I love the sports writer Jason Whitlock. I read his editorials on MSN Sports all the time. One of the best things I can say about him as a writer is that even when I don’t care at all about the topic I find his perspective to be interesting. His theories sometimes hint of paranoia, but he is fair and honest and a good read. Even when I disagree, I can’t help but to like the guy and boy did I disagree with him last week. He made me so mad that I had taken yesterday off from my blog just to make sure I did not say something crazy that I would later regret.
Jason Whitlock pulled a Bill Maher on me. I used to be pretty fond of Bill Maher despite is clear anti-Christian attitude. I don’t fault people for not believing. The Bible says that someone has got to go to Hell and as long as there are atheists that somebody doesn’t have to be me. I can also appreciate a good argument and unlike some of my peers can see the non-believer’s point that most of what we believe sounds crazy when taken without faith.
If someone told me a teenage virgin gave birth to baby that was really God and that baby grew up and performed miracles, but somehow was broke and homeless. This all knowing God as man also let himself be “betrayed”, arrested and killed for crimes he did not commit then rose from the grave 3 days later and appeared to his friends who saw him ascend into heaven only to later have them report being filled with His Holy Spirit, who is also a separate yet equal part of His God Trinity. I can see how this story seems far-fetched and under normal circumstances I would agree that it is pretty preposterous, but for some reason I believe this story whole-heartedly. It is this story that gives me hope and strength and makes it possible to believe in better days to come. I don’t mock those who don’t believe and since they are often the once complaining of intolerance I expect them to treat my beliefs with the same respect they desire.
That is where Bill Maher crossed me. I was watching his show in 2008 before the presidential elections and he went off on how he can’t understand how seemingly intelligent people could believe in “the God story”. He also seemed to revel in his belief that despite his statements to the contrary that President Obama was not really a believer. That every time he is asked he mentions his mother being a secular humanist and that Pres. Obama mentions it with a wink and a smile like he is getting one by us. He went on for a few more minutes that seemed like hours about his movie on religion and how every culture has a story and that he always knew that religion was ridiculous and continued to insult those that believe. I finally could not take it anymore and turned it off never to tune into him again. It is one thing to disagree with me, but it is another to continually insult me and my intelligence. That is something that I just can’t stand for. I don’t insult those who hope death is the end because that way they won’t have to answer for what they did in life and expect that same simple courtesy.
This memory came flooding back to me as a read Mr. Whitlock’s article on Tim Tebow, a subject that keeps being shoved down my throat despite my lack of interest in football (Thanks NBA strike!) His argument is that Tim Tebow is not so much a product of his faith as a product of a stable two parent home. I understand his points on maturity and manhood, but as a person of faith I have to point out that the belief that you can pull off a fourth quarter miracle when even says it’s over is the result of faith. The belief in infinite possibilities when people say you don’t have what it takes to make it in the league is the result of faith. I think Tim must have great parents. They raised him well and taught him the importance of hard work and discipline, but even the best parents can’t instill faith. That is God given in the measure we can handle. I have never watched a game, but from what I hear Tim has enough faith to go out there and play a position that many thought him unqualified to play and keep going at it when the game should be over. (That is not to say that the others on his team don’t deserve praise because I hear the defense has been killer this year and have made the come from behind wins possible.)Faith keeps you from panicking in the clutch. Faith keeps you focused.
I am not about to stop reading the Whitlock column and would even encourage others to read it because even though I don’t think he is right to dismiss the impact of Tim’s faith, in the end he really did not insult me for believing (a la Bill Maher) and if he can respect my choice to believe I can respect his point of view.
I love me some Tim Tebow! If God is for us, WHO can be against us?! Here's a quote of his that you might find interesting:
ReplyDelete"If you're married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife 'I love her' the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity?
"And that's how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ is that it is the most important thing in my life. So any time I get an opportunity to tell him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I'm gonna take that opportunity. And so I look at it as a relationship that I have with him that I want to give him the honor and glory anytime I have the opportunity. And then right after I give him the honor and glory, I always try to give my teammates the honor and glory.
"And that's how it works because Christ comes first in my life, and then my family, and then my teammates. I respect Jake's opinion, and I really appreciate his compliment of calling me a winner. But I feel like anytime I get the opportunity to give the Lord some praise, he is due for it."
CAN I GET AMEN?!