Does the fall of Freeze mark the end of 'Christian coaches'?
The response was obvious. Calls of hypocrisy. Constant references to his frequent Bible citations and holier than thou persona.
When a public figure known as an outspoken Christian has a public scandal that leads to his fall, the public response is not surprising.
For example, from Dennis Dodd’s piece:
On that note, scores of coaches across the country smiled. They were sick of Freeze’s self-righteous Bible-thumping. They were also sick of his recruiting methods.
Our editorial team had an internal debate on how central the faith of the coach was to the story about his misconduct and resignation. Opinions differed.
I leaned toward making it less of a focal point of the story. But those with the other opinion aren’t wrong. Dennis Dodd isn’t wrong for including that anecdote in his story.
Freeze made his faith very much a part of his public persona. It’s been some time since Freeze went from a Christian man who coaches football to simply a Christian coach. And that’s perhaps the problem.
Coaching football isn’t a Christian endeavor or a non-Christian endeavor. It’s an occupation.
One’s faith shapes and guides the character of the man behind the occupation whether it’s a constant element in press conferences and recruiting pitches or not.
Does a man’s faith overlap into his occupation? Into his coaching? Of course. Just as a man’s character will be revealed in many areas of one’s life. How does a coach treat people when the cameras are on and the cameras are off? How does he handle success and failure? And no, yelling at players doesn’t make the coach ineligible for the Christian club.
But when a man’s faith is more central to his publicly crafted image or marketing approach than his core being, it can be dangerous territory.
I don’t know Hugh Freeze, so it’s ridiculous for me to say with any certainty whether Freeze’s Christianity was all marketing or if he is just very open about his very real faith that guides him. But I can say that public figures who are very publicly Christian should be the ones exercising the most caution, the most discipline and the most awareness regarding the public’s response to any lapse in judgement. Especially ones involving escort services.
Freeze hasn’t been the only outspoken Christian in college football coaching. Mark Richt and Dabo Swinney are not shy about speaking about their faith.
And of course when sports fans think of outspoken Christians in sports, Tim Tebow is often the first name mentioned. I’m a big fan of Tebow. I think he’s an incredible athlete, and his regular service and charitable acts to various communities and groups are obviously admirable.
But Tebow’s public persona, like Freeze’s, is certainly tightly integrated with his very public faith. That’s not a criticism of Tebow. If anything, it’s a call to Tebow to wisdom and caution.
Like those in the media and on social media ready to pounce on Freeze’s hypocrisy, many are rooting for a similar fall from Tebow.
To fans and media, I’d encourage resisting the need to pile on when it comes to Freeze’s hypocrisy. Of course he’s a hypocrite. Frankly, we all are. Freeze is just a very public one.
He’s also a man. A man who made some mistakes like many people do. Fortunately for most of us, our mistakes don’t get broadcasted to the world and mocked via memes on social media.
Rather than pile on, consider taking the route of empathy. Freeze is a man who is suffering the consequences of his actions. His tenure at Ole Miss has ended, and rightfully so. Empathy doesn’t replace consequences.
He’s lost his dream job, and he’s likely battling for his family. I hope that if Freeze’s faith is central and core to his life that it will serve him well during this time.
Just shows how easy it is to claim to be a Christian. Many claim it, but how many are actually living it? What sacrifices are those claiming it actually making? I think most Christians (and I’m not a religious person) are hypocrites. Taking the Christian identity, but living however they please.
Christian means Christ like. Hypocrites are not Christ like, they are frauds. Freeze obviously lost his way, but continued to talk the talk. Hopefully he remembers what being a Christian is all about.
But that’s what I’m saying: how many Christians are actually Christ like in their lifestyle? If your lifestyle is indistinguishable from an atheists/materialists then that’s a problem for the Christian. Hiring an escort is an easy example but I could show how virtually every modern day Christian is not living like Christ.
Freeze is certainly not alone. Lots of people want others to believe they are Christians when they are part time at best, which is probably worse than just being a heathen. Being a Christian is an all in endeavor. Too many go the part time route.
How many Atheist are moral in their lifestyle? I know many Atheist that speak out on how wrong it is to cheat and lie and yet they do both on a regular basis. How is it really any different? People claim it’s because Christians preach about doing right, but Atheists are just as vocal about things they feel are wrong. If a Christian spoke out on a topic by saying it was his own personal belief instead of of God’s will, nobody would think twice about it.
Your argument is specious. To claim to be a Christian is one thing, to be a Christian is another. The first recognition in Christianity is that the human is flawed, and nothing will change that. To accept Christ is part of the process of asking forgiveness for your sins (and a recognition you will always be a sinner). Nothing in Christianity says anything about once a Christian forever free of the effects of temptation or sin. You don’t like Christianity. Fine. But at least understand what it is you don’t like before holding people to a standard that does not exist.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3/23
#rolltide
I’m not saying Christians should be perfect, but there should be a noticeable difference in their lifestyles. Yet what we see is “Christians” behaving the same as non-Christians, not sacrificing anything in the material and ultimately doing nothing Christ-like. I get tired of people claiming Christianity just to be part of a club and get the identity. People basically just want the ticket to heaven without having to make sacrifice. The story of Christ was of a man who gave up everything, said spare no thought for the morrow and spent all of his time prostelitizing and helping the weak. How many Christians do that today?
Why should there be a noticeable difference in their lifestyles Alatide? Surely you are not insinuating that Atheists are any less moral than Christians?
Atheists have no permanent moral compass. They let society dictate their morals. That’s not always best, and surely not the same as Christians.
Exactly, there is no difference, which proves we are all just materialists at this point with some choosing to believe they will live forever while others accept that this is the only life we have. Christians (if living like Christ) should be recognizable in their rejection of the material and their 24/7 need to bring others to the “truth”, but I don’t see anyone really living that way.
“and their 24/7 need to bring others to the “truth”…”
You seem to be generalizing considerably here. I’ve seen at least 4 Christians respond on this thread that clearly don’t have this 24/7 need to bring you to the truth. So many people want to try and paint all Christians into a neat tidy little box, but the truth is this simply cannot be done. Most Christians I know will openly and honestly discuss and answer questions asked but I have yet had anyone attempt to push any belief on me. The few that I’ve met that do seek people out generally show up at my doorstep and politely wish me a blessed day when I don’t ask them in. Clearly there have been instances where it’s more direct and bothersome, but those are absolutely the exception rather than the rule when it comes to Christians in general. Most people that deny this get their thoughts on Christians from social media or tv rather than Christians they actually know in the real world. Most also have no idea how many of the people they do know are actually Christian.
LSUSMC, that’s a very good point.
I guess you could say that the overall general beliefs of society serve as their moral compass to an extent, but that’s an ever moving goal post and I agree, not always a good thing.
I just want them to stop talking about it. Who cares if the HC is a Christian or a Muslim or a Buddhist or an Atheist? He’s here to coach football, not preach.
I’m with you, CP, but it seemed that Freeze just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop talking about it. Preachers should preach; coaches should coach. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Every coach talks about his personal beliefs of right and wrong, how to live your life, how to be a man etc. It’s always been that way in sports with many young men looking to their coaches as father figures. What difference does it make where the coach gets his beliefs of right and wrong from as long as you believe in the values he’s teaching? It’s not as if he was telling these kids they were going to hell if they didn’t get baptized.
You are right, CarolinaPhoenix, in that this is what is supposed to happen. But these coaches are out recruiting poor black kids to play, most of whom have been brought up in a household claiming to be religious. Appeal to mama and the kid will sign with you. You could go into the ghetto and find a drug dealer with a smoking gun in his hand and a body at his feet and he would tell you ‘of course I believe in god!’. Coaches know this and use feigned religious talk to get young boys to sign. It’s sad, it’s hypocrisy, but it’s true. All of it came around and bit Freeze in the ass. Just think, an apology to Nutt two months ago and Freeze would rolling along with his christian persona intact and Ole Miss fans railing at the NCAA and blaming everybody else for what they did.
You’re making an awful lot of assumptions and serious accusations without any proof whatsoever Wrnhart.
Kevin, this is the approach that most Christian Ole Miss fans are taking. But when you add in all the bags of cash, overlooking other actions by his players and whatever else immoral that Bjork dug up, it’s really hard to find empathy for him.
Certainly an individual choice on how to view it. I’m not advocating for an absence of consequences. Just thought that throwing out the idea that not piling on with regards to the “Freeze is a hypocrite” narrative is worth considering for a variety of reasons. That said, I don’t blame colleagues or fans for being critical. Freeze obviously brought everything upon himself. Thanks for the comments.
I agree. And I love that you comment on other post when you feel it’s necessary. I’m a Christian and also a MSU fan. And I’m not perfect. But Freeze has been a false witness in so many ways for years now. It’s hard not to judge when you are watching him…
Well u know.
You’re not a Christian. We’ve all seen the low down dirty insults you throw at people. Your type of behavior wouldn’t even be an inkling of a thought in the mind of a Christian. By the way, you lied when you said you’ve known me for 8 years. You say you’re a Christian? And you’re not lying? So prove you’re a Christian by not lying. Reveal the truth by telling these people that you do know me by publishing my name here. Tell them where I’m from and where I live as well. Tell them my age. Tell them what I look like. Go on. We’re waiting. You’re a lying scumbag.
Lol. Good luck with your rage. I pray you find a cure. In the meantime enjoy the fall of your program.
Gotta love how you, again, dodge the last SEVEN lines of my post. You’re nothing. You’re a loser piece of shít. Carry on with your inevitably short life.
“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.” Before you
go questioning Coach Freeze’s faith or if he is a Christian look at yourselves. He made a mistake in judgement and actions. Now he is paying the price for those actions & decisions! Everyone sins! No one without it. Bottom line he knew this was a bad move on his part and did it anyhow. Thoughts are with his family who will pay the price for his actions!
The family deserves our thoughts and prayers. When Freeze is ready to truly ask for forgiveness, he will get it, but it will have to be sincere. He seems to have a problem with sincerity, so he has some work to do first.
His family will be just fine. He’s already got more in his bank account than the rest of us will ever see in our entire lives combined. I do mortgages for a living…i could make a lot more money by breaking the rules but I know the consequences, aside from the fact that Im an ethical person and wouldn’t do such things regardless. If he valued his career he wouldn’t have done such a stupid thing.
Life is about a lot more than money. His family is clearly hurting right now.
Exactly, if anything money is a primary magnet for trouble and sins.
The fact that his daughters may never trust him again isn’t solved by money. The fact that a woman that may have truly loved him may have a broken heart can’t be solved by money.
I’m not saying that those things will happen, but money can’t solve ’em.
Just to clarify, as maybe i misunderstood. I assumed he was calling the prostitutes to aid his recruiting efforts. You both seem to be suggesting that he was personally hiring them. If that’s the case then I agree with you completely and feel bad for his family.
MO, You’re right, but the magnitude of the mistakes is mind-boggling. First, doing these things in the first place, second is doing it on an Ole Miss phone, and lastly, Freeze had a chance to eliminate “personal” calls from what what was released under the FOI request and failed to cull this call. That last one makes me wonder if it was deliberate by Ole Miss to give cause. Surely not. But name one part of this thing Ole Miss has handled well, starting with denying everything,which morphed into the lies that instigated the Nutt lawsuit. And it had to happen in a news ‘dead-time’ where there was nothing else to talk about. I wonder if someone has hidden all the firearms & locked up all the poison at Ole Miss to keep them from doing anything rash. Unless THIS whole thing is the suicide.
Perhaps, but it seems as though he was casting stones at other coaches as part of his recruiting efforts.
Coaches who use their platform to spout their fairytale beliefs drives me crazy. I root against Dabo Sweeney solely because he’s such a religious nutjob. I am curious if Freeze was just doing it for some kind of show or not. He’s not just some poor guy who made a mistake and accidentally placed a BUNCH of calls to prostitutes to help his recruiting. Everyone making excuses for him need to stop, he deserves to be fired. The fact that he was an outspoken Christian and involved in a sex scandal is nothing out of the ordinary.
It’s usually the most religious that are the most evil. I also can’t stand the spouting of fairytales but I also get it. Though it’s EXTREMELY condescending. Most coaches are more than likely Christians considering the U.S. is one of the most religious free countries in the world. Anyways, I can’t help but to think of when college coaches are so outspoken with their faith it’s because they know a lot of these kids come from strong religious backgrounds because religion is mainly sold to the poor. Coach Freeze seems like he just took the Catholics churches idea and ran with it.
Every man has sins and struggles in their life. A Christian man on a platform like Freeze is targeted directly from the devil to bring down the Kingdom of God. Like this article said, we all sin daily, but our sin doesn’t get broadcasted on national media. I am Christian and I firmly believe God could use this situation for Hugh Freeze to restore his family. He had a weak moment in his life and messed up. Well fact check, every human being screws up. Some people own up to it and ask for forgiveness, some keep living in sin. In the Bible, it states to not turn your back on a brother in Christ but to gently call him out and encourage him, not to bash him or leave him hanging. He broke rules and cheated to recruit and football games, which in the south where football is worshipped tends to be a major deal. I am definitely not an Ole Miss fan, but I am sure EVERY major NCAA has “cheated or violated the rules before to win football games, just have not been caught. The man will be fighting for the trust of his wife and family back, and hopefully in the years to come, God can use this story to bring restoration in His life. And to the BAMA fan that commented first, not MOST or every Christian are hypocrites, everybody has a struggle or weakness. If they aren’t showing the love Christ has for us and aren’t living CHRIST-like in their daily lives, chances are they aren’t truly a Christ Follower.
With you on all points Brother. Peace.
Aside from the irony and all, what I take out of this is the possibility that the outspoken Christianity in families’ livingrooms was just a recruiting tactic that sells well in the south.
For those who say this has nothing to do with the NCAA investigation, it doesn’t… except that it does. Its just more evidence of a culture that placed utmost priority on recruiting at a high level, no matter the tactics or cost.
As for the personal fallout, I feel sorry for his family.
Exactly.
Are we certain yet that these hookers were for Hugh’s fun and not part of a broader recruiting-based scandal? Either way, it’s terminable, but I’ve yet to read anything that definitively states these were Freeze’s personal playtoys.
Even though the stories say it was for personal use.I seriously doubt Freeze needs to call hookers. They’re probably just trying to protect some kid which I.do find somewhat noble.
My thoughts as soon as I saw ‘escort service’. I would not be surprised at all, in fact, I’d be more surprised if they were indeed for his personal use.
Another exactly.
This is ridiculous on many levels. Nobody is free from the ability to make mistakes, Christian or non-Christian. People spout this hypocrisy nonsense without really thinking it through. Do Atheists not also have morals and beliefs in right and wrong? Do Atheists not also speak out on these beliefs, teach their children these beliefs? Do Atheists not also fail at times to follow their own teachings? It’s a pretty safe bet most if not all those calling out hypocrisy have themselves fell short of what they believe is right or wrong themselves at some point in their lives, so who are the real hypocrites here?
Well stated. Im an atheist, and guess what–I’ve never called an escort service! In fact I’ve never had so much as a speeding ticket in my entire life. I tend to think religious folks are much less moral and ethical when compared to nonreligious people. It’s odd, but some of the most judgmental, racist, un-caring people in the world are Christian conservatives.
I think it’s more perspective than anything else. Christians see those negative traits more often in Atheists and Atheists see them more often in Christians. I’ve been to hundreds of charitable events in my lifetime and it’s undeniable that the vast majority of support was from religious folks of one type or another. I’ve seen plenty of terrible people do things from both religious and atheistic sides of life. I think basic human nature is static. If you grow up wanting to do the right thing you will, no matter what your religious belief is. If you grow up a total asshat, you’ll likely continue to be one no matter your religious belief. Deep down people are really not all the different from on another, we just think we are.
What a bunch of self serving hoo-ey.
Exactly
Christians used the bible to make slavery an o.k. thing to do. A lot of Christians think poorly of atheists for one reason, we don’t believe in god, while a large amount of them are, like you said, racist, prejudice, and the.most judgmental. Throughout history one of the most brutal and inhumane establisments was the catholic church. If we go back 3 or 400 years there wasn’t a difference between the Muslim religion or the Christian one. Both greedy and bloodthirsty. I know a lot of good Christians tho, and tho I’ll never get why they believe in what they do even tho I was raised in a Christian environment, they’re good people and I just view it as the majority make the minority look bad, which is usually the case.
I would say the minority make the majority look bad, but it’s all in the perspective.
That’s a pretty broad canvas you’re painting there. Personally, I wouldn’t put Christian conservatives anywhere near the hundreds of millions who believe women are chattel, gays should be executed, and the infidel must convert or die. But that’s just me. Crazy, I know.
Kevin, this was an incredibly well written opinion piece. One of the best I’ve read on the situation. Well done. The pointing of fingers and shouting “Hypocrite” is used far too often. And no, there is no excuse for the behavior he displayed. But there’s no excuse for any “bad” behavior coming from any believer. Christianity doesn’t give its followers license to claim perfection – it gives them freedom to ask for grace. The secular worldview can’t really wrap its head around that though, so the easy route (shaming hypocrisy) will remain the norm.
‘Christianity doesn’t give its followers license to claim perfection – it gives them freedom to ask for grace.’
….Even though you’re an Alabama fan, I’ll give you an ‘Amen’ on that one, well said. ;)
Really??? Religion is based upon the “general population” being “sinners”. If not, what would you be striving for if you were already perfect? Something tells me that there have been far more egregious crimes committed by more devout Christians throughout the history of the world than calling a hooker… Personally, I don’t buy into fairy tales, so think what you want. But to say someone isn’t Christian because he sinned fundamentally goes against what Christianity stands for. You know “to err is human, to forgive is divine”
As a non-believer, I have a slightly different take on those professing Christianity. Just look at those who profess their beliefs from the top of the mountaintops and tell others how good of Christians they are. The President and VP are prime examples.
Most of these people are nasty, they are mean-spirited, self-serving, demeaning, materialistic. To me, they act just like Christians!
I’ve come to the conclusion that Christians would rather tell others how Christian they are than living what some considered a Christian life. Most non-believers I know are more decent and have better values than those professing Christianity.
You’re clearly hanging out with the wrong Christians. There’s good and bad in every religion and non-religion alike. This fallacy that one group or the other is any better or worse is just that.. a fallacy.
I agree lovindagame. To St. Louis Gamecock, I respect your opinion and you are entitled to their own beliefs. But I agree the term Christian can be used so loosely. Every Christian has struggles and sins just like you, and we constantly fail on a daily basis, just like you. The difference is we believe when we sin, we ask for forgiveness from God because we believe Jesus Christ, his Son, died on the cross for our sins and with his blood shed, he gives us eternal life. I consider myself a Believer in Jesus Christ as well as Chrisitan, because anyone, especially down south can say ” I’m a Christian” without believing what a Christian is. Im not trying to preach or convert you, I am just implying not all Christian are mean-spirited, demeaning and materialisitc, that comment was very bitter.
It’s almost as if they’re using religion for their own advantage…
Exactly! As charitable as some christians are, is it religion that made them that way? Or are they just good people? I pick the latter, to do otherwise is to say christians are amoral sociopaths barely held in check by religion. I don’t believe that. More people have been killed and/or enslaved using religion as a reason than any anything else in history. And it continues to happen.
I’m not religious, but I can respect a man who lives what he preaches. Tim Tebow and Jimmy Carter are two who come to mind who do that. I respect that. Something about Freeze never rang true for me. I don’t know what it was. I wonder who Ole Miss will hire next? We know he will have say the right things religiously. isn’t Ole Miss a state funded school? Until the last few years I didn’t realize just how religiously oriented Ole Miss was. That’s scary considering it’s a tax funded institution. BYU south? On yours and my dime. I think the entire administration down to the secretary should be gone but I doubt even that would change very much.
The only real complaint I have with Freeze is his reputation for casting stones at certain other coaches. I wasn’t in those living rooms, though.
I am not religious, but I can respect those like Tebow who clearly live their life dictated by their faith.
Freeze is a joke… a fraud as noted. Outside of being a cheating coach, he is the worse thing possible: A father who cheats on the mother of his children. Disgrace. Of all the hypocrisy and bad behavior, putting your family through this by far is the worst thing he could have done.
Cheating to get a leg up on rivals is one thing, cheating with someone who has a leg up is another far worse issue. The real losers here are his wife and daughters.
Being a strong Christian is a good reason to keep the man. Its between him and God if he is just blowing smoke. Leave it to the atheists and Christian haters to pile on that aspect of this firing.
He clearly isn’t a good Christian. Not sure what would make you believe he was. We all know more bad stuff about him than good.
Yeah, I am curious via UGAArmy thinks Freeze represents a good Christian…
ANd no, I am not piling on as an Atheist… I am piling on as a decent human being…
there is no invisible man in the sky.
You’re right, no man is in the sky, it’s God.
Actually, there are men in planes and space stations. So, actually there are men in the sky. What I meant to say was that there are no invisible beings in the sky.
Also, what does this invisible thing in the sky always need money? Can any of you invisible being in the sky believers explain why the invisible thing in the sky needs money? It seems like a lot of you all give money to the invisible thing in the sky. If the thing is God, then why would it need money? Just a simple question. Sorry.
I was ready to go off when I read the headline..but after reading, this is spot on. Nice article.
Kevin duffy looks like half the age of Crist and apparently has twice the wisdom.
If you believe anyone who is espousing the teachings of Christ is following them all the time, you are a child mentally and need a job according to your talents.
Bye Crist.
Christians should st least try to follow the word all the time. Freeze did not. Defending him is simply a defense for part time Christianity. That doesn’t help anyone. No one is perfect or even close, but if you aren’t trying, you’re not a Christian, you’re a poser.
I do not disagree with the spirit of your point, but only God would know if Freeze is trying or not. I am unaware of his public persona, you may have more inference.
If you interpret what i have been saying as defending Freeze, you are misreading.
I am merely pointing out the evil of the Piling-on and gloating of anti-Christian forces in the media any time anyone, who professes love for Christ, does something hypocritical.
If you think about it, they are implying that anyone who says something Christ-like must be perfect or else….
It’s asinine.
If that were the case, no one could ever say anything about Christ, which is their goal.
This is pretty good. We’re all hypocrites – Christian or non-Christian. I do think Freeze believes the things he said in the past, but temptation can get anyone. At the same time, he does deserve criticism for his actions. Let’s hope he gets his life in order and this doesn’t send him on a terrible downward spiral – he did deserve to be fired though.
Bottom line, Christian or not we are all sinners and have to face the many, many sins in life on a daily basis. Everyone screws up, imperfect people living in an imperfect world. It’s what you do to avoid the situations that can lead to spiraling out of control, removing the temptations that hit your weak spots in life, and asking for forgiveness.
I know a lot of people reading this comment are in the ‘there is no invisible man in the sky’, ‘I don’t believe so this doesn’t apply to me’, or ‘what a bunch of hypocrites that just like to act like they’re better than everyone. All I can say is A) you’re right, there is no ‘man’ in the sky, God is greater than ‘man’ B) Just because you don’t believe doesn’t make it not true, and C) No, rather you’re saved or not we all sin, the only difference is accepting that Jesus was crucified to give us all a chance and to forgive us despite not deserving it.
This is a terrible situation,for Freeze and Ole Miss. He screwed up, big, but we have to realize that everyone in the world screws up. I believe every man and woman should be held accountable for his/her actions, Freeze is no different. He can use this situation to grow as a human and become closer to god (closer than what he’s been preaching). I think he has every right to be forgiven, however, he has to recognize the seriousness of his actions. He screwed with the trust of his family, his university, and his players. He has to earn all of this back. It won’t be easy, and it shouldn’t be easy. Piling on hate and anger will not help anyone involved in this situation. It is a safe assumption that Freeze just lost everything he loved in the matter of hours. Lets not forget that. He did all of this to himself, and the only thing he can do is be honest with himself to fix this.
Note to next Ole Miss HC: keep your religious beliefs to yourself and NEVER moralize on ANY subject. Trumpeting one’s piety or “love of the Lord” is tedious, often offensive to others, and is in no way germane to your duties. Nor does sanctimonious preaching on the football field necessarily “build character.” As is evidenced by the large number of respondents to this matter, religion is wholly a matter of personal conviction and differences are by their nature insoluble. Hugh Freeze made a mistake, and will have to deal with the consequences…but his voyage of contrition need not be the subject of public scrutiny, nor should it be.
You missed a paragraph Duffey. Art Briles liked the robe of the pious Christian HC as well. If my sons were blue chippers I wouldn’t let one of those “Christian” HC’s in my house. What a pack of two bit snake oil salesmen. Winning is a CFB HC’s obsession. Not God.
Well Kevin, you received post of the week. I know that is not what you were going for but you got there. All of this is a little hard for us to believe buthat it’s really just Karma, no matter what you believe in. Enjoy your weekend.
I read bits and pieces, but honestly lost interest. A note on the title, that question is like asking, ‘does the fall of jimmy swaggart, jerry falwell, or insert the name of any current phony, mean the end of preachers? My brother and I, we went to church, we played football, we worked. That covers it. We are hardly unique, and then you throw in all those ‘christian’ families as well. Coaches have been using bibles to recruit since there has been football, lest we forget Catholic schools helped establish the sport. I don’t think it is a sin for me to say Freeze has always struck me as phony, but that is just an opinion.
The really important thing to remember is that every Christian walks around with the name of Christ emblazoned (metaphorically) across his or her back. We have to always be mindful of that and try to conduct ourselves accordingly. Yes, we make mistakes, and we strive to do better each day. Is it a tough task? Of course it is! But it’s a choice we made….to set a Christian example, even when people aren’t watching. Otherwise, give up the name of Christ and go your own way. But DO NOT carry the name of Christ and act like a fool! Freeze KNEW that what he was doing was terribly wrong but thought he’d never get caught. But they always do….and then the name of Christ gets dragged thru the mud. I hope he straightens out his life but it’s the players and his family, other Christians that feel sorrier for. Innocent bystanders.
I find it interesting when the atheist jumps on a story like this.
What is the common theme for the Atheist?
The Atheist uses A Juseo Christian God given moral standard to judge Christians and heathens.
Atheists are not smart enough to understand that the standard of judgement is a Christian standard
After all there is no other standard because the standard is directly from God
Atheists don’t believe in God, or anything related to him, to include the standard or judgement you mentioned. This has nothing to do with them not being smart enough. They just have a completely different belief system. If you are a Christian, you should pray for them.
Yes and I agree
as a famous atheist once said “please don’t pray for me cause I won’t think for you.” also, there is a broader term for atheism now. it’s not that I put my.foot down when.not believing in God. It’s not saying that there is 0% that there is a no God cause there isn’t a way to prove wise or otherwise. It’s more now a humanist way of looking at the universe and it’s people and how it’s/they were formed and gets its information from scientists. Scientists are basically the preachers to a atheism. It’s a secular way of looking at things. For instance, i can’t prove that there isn’t a god but I also can’t 100% fully prove that Santa Claus,fairies, the Easter bunny, or.unicorns don’t exist. And I’m not saying they’re on the same level but to quote another famous atheist “the evidence for either God or these made up creatures are equally poor.” If you ever feel like when you meet a person and you don’t like them because they’re atheist just remember everyone is an atheist to another’s religion, atheists just take it one step further.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good.
first off religion didn’t create morals. if anything the majority of stories leading to some sort of “morals” in the bible are complete garbage and backward. second, atheists judge Christians just like they do anyone else, I’m not liberal or Democrat but im super left and I can’t stand the Muslim religion. Like at all. It is a disease. I feel.bad.for.the good.Muslims and will be kind to the.majority but the book they follow is not a very progressive piece of work. It’s medieval like and gross. I hate when liberals stand up for Muslims they know are.causeing trouble. Tolerance to intolerance should.not be accepted by anyone. So don’t play the “oh atheists love to.pick on us Christians cause we.like to mock most if.not all religions. That doesn’t mean they’re equal to us tho. We understand some religions are more progressed and more.civil than others and we give credit where it’s due. Not saying some.of us don’t have a bone to pick with Christianity tho.
You are picking on Christians right now with your posts.
Get some help
That’s a pretty convenient position to give yourself. I can act like this because God sent me his standard. Did he whisper it in your ear or how exactly do you know what this ethical standard is? I’m just no smart enough to understand.
Exodus Chapter 20
Christians are human like everyone else. They go to church because they know they are broken, not because they are good or holier than others.
This is a very well-written article. When I saw the headline I thought this would go in a different and much more tone-deaf direction. But this summarizes almost perfectly how I feel about the demise of Hugh Freeze.