Did Saturday Night Live’s Tim Tebow Skit Go Too Far?

Living in Colorado, I get more than a healthy dose of Tim Tebow Mania. I’ve written about the Tebow phenomenon before, but now, Saturday Night live has chimed in with their own skit:

Some, such as the perpetually offended Pat Robertson, came out guns blazing after the skit aired, saying it was an affront both to Tebow as an individual and to Christianity as a whole. Now, I’ll admit I’m pretty hard to offend, but as a Christian I thought it was pretty funny.

I also thought it had some reasonable theological arguments to make. “You guys have got to meet me half way here,” says Jesus to Tebow and the Broncos, thanking them for prayers, but requesting that they do their half to win the games. Too often, people treat prayer like a deposit in a cosmic vending machine, casting the request out into the cosmos with the hopes of a magical answer that aligns with their desire.

This is not my understanding of the Christian faith, as I wrote in another recent post, “Christians, Take Up Your Mats and Walk,” Jesus requires something of us, and is not simply a fulfiller of fanciful wishes.

I also appreciated the point made by Jason Sudekis’ Jesus, pointing out that he basically goes where he’s called most these days. This means, of course, Jesus can be found most often influencing the outcome of sporting events, entertainment award shows and the like.

Sure, it was irreverent, but satire like this is usually the best tool for cutting through to the real truth of the matter. Though Tebow himself admits he doesn’t think God affects the outcome of games, Jesus points out in the skit that it may not be necessary to be quite so in-your-face about our own piety.

Oh, and let anyone accuse SNL of poking fun without giving Tebow a chance to respond, he’s since been extended a formal invitation to host the show himself.

I’m interested in what others think about the skit. Does it have osmething important to say? Did it go too far? Is it even funny? Sound off and be heard!