Posted on 07/31/2009 10:40:52 AM PDT by NYer
Tim Tebow
LifeSiteNews.com) - Last week Florida Gators Quarterback Tim Tebow's photo may have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, the same magazine that is best known for its annual "swimsuit issue," but the contrast between the two cover stories couldn't have been more glaring.
At 21 years of age and graced with boyish good looks, Tebow is one of the most talked about rising stars of the NCAA; but the football superstar literally left reporters speechless last week when he answered a question during a press conference about whether or not he is "saving himself" for marriage. quot;Yes I am," said Tebow briefly, who then indicated he was ready for the next question. However, in the video of the press conference, a reporter is heard stumbling over his words in the background as he tries to ask a follow-up question. Tebow then laughs, obviously reacting to the reactions of the reporters in the room.
"I think y'all were stunned by that," he says. "Y'all can't even ask a question. Wow. I mean, I was ready for that question. I don't think y'all were."
It wasn't the only controversial remark that Tebow made that day. In response to another question about whether or not people may be tired of the volume of coverage devoted to the young football star, Tebow, a devout Christian, said that the level of exposure he receives is a mixed blessing. However, he said, he looks at the positive side that, thanks to his fame, he has been able to share his Christian faith with so many people.
In addition, the football star told the reporters that he believes that the publicity given to his mother's story has helped other women choose not to abort their unborn children. Tebow's mother, who serves as a Christian missionary together with her husband, was pressured to abort Tebow following a life-threatening infection she suffered while pregnant with him. Doctors pressured her to abort her son to save her own life, but she ultimately resisted the pressure and both mother and child survived the birth.
"There has been a lot of people that have been encouraged not to have an abortion because they heard the story of my mom, or they have been encouraged because they have heard me give my faith on TV or in a report or something," said Tebow.
"You know what, although there has been a backlash, oh, well. You know what, I'll deal with it if I have to. It's not a big deal to me because of the kids and people that have been encouraged by the stories we have tried to tell and by the life that I've tried to live."
Growing up Tebow would often help his parents with their Christian mission work in the Philippines. He was homeschooled by his mother, who instilled in her children strong Christian values.
Tebow was the first home-schooled athlete to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy. "That's really cool," he said at the time. "A lot of times people have this stereotype of homeschoolers as not very athletic - it's like, go win a spelling bee or something like that - it's an honor for me to be the first one to do that.
That made me smile, although it shouldn't - it's pretty sobering. I just finished a book that has a much more dramatic title than the content actually bears out, called From 9/11 to 666 by Ralph W. Stice. Although I didn't know it when I bought the book, turns out he was a C&MA missionary to Guinea and then to France for a few years, now he's a teacher at Nyack in DC.
Anyway, in it he gives the most thought-provoking Christian-based exposition on the Muslim-Arab mentality, culture and their perspective on the West that I have ever read. He expounds on stuff that I had already heard from visiting missionaries in recent years - that Muslim Arabs basically look at the West through a Hollywood lens. They think (my paraphrase) based on imported media and commerce (and they get plenty of it) that our women are all sluts, our families are godless, our govt is arrogant and colonialist, and the country as a whole is decadent, sinful and wasteful. He says they usually have no concept whatsoever of hardworking, churchgoing middle America, and their view of Christianity is mostly predisposed by such negative media stereotypes.
He in no way excuses their behavior and attitudes, calling out the idealogy of Islam for what it is, but says basically that our state dept has no clue what the average Muslim thinks about America and why. He says they are talking to the wrong people and it will bite us badly one day. It was a real eye-opener, even for someone like me who considers herself pretty familiar with related material.
Don't get me wrong, we live in the greatest country in the world and I believe that our origins were of divine design and inspiration, but it makes me cringe to imagine that a good chunk of the world looks at Paris Hilton and sees average America.
Oh and he also takes international (mostly European) media to task, for consistently painting America and Israel with the same negative bias, totally feeding the "US = Great Satan, Israel = Little Satan" mentality in the Arab world.
What gave us abortion and drove America to the left was democrats, move the country a few notches to the right for the last hundred years and the goals of the left would not have been realized. The more liberals we have then the more they shape the nation, including shaping the limits of conservatism.
Democrats gave us abortion, Out of the last 19 elections Catholics have voted against the republicans 14 times.
Controversial? Saving yourself for marriage would seem to me to be a personal thing and nothing controversial about it. Whose going to confront him over it, some girl who wants to get laid by him? Come on, these idiots are way beyond stupid.
Voting democrat gave the left the infrastructure to support whatever the new liberal issues became.
Before voters were voting for or against abortion the Catholic voters had helped put into place the system that would accept it and the judges that would decide it.
Even by 1980 Reagan still lost the Catholic vote getting less than 50% of it.
A little jealous are you? Maybe he is picking up where the Catholics left off (40 years ago). BTW, his father goes to non-Catholic countries too.
Maybe because he wants you to see how a thriving sect of Christianity does it?
The thing is the Protestant vote, you seem upset that Americans might look forward to some positive effects of backwards countries becoming more Protestant Christian.
It would be benficial to the countries and to the American people.
Protestant missionaries should work in all countries, hopefully some of the Hispanic Protestants that vote republican will do missionary work in Mexico.
The Hispanic Protestant voters (32% of the total here) gave the republicans 44% in 2000, 56% in 2004 and 48% of their vote in 2008.
Catholic Hispanics voted 33% republican in 2000, 33% in 2004, in 2008 it was far less.
In 2008 republicans got 22% of the Hispanic Catholic vote.
I thought that was odd (I couldn't understand the relevance) and then I noticed that he is a Catholic.
And by doing so, you probably would've sired at least a few children, and maybe even have picked up a STD or two along the way!
I think Tim can get along just fine without taking any of your senseless sophomoric advice.
I’m raising my two sons right!
That said...I think the question asked of Mr. Tebow is vulgar and inappropriate. I’m proud of his response but really...
But many of these "closed" countries send their best and brightest young people to American universities. Show an interest in their language, and you have a superhighway into their hearts. Welcome them into your home, let them see and feel the warmth of Christian family life, and their perceptions of Christianity will be permanently changed.
This is a perfect home school project, BTW. You can challenge your bouncy offspring to wrap their brains around a very different kind of language. They participate in evangelism by praying for known and named Muslim friends over the dinner table, and by helping with the hospitality.
I can assure you those aren’t real. You can see where the implants start & stop. That’s not a very professional looking boob job.
“why is it that Protestant Missionaries are constantly going to countries that are predominantly Catholic, rather than to the countries in Africa”
You must not know many Protestant Missionaries. They go to every country including Africa.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/competing_for_a_cause/
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
This is cool! The shocking thing is that this is shocking.
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