Two Cheers for Tebow

Over at RealClearReligion, Jeffrey Weiss thinks the fuss over Tim Tebow's broken engagement at First Baptist Dallas doesn't "make a lick of sense." I beg to differ.

TebowOver at RealClearReligion, Jeffrey Weiss thinks the fuss over Tim Tebow’s broken engagement at First Baptist Dallas doesn’t “make a lick of sense.” I beg to differ.

Jeff does think it made sense for the poster boy of Southern Baptist athleticism to accept the engagement in the first place. FBD is one of the mighty fortresses of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Tebow’s own Florida pastor used to be head honcho there himself. But why the shock from the likes of Huffpost that the lad would grace the theologically exclusivist, gay-unfriendly pulpit with his presence? What else do you expect from a big old conservative SBC church? And why the awkward bow-out by Tebow, as if he didn’t know what he was in for? As in:

While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ’s unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance.

‘I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!’

But in fact, all this makes perfect sense. FBD’s current pastor, Robert Jeffress, has indulged in no shortage of widely reported remarks attacking Mormonism and Islam and Judaism as coming from the pit of Hell and suchlike. Most Southern Baptist pastors don’t do that in the public square. And like many a evangelistic character before him (e.g. Billy Graham), Tebow can agree with the details of the theology while declining to associate himself with Jeffress’ style.
So it’s fair enough for the Huffposties of the world to trumpet the impending association and send Tebow scurrying, thereby provoking Jeffress to sermonize his gratitude “for men of God like these who are willing to stand up and act like men rather than wimping out when it gets a little controversial and an inconvenient thing to stand for the truth.”
Sorry, Bob, but this is how we make the sausage of civility in the American public square. If you want a Tebow, tone it down.

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