Tim Tebow's "Tebowing" is religious obnoxiousness

I like Tim Tebow.

Never met the Denver Bronco's quarterback, but when I've seen him interviewed on TV (Jon Stewart talked with him on The Daily Show fairly recently) Tebow comes across as humble and unassuming.

But that's when he isn't "Tebowing," an irritating in-your-face display of his Christianity, where Tebow gets down on one knee, with his elbow resting on his other knee, head bowed in a prayerful stance. This has become a craze, with a web site devoted to Tebowing (including a Top Ten, naturally; the dog doing a modified version of the posture was the only photo that appealed to me).

So I don't like Tim Tebow's overt religiosity.

It would be obnoxious to me anywhere. Displays of God-praise on the athletic field strike me as particularly inappropriate. Seven years ago I pleaded, "Please, God, no more sky-pointing."

The worst example I saw featured an individual sky-pointing as a Red Sox “idiot” (in this case, a term richly deserved) rounded the bases after a home run, followed by a communal sky-pointing after he reached the dugout. He and a few other Christian teammates crouched, bent their heads together, and then pointed a bunch of index fingers at, presumably, where they think heaven lies.

I never saw God similarly thanked after a Red Sox player struck out or made an error. The idea that God is aiding the fortunes of one team, and not the other, is obviously ridiculous. Given that, in the big scheme of things, major league sports also is ridiculous, this sky-pointing business wouldn’t be a big deal for me except…it reflects an overall attitude among a disturbingly large number of Christians that God plays favorites.

George Bush clearly feels that God has chosen him to bring freedom to the Middle East, and that the United States has a special God-given mission in the world. This is no different in kind from a baseball player believing that God wanted and enabled him to hit a baseball out of the park, or to strike out an opposing player. Yet if God has the power to bring things that people consider “good,” then God also has the power to bring “bad” things.

A few weeks ago I was walking by a bigscreen TV in our athletic club just as TIm Tebow fumbled and the other team recovered the football. I watched for a bit longer to see whether Tebow made any overt praise of God at that moment. 

Nope. Apparently God is only worth praising when good things happen, mistakes aren't made, hopes come true. Which is horrible theology.

Don't Tim Tebow and his Tebowing buddies realize how egotistical their Christian faith is? It's all about them. Life revolves around them. If what they wanted to have happen actually does, then God picked them to be winners of the good fortune lottery. 

This sounds nastily divisive. That's because it is.

When an athlete thanks God for catching a touchdown pass, or hitting a home run, he believes that the highest divinity wanted him to triumph over those bozos on the other team. "God plays favorites, and I'm the Favored One!"

Such is, of course, exactly how Christianity looks upon non-believers. So I guess it isn't surprising that Tebowers are so egotistically judgmental, because that's the core attribute of their entire religion. Thus saith Tim Tebow: 

Tebow once told a group of prisoners: “If you have Jesus Christ in your heart, you are going to spend eternity in heaven. If you don’t, you’re going to spend eternity in hell.”

I don't watch much pro football. So my viewing of Tim Tebow's quarterbacking mostly comes from highlights shown on the evening news sports segment. Recently Tebow was shown throwing some interceptions that lost an important game (though the Broncos still backed into the playoffs).

As noted above, I turned to my wife and said, "I'd feel a lot better about Tim Tebow if he pointed to the sky or knelt down in thankful prayer every time something really bad happens to him on the football field, rather than him doing his Tebowing only when God supposedly gives him what he wants."

Even better, though, would be for Tebow to just act like a normal human being. Do your best. Accept what happens, win or lose, with as much balance, grace, and equanimity as possible. Get mad when you feel angry. Then get over it. Be happy when you feel good. Then get over it. 

Making a cosmic happening out of a freaking football play is absurd. I'll quote myself again:

In one of his sermons Meister Eckhart put it nicely: “Now I hear you ask, ‘How do I know that it is God’s will? My answer is that if it were not God’s will even for a moment, then it would not exist. Whatever is must be his will. If God’s will is pleasing to you, then whatever happens to you, or does not happen to you, will be heaven.”

Last night I found Johnny Damon’s first inning home run to be the epitome of genuine athletic good character. The long-haired Damon didn’t raise a finger, or even display much emotion. He simply ran around the bases with his head down. When he got to the dugout he exchanged a few hugs and high-fives with his teammates, but he looked like a calm, centered man who knew that all he had done was hit a first-inning home run in a baseball game that was a long way from being decided. And it is a game for God’s sake, not the Second Coming.

Thank you, Johnny, for acting like a real Christian, whether or not you are one. I hope your attitude rubs off on your ebullient sky-pointing brethren. 

Comments

[cc]

A "real Christian" never points upward because everyone knows where God lives and only fake Christians think we need to be reminded. How obnoxious! God damn them !

[Bob]

I don't know! "Tebowing" seems to be getting God's favor - they just beat Pittsburgh on the first play in OT!

Forget all the mumbojumbo with the Law of Attraction. "Tebowing" gets better results. Geez, I may give it a try! What the heck!

Bob

[Willie R]

The Broncos just beat the Steelers. Tebow said: "First and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Hey....the NFL isn't picky.

[Brian Hines]

Bob, if the Broncos win the Super Bowl, I may give Tebowing a try also. Right after I buy a lottery ticket.

[Bob]

"Bob, if the Broncos win the Super Bowl, I may give Tebowing a try also. Right after I buy a lottery ticket."

LOL!

[Pastor]

Ran across this looking for Tebow persecutor illustrations for my sermon sunday. Apparently few Christians read this, understandably. I thought I would try to educate the unlearned. Christians give praise to God for good things and take personal blame for the bad. Simple. Good things = point in sky. Bad things = point at self. I know this is far too much for the uninitiated ego but I just thought I would help you to understand the humility of true Christianity.

BTW for those of you who don't know, God is in heaven and heaven is above the earth. A quick look at Genesis chapter one and a Hebrew dictionary will help.

[Robert Paul Howard]

Cf. Matthew 6:6 - "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (JKV)

Robert Paul Howard

[Brian Hines]

Pastor, Christian theology confuses me. After reading your comment, I'm even more confused.

So God only is responsible for good things that happen in the world? Huh? What's up with that?

Is God powerless to do bad things? if so, then God isn't omnipotent. And who decides what is good and what is bad? Are humans so wise, so omniscient to be able to determine this? If so, what need is there for the Bible and other holy books, if Tim Tebow, or any other Christian, knows when to point skyward and thank god for a good thing, rather than taking personal responsibility for a bad thing.

When Tim Tebow fumbles the ball, that is a good thing for the opposing team. So shouldn't he point to the sky and thank god for doing something charitable for the other team? The guy who recovers the fumble then would point skyward and thank god, and Tebow would do the same.

That strikes me as the most theologically sound, and also most charitable/Christian thing to do. But it could slow up the game quite a bit, I suppose, since every play involves good and bad things happening. (Is a three yard gain on first down good or bad? Courses in divinity school could be devoted to such questions.)

You said that "good" and "bad" are easy to distinguish. Wow. Your congregation is lucky to have a pastor who has been able to figure out a problem that has eluded the greatest minds (and souls) in history for thousands of years.

When a gay Christian couple gets married in New York, they smile, kiss each other, and look upon their marriage vows as a very good thing. Perhaps you disagree. Perhaps you don't. Regardless, there's a lot of debate about whether gay marriage is good or bad. Should i point to the sky and thank God when I see a gay marriage happening?

Supposedly, you say, "good" and "bad" are easily distinguished. I don't think you're right. Is dying from cancer a bad thing? Is being drowned by a tsunami a bad thing? Why do you expect people to take responsibility for these bad things, and not lay the blame on God? How is a newborn drowned after the ocean rose following the Japanese earthquake responsible for her death?

Your God either is horribly cruel, or non-existent. I choose to believe in the second option.

[tucson]

I don't think Tebow's religious displays are a big deal. Personally, I think he overdoes it, but compared to the behaviour of many pro athletes, i.e. drugs, gambling, dog fighting, poor sportsmanship, trash talking, nightclub brawls, tax evasion, womanizing, bullying, cheating, lying, spouse abuse, etc. at rates higher than the general population... I think Tim Tebow is a better alternative and example to fans, on and off the field, even if it turns out Jesus was just some philosophical dude, God is just a concept, and Tim is just fooling himself.

[Laughing]

I don't understand why everyone has such an issue with Tebowing, let me ask you a question, if your walking through the mall and you see a person from the middle east bowing on their knees at their stand because it is their time for worship during the work day, do you get all upset..its not like he is stopping the game to make this big show, its what he does, and yeah, actually he still thanks God when they lose too, if people would stop worrying about such trivial stuff as this, the world might actually start to be a lot better off..however, thank you for your opinion, since we are all entitled to our own.