Why People Don’t Stay in Their Lane

Neil deGrasse Tyson wrote a random post on X where he said, "Curious that talented athletes frequently credit God when they win, but we rarely see them blame God when they lose.”

With that, he immediately drew backlash on social media. One person pointed to Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron’s speech about the trust in his faith as a counterpoint to Tyson’s post. You can read about this incident at: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/neil-degrasse-tyson-catches-flak-social-media-over-curious-post-about-athletes-praising-god

To understand this more fully, we need to know something about Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator who has made discoveries in cosmology, stellar evolution, and galactic astronomy. His research interests include dwarf galaxies, exploding stars, star formation, and the Milky Way's structure. Tyson has played a significant role in popularizing astrophysical discoveries and concepts, similar to his friend Carl Sagan. In fact, in 2014, he hosted the television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a successor show to Carl Sagan's 1980 series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

But why would a man with this background even make a random post about athletes and religion? Well, it helps to know a little something about his religious background.

Tyson was born in Manhattan as the second of three children, into a Catholic family living in the Bronx. In addition to all that he has done in science, he has also written and broadcast extensively about his views of spirituality and the spirituality of science. Once in an interview with comedian Paul Mecurio, Tyson offered his definition of spirituality. He said, "For me, when I say spiritual, I'm referring to a feeling you would have that connects you to the universe in a way that it may defy simple vocabulary. We think about the universe as an intellectual playground, which it surely is, but the moment you learn something that touches an emotion rather than just something intellectual, I would call that a spiritual encounter with the universe." He has also made it known that he doesn’t have much use for those who believe in intelligent design, and thinks that belief limits their scientific inquiries – to the detriment of the advance of scientific knowledge.

There have been those who have tried to pin him down a little more. Once, when asked during a Q & A session at the University at Buffalo if he believed in a higher power, Tyson responded: "Every account of a higher power that I've seen described, of all religions that I've seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence." In other words, when he looks at the universe, he finds it difficult to believe it was created by a God who is loving.

In another interview, this one with Big Think, he said: "So, what people are really after is what is my stance on religion or spirituality or God, and I would say if I find a word that came closest, it would be 'agnostic'... at the end of the day I'd rather not be any category at all."

He actually considers himself more of an agnostic. Even when atheists try to claim him as their own, he rejects that, as well. In one interview that was entitled "Called by the Universe: A Conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson," Tyson stated: "I can't agree to the claims by atheists that I'm one of that community. I don't have the time, energy, interest of conducting myself that way.... I'm not trying to convert people. I don't care." He also once stated, "I remain unconvinced by any claims anyone has ever made about the existence or the power of a divine force operating in the universe."

Most people in Tyson’s position either boldly claim to be Atheists or just don’t talk about religion at all. So why has Tyson jumped into the fray to the extent that he has? In some ways it seems a little odd. And why did he just randomly post on social media his comment about athletes – an area that is outside of his arena?

It seems to me that there are two elements at play here. He obviously thinks about religion. Otherwise he would not talk about it as much as he does. It is something that somehow weighs on his mind. A second thing that jumps out is that he really doesn’t want to believe in God, but can’t seem to totally convince himself that there is not. He is at least honest enough to recognize that while he can’t find the kind of evidence that he would like that God does exist, he also can’t find convincing evidence that He doesn’t. Thus, he prefers to identify as agnostic. The truth is, even though he identifies as agnostic, he lives his life “as if” he is an Atheist.

So why can’t Tyson stay in his own lane when it comes to making pubic pronouncements? Why does he even talk about religion? He does it because even though he wants to dismiss God completely, he can’t. God actually exists and is knocking on the door of every person’s heart. He is impossible to totally ignore.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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