# Bill Maher stirs controversy with Tim Tebow tweet **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655 "2011-12-28T19:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/241 "2011-12-30T22:27:09Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If your reason for disliking Tim Tebow is because he’s serious about his faith, that is more a reflection on your poor character than it is anything about Tebow. > > Oh, come off it. That’s a perfectly valid reason to dislike someone. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/242 "2011-12-30T22:32:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > That’s a perfectly valid reason to dislike someone. FTR I never said I disliked Tim Tebow. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/243 "2011-12-30T22:34:45Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If your reason for disliking Tim Tebow is because he’s serious about his faith, that is more a reflection on your poor character than it is anything about Tebow. You’re assuming that faith in something without evidence is laudable. Believing strongly in a religion is closer to a character flaw than a moral victory. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/244 "2011-12-30T22:50:14Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Tebow’s job doesn’t involve snarking about how much he hates religion. Once again, making religion and those who practice it the butt of jokes is not equivalent to “hate”. You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/245 "2011-12-30T23:36:23Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > Excellent choice, trying to answer nitpicky questions like that never works out. **Disgruntled Penguin** claims that Jesus defined church services in a manner which specifically includes the Sermon on the Mount. I asked where this definition is – the one that Jesus supposedly provided. That hardly strikes me as a nitpick. It is, however, an inconvenient sticking point when the claim in question has been manufactured out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/246 "2011-12-30T23:40:59Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > **Disgruntled Penguin** claims that Jesus defined church services in a manner which specifically includes the Sermon on the Mount. I asked where this definition is – the one that Jesus supposedly provided. That hardly strikes me as a nitpick. I agree, that didn’t seem nitpicky to me. It went to the essence of the whole exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/247 "2011-12-31T00:00:34Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > The Gospel is what it is, take it or leave it. Thing is, the people who “take it” don’t take _all_ of it - they pick and choose sections that suit them while ignoring others, based on what they find comfortable. The document overall has numerous contradictions and inconsistencies, of course (as we’d expect from anything written by multiple authors across hundreds of years), though I remain baffled by a Christian who could doublethink himself into opposing abortion while supporting capital punishment, as many American Christians do. Of course, doublethinking is not reserved to the religious - Orwell suggested it could apply to any ideology that remained inflexible in the face of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/248 "2011-12-31T00:03:12Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > How is Tebow anything like Maher? What do they have in common? They’re both entertainers with limited real-world importance. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/249 "2011-12-31T01:24:55Z")
> [@Who\_me\_1](#): > > Is he rising in the east? > He’s a star in the same manner as Snooki is a star. Yes. Actually, I was going to compare him to Snooki in the post you quoted, but work interfered. I fucking hate Snooki, but she’s still a star. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/250 "2011-12-31T02:07:35Z")
God, you’d think Tebow was out there burning puppies or something. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/251 "2011-12-31T02:15:09Z")
What else is there to do in Denver? ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/252 "2011-12-31T02:28:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What else is there to do in Denver? Hey, sometimes we riot downtown after winning Super Bowls. Or ski. It’s a toss-up. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/253 "2011-12-31T04:31:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > God, you’d think Tebow was out there burning puppies or something. It’s not that people have a problem with Tebrow or his faith, it’s that he needs to make such a spectacle of it, and that Maher’s being criticized for making jokes at his expense. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/254 "2011-12-31T06:21:12Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If your reason for disliking Tim Tebow is because he’s serious about his faith, that is more a reflection on your poor character than it is anything about Tebow. “serious about his faith”? Do you think that is all it is? You think that he puts on the same display when there is no audience? When he’s grocery shopping? Cleaning the garage? Brushing his teeth? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/255 "2011-12-31T06:50:00Z")
Brian Wilson (closer for the Giants) makes a religious gesture at the end of every game he pitches. Nobody seems to mind that. I find it incredible that so many people on this MB are so intolerant that they think Tebow should conform to their ideas of what behavior is acceptable and what is not. And who the hell knows what he does in private? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/256 "2011-12-31T06:55:06Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Again, where did he define a church service? Your quote doesn’t mention a service, much less a church. > > With all due respect, if that’s the closest you can get, then I think that you’ve fallen considerably short of your goal. > If I had claimed that a building was required, then your objection would be relevant. Since nobody here made any such claim though, I think we can safely disregard that objection. Since Jesus is not known to have left a “Big Book Of Supernatural Things Definitions” nor has one been dug up in any archeological site, your expectations of dictionary definitions from Jesus are a joke: you must apply the overall philosophy and concepts as a whole to our modern practices. In this case, the modern church service’ point is to remember and worship Jesus (in theory, in practice is a different situation). Therefore the quote from Disgruntled Penguin applies here. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/257 "2011-12-31T06:58:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Brian Wilson (closer for the Giants) makes a religious gesture at the end of every game he pitches. Nobody seems to mind that. > > I find it incredible that so many people on this MB are so intolerant that they think Tebow should conform to their ideas of what behavior is acceptable and what is not. And who the hell knows what he does in private? I think it’s acceptable. Like I wouldn’t fine him. But it’s intensely douchebaggy. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/258 "2011-12-31T11:33:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I find it incredible that so many people on this MB are so intolerant that they think Tebow should conform to their ideas of what behavior is acceptable and what is not. I can’t speak for the entire board, but I don’t think Tebow should do anything different if he doesn’t want to. I also think that jokes about him on Twitter are completely fair game and people on Fox ‘News’ who think that it’s a major, major issue that must be addressed before the Republic folds should go fuck themselves. That goes for anyone else who can’t take a joke. ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/259 "2011-12-31T11:54:55Z")
I don’t follow football, but surely he can’t be the first football player to pray on the sidelines or thank god and such. As for Bill Maher, he needs to take advice from Lucille Ball, who used to tell her writers, “Great joke, but at the wrong time” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/260 "2011-12-31T11:59:17Z")
Wrong time? Now Maher’s responsible for the NFL’s schedule too? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=14)