{"id":167,"date":"2012-01-08T15:57:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T15:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite\/"},"modified":"2014-12-23T14:03:24","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T20:03:24","slug":"tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html","title":{"rendered":"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian, I\u2019m a Druid and a UU Pagan. Whatever side he\u2019s on I\u2019m usually on the other side. But recently I\u2019ve seen a lot of folks on my side of the religious spectrum taking shots at him, shots I don\u2019t think are fair to Tebow or helpful to us.<\/p>\n

Most start with a picture of Tebow\u2019s signature one-knee prayer with Matthew 6:5-6 superimposed. In that passage, Jesus says:<\/p>\n

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The logic is simple \u2013 Jesus told his followers not to pray like the hypocrites, who loved to pray in public. Tebow prays in public, therefore he\u2019s a hypocrite.<\/p>\n

If our logic is that simplistic we are no better than the fundamentalists who cite Leviticus 20:13 or Deuteronomy 23:17 to bash gay people.<\/p>\n

A hypocrite is a person who says one thing and then does another, a person who pretends to be something he\u2019s not. A politician who campaigns for smaller government and then earmarks pork for her district. A preacher who condemns homosexuality from the pulpit and then picks up gay men. A Baptist who dutifully votes against alcohol sales and then buys liquor in the next county. A Pagan who talks about loving the Earth Mother and then can\u2019t be inconvenienced with sustainable living.<\/p>\n

According to various internet sources, Tim Tebow\u2019s parents were Baptist missionaries and he\u2019s a member of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. I grew up in a Baptist church, was at least a nominal member of a Baptist church till well after I became an adult, and I live in Baptist-dominated Texas \u2013 I\u2019m very familiar with Tebow\u2019s religion. Its highest emphasis is on salvation, which it defines as a \u201cpersonal relationship with Jesus Christ.\u201d Its greatest practice is \u201cwitnessing\u201d \u2013 telling others about Jesus so they\u2019ll \u201cget saved\u201d too.<\/p>\n

Tim Tebow is doing exactly what his religion tells him he should do.<\/p>\n

Is that what Jesus taught? I don\u2019t think so. I think Jesus taught his followers to love God and love their neighbors, to care for the sick and the poor and to build the Kingdom of God here and now. I think the doctrine on which the Baptist \/ Calvinist \/ Evangelical ideas of sin and salvation are based is an intellectual house of cards that textual criticism and modern science knocked down over a hundred years ago<\/a>. In short, I think Tim Tebow\u2019s religion is outdated and ultimately unhelpful, even though it is clearly meaningful for him and many others.<\/p>\n

That makes him mistaken. It doesn\u2019t make him a hypocrite.<\/p>\n

Tim Tebow is polite and respectful. I\u2019ve seen him share his faith numerous times, but I\u2019ve never seen him be aggressive, much less obnoxious like so many hellfire preachers and pandering politicians. He works hard to promote his religion and he works hard to improve his craft\u2026 even though most people (including me) don\u2019t think he has what it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback.<\/p>\n

Ordinary people see this. When we take shots at Tebow for living out his faith as he understands it we look ignorant, petty and intolerant.<\/p>\n

We do not have to share his faith to respect his dedication. I wish more Pagans and UUs were willing to live their faith as openly as Tim Tebow lives his. I wish more of us had Tebow\u2019s passion for winning. I wish more of us had his work ethic. I wish more of us had his confidence in our faith and in ourselves.<\/p>\n

Tim Tebow is many things \u2013 good and bad \u2013 but a hypocrite is not one of them.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian, I\u2019m a Druid and a UU Pagan. Whatever side he\u2019s on I\u2019m usually on the other side. But recently I\u2019ve seen a lot of folks on my side of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-08T15:57:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-23T20:03:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html\",\"name\":\"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-08T15:57:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-23T20:03:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite","description":"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite","og_description":"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2012-01-08T15:57:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-23T20:03:24+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html","name":"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-01-08T15:57:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-23T20:03:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"I\u2019ve mostly ignored Tebowmania. He was a Florida Gator, I\u2019m a Tennessee Vols fan. He plays for Denver, I live in Dallas. He\u2019s an Evangelical Christian,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2012\/01\/tim-tebow-is-not-a-hypocrite.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tim Tebow Is Not A Hypocrite"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}