Posted on 11/15/2011 6:26:54 AM PST by InvisibleChurch
He's the model citizen, the guy you want your daughter to date, yet Tim Tebow can't help being the most polarizing figure in all of professional sports.
And during the upcoming holiday shopping season, Tebow is going to get even more controversial -- once again without any action on his part.
A handful of Denver fans have decided a customized Tim Tebow jersey would make for the perfect Christmas gift. What could possibly be troubling about that? A whole lot, depending on who you ask.
Rather than have the last name "Tebow" on the back of the Broncos jersey, these fans have placed "Jesus" above Tebow's No. 15.
Not everyone thinks it's appropriate. Some fans told CNN (via KTVQ) that the new custom apparel is blasphemous.
"Sports is one thing, and Jesus is another thing," Traci Yown, a mom Christmas shopping for her son told the network. "I like to have their names, their last names on the jerseys. I'm a Christian, but I mean I wouldn't want people going around having Jesus on the back of their jerseys."
(Excerpt) Read more at thepostgame.com ...
Religious commercialism makes me sick. For a sect that supposedly is against graven images, I tend to see an awful lot of them whenever I walk into a local Evangelical bookstore.
McChristianity cheapens faith.
Maybe instead of 15 it should show Alpha Omega (as in the Greek, but I can’t get the Symbol font to come up here in my post).
Simply because he believes in God and His Son Jesus, and is not shy about saying so, Tebow is polarizing? How pathetic our society has become.
Yeah, why should we pollute McCulture with Christian memes!
(There are usually two ways of looking at such situations.)
He needs to kill a few dogs
Why should we participate in McCulture. Rather why should be let McCulture pollute Christianity?
there are no atheists in football except the sports
writers. they are only ones offended.
Why should we co-opt McCulture... again the coin has a second side.
Indeed! Or vehicular homicide....
Ask him for his green card!
Cool, a shirt honoring the Tewbow’s gardening staff.
(Such a non story.)
Anytime that The Name of Jesus is out there in a positive way is great! I personally root big time for TBOW ONLY because of his connection with Jesus.
I would have no connection with TBOW other than the fact that he represents Jesus, as we all should.
Tebow and his mom doing those great pro life commercials...AWESOME
I do not see anybody saying that TBOW is Jesus! He has Jesus in his heart!
Christians ALL are supposed to represent Jesus on earth.
It`s a good thing
Post#5 says it all.
Of course, belief in Jesus is “polarizing”. He said so Himself.
And, just thinking about it rationally, Jesus and Him crucified for our sins is a pretty “offensive” concept - you’re stating flat out that those who don’t accept His sacrifice are spending eternity in hell.
Well, remember, to our betters in the media, "polarizing" means that they don't like it, even if the general public is supportive or at worst indifferent.
Public religious practice/profession offends our elite superiors, so that counts as "polarizing" even if they are the only ones offended.
Remember, W was polarizing, but 0 isn't, since our media overlords support him.
Tim Tebow has done nothing wrong. What exactly has he done to make him "the most polarizing figure in all of professional sports"?
“And during the upcoming holiday shopping season,”
Halloween? New Years? Thanksgiving?
Alas, I was distraught over a series of sad turns of events.
Things had just seemed to snowball with bad news upon bad news.
Then I saw a sign: Do You Need Help? Call on Jesus!
So I dialed the number at the bottom of the sign.
Next day a guy showed up to mow my lawn.
The only people who care about this are people who should know better
I guess wearing a ‘Jesus’ Tebow shirt is just lower than clubbing baby seals...
I love it, but mostly because it will make the irrational Tebow haters go even more bonkers.
>Why should we co-opt McCulture
I don't know, I think I'm with rzman21 on this one. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of self-identifying as "Jesus" on the back of a jersey.
If you must put a Christian meme there, use "WWJD" or something other than identifying the wearer of a football jersey as Christ.
When I first heard of this I thought that folks were using this to mock Tebow's religious beliefs.
BTW I'm not a fan of Christian "memes" in general; wearing a (simple) crucifix or cross is one thing, but the pop-culture stuff (like WWJD - I know, here come the flames) dumbs down Christianity IMHO.
Christian belief can not be boiled down to WWJD. I've heard this phrase used to justify all kinds of dubious beliefs and actions.
I think a little more Jesus every day’ would do a lot for this crumbling World.
There is no Harm !!
I'm Jewish, and I deeply admire a public figure who is not afraid to profess his faith, consequences be damned.
So-called “Christian” advertising conveys a superficial Christianity that is devoid of any deeper meaning. I see it as trite and blasphemous.
Megachurch Evangelicalism is a mile wide and an inch deep.
I’d call that inappropriate too, because it comes uncomfortably close to calling Tebow “Jesus,” something even Tebow wouldn’t want, and taken literally it would be a blasphemy. But not all instances of “polluting” McCulture with Christian icons are blasphemy, unless it’s blaspheming the way McCulture is so stuck on itself. (Speaking of genuine McCulture, you ought to read some of the vacuous copy on McDonalds drinking cups today. Season’s Cravings? What, is it Selfmas?)
How about that?
A Christmas present with the name Jesus on it.
What a concept!
What is this Christmas thingy anyway?
Does it have anything to do with kwanza or winter holidays?
Yes, Jesus does save, and if a silly picture like that can open up the conversation, then God has blessed it.
NOT appropriate.
Megachurch Evangelicalism is a mile wide and an inch deep.
You sound just like the type of person who only goes to church so you can sit in judgment of others. You can not lift yourself closer to God by stepping on other peoples heads.
If he is a sincere Christian (and I believe that he is) Tebow needs to make a statement today that this is inappropriate and he would like it to stop.
Good point. Maybe it would be clearer if it said something like “Jesus Is Mine” rather than the context-ambiguous “Jesus,” but indeed what better Christmas present than something that praises Jesus Christ?
I haven’t been closely tied to this football season, but Tim Tebow so far is just taking care of business. He is helping his teammates win games and the coaches are working with his strengths to help the team. Are any journalists ever going to help their team (USA) anymore? Division is all they are about.
Maybe if he donned his own “Jesus Is Mine” jersey, he’d make the point. They’ll put any name on a jersey, as someone mentioned above.
I look at that shirt and it screams that Tebow follows Jesus....so what. A little tacky, but not offensive. This is a mountain out of am mole hill kind of thing.
So, how does it feel to sit in the judgment seat? Speck in the eye and all that.
re: “Christian belief can not be boiled down to WWJD. I’ve heard this phrase used to justify all kinds of dubious beliefs and actions.”
I agree with you on this statement, but I don’t think the “WWJD” phrase should take the blame for people who use it to justify whacky ideas. I know you are not claiming that and you only picked out that phrase because a lot of people know about it - but, I think there are always going to be people who take things - especially religious ideas - to places never intended.
Heck, the Bible itself is used to justify all sorts of un-Godly ideas and actions - yet, the Bible is not to blame for that - people are (I know - I stole that from “Guns don’t kill people”, etc.).
As to the “Jesus” Tbow shirts - well, I wouldn’t wear one as a Christian because I don’t think it’s a very clear message. Is the person wearing it simply making a joke? Is the person claiming Jesus and Tebow are one and the same? And, as has been pointed out, the name “Jesus” is quite common among our hispanic brethren and therefore many people will simply think the person wearing it is named “Jesus”. Any so-called evangelical value is flaky at best.
On the other hand, are we saying they shouldn’t be allowed to make the shirts? What authority would do that? Maybe good taste and solid theology would say they shouldn’t, but as has been mentioned - just walk into any Christian bookstore and you will see all kinds of dubious “Christian” trinkets with equally dubious evangelical value.
Still, the name “Jesus” makes people uncomfortable. You can talk with people about God or even use the word Christ and no one gets upset, but as soon as you say the name “Jesus” - things get much more tense. So, are people upset with these shirts because of taste or because the name Jesus is unsettleing to them?
Just some thoughts.
So you are saying that I have to buy into commercialism to be saved?
I agree. Putting the name of the Lord out there as a believer is not offensive. No one is worshiping the shirt. No one is worshiping Tebow. No one thinks Tebow is claiming to be Jesus. The media just wants us Christians to hide in little cubbyholes.
Jesus certainly hasn’t been visible at Penn State.....they could have used Him. It is refreshing to see a football player unafraid to speak his faith.
Personally, I thought “HE HATE ME” was hilarious.
Sorry. I don´t recognize words invented by atheists.
Prove that it was, and prove that this makes the word unusable.
About as much as it is claimed you must not darken the door of a “megachurch” to be saved.
on the other hand— didn’t Jesus say something about those who are ashamed of Him and His Name on earth He would be ashamed of before His Father? In a world where too many called by the Name are afraid or ashamed of the Name and seem to think it an offense ....? We are assured,Sir , in the Sacred writings that the Christian is an offense to the world when they do
the work of Jesus. Because the World cannot understand the things of God. So I wonder which cheapens the faith more those of the world called Christian but afraid of offending the world? or those who display their pride in Tebow as a Christian and football QB?
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