Tom Krattenmaker, writing for USA concerning Tim Tebow and his faith:“Jesus’ representatives in sports aren’t just practicing faith. They are also leveraging sports’ popularity to promote a message and doctrine that are out of sync with the diverse communities that support franchises, and with the unifying civic role that we expect of our teams.”What Tom is getting as here is that we shouldn't be concerned with Truth, but rather simply live our lives and stay out of each other's way.
Whether something is "out of sync" should not be the issue. The issue should be, is it true? The case for Truth should be made by providing reasons rather than simple assertions. These fail to lead us anywhere.
When he speaks of a "unifying civic role" he is simply asserting a different religion that he believes we should all adhere to. That religion would be the amorphous, non-descript religion that says that Truth doesn't matter, only personal experience. From this point of view, unity is achieved by not communicating anything that one believes to be Truth. Unity is seen as a community of people who don't really talk about anything, they just want to keep the peace. I am all for peaceful discussions. I have never once had a discussion about worldview with anyone that erupted in violence, but to claim that our "civic duty" should be comprised of an anesthetized community that can't speak about Truth in reference to worldview would be a grave disservice to all. Why is that religion better anyway? No reasons are giving that are compelling.
This whole discussion has nothing to do with "religion". (Don't let people use that word.) And has everything to do with worldview. Everyone has a worldview. The question is, which one is right? They all can't be right. That is logical nonsense. What is important to see is that Tom is advocating for a different worldview (a religion, if you want to call it that) that you can read more about in his piece. It's the religion of "no one is right, so let's stop talking and just get along".
The question is not, "Should Tim Tebow shut up?". But rather, on what basis should anyone speak about what they hold to be The Truth? I would submit that we should have a culture that is free to exchange ideas based on reasons for why one worldview may be superior to another. The starting point for Christians is not our experience, but rather the facts of history. Jesus rose from the dead or he didn't. Which is it? If it is the former then I would hope we would be willing to communicate this truth at every turn, with grace and humility, but without apology.
(HT: Denny Burk)
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