Protecting America's Youth from Tim Tebow

Okay, I have to follow up here. I'm getting fire from the left over my Tebow post. I have a question for those who find Tim's behavior unacceptable.

Is it that you find public Christian prayer offensive? Are you afraid the impressionable youth of America might look up from their game of Halo II or III or whatever it is and break out in a bad case of Christianity.

Again, I ask, "So what if Tebow takes a knee?"

A lot of more conservative folk find the public spectacle of two Navy women locking lips on a pier disturbing. The same critics who find Tebow's prayer disturbing, ask us to not only overlook this sort of public display of belief without comment, but to indure the interminable accolades of the press for the "bravery" these women have shown.

I myself have never said a critical word about what the two lesbian Navy gals did.  It's a free country. They can smooch if they want to.

But, whether we agree or disagree with a person's public actions, it is fair to say we cannot go inside a person's head and divine a motive other than one expressed openly by the actor. Perhaps the Navy girls were merely demonstrating their love for one another. Perhaps they were flaunting their sexuality to piss off people who think their behavior deviant. It is not for me or you to attach any meaning to their behavior other than the meaning they themselves express verbally. They did state they that they knew this act was making a statement about being gay. Mystery solved. We now know what they intended. Evidently some shipmates bought extra raffle tickets to help stack the deck so their lesbian shipmate would be awarded the traditional "first kiss". A crowd of gay rights supporters were at the pier to cheer on the couple. They have every right to make whatever public statement they want to make.

Same with Tebow. So what if you think his religion absurd. He has the right to express it so long as it hurts no one or threatens their physical safety.

Critics claim Jesus condemned public prayer of this sort "somewhere in the Bible"  Well, yes, Jesus did condemn the words of one public prayer. The words of the prayer were spoken aloud by a Pharisee. "Thank God I am not like that wicked tax collector over there." Christ condemned the Pharisee's condemnation without knowledge of his fellow believer who's prayer was, "God be merciful to me a sinner." That second prayer was also a public one and was not condemned by Jesus. It's is not that the prayer is public, it is the purpose of the prayer that is important.

The prophet Daniel's life was threatened by a law which forbade anyone to pray to any God other than the King. It was Daniel's custom to pray at the window daily. He did not change that custom simply because an immoral law had been passed. He went to the lion's den for his faith, though it would have been simpler to shut all his windows and pray in private.

Tim Tebow has physical gifts few people have. People with ordinary physical talents don't become NFL players. He also has some mental gifts because few NFL players become starting quarterbacks (1 in 45?). Tebow receives public accolades for those gifts because he uses them in a public venue.

Tim has much to be thankful for. His mother had difficulty with the pregnancy and docs advised her he would be either stillborn or badly damaged. They recommended an abortion to save her life. Mrs. Tebow refused and carried Tim to term. He was skinny and had difficulty eating when he was born. Needless to say he outgrew it.

To me that's reason enough to "take a knee" in gratitude, I don't care who finds it "an absurdity". And unless you guys are mind-readers, you cannot say with any certainty what his true motives are.

His critics have a right to comment. I'm just not sure why they think it's important to do so.

Are they protecting America's youth from corruption by Christians?

Okay, I can see that. You wouldn't want that going around. People might start treating others the way they want to be treated. Once that sort of thing gets started, God knows where it will end.

Tom King
(c) 2011

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Tim Tebow

Poor old Tim Tebow has been the topic du' jour among fans and critics alike lately. Apparently he prays before games and stuff.

His critics say he's "shoving religion down people's throats. To prove there's something wrong with praying on the sidelines, the sports and political press have really been working hard to find some sin or other they can pin on him so they can call him a hypocrite - without much luck, yet.


I don't get it.

If Tebow were to don feathers and do a little dance to the "Great Spirit" or bowed toward Mecca or burned some incense to a little golden Buddha he kept on the sidelines for spiritual comfort, the media would be all over the story.  Tim would be bravely practicing his faith in the face of great persecution. There would be feature articles and interviews aplent.  But because Tim's a Christian he's supposed to be "shoving his religion down people's throats". 

This is, of course, preposterous. The fact Tebow's critics can raise their voices to ridicule and mock Tebow's expression of personal faith merely proves that their throats are entirely free of any residue of Tebow's Christianity. 


C'mon guys. Check it out. Freedom of religious expression is one of the cornerstones of our way of life here in the United States. If Tebow was a Buddhist or Muslim or Native American shaman, you'd not hear one word of criticism from me. I am allowed to kneel and pray wherever I want to, so I respect the right of others to practice their own religion so long as it does not interfere with my right to not participate. I am allowed to practice my faith despite the fact that I'm in the majority religiously speaking.


If someone held a gun on the fans at Bronco games and made them recite the Lord's Prayer, I'd see what they were complaining about. But they're not. Tebow's periodic take-a-knee thank-you's to God force no one to change their beliefs, their behavior or their religious practices. They threaten no one's safety. They have no influence on the outcome of the game (though if you believe in magic or that God cares about how football games come out, I suppose you could argue that Tebow's prayers do impact whether or not Denver scores or not.  In that case, though, all you'd need to do is pray for the other team to neutralize it.

Unless, of course, you think Tebow's more holy than you and therefore a more powerful prayer. In which case you should apply to the NFL commissioner (whoever that is these days) to have the practice outlawed on the grounds that God is cheating for the Denver Broncos.  

I'd love to see the commish make a ruling on that one!

And, by the way. Christianity is not contagious. It's a choice and no easy choice at that. You can't become a Christian just by touching one or being near one that is praying. Tebow shouldn't be treated like a leper for being openly Christian any more than you should treat gay people like dirt for being openly gay.

Sometimes I think Tebow's critics have seen one too many Exorcist movies. Perhaps they fear that he's going to start exorcising demons from the NFL next. If he does, expect to see the Detroit Lions burst into flames any day now.


Relax, guys. Tebow's just praying. He's not reporting you to the Sunday School teacher with the boney finger that once told you that you were going to hell for whatever it was you were doing or touching that you weren't supposed to be doing or touching.

I'm just saying,

Tom

(c) 2011 by Tom King