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I'm not much of a football fan, but I know who Tim Tebow is. He's known to
me as the player who, with his mother, made a Super Bowl commercial for
Focus on the Family. It's hard to forget because of all the controversy it
generated. Women's groups demanded that CBS not use it, claiming that to
air an anti-abortion commercial would be divisive.
As it turned out, the ad wasn't a hard-sell against abortion, or
pro-abortionists. The words "abortion" and "pro-life" weren't even used.
Tim's mom simply talked about how happy she was that Tim survived what was a
difficult pregnancy. She didn't even mention the fact that because of an
illness, she was advised to have an abortion but chose not to. The
commercial ended with these words appearing on the screen: "Celebrate
family. Celebrate life."
Doesn't sound very controversial, does it? Nonetheless, controversy
continues to follow Tim Tebow.
George Weigel, a renowned Catholic intellectual and author of Witness to
Hope (a biography of Pope John Paul II), recently wrote a piece for The
Arlington Catholic Herald called "Tim Tebow and Christophobia." George
Weigel writing about Tim Tebow was enough to spark my curiosity.
First, some basics. Tebow, now in his second year in the NFL, began the
season as the third-string quarterback for the Denver Broncos, but has
started under center the last two games. While he was a college player, he
won the Heisman trophy leading the University of Florida to two national
collegiate championships. Some sports commentators have called Tebow the
greatest college football player ever. Others, however, have questioned his
ability to succeed playing pro football. All in all, there's been a lot of
hype and some squawking that Tebow wasn't living up to it. But that's not
the controversy I'm talking about.
It turns out that last month, ESPN aired one of its "Outside the Lines"
specials on the subject of why Tim Tebow had become such a contentious
figure in sports. Here's a line from the special that sums it up: "Despite
his popularity, Tim Tebow's outspokenness about his conservative Christian
beliefs has made him a polarizing figure."
As Weigel rightly points out, there are plenty of sports figures out there
who might be deserving of controversy, but it's Tim Tebow who's "more
polarizing than trash-talking NBA behemoths; more polarizing than
foul-mouthed Serena Williams; more polarizing than NFL all-stars who father
numerous children by numerous women, all out of wedlock." It's Tim Tebow
who arouses the ire of so many because of his Christian faith.
The ESPN special went so far as to say that Tebow has a "seething army of
detractors." There's a Facebook page called "I Hate Tim Tebow," and another
named "Tim Tebow Crying," with over 14,000 "likes." There's a website
called TebowHaters.com. Comedian Matt Besser has said that hating Tim Tebow
is one of his favorite hobbies. One of comedian John Oliver's jokes,
obviously written before the Navy Seals' successful operation in Pakistan,
goes something like this: If he had a gun with one bullet and Osama bin
Laden and Tim Tebow were in the room, he'd obviously shoot bin Laden. But
if he had two bullets, he'd shoot Tim Tebow first. Besser offers this
explanation to ESPN of his antipathy to Tebow: "We don't need our athletes
telling us how to behave religiously or politically."
Reporter Jeff Darlington wrote a piece for NFL.com about the vitriol
directed against Tebow. As part of his research, he conducted a survey
using Twitter, asking people this: "A question for anyone who dislikes
Tebow for reasons other than his ability as a QB: What is it about him that
bothers you?" Here are some sample responses: "The God thing for one. He
just seems like a phony." Others referred to Tebow's "holier than thou
crap," and to the fact that he "brings his Bible thumping nonsense anywhere
he goes." Another said he dislikes Tebow because he "wears his religion on
his sleeve too much."
The fact is that many sports figures are open about their faith, getting
down on one knee or pointing to the sky after a touchdown. Many athletes
openly thank God during post-game press conferences and pray together before
games. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner relates to Tebow. "Like me," he
told Darlington, "Tim wears his faith on his sleeve. I felt like there were
always people who said football should be over here and faith should be over
there. But that drove me. And I think it drives him."
Warner may be right about people always objecting to open displays of faith
by athletes, but with Tebow it seems extreme. Tom Krottenmaker, who writes
on religion and public life for USA Today, says that Tebow "has become the
poster boy for evangelical Christianity in the sports arena which places
[him] at the epicenter of a cultural storm that divides our nation." And I
think that sums it up perfectly. This is about the culture wars, and more
specifically about growing anti-Christian sentiment in this country.
Tim Tebow visits sick children in hospitals. He spends time working at his
father's mission in the Philippines. He has openly stated that he believes
in saving sex for marriage. And, as George Weigel points out, "There is not
the slightest evidence that Tebow has ever forced himself and his
convictions on his teammates or on an unsuspecting public."
Tebow is open about his faith, no question about it. He famously wore
Bible verses on his eye-black strips while playing college football. When
Tebow wrote "John 3:16" on those strips during a championship game, 92
million people reportedly searched it on Google.
For this he is derided and called "holier than thou." For being an openly
faithful Christian, Tim Tebow is hated. Christophobia is real and getting
stronger.
COPYRIGHT AMERICAN FAMILY NEWS NETWORK 2011
'If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.'- (II Corinthians 5:17)
Anders Behring Breivik, the man who admitted to Friday's bombing and mass shooting in Norway that killed more than 90 people, arrived at a closed custody hearing in Oslo on Monday, Norway's NTB news agency said. "Everyone here wants him dead," one of the three or four people banging on the car told reporters. The press gathered around a Volvo station wagon with deeply tinted windows that slowly pulled into the garage entrance of the courthouse, although there was no official word that the suspect was inside. Some members of the public pushed through the cameras, screaming and cursing, and one man beat the windows of the car with his fists. Prosecutors requested the closed session, and want Breivik detained for an initial eight weeks — normally this is in solitary confinement with no access to news, letters or visitors, except a lawyer. His custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges. Breivik, a self-confessed mass killer, had said through his lawyer that he wants to explain his motives at the hearing, but a judge ruled that the hearing would be closed to the public and press. Police have said a trial could be a year away. The maximum jail term in Norway is 21 years, although that can be extended if there is a risk of repeat offenses. "In theory he can be in jail for the rest of his life," said professor of criminal law at the University of Oslo, Staale Eskeland.
The 32-year-old, who portrays himself as crusader against a tide of Islam in a rambling 1,500-page manifesto, says he wants to explain acts he deemed 'atrocious' but 'necessary'.
Story: Norway attacks shine light on right-wing extremism in Europe
Breivik has asked to wear a uniform in court, but his lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said he did not know what type. The killer was dressed as a policeman during his shooting spree.
Breivik has not served in the armed forces but in some of the pictures he posted on the Internet before his killing spree he was dressed in a military-style outfit.
"He has been politically active and found out himself that he did not succeed with usual political tools and so resorted to violence," Lippestad told TV2 news. "I await a medical assessment of him," he said. Lippestad said his client had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour youth camp and an earlier bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district, but that he denies any criminal guilt. The worst peacetime massacre in the normally placid country's modern history appears to have been driven by Breivik's mission to save Europe from what he sees as the threats of Islam, immigration and multiculturalism.
That he surrendered to police when finally confronted on the tiny island of Utoeya after shooting dead 86 youngsters underlines his desire to secure a public platform.
Breivik wrote in his manifesto, posted hours before his attacks, that if he survived his assault and was arrested, this would "mark the initiation of the propaganda phase".
(July 15, 2011) Rick Perry to America: Pray to Jesus, or else!
--"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16