Fighters and religion

Im going to open this with the statement, I am anti religion.  Spirituality not flowing a specific book is totally different and not what i am talking about here.
I started watching the jon jones in the moment special, and began to get upset with it when jones' brother was teaching his child to pray and say amen.  I look at that as child abuse.  Teaching a child to do that is also teaching them to dismiss other ideas that could better that persons life.  Religion is prejudice.  
Now to stop and think "god" wants one fighter to win over another due to how much they prayed or whatever other fictional protocol is insane.  If there is a god, i think he would reward hard work.  He would reward dedication.  He would reward the spirit of competition.  This i have faith in "god" so i'll win silliness just boggles my mind.  How can these people be so strong in one area and so weak in another?  Why would some all powerful being that can create a universe need the constant coddling of worship? Just seems so petty and wasteful.  
It takes a truely strong person to believe in themselves and not need a frightening figure in the sky to maintain being a good person.
Everyday i wake up and i try to be a better person and i try to improve the world around me.  I do this because i think its the right thing to do.

Ummmm. Ok. I don't think God has any preference one way or another towards whether a fighter wins or loses, and stuff like that, but I'm not bothered by fighters with religious beliefs and stuff, it's what Jones believes, he can think what he wants, it won't bother me. (for the record, I am somewhat religious) 

Believing in there being more out there is one thing, but going on in the manner that jones does or vitor does or even wand on his twitter lately is just too much.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said "God is the details". There's also a common phrase "God is in us all". Religion is without question the greatest motivater and the greatest source of confidence. The fact that people pray (any religion) shows their dedication to mental health. That's not to say you can't be healthy without it, but in sports a great deal of competition is won simply by being in a better mental state. Religion isn't a crutch, but a reminder to be humble, dedicated, happy and to give events in your life purpose.

I don't go to church, I'm more agnostic. But I understand how people use religion and how it can be a helpful and harmful. It doesn't bother me that people thank their God in certain events, in fact it shows humility which is certainly lacking in a lot of parts of American society.

Jon Jones is whiter then me and im white xD

alot of fighters have had tough lifes and religion is something that can bring you peace, i wish i was more spiritual i think it gives them more confidence and keeps them more focused but i dont know if god would approve on scheduled violence

thats reasonable keith, but i disagree.  A belief in oneself is stronger than any belief in a god based around fiction.  All religious books are fiction, that is without question.  

I wouldn't say that. We all have our beliefs, and we can't know for sure what is and isn't true. It's best just to respect other people's beliefs while holding your own.

true but sometime religion gives you the confidence to believe in yourself and have faith ya know? but its true gotta respect all beliefs cuz who knows whos right...

@piercerdan, I wouldn't go as far as child abuse. I am not the least bit religious, yet I do recognize that it has it's positvie traits. Faith can have a profound affect on peoples mental health, as well as provide them with stability in life and often comfort in death.

"Teaching a child to do that is also teaching them to dismiss other ideas that could better that persons life." 
Really?  That's like saying that because I teach my son how to fix a car, I'm condemning him to life as a mechanic when he could have become a doctor or a lawyer. 

"Religion is prejudice."  Anti-religion isn't? 

"Spirituality not flowing a specific book is totally different and not what i am talking about here."   What does the "book" have to do with anything?  It's the message in the "book" that's important.  If the message is positive, the works people do with it will be positive. 

"How can these people be so strong in one area and so weak in another?"  Do you think having faith in something that people, like yourself, ridicules makes you weak?  Do you think it makes you stronger not to believe in anything but yourself? 

"Everyday i wake up and i try to be a better person and i try to improve the world around me."  Do you think being close-minded and disrespectful to other peoples beliefs makes you a better person? 

@Havok, in regards to child abuse, bringing a child into religion is taking away the likelihood of them discovering things for themselves.  teaching your son to fix a car is useful and beneficial to the rest of his life.  Brainwashing him to believe that stories that are false is not. Anti-religion is not prejudice in the same way that anti Semitic writings are.  Im anti-religion because i think the flaws in it drastically outweigh the benefits.  Teaching that stories in a book are fact when they are not is not healthy in anyway for anyone. As for the book, have you read it? have you looked at all the horrible things in that book? The amount of outdated flat out evil stuff in the book makes it bad.  The amount of proven to be inaccurate stuff in that book makes it fiction.
Im am admittedly close minded towards preaching inaccuracies as fact.  I am close minded towards blind faith and ignorance.

@keith, i respect peoples beliefs outside of what can be proven.  Thinking there is something more than we can understand is within reason and not something i would go against in any form despite the fact i disagree.  But thinking noah lived to 950 years old and managed to get two of every animal on a boat he made, i cant respect that nor do i think anyone should. Taking lessons from books is a great idea, following them blindly or simply ignoring the parts you dont fully agree with is terrible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU
thats a really good video on how to look at things.

I envy anyone who's able to follow religion.  Just to believe that there's a higher power out there looking out for you and that no matter how ****** life gets, there's an even greater one waiting for us after this one, sounds like the best thing in the world to me.  Personally I haven't been able to convince myself that there's a higher power or life after death, but the people who do should hold onto it because it's worth believing in.

@lynxguy, i actually agree with you 100%. a friend tried getting me to believe in god but i told her i just cant, even if i wanted to.