Sports Illustrated wanders into the theological:
Whether it’s genuine or a performance, does it matter as long as the saintly act was committed?
Tebow’s on- and off-field exploits have landed under a similar microscope. Sure, he scores a ton of rushing touchdowns, but they’re mostly one-yard runs. That’s a fine argument, except that plenty of other players have been handed the ball on the 1 only to run into a wall. Sure, he raises money for his dad’s orphanage in the Philippines, but he does it only to make himself look better. Even if that were true, how many orphanages have you raised money for this year?
Whether you consider him genuine or fake, Tebow, at the end of the day, is a Heisman Trophy-, SEC- and BCS-title winning quarterback who goes to class, goes to church and circumcises people less fortunate than him. More people should be so intolerable.
Um, did I miss something about Tebow’s well-known Christian practice? Or is circumcising something he does to his opponents on-field? Or is it just that Sports Illustrated doesn’t know what the word means?
November 29th, 2009 | 8:20 pm
As strange as it sounds, apparently he actually has assisted in circumcisions:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2008-05-05/sports/tebow05_1_tim-tebow-philippines-general-santos-city
November 29th, 2009 | 8:33 pm
I don’t think “intolerable” was the word the writer wanted, either.
November 29th, 2009 | 9:39 pm
As far as I’m concerned, this is some kind of new standard in acts of charity. I imagine the line for a hot meal is considerably longer.
November 29th, 2009 | 10:23 pm
Yep, I think Joseph meant “intolerant,” not “intolerable.”
Tebow is doing well. It is unfortunate that he is assisting with circumcisions, though. Circumcision in the Philippines is a rite of passage for pubescent boys. Why someone is performing genital alterations as an act of charity is beyond me. Tebow would be helping better if he was doing something to meet the basic needs of the orphans rather than elective genital surgery done for cultural reasons.
November 30th, 2009 | 2:41 am
@Restoring Tally:
As far as I can figure out he is primarily raising money for orphans in the Philipines, thus he IS doing something to meet the basic needs of the orphans.
And the Orlando Sentinel article quoted above doesn’t actually provide any evidence that Tebow circumcised anyone or assisted with circumcision — they seem to inappropriately use the word for what they later describe as “dental procedures” and “removal of cysts”. This is further borne out by the description of “stitching” — circumcision does not involve stitches, there’s nothing left to stitch.
So what has happened here seems to be that the Orlando Sentinel mis-used the word, and Sports Illustrated simply quotes the Sentinel’s mis-use.
November 30th, 2009 | 5:31 am
Yes, that seems the sequence: Strange usage in the Orlando paper, used–perhaps ironically?–by Sports Illustrated. Note that the SI writer did actually mean the word “intolerable.” He’s making a point about people searching for something for which to criticize Tebow, something for which to call him “intolerable.” And the writer then says, in essence, “Maybe we shouldn’t tolerate Tebow, but, man, if only everybody was so intolerable, we’d have a better world.”
November 30th, 2009 | 10:28 am
“Circumcision does not involve stitches, there’s nothing left to stitch.”
This was not the sentence I was hoping to ponder this Monday morning. However. . . .
November 30th, 2009 | 11:24 am
There is no disputing that Tebow assisted with circumcision of minors too young to give informed consent. He should be considered for the Heismann only after he’s served his time for torture, like Michael Vick did.
It’s odd that he professes to be a Christian. The New Testament makes plain that physical circumcision is not part of Christianity:
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”
- Galations 6:15
“But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
- I Corinthians 12:18
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
- Galations 5:2
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