i find it so bizarre that people will often credit God with bestowing misfortune on people when there are people who have done FAR worse living wonderful lives in great health.

Fuck Joe Frazier. Ali is The once and future King of the sport. Frazer is a dope addict and a sellout. A phill street trash looooosseerr

I don't have to read that article. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! One would think that an old, washed up fart like that could develop a little dignity in his latter years and pay homage to a great rival of his time! Frasier is simply LUCKY that the hits he took didn't result in permanent damage that the whole world could see.

That is just retarded. His condition is probably more due to Frazier hitting him in the head. And, come to think of it, was Frazier even able to land a punch? God does not punish someone for following their conscience. I did not and do not agree with Ali's stance but I fully support his decision to stand up for what he believes! Too bad there are not more people like him!

"You know you have invented your God when He hates the same people you do."

Both men are proof boxing should be outlawed in this country if we are a truly enlightened civilization. I used to box and loved fighting until I realized that it's brutality is too primitive for a civilized society to tolerate. Both men have brain damage because of this so called sport. To pay serious attention to anything they say is questionable.

I am a Christian and find that sort of blaming people's misfortunes on their own 'sins' completely STUPID and theologically IRRESPONSIBLE. Everyone sins, even Christians. old, old old news. All sins are equal in the eyes of God.

Makes about as much since as that wrestler who's son was in a wreck. His friend was in a coma, last I heard. The wrestler said something like: "I don't know what that boy was in to, but it must have been pretty bad for God to be punishing him this way". I guess that was easier than saying that his own son got drunk and acted irresponsibly. Luke 13:1-5 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke13:1-5;&version=49;9;47;16;51; /././ http://www.tmz.com/2008/05/27/hulk-god-punished-nicks-victim/2

No. Gods punishments are more directly related to the sin. For example one of my many personal punishments for abusing meth was the fact that even after having perfect teeth to the age of 20, at 35 I had to get a top plate denture and suffered through many humble years without smiling.

Exactly FUCK joe frazier. I wish he could know that i hate him like nobody else. Years later hes still being a little bitch. He doesnt care for what was said in reality hes just a sore loser. Ali is plain old just better in every aspect there is. joe is a broke alcohalic, messed up bitch, still holding a grudge almost 40 years later still whining. He lost. Words were said and what? its been a fucken lifetime. joes like a fucken child. joes not even on alis level. Ali has a better life anyways. More money, bigger house, people to attend to him, his ali center, memorials,shit they honor him on his birthdays, videogame covers like fnr4, and hes arguably the greatest boxer ever, his site, ect. joe is a broke alcohalic bum with a huge grudge and hell die that way. On the documentary of thrilla in manilla they said joe was dumb and i agree. FUCK joe and his freinds and family. Hope he dies soon.

Statements like this, and those by scumbags like Fallwell, Robertson, those idiots down at the Westboro Baptist Church and many, many others, continually illustrate why American Christians are the trailer trash of the world's religious community.

First, Joe Frazier is sour and so he's got an axe to grind because he got beaten by Ali! Joe suffered defeat in a match that has gone down in history as an epic battle. Second, if only people would stop insulting GOD because HE is not as petty as you think.

No one gets punished because of their religion, only because of their actions.

this Christian DISAGREES , WHOLEHEARTEDLY, with such a STUPID ,IDIOTIC , mind set... any boxer can suffer these conditions ..its a RISK/ACTION they take.... this is stupid....to try to say God punished these 2 in particular ..its like saying HE specifically made AIDS a disease for gays....i need to puke!!!...i'm better now.....:) any christian who DARES to be so arrogant,self righteous, and PRESUMPTOUS will suffer God's Wrath .... a mans HEART and FAITH in the ALMIGHTY is all God cares about.....God is of an INDIVIDUAL , not a RELIGION....

Sometimes we look at illness as being bad Karma or a curse from above ... when in actual fact, an illness may guide us to a better place by helping us see what we may never have seen before it ... Ali was a great Boxer, now he is a greater man ... part that being due to his outlook created from his illness toward his care for others ... Mans own conscience is what will punish his any ill-fated actions near end ... unless admission of any wrong doing is claimed to himself by himself before that end ... for sake of the unknown of his spiritual destiny ... Peace

poor Joe ... one to many punches to the head me thinks!

While there are times that God specifically punished people/societies... I do not believe that this is one of those cases. IMHO, God removed his protective authority over Ali's spirit. Thus allowing Ali to fall prey to anything. Once a person knows of Christ, than rejects him... God will not force that person to believe, and hence leaves that person to their own demise.

Parkinson's Disease is caused by either Genetics, exposure to chemicals or head trauma. I think that Ali's condition is not a punishment handed down from God but the consequence of his career as a boxer. I don't believe in God but if he is out there I hope that he has more important things to worry about than punishing washed out athletes with debilitating degenerating neurodisoreders. Also Joe Fraizer is a chump.

God doesn't need to punish us. He will forgive us, but He will still allow us to suffer the consequences of what we did.

I would say no. God makes it rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He also knows the heart, where all we can look at is what we see with our eyes. That is just an eample of time and unforeseen occurence, or possibly from things they have been exposed to in their life. An example might be when the tower of Siloam fell on 18 people who were near it or when Pilate had the blood of some of the Galileans mixed with the sacrifices. Some thought that God was punishing them, but Jesus cleared it up. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat5:44-45;%20Acts%2015:8;%20Isa%2011:3;%20Ecc9:11;%20luke13:1-5;&version=47;50;8;77;51; I copied a portion out of an article from 2003 entitled: "How Can I Cope When Tragedy Strikes?" Why Bad Things Happen One way of dealing with emotions that seem to overwhelm you is to arouse your “clear thinking faculties.” (2 Peter 3:1) Try to look at things from a rational, godly point of view. For example, you may need to remind yourself that many tragedies are simply the result of “time and unforeseen occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Jesus Christ gave an example of this when he spoke of the collapse of a tower in Siloam. Eighteen people were killed in that local disaster. However, Jesus made it clear that the victims were not being punished by God. They died simply because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Luke 13:1-5) Meditating on this fact may help you to put disasters in perspective. Clear thinking can also prevent you from becoming “enraged against Jehovah himself” and blaming him for the sad events. (Proverbs 19:3) Far from causing our misery, Jehovah is “the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3) When tragedies occur, we need to draw close to him—not pull away in anger. Meditate on the Bible’s words at James 1:13: “When under trial, let no one say: ‘I am being tried by God.’ For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone.” A tragic event that occurred centuries ago in the Middle East may serve to illustrate this point. The Bible tells us that the sole survivor of that catastrophe reported: “The very fire of God fell from the heavens and went blazing among the sheep and the attendants and eating them up.” (Job 1:16) What a horrible calamity! And this terrified man obviously thought that God was responsible for it. Yet, God was not. Job 1:7-12 reveals that the fire was sent, not by God, but by God’s Adversary—Satan the Devil! That was a unique situation: Jehovah had given Satan special permission to test Job’s integrity. So don’t conclude that Satan is directly responsible for natural disasters such as storms and floods. Even so, the Bible does say that “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Hence, he can use human agents to wreak havoc and destruction. Still, we do not need to feel helpless. Consider another incident, recorded in the Bible at 1 Samuel 22:12-23. There we learn of the vicious massacre of a group of faithful priests and their families. No doubt Satan had some role in spurring wicked King Saul on to commit this brutal act. However, faithful David, who later became king himself, wrote Psalm 52, in which he expressed confidence that God would annihilate the wicked men responsible for the calamity.—Psalm 52:5. Similarly today, you can be sure that God will not forever tolerate Devil-inspired acts of murder and violence. Why, the Bible promises that God will soon use his Son, Jesus, to “break up the works of the Devil”! (1 John 3:8) Eventually, there will be no traces left of the damage Satan has done. By means of a resurrection, God can even restore to life individuals who have died in tragic acts of violence or terrorism.—Acts 24:15.