Well, it looks like the Faith Science train has been derailed for a bit. In the meantime…
After an unfortunate interaction on Facebook, I decided to back off, do a little research, and write a thoughtful blog entry on a phenomenon that has already received more attention than one would think possible. Such is the lightning rod of faith.
My original intent was to comment on the fad of “Tebowing”, as it seemed pretty clear to me that it falls under the discussion of prayer in Matthew 6. I do not follow spectator sports, not do I watch much television, so I was unaware of the level of fervent devotion that this player has inspired in his fans. It seems apparent to me that he is considered untouchable by certain sections of the population, and is an easy target for mockery by others.
I am neither of these, but the phenomenon and my personal involvement with members of both demographics brought up some topics for me that I believe have haunted me for most of my life, beginning in early childhood, somewhere around 3rd grade.
I will not bore you with the details, other than to point out that it was made clear to me on many occasions growing up that I was not a member of almost every group that could arise, from schoolyard cliques and gangs, to youth group at church, not to mention sports fans, and even fellow athletes, when I would take the chance of participating in group sports, formal or otherwise.
The connection here is that I was never that good at speaking the language of these groups, whether it was knowing the athletes they idolized and their stats, or having the right possessions and experiences to be considered “in”. Another time I am reminded of this, sadly, is every time a pastor decides to use a sports illustration in a sermon.
This is not to say that I had no friends, or that every member of every group ostracized me, but it was the norm. Thank God for those sensitive individuals who reached out to me in my times of loneliness, and for the opportunities that I did find for social development and interaction, although many of the groups I did become a part of led to my further distancing myself from “the norm”.
l had asthma as a child, which led to a lack of outdoor activity. While having a negative effect on my physical development, it had the positive aspect of giving me a lot of time to read, which helped greatly to develop my mind. Unfortunately, this made me even more of an outsider. Thank God for fans of They Might Be Giants, Weird Al, and good science fiction.
So, anyway, I never fit in. This experience reminds me in every way of my childhood, except that I no longer desire to be a part of any group, and am thoughtful enough to figure it out and articulate enough to express how I feel about it. Enough said. I grew up and found my way through life, and with God’s blessing and guidance, actually met and married a woman who appreciates me for who I am, and does not expect me to prove her honor by joining all the popular groups and working my way to the top of them.
More so, this is the model we have adapted within our family home. More on that later, in another post.
SO…
In case you think that I tricked you into reading about me instead of Tebow:
The Tebowing phenomenon is fine. There have been many before, and there will be new ones. But let’s be honest with each other: Does prayer need to be public? I have no doubt that even many practitioners of the Tebow had previously never considered making their prayer life public, but had adopted the private practice of taking a few moments aside, wherever they were in daily life, to consider some matter in prayer, or to merely thank God and glorify Him for some blessing in their life, or after noticing some previously taken for granted aspect of His Creation. This happens to be the method that I have adopted, due to personal matters of conscience, though I obviously do not hide the fact that I am a christian. This blog, for example, and the fact that I have not chosen to change my name, are ways in which I choose to be open about my faith.
Let us consider an attitude like the one above to be the attitude adopted by Tim Tebow during his moments of prayer on the football field. It is not his fault that he happens to be under such scrutiny and emulation, is it?
Let us consider also, for a moment, the possibility that Tim Tebow had adopted some other pose while praying. There are various other “acceptable” poses that one can witness at any church one happens to be in during their worship and prayer times.
To avoid further criticism, I will let you choose which pose to consider.
Now, had he chosen to adopt that pose instead, would we then see a phenomenon of people across the nation repeating that pose and posting pics of themselves on the internet?
If your answer is yes, fine, but I would argue not, since the creators of the Tebowing site were quick enough to notice the play on words created by the juxtaposition of his pose and his already popular name.
Therefore, the creator of this fad is not Tebow, but rather of the the sharp individual who noticed this similarity and popularized it, first with photos, and then later, with a website, which amounts, in this day and age, to a business startup!
Do you truly believe that the real motivation behind “tebowing” and then posting the pics online is a reverent respect for God? Is it possibly a misunderstanding of how christians are most effective with their witness? Or is it similar to many other ways of attracting attention to the self and getting a little of that 15 minutes of fame that is so important to all of us, especially since the popularization of the internet?
Have you ever considered how many other popular behaviors were created in a similar way? Have you even criticized or picked on someone for not agreeing with one of these behaviors, that is, for “not fitting in”?
Is it offensive to you to be asked how much of your public behavior is truly based only in scripture, and how much is merely reflecting the attitudes, clothing styles, and personalities of those around you and in the popular culture you choose to absorb? Do you even consider, for example, the source or sources where you get the information that forms your opinions? Are you even aware of the information contained in other sources, or do you easily write off their validity as bias, while not applying even that basic criticism to your own opinions or sources? Or do you live the justified life of the unexamined self, blissfully ignorant even of your own existence?
I know my own years in that mindset ended far too soon for my childhood self, but in other ways extended far into my adulthood, until I opened my mind to the thoughts and opinions of the people around me who I was hurting with my judgmental, self-righteous behavior.
Which is why, instead of continuing with a pointless argument that I waded into due to a lack of consideration, I chose to do a little research of my own, and develop my own opinion further, citing multiple sources and opening my mind to the possibility that I am wrong. In fact, I will even end this blog without the expected conclusion, instead listing the sources that I read and considered during it’s writing.
Till next time,
I, M. A. Christian
Sources:
a good summation.
I do not necessarily agree with all of this article, but he does make a few good points:
of course (look at all the pictures): http://tebowing.com/
Depending on your opinion of Tebow and where you got the information that helped you form that opinion, this might interest you.
an interesting collection at Queen of Sports.
and the initial article I read on Tebow, which I found most interesting:
A piece about the super bowl ad.
the video, which I think is pretty funny by the way! http://youtu.be/xqReTDJSdhE
by the way, though this is definitely a topic for another blog, in case you think any of this is motivated by my opinion on abortion, let me just say for the record, that I personally was counseled to seek abortion for one of our children. I chose not to. I would never choose abortion, and I would never counsel a friend or loved one to do so, but I do not believe that gives me the right to take away even one of another person’s freedoms.
As I may have said before: Morality cannot be legislated.
And of course, I welcome your comments, especially suggestions of further reading on these topics. Thanks for reading this far!
mac
