Baptisms at the Athletics Complex

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

24 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Voluntary summer workouts aren’t voluntary. They’re well organized to help the players acclimate and prepare for the fall.  The NCAA even allowed the schools roughly 8 hours a week to monitor the workouts because they knew there was nothing voluntary about them. At least, then, we could see the involuntary workout and call it for what it was. With Bro Chette and the coaches, I’ve yet to see proof that the coaches are imposing their religion on their players. Comparing the two is apples and oranges. 

I just took a wild guess. Still not sure what he’s getting at.

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

42 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

Let me ask you a question, do you believe summer workouts are voluntary?

Apparently they are voluntary? Heck idk. But go on...

[PigskinPat 2,579]

1 hour ago, RunInRed said:

Admittedly, it's part my opinion and part anecdotal. But I do know peer pressure is real.  I also know 18-22 year olds are very impressionable and even incentivized to garner favor with their coaches.  When I put all this together with the facts that the infrastructure and apparatus around all this clearly comes top-down, I feel on stable ground with my conclusions.

Legally and by hard evidence, yes, this is voluntary.  Then again, so are summer workouts.

Are you also against players praying in the stadium with university employees and/or coaches participating?

[thaitopher 807]

10 hours ago, Barnacle said:

So long as athletes of other religions are free to do the same, I don't see an issue with this. 

Agree. As long as all faiths have the same opportunities I am ok with it. Now whether they are actually on ththe same footing is a completely different question.

[GwillMac6 20,680]

THE ONE and only time I can remember Auburn football not being welcome of any and all different kind of religion was in the recruitment of Ameer Abdullah who is of Muslim faith and a alabama native who went on to star at Nebraska and is now with the Lions in the NFL. But that was more so a Gene Chizik thing than a Auburn thing. Also disclaimer obviously this was all rumors at the time on the crutin boards and a friend of the friend type of thing so TIWIW and with a grain of salt of course. 

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

6 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

THE ONE and only time I can remember Auburn football not being welcome of any and all different kind of religion was in the recruitment of Ameer Abdullah who is of Muslim faith and a alabama native who went on to star at Nebraska and is now with the Lions in the NFL. But that was more so a Gene Chizik thing than a Auburn thing. Also disclaimer obviously this was all rumors at the time on the crutin boards and a friend of the friend type of thing so TIWIW and with a grain of salt of course. 

Yeah well if your friend is friends with Ameer Abdullah, can you tell him to tell Ameer that ClaytonAU over at Aufamily doesn’t appreciate wasting a draft pick on him for the last three years in fantasy football? 

[GwillMac6 20,680]

1 minute ago, ClaytonAU said:

Yeah well if your friend is friends with Ameer Abdullah, can you tell him to tell Ameer that ClaytonAU over at Aufamily doesn’t appreciate wasting a draft pick on him for the last three years in fantasy football? 

haha not my friend of a friend no one would ever be dumb enough to trust me with top secret info!!! lol..... fool you once shame on them. fool you twice shame on you. fool me three times?! do you know the definition of insanity?! haha. How many times does he have to be a bust for you?.......... ALSO I LOVE where this conversation has gone now. Much more enjoyable now. NEVER to early to discuss fantasy football!! WOOOO!!! Good move clay!

[alexava 6,973]

Well there’s a lot of wasted time ?

[DAG 33,983]

47 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

THE ONE and only time I can remember Auburn football not being welcome of any and all different kind of religion was in the recruitment of Ameer Abdullah who is of Muslim faith and a alabama native who went on to star at Nebraska and is now with the Lions in the NFL. But that was more so a Gene Chizik thing than a Auburn thing. Also disclaimer obviously this was all rumors at the time on the crutin boards and a friend of the friend type of thing so TIWIW and with a grain of salt of course. 

Gene chizik is an idiot if there is truth to it, which is why I refuse to believe it. 

[GwillMac6 20,680]

9 minutes ago, DAG said:

Gene chizik is an idiot if there is truth to it, which is why I refuse to believe it. 

exactly. just a rumor.

[Eagle-1 3,821]

13 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

I don't think he (or myself or others) are imposing a view on anyone.  His point is that AU is a public school and therefore university employees shouldn't openly push one religion or another.  There are open spaces all over campus where the freedom to gather and worship are welcome, per the law, and I have no complaints about that.

Now, if the baptism was done off-campus at a local church or something like that, then cool, no issues from me and more power to them.  But since it was done in the athletic complex, where ostensibly you could have other students walking by who happen to be of another religion, well that's a bit out of bounds.   I don't claim to know the religion of every athlete on campus, but we do have student-athletes from all over the world there, so the odds of someone being Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, etc are pretty high.

And people of other religions happening to walk by is offensive how? Seems to be the problem in America now. Every one is  offended by something. 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

15 minutes ago, Eagle-1 said:

And people of other religions happening to walk by is offensive how? Seems to be the problem in America now. Every one is  offended by something. 

And you missed the point as well.  You'll also notice that of the two of us, the only person using the words "offensive" or "offended" is you.

[Eagle-1 3,821]

3 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

And you missed the point as well.  You'll also notice that of the two of us, the only person using the words "offensive" or "offended" is you.

So you saying out of bounds implied literally out of bounds? Got it. I suppose you meant someone walking by that might be of another religion might slip, and fall in the pool and drown. My bad.

[AUGunsmith 666]

I hope someone paid for the electricity, water, etc. Otherwise, you have a public institution spending money promoting a specific sky zombie over other people's chosen sky zombies. 

[gr82be 14,425]

3 hours ago, AUGunsmith said:

I hope someone paid for the electricity, water, etc. Otherwise, you have a public institution spending money promoting a specific sky zombie over other people's chosen sky zombies. 

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place. There, Auburn is off the hook for the utility bills. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

57 minutes ago, gr82be said:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place. There, Auburn is off the hook for the utility bills. 

Yeah, your first couple of sentences are just a fancy way of saying you’re born from a monkey. IMHO, FWIW, and IBTL ?

 

[Mike4AU 1,739]

I hope everyone is about finished with all the axes that one wanted to grind so that this thread can end. 

[TitanTiger 20,482]

5 hours ago, AUGunsmith said:

I hope someone paid for the electricity, water, etc. Otherwise, you have a public institution spending money promoting a specific sky zombie over other people's chosen sky zombies. 

Can you at least try not to be a human toothache while putting forth your point of view?  

[aujeff11 6,243]

1 hour ago, gr82be said:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place. There, Auburn is off the hook for the utility bills. 

Thanks for the face palm. As TT’s original toothache, I’m just making light of a ridiculous topic that should’ve never been on the sports forum. An official photographer being around to make unofficial pictures doesn’t make a topic like this suddenly necessary for a football forum. But since the can of worms is already open, was it creation or evolution that created the female kangaroo’s pouch? 

[Mikey 16,603]

11 hours ago, Proud Tiger said:

But a lot of guys have come to AU for that very reason and because their Mommas and Daddys like it. Black folks tend to be more open with their religious beliefs and look at what % of our players are black.

Oh, I don't doubt that in recruiting, a strong Christian atmosphere around the team is a big plus. For every prospect&family that might be uncomfortable with it, probably 50 see it as a favorable thing. Personally, I'd be concerned and it would be something Auburn would have to overcome with me but numbers-wise, in recruiting, it's a big plus.

[AU64 10,122]

4 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Oh, I don't doubt that in recruiting, a strong Christian atmosphere around the team is a big plus. For every prospect&family that might be uncomfortable with it, probably 50 see it as a favorable thing. Personally, I'd be concerned and it would be something Auburn would have to overcome with me but numbers-wise, in recruiting, it's a big plus.

You are an old man now with your own life experiences......would you have felt the same at 18?   ....when most kids are barely engaged in church or religion and with few strong opinions on anything other than sports....and probably girls.     

AU is recruiting families as much as football players and the Auburn football program pretty much looks like what southern HS football looks like.   Was a bit surprised about the comment about Abdullah....the story I recall was that he was considered as too small to be a RB and both AU and bama wanted him to play DB....the usual kind of reason that a HS player makes a college selection. ...nothing about religion....at either AU or that Christian stronghold in Tuscalooser...

[Mikey 16,603]

1 minute ago, AU64 said:

You are an old man now with your own life experiences......would you have felt the same at 18?   ....when most kids are barely engaged in church or religion and with few strong opinions on anything other than sports....and probably girls.     

AU is recruiting families as much as football players and the Auburn football program pretty much looks like what southern HS football looks like.  Was a bit surprised about the comment about Abdullah....the story I recall was that he was considered as too small to be a RB and both AU and bama wanted him to play DB....the usual kind of reason that a HS player makes a college selection. ...nothing about religion....at either AU or that Christian stronghold in Tuscalooser...

That's how I remember it. We wanted Abdulla at DB, he wanted to play on offense. Nothing to do with religion. I didn't know he was a Muslim until reading this thread, many have Muslim names that don't practice the religion.

Yes, in recruiting, it's all about families and the numbers are all with AU reflecting the culture of the area.

At age 16 I would have taken the religious atmosphere as normal and expected. By age 18, I had decided that religion didn't interest me one way or the other. By age 18, I would have been bothered if fending evangelism off had to be a constant part of my day. So it depends on how things would work on the team.

FWIW, my wife of 32 years is a devout Southern Baptist and none are more devout than Southern Baptists. We get along famously. I respect her views, she respects mine. It can work but mutual respect is required. Whether that is possible on a current southern college football team is a question I'd have to have answered before I signed with any school.

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

Great thread! WDE everybody!!

[AU64 10,122]

40 minutes ago, Mikey said:

At age 16 I would have taken the religious atmosphere as normal and expected. By age 18, I had decided that religion didn't interest me one way or the other.

I expect that describes the typical HS age person.  About that age, kids  (boys for certain) have other interests and few ae very religious and probably fewer still are evangelical about it. Also I expect that few are anti-religious enough to care much what their room mate or team mates think.  

Thinking about the OP and picture, I notice maybe a dozen people attending.....a relatively small group of guys who share the same feeling as those being Baptized which means that about 100 fellow team mates were somewhere else.....going about their business, likely not feeling an obligation to be there and maybe not even knowing about it.   It was personal after all...not a "show" as someone characterized it in a demeaning way. 

It's interesting to me that some anti-religious people seem very evangelical about their views, eager to push them on others and not particularly respectful of those who have religious feeling......more so than how the typical religious person might react to them...ironic isn't it?     I still think that in 1784 John Wesley gave his followers to Georgia the right advice....:Offer them Christ"  ...emphasis on "offer".....

Once again...I'm proud of those three young men making that commitment and I do hope they will offer Christ to their friends.  

[Tiger 8,826]

While not my personal style, I'm ok with this as long as there is no exclusion of any kind in relation to this (down to players of other faiths wanting to do similar things within their own religion) or any favoritism shown towards players due to their beliefs. 

But I do get what @Mikeyand @RunInRed are alluding to.

Bruce Pearl has been Jewish his entire life and has never been shy about that. But now he's saying he's a hybrid Jew-Christian since he came to AU (https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/bruce-pearl-says-a-lot-of-things/2018/03/14/dbafdcaa-2795-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html). I personally think that Bruce, being a master in PR, knows it is to his benefit to engage with the Christian portion of the AU fanbase. I mean there's a reason at our football coaches press conferences announcing their hirings their faith is always mentioned. While no, there is no overt Christian shadow over AU it's presence is certainly felt. I totally see how someone who did not grow up in a Christian home could feel excluded or like an outsider, for lack of a better term (I think "outsider" is too harsh), at AU. 

I am agnostic, but I grew up in a non-practicing Muslim household [extended family, however, does practice -- prayer 5x a day, etc] (by the way, anyone, feel free to ask any questions about Islam -- I will be happy to provide real answers about the religion rather than some of the wild misrepresentation of so many people by the awful things a handful do fed to us by the media), and when I visited and got to Auburn I definitely noticed the heavier emphasis on religion than say in my high school in North Carolina. No it didn't do AU favors for me when choosing a school but it didn't deter me either, I loved many other aspects of AU which outweighed my "eh" feeling towards the heavier emphasis on religion.