Why Are Anti-Christian Bigots So Eager to Prey On Tim Tebow?

And here's one more. :Cheer:

Luke 12:8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.

Uh oh, lightening may strike me, but I agree with trouble. Whatever Tebow believes is really none of our business, but it is his right, and part of his "charm", that he feels comfortable expressing it in public. I just don't get the hating on the man because of his beliefs, so what if you don't agree with him or his religion, it's his religious beliefs not yours, and more power to him for not being afraid, or embarrassed, to express them. I am not a particularly religious person, but I am not uncomfortable if others express their beliefs in my presence, I only object if they try to change my beliefs, or push their particular religion on me. Tebow has done none of that, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy and a very talented athlete who also happens to be a christian. Why isn't that enough for people?

archer wrote: Uh oh, lightening may strike me, but I agree with trouble. Whatever Tebow believes is really none of our business, but it is his right, and part of his "charm", that he feels comfortable expressing it in public. I just don't get the hating on the man because of his beliefs, so what if you don't agree with him or his religion, it's his religious beliefs not yours, and more power to him for not being afraid, or embarrassed, to express them. I am not a particularly religious person, but I am not uncomfortable if others express their beliefs in my presence, I only object if they try to change my beliefs, or push their particular religion on me. Tebow has done none of that, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy and a very talented athlete who also happens to be a christian. Why isn't that enough for people?

Archer, you articulate your thoughts well. Thanks for sharing!

archer wrote: he seems to be a genuinely nice guy and a very talented athlete who also happens to be a christian. Why isn't that enough for people?

OMG, you don't see it? :VeryScared: God is not his co-pilot, the devil is. Watch "Damn Yankees". He is shoeless joe, the devil makes him do it.


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Trouble wrote: I think it's ok for Tebow to go public with his faith.

Matthew 10:32
New International Version (©1984)
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

I don't think it's ok for Tebow to go public with his faith

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Gee... the greek scriptures contradict themselves again. Isn't that unusual? NOT!

Why is it anyone's business how and when one finds spirituality or their connection to faith? I don't care where you go or what religion you practice and you will always find those who feel one needs to conform to a narrow set of rituals to be deemed worthy.. whatever that may be. Experience as a former elder in a church tells me most religious practices have ample hypocrites. The faithful spend little time being judgmental. Religion is not for me, nor is it for me to judge others in how they should act. While I may not care for "over the top" demonstrations of faith, I can live with it as long as they allow me to live as I wish to also.

Trouble wrote: And here's one more. :Cheer:

Luke 12:8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.

Acknowledges... "confess" and "profess," is the meaning of the word. This is about preaching, communion with the church and fellow believers... this verse has nothing to do with public praying.

Whosoever therefore shall confess me ... - The same word in the original is translated "confess" and "profess," 1 Timothy 6:12-13; 2 John 1:7; Romans 10:10. It means to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, and our dependence on him for salvation, and our attachment to him, in every proper manner. This profession may be made in uniting with a church, at the communion, in conversation, and in conduct. The Scriptures mean, by a profession of religion, an exhibition of it in every circumstance of the life and before all people. It is not merely in one act that we must do it, but in every act. We must be ashamed neither of the person, the character, the doctrines, nor the requirements of Christ. If we are; if we deny him in these things before people; if we are unwilling to express our attachment to him in every way possible, then it is right that he should "disown all connection with us," or deny us before God, and he will do it.

http://bible.cc/matthew/10-32.htm

What are we clearly and precisely told about public prayers...

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Simple... you can't change the simple language of this verse.

GOP, you don't believe in God, right? Yet, tebow offends you...by taking a knee..you need to get a life...

New Testament instances of approved public prayer (stated or implied); and by public I am taking the meaning of praying in the hearing of any audience (believers or otherwise…you’ll find both amongst these passages):
Matthew 14:19; Matthew 15:36; Matthew 26:26-27; Matthew 27:46; Mark 6:41 (same event as Matthew 14; also found in Luke 9 and John 6); Mark 14:22-23 (same event as Matthew 26; also found in Luke 22); Luke 3:21; Luke 18:13; Luke 23:34,46; John 11:41-42 (this one is especially pertinent to the discussion); John 17; Acts 1:24; Acts 2:42 keeping vs 44 in mind; Acts 4:24; Acts 8:15; Acts 13:3; and I think I will just stop there.

The most interesting thing is that Jesus, who made the statements about praying in secret, prayed publicly Himself. Did He knowingly directly contradict Himself? Or was He addressing praying to gain individual approval from men when He spoke of praying in a closet? Read Matthew 6:5 for the attitude of the public prayers He is addressing.

And, as far as Christians being only a religion to be practiced in secret…Jesus made it clear that His followers were supposed to show and tell the whole world about their convictions (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8).

Now, I am sure that there are believers who pray in public just to be heard…or some people with think they are more pious or whatever. But many do not have that intention. They just want to take time to thank God, even if it is a public place. And if people notice, they only hope that God gets the glory, not themselves….

outdoor338 wrote: GOP, you don't believe in God, right? Yet, tebow offends you...by taking a knee..you need to get a life...

I never said it offends me. WHere did I say that?

outdoor338 wrote: New Testament instances of approved public prayer (stated or implied); and by public I am taking the meaning of praying in the hearing of any audience (believers or otherwise…you’ll find both amongst these passages):
Matthew 14:19; Matthew 15:36; Matthew 26:26-27; Matthew 27:46; Mark 6:41 (same event as Matthew 14; also found in Luke 9 and John 6); Mark 14:22-23 (same event as Matthew 26; also found in Luke 22); Luke 3:21; Luke 18:13; Luke 23:34,46; John 11:41-42 (this one is especially pertinent to the discussion); John 17; Acts 1:24; Acts 2:42 keeping vs 44 in mind; Acts 4:24; Acts 8:15; Acts 13:3; and I think I will just stop there.

You don't have to... you're working toward proving a big point for me... I think we will get to it after your next comment.

outdoor338 wrote: The most interesting thing is that Jesus, who made the statements about praying in secret, prayed publicly Himself. Did He knowingly directly contradict Himself? Or was He addressing praying to gain individual approval from men when He spoke of praying in a closet? Read Matthew 6:5 for the attitude of the public prayers He is addressing.

Right... which is a prime example that the scriptures are a collection of pick and choose contradictions, compiled over the course of almost 350 years, compiled by different "schools" of thought who had different reasons to emphasis certain concepts. There is nothing about the Greek Scriptures (or the Hebrew Scriptures either) that are a "direct to print" account of anyones words.

outdoor338 wrote: And, as far as Christians being only a religion to be practiced in secret…Jesus made it clear that His followers were supposed to show and tell the whole world about their convictions (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8).

Now, I am sure that there are believers who pray in public just to be heard…or some people with think they are more pious or whatever. But many do not have that intention. They just want to take time to thank God, even if it is a public place. And if people notice, they only hope that God gets the glory, not themselves….

And so... now that you have gone three posts without addressing the verse "Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door ...
bible.cc/matthew/6-6.htmBut when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." let's see if you can explain the contradiction?

The sermon on the mount, when taken within context rather than just picking out individual verses, speaks more to the motivations of people and their actions than specific rules about how to act. The section being debated here is call to be sincere in your motivation to pray or profess your faith. It's an admonition to make sure you're doing it for the glory of God rather than for yourself.

Yes, if you take those few verses out of the sermon, they seem to direct us to be private in our prayer. When the entire sermon is read, it becomes more clear that Jesus was talking about our motivation and goals in displays of faith - prayer, giving alms and fasting. He's telling us not to do it to draw attention to ourselves, but to show God our devotion and faith in him.

There are many other places in the bible that tell us not to hide our faith and to share it with others. That serves to prove that we are not to hide our faith, or to keep it in a closet, but to make sure that any public displays are for his glory rather than our own.

Just thought I'd share that with you all. I understand your points about apparent hypocrasy and that the language in those few verses taken completely out of context seem to say that we should take our faith internal, shut up and not bug the rest of the world with it... but taken in the context of reading the entire Gospel of Matthew, those verses are obviously a lesson in motivation, and nothing more.