Tim Tebow – A Symbol of Anti-Christian Hate?

I’m not a sports guy. At all. I don’t follow sports now and never really have. It’s not that I dislike it; I just never truly got into any sport from a TV/viewing standpoint, outside of the time I lived near Detroit (and lived to tell about it) and followed the Pistons a little.

But, as a Christian I can’t help but take notice of Tim Tebow. I doubt you need me to review his personal or professional resume, so I’ll just get right to my question:

Is Tebow a current and glowing representative of the growing anti-Christian hate that’s in America?

As evidence, I won’t be pointing you to the other pro football players who mimic and mock Tebow’s now famous prayer on the field to thank God, or to the recent usually and customary slur twittered by Bill Maher. Instead, I want you to look at today’s poll conducted on CNN’swebsite (main page). 

CNN asks its web readers if they’d like Tebow as a neighbor, and the second most popular response is “not in my state”? Exactly what about Tebow is not to like? Or perhaps the better question is, what is Tebow best known for?

Answer: his Christian faith.

What else could these people object to? His fame, fortune, something else? I can’t imagine that.

I believe what we’re seeing in CNN's poll (and perhaps in the readership of CNN’s website) is how the fallen world reacts to a Christian who is very open about their faith. The slide toward secular humanism in this country provides an open door for the spirit in non-Christians to demonstrate their deep dedication to privatizing expressions of Christian faith. The hostility that this attitude showcases can be surprising at times.

I see it more and more each day. I see it on Christianpost.com where hatetheists troll nearly every story on the site and write disrespectful and hateful messages in the article comments sections to the Christians who are there. I see it when Christians like Frank Turek are fired  from their professional jobs for merely expressing their opinion on same-sex marriage – outside of the workplace, I might add. And I see it when publications like the Atlantic Monthly list Tebow as one of the "15 most divisive athletes in recent history", along with guys like Michael Vick and Dennis Rodman. 

I think right now Christians in the U.S. have never more experienced the true words of Christ when He said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Tebow's treatment reminds me of how Isaiah describes those who dare to openly and publicly make themselves different from the world: "He who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey"(Isaiah 59:15).  

There used to be a Christian argument that went, “If you were alone on a remote road and were approached by a gang of rough looking men, would you be frightened?” The Christian asking the question typically would receive a “yes” answer, and then follow up with: “Would it make a difference to you if you knew those men had just come from a Bible study and were Christians?”

If the CNN Tebow poll is any indication, a growing segment of the population might answer that they would be more afraid of the second situation. What a sad commentary. 

What should we do in the face of such growing anti-Christian behavior?

First, expect such treatment from the world. Paul says, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Second, show the world Christ even in the face of such hate. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter wrote, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:21–23).

Easy to do? Not at all. However, we need to follow Tebow’s example of how he reacts to the anti-Christian hostility that he gets, which the Apostle Paul also wrote about: “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:27–29). 

So True...

Ravi Zacharias has a way of succinctly stating a truth better than almost anyone else I know. In his latest email to supporters, he makes the following statement regarding those who feverishly work to suppress and revise the Christmas message:

Is it not odd that whenever it has power, liberalism is anything but liberal, both in the area of religion and politics?  

A Christmas Reminder of Jesus’ Divinity

I listened to a message by Dr. R. C. Sproul the other day that focused on the incarnation of Jesus. He asked the thought-provoking question, “Did the baby in the manger know that the world was round?”

How would you answer that?

The Christian Church has always maintained the position that Jesus was fully human and fully God. Whereas God is three persons with one essence, Jesus, in His incarnation, was/is one Person with two essences (human and divine).

Various religions and sects deny the divinity of Jesus, and in fact, I firmly believe that one of the silver linings running through all false religious teaching is the rejection of Jesus as being God. Oftentimes you’ll hear the argument that the emperor Constantine or various Church councils “decided” to make Jesus God.

Nonsense.

Around 700 B.C., the prophet Isaiah wrote:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, my emphasis).  

I’m going to go out on a limb and say a statement made 700 years before Jesus’ birth that references his divinity pretty much decimates the whole “Constantine made Jesus God” argument. But there’s actually some hard archaeological evidence that also helps put an end to the claim that Jesus was only referenced as God very late in Church history.

Megiddo is best known for being linked up with the book of Revelation and the site of the last epic war that precedes Christ’s second coming (cf. Rev. 16:13-16). But Megiddo also has what many archaeologists believe is the earliest church building found to date. The remains contain a Christian prayer hall that is dated to the early third century.

The floor of the hall contains a mosaic that has an image of a medallion and a Christian ichthus (the fish symbol whose name is an anagram of the Greek words Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter – Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior”). But another inscription found on the floor is the following:

The translation is: “Akeptous (a woman), the God-loving, offered this table for (the) God Jesus Christ, as a remembrance”.

It would seem that those early Christians were pretty clear on who they believed Jesus to be – God Himself.

Did the baby in the manger know that the world was round? In His humanness, no, Jesus was a baby. But as God, yes, since He is the one through whom the creation was carried out (cf. John 1:3).

The incarnation defies the best theological minds to fully understand or explain it, but Scripture says it, and being the inerrant Word of God, we believe and accept it.

Merry Christmas! 

Addressing the ‘Jesus is a Myth’ Crowd (yet again)

Each Christmas and Easter, Christians can depend on organizations like the freedom from religion foundation (FFRF) to carry out their anti-Christian activist campaigns such as putting up large billboards that mock Christianity, or pretending they care about the laws of the land so they can sue anyone who dares to put up a nativity scene on public property, etc.

The thing is, I’ve talked to quite a few atheists who are embarrassed by antics such as those carried out by the FFRF. These atheists are fine to live and let live and feel (as I do) that such campaigns only showcase the insecurity, intolerance, and ugliness that folks like the FFRF feel toward Christians. I’ve continued to say that those involves in such things are really ‘hatetheists’ and not atheists, or perhaps more appropriately, they should be labeled for what they really are – anti-Christian activists.

Such things are nothing new at all. Christianity has traditionally been opposed and mocked by those who are threatened by its Lord and who have had their pride stung by its message. For example, in one of Rome’s museums, there is an archaeological find that is dated to be somewhere around the beginning of the 3^rd century. The piece shows a drawing evidently made by an early anti-Christian Roman who was mocking a person named Alexamenos that was likely imprisoned for his faith in Jesus. The drawing depicts a man worshipping a figure nailed to a cross that has a donkey’s head (a reference to stupidity). The hastily written Greek on the work reads: “Alexamenos worships god”.

The 2^nd century Christian critic Celsus framed his thinking of early Christians this way: “Now if the Christians worshipped only one God they might have reason on their side. . . . But as a matter of fact they worship a man who appeared only recently. And their worship of this Jesus is the more outrageous because they refuse to listen to any talk about God, the father of all, unless it includes some reference to Jesus. . . . And when they call him Son of God, they are not really paying homage to God, rather, they are attempting to exalt Jesus to the heights.”

At least Celsus had more sense on his side than the FFRF crowd. He knew Jesus was a historical figure and not a mere myth. But, every year the anti-Christian activists demonstrate their intellectual bankruptcy by either explicitly stating or deceptively implying that Jesus of Nazareth never actually lived. They say he was a measly invention of the time, much like one of the Greek or Roman gods.

When will this ridiculous claim ever die?

If it’s not famous skeptics Bertrand Russell saying, “Historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if he did we know nothing about him”, it’s internet movies like Zeitgeist a few years back who tragically parade their willing ignorance of history and facts for all to see.

I was asked years ago by gotquestions.org to write a brief refutation to the Zeitgeist movie, which I did. Others have since written much more in-depth critiques of that work. But it was my first introduction to the depths at which some anti-Christian activists will go to try and deceive people.

As we approach Christmas this year, I’d like to echo what Dr. Bruce Metzger simply said many years ago: “Today no competent scholar denies the historicity of Jesus”.

If the anti-Christian activists want to deny Jesus Christ vs. Jesus of Nazareth, that’s certainly their prerogative. But, when they resort to desperate attempts to strip Jesus’ life from history, well, they violate their own banner ad of “Let Reason Prevail”.

Below is one of my most viewed presentations from a series I developed a few years ago on the various counterfeit Christs that have been put forward by various groups. It provides more details as to the origins and progression of the “Jesus is a myth” fabrication: 

View more presentations from Robin Schumacher

Is the God of the Old Testament Ruthless and Cruel?

In a recent Christian Post article, a number of atheists raised their voices once again to charge that the God of the Old Testament is a genocidal monster and murdered countless innocent people down through history, all of which is chronicled in the Bible. 

Are they right?

I don't believe they are. In fact, I believe the Old Testament shows just the opposite and displays a God who loves, warns, and eventually carries out justice on those societies who disregard what is morally right.

To help support my position, I've written a paper that you can read on the Christian Apologetics Research Ministries (CARM) site, and also put it into presentation format below. For a deeper treatment of the paper, you can obtain a copy of Paul Copan's book that covers the subject in much more detail.

View more presentations from Robin Schumacher