# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/61 "2011-12-29T07:32:43Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > What are Maher’s credentials at all? “Smart sounding guy who has a talk show for the past 15 years” doesn’t give him license to spout off stuff that no mainstream doctor would agree with > [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I don’t know what Bill Maher later clarified because he’s a TV personality and I don’t make it my business to follow up through exhaustive internet research what Maher later said in a different forum. > [@Martin Hyde](#): > > He didn’t just go off half-cocked, and to be honest even his clarifications that you’ve linked to aren’t really relevant to what he said. I wasn’t trying to argue with you, and it didn’t take “exhaustive internet research” to find that article: just googled “Bill Maher vaccine” and there it was. You don’t like the guy, fine. But your posts and his own words don’t exactly convey they same message, and from what I read I think your interpretation isn’t as accurate as it could be, is all. ETA: Hijack hopefully over. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/62 "2011-12-29T07:44:04Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I wasn’t trying to argue with you, and it didn’t take “exhaustive internet research” to find that article: just googled “Bill Maher vaccine” and there it was. > > You don’t like the guy, fine. But your posts and his own words don’t exactly convey they same message, and from what I read I think your interpretation isn’t as accurate as it could be, is all. > > ETA: Hijack hopefully over. If you look at the video of his interview with Frist, and the Huffington Post article you linked to, I don’t see anything that materially refuse my claims: > [@Martin Hyde](#): > > He isn’t a complete anti-vaxer, but he has stated that he thinks most people shouldn’t get vaccines because you can’t trust the government with them. Confirmed in his interview with Bill Frist. > [@Martin Hyde](#): > > He’s also said the flu vaccine is dangerous because you are “sticking the disease in your arm” Confirmed in his interview with Bill Frist. > [@](#): > > He also “begrudgingly” accepts the germ theory of disease but thinks most disease in America is caused by bad diet. Confirmed in his Huffington Post article. > [@](#): > > I think we all know a lot of chronic problems are caused by bad eating, but Maher literally thinks 90% of all cases of disease are caused by bad diet. Not specifically confirmed in either that article or his interview with Frist. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/63 "2011-12-29T08:24:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > As Richard Dawkins pointed out in _The God Delusion_, for some reason it’s completely unacceptable to mock or scrutinize a religion. If you read the comments in this thread from people upset with Maher over his tweet, you’ll find that none of them offer any reason for why the comment upset them beyond the fact that he mocked the guy’s religiosity. > > Oh no, someone made a comment that points out how ridiculous he thinks another person’s belief in magic is; oh no the horror! And his incredulity is exactly what shows him not to be as smart as he thinks he is. People don’t like you making fun of things they think are important unless it’s clear you also think they are important. It’s not ridiculous, it’s how humans work. That doesn’t change just because you don’t think it’s important. As for Maher, he’s a troll. People just probably forgot about him for a while, so they’ve forgotten to ignore him. I know I didn’t know he was still around. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/64 "2011-12-29T08:35:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And his incredulity is exactly what shows him not to be as smart as he thinks he is. People don’t like you making fun of things they think are important unless it’s clear you also think they are important. It’s not ridiculous, it’s how humans work. That doesn’t change just because you don’t think it’s important. > > As for Maher, he’s a troll. People just probably forgot about him for a while, so they’ve forgotten to ignore him. I know I didn’t know he was still around. Ya know what? You’re absolutely wrong about Bill Maher being a troll. You would have a point if Bill Maher was posting that tweet on the Tim Tebow “I Love Me Some Jeebus” Fan Website For Christians dot com forums, but he wasn’t. He was posting that to his fans, to people who like him and like hearing what he has to say, which is the exact opposite of trolling. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/65 "2011-12-29T12:52:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ya know what? You’re absolutely wrong about Bill Maher being a troll. > > You would have a point if Bill Maher was posting that tweet on the Tim Tebow “I Love Me Some Jeebus” Fan Website For Christians dot com forums, but he wasn’t. He was posting that to his fans, to people who like him and like hearing what he has to say, which is the exact opposite of trolling. No, he is a troll, because he makes all kinds of statements like this, and it’s only to piss people off and get attention. It’s the same tactic used by douchebags on the internet who troll. And it appears to have worked- we’re all sitting around bitching about Bill Maher. Again. And when this dies down, he’ll make some other outrageous comment that will have everybody talking about him again. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/66 "2011-12-29T13:09:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This is the best assessment I have ever seen of Tebow as a football player. > > This isn’t going to hurt Bill Maher. He’s on HBO, which is a very different animal from ABC, and making fun of Tim Tebow is very different from what he said about the September 11th hijackers.\* As far as Eric Bolling goes, but he sounds like another Fox News douchebag. Maher isn’t a Christian- why exactly does he have to be nice because it’s Christmas Eve? And by Christmas Eve, of course, I mean that it was 5 p.m. Eastern on Saturday the 24th. If Christmas lasts from the end of October to the end of December, I guess the afternoon of the 24th can be Christmas Eve. Whatever calendar you operate on, Maher has made fun of Tebow before, and if NFL hadn’t played its games on Christmas Eve, he’d have said essentially the same thing with different particulars. There’s no rule that requires people to refrain from making jokes on Christmas, let alone Christmas Eve. > > \*As I recall, what he said was essentially that they were brave, and that it takes more bravery to kill yourself in a hijacking than it does to fire cruise missiles at someone else. I don’t think that’s particularly wrong, but it’s also easy to understand why people were offended. Your recollection is off – he didn’t say they were brave – he said they weren’t cowards (a lot of people were explicitly calling them “cowards” immediately afterwards). It looks logically equivalent to assert that “not cowards” = “brave”, but in debating and swaying public opinion, they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/67 "2011-12-29T13:20:55Z")
I want to like Bill Maher but frankly I gave up on the podcast after the umpteenth time an interesting panel discussion was interrupted by Maher making a stupid joke. To his credit he gets good, balanced panels in but he doesn’t even try to either contribute on an intelligent level or to moderate sensibly. Instead he’s the class clown at the debate team meet - he thinks he’s funny because he gets a reaction, but mostly he’s just being an annoying dick. As for looking at Tebow and his faith, as always the [Onion](http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=102828)has done it better (link is from the sports segment of their TV show). ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/68 "2011-12-29T13:21:09Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > No, he is a troll, because he makes all kinds of statements like this, and it’s only to piss people off and get attention. It’s the same tactic used by douchebags on the internet who troll. And it appears to have worked- we’re all sitting around bitching about Bill Maher. Again. And when this dies down, he’ll make some other outrageous comment that will have everybody talking about him again. You’re using a definition of troll that’s very popular around here: “Someone who disagrees with me but whom I have no adequate response to.” By that standard, Tebow is the biggest douchebag-troll: everyone is minding his business, watching or playing football, and he insists on making a very public gesture at the exact moment all the cameras are on him, obviously thanking his God when he could do so in the privacy of his own mind. He is provocatively engaging everyone who doesn’t believe in his God, doesn’t follow his brand of religion, or simply doesn’t think there’s any correlation between sports and prayer. His gesture says, “Nyah-nah–there is TOO a correlation, and I choose to rub your nose in it.” Also “If you try to respond to my in-your-face gesture, I have an army of fellow religionists to brand you a troll for your attempt.” ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/69 "2011-12-29T13:54:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > People still watch Bill Maher? His shtick got old really fast. I must say I _really_ dislike Bill Maher. It’s hard not to say “hate.” And it’s not just because he’s an atheist. There are people on the other side of the aisle I have no use for, as well. ---
**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 29, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/70 "2011-12-29T14:09:04Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Cheapshot from a shameless publicity whore. I can’t tell who you are refering to, Maher or Tebow? ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/71 "2011-12-29T14:17:29Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I can’t tell who you are refering to, Maher or Tebow? Maher is the bigger self-promoter and the bigger narcissist. ---
**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 29, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/72 "2011-12-29T14:25:25Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Maher is the bigger self-promoter and the bigger narcissist. Maher is better at it, but Tebow is playing the same tune. He uses Christianity the way Maher uses vulgarity, and to the same end. Tebow practices Xtianity Lite, a public persona with little regard for the words of Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/73 "2011-12-29T14:45:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Maher is better at it, but Tebow is playing the same tune. He uses Christianity the way Maher uses vulgarity, and to the same end. Tebow practices Xtianity Lite, a public persona with little regard for the words of Jesus. I’ll admit, football is pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. Does God care that much about who wins what trophy/idol in which professional sport? It’s all idolatry! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/74 "2011-12-29T14:54:13Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > I’ll admit, football is pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. Does God care that much about who wins what trophy/idol in which professional sport? It’s all idolatry! To be fair, [He’s been a Cougars fan from way back](http://jdtalley.tumblr.com/post/90117272/god-man-on-the-gridiron). ---
**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 29, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/75 "2011-12-29T15:05:43Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I want to like Bill Maher but frankly I gave up on the podcast after the umpteenth time an interesting panel discussion was interrupted by Maher making a stupid joke. To his credit he gets good, balanced panels in but he doesn’t even try to either contribute on an intelligent level or to moderate sensibly. Instead he’s the class clown at the debate team meet - he thinks he’s funny because he gets a reaction, but mostly he’s just being an annoying dick. Well, his show is a weird combo of news analysis and comedy. He has some interesting guests and some complete airhead guests (actors who don’t know shit). This isn’t _Meet the Press_ or anything. I find his show very entertaining, with occasional good insight. But the fact is, he gets the last word, and there is no one to challenge him in his monologue or New Rules segment. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/76 "2011-12-29T15:07:02Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE! > > Y’all are missing the joke - Maher’s tweet is not addressed to Tebow personally, it’s addressed to (as Maher sees them) all the rabid frothing Jesus freak “fans” who have over-idolized Tebow and his success because of his Christianity. He’s calling them out - not Tebow. Bitter, bitter jealousy. And more hatred than is healthy for a man to feel. It amazes me how much hatred and resentment Bill Maher must hide from the world behind all that snark and preening. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/77 "2011-12-29T15:10:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > To be fair, [He’s been a Cougars fan from way back](http://jdtalley.tumblr.com/post/90117272/god-man-on-the-gridiron). He must have quite the inferiority complex, always having to prove how smart and cool he is by making other people look stupid and un-cool. Classic case of arrested development. Bill never made it out of high school. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/78 "2011-12-29T15:10:41Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Athlete’s occasionally thank god for their successes. Why can’t god be blamed in part for their losses? I’ve never understood why athletes fail to acknowledge the Big Guy’s role in their screwups and defeats, if only to note that God likes to help the opposition sometimes. Apparently their ego does not permit this. ---
**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 29, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/79 "2011-12-29T15:14:24Z")
Nice projection there, **Theophane**. Maher is just filled with hatred because he tweeted quite possibly the most obvious Tebow joke on the planet? How you interpret him laughing at a religion he’s gone on record as finding ridiculous as being filled with hate is beyond me. If anything, you sound like the more vitriolic of the two. He’s joking; you’re condemning him as practically sub-human for the sin of having a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/80 "2011-12-29T15:19:37Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Nice projection there, **Theophane**. Maher is just filled with hatred because he tweeted quite possibly the most obvious Tebow joke on the planet? > > How you interpret him laughing at a religion he’s gone on record as finding ridiculous as being filled with hate is beyond me. If anything, you sound like the more vitriolic of the two. He’s joking; you’re condemning him as practically sub-human for the sin of having a sense of humor. His sense of humour is always predatory. Sociopathic. Have you noticed? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=5)