Now that the Tim Tebow show is over for this season, I have observed enough to take a stand on his proselytizing on the field.
As a football player, he's a force. A bold leader, a positive burst of energy, an agile and powerful runner, even if he's not yet an impressive, accurate passer. I have no reason to doubt that he will carve out a successful NFL career for himself.
I do, however, rail against his acting out his faith in such a public forum, while in his team uniform.
When at the University of Florida, he was well-known for painting different numbers of Biblical scriptures into his eye black. You would see the number "3:16" under his eyes, for instance, in reference to that chapter and verse of the Bible. In the end, the NCAA outlawed players displaying such public signs of personal faith.
I, for one, was a public radio journalist who spoke out against his eye black expressions. He was in his University uniform, representing the Gator Nation. It wasn't fair to his teammates, nor anybody else from his school, to be lumped in with his own private beliefs.
So now he is a Denver Bronco and again he sets himself apart from his teammates by constant public display of his Christian faith.
Quite a few players kneel in a quick prayer or point to the sky in recognition of their God after a successful moment on the field. OK. But if you tune in to the Tebow proselytizing throughout a game, it is outrageous in its persistence. NFL Films did an hour special on Tebow late in the season. Unlike the networks that cover live games, NFL films have microphones in the huddles, on the sidelines. You can hear every breath, every syllable.
When Tebow sits with the quarterback coach on the bench, when he approaches the guys in the huddle, when he runs to a wide receiver after a big play, he does say the right "football stuff." "Come on guys, this is THE 3rd down we need. We need it NOW." But before any syllable he utters, every single time, it is first "God is good." "God is great." "My God is an awesome God." "It's God's will." As he roams the sideline, mouthing, you think he's talking to the defense on the field, urging them on. No, he's singing, "God is my saviour. God is almighty."
He often gathers even the Christians on the other team after a game and gets them in a circle to kneel and pray together.
I say take it into the locker room. What if, at the end of every session of Congress, the Christians gathered and knelt and prayed together, right there on the Congress floor? As was true at the University of Florida, doesn't this constant Christian promotion, in a Broncos uniform, trump the other common bonds of the team? Doesn't Tebow separate himself from his non-Christian teammates?
Or am I just the kid who in first grade went to the principal to demand that I not be forced to speak aloud the words "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance to the flag? (Point of interest: The original Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, did not have the words "Under God." President Eisenhower in 1954 requested that Congress add the two words, despite the protest of Bellamy's daughter.)
Tim Tebow is admirably inspired by his strong faith. He does many good works, from building schools for the poor to bringing disabled and underprivileged individuals to the sidelines of his games. His particular brand of Christianity requires that he spread the gospel far and wide. But when he wears a uniform, he owes that team the respect of making his faith more private expression, less public spectacle.
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Tim Tebow: Living my religion - Under God - The Washington Post
Tim Tebow, and Keeping Religion Out of Football - NYTimes.com
Public displays of faith put Tim Tebow in the spotlight - USA Today
Tim Tebow Infiltrates the Secular Cathedral of Sport - Huffington Post
Why is this considered admirable? Just askin...
Tebow does not believe God cares who wins a silly game. And thanking God for a success is an an act of humility, and thanksgiving-not a claim of superiority over others.
That would be impossible if everyone of them had to go into his or her own little private closet
-which the scripture, if interpreted hyper-literally, says.
Worse, they are taking it out of context. If Jesus meant it was never right to pray in public, then we shouldn't pray in hospitals for the sick or in public worship services.
Faved, already fanned
Secondly, does anyone know what "particular brand" of Chrisitianity Tim is trying to convert us to, what denomination, what local church, tabernacle, or synagogue? Or, do we just know that he thinks "God is good", that he loves Jesus, or that he is grateful to a God who gives him a talent to run with a football and build children's hospitals in the Republic of the Philippines?
I don't hear him trying to convert anyone, just expressing praise and honor to his God and attempting to live a Good Life instead of "the good life".
And, by the way, if any Jewish, Islamist, or any athlete of any other religious faith wants to live the life of a positive role model, speak praises to Jehovah, YHWH, Allah, or their diety of choice, and give to the "Make a Wish Foundation", or establish a charitable foundation to help anyone in need, Praise God. The world needs all the help it can get.
But what is even more telling is the fact that In a cheering stadium, some of the more angry and paranoid of the Tebow haters are sure he is "praying"! Gasp!
How do they know that? maybe it is just a religious physical gesture like crossing the heart the way conscientious catholics.
Either way, it harms no one and his team mates have not expressed any hurt feelings. But some atheist up in the nose bleed section is "hurt" and "offended." Boo hoo!
316 yards vs steelers , what a lousy passer
BTW, he's a great quarterback & with time, will emerge as the champion he is. Always been a champion at ever level he has ever played in - pee wee, little league, high school, college, & now that he is in the NFL, all the sudden he's no longer champion mentality?
Get over it.
Btw...If a Muslim wants to pray, (Massaqua was praying with the Ga team), no one objected, and they all knew he was a Muslim,
However, prayer rugs or mattresses, or even towels on a field could constitute a safety hazard if it got wrapped around a players shoe, it could cause a nasty sprained ankle or worse..
Me, I get sick & tired of journalists spewing forth their personal opinions as if the rest of us should see their opinions as law, or as public sentiment. Not so.
The author continually demonstrates her own brand of "faith", faith in objecting to what is good & wholesome, forgetting this country was founded on Christian principles & sentiments. And now America is supposed to be against those principles & silent?
Diana, not gonna happen. Till the end of time, faith will rule in the lives of many, sustaining them & making them stronger & more resolute, as in the case of Tebow. He is an unstoppable force, due to his strong convictions & faith. Perhaps more should adopt his ways. They might find peace, joy, and yes, success.
I don't see Tebow as "grandstanding" his faith. However, the scriptures tell Christians not to hide their "light" under a bushel. Yet, Tebow is expected to hide his "light" in the locker room? Get real!