in. And Obviously faith played a huge part in him staying tough and true till he got his chance. Everyone is glowing about how great a coach D'Antoni is, well how come he didn't notice Linn earlier?
Because the world doesn't revolve around the minority atheist or agnotic group. They are way out numbered by faith driven people. A story like this is very compelling to us. Just because you don't have "Faith" in Christ; there are millions others that do. They enjoy reading how "Faith" kept him strong and true.
not sure why a christian would find this article "interesting", considering it's written by a very socially liberal jew in the new york times and its only premise is that the moral conflict between the christian doctrine of self-sacrifice and the selfishness it takes to win is potentially a FLAW for an athlete. if you think it's praising lin for his religion read it again.
I find it interesting because of Lin's values, regardless of what people think or write about him. He is standing his ground on his belief, even if he maybe ridiculed for it by people like you or Jew journalists.
I don't understand how the author states the biggest anomaly is a religious person in pro sports. Seems like most are religious. You hear them all the time praising and thanking god. I imagine the percentages are similar to non athletes, religious versus not.
who's ridiculing him? the article is just an intellectual piece about motivational moral conflict. assuming Lin doesn't start Tebowing after 3 pointers nobody is going to ridicule him or care what he believes.
Depends on what you think "ridiculing" means. If you think ridiculing is making fun of his beliefs, then maybe not. But if you feel or think ridiculing is "downplaying" his faith as a story, moreso than just coming out of nowhere; then I have a point. See I read this article and get this feeling that his "faith" is what kept him humble and strong. He works hard because he wants to be a good example for God. Others that don't believe in God wants to downplay this because they don't want credit given to a being that many think gave him the strength and humility to achieve this goal. Example: You didn't acknowledge that his "faith" had anything to do with his success; like many others that said almost the exact thing in this thread. That is a form of ridicule.
If you're referring to me, then yes, I did find it interesting. Not certain I went as far (here) as praising him for religion, though. Personally, I enjoyed reading and listening to Lin's personal testimony (which had been linked to in the NY Times piece) from which the article appears to have been structured around.
Am I missing many others ridiculing his faith? Nate said he didn't care, as long as he can play, but said good for him if it is from god. I don't see where the many are ridiculing him are. I'm not bothering to count Maris.
Again, I explained the differences in "ridicule" above. It doesn't have to mean a blatant "You are such a loser for believing in God" rant. It could be something as easy as "Well I don't understand why God is even the topic of discussion here because it's based on his work ethic". That is downplaying someone's faith, therefor ridiculing what he and others believe in.
It's no big deal I guess. There are those that see the article as a great testimony by Lin and others that don't care.
