Quarterback Tim Tebow recently cancelled an appearance at the opening of Robert Jeffress’ $115 million church after finding out about Jeffress’ controversial reputation.
The good pastor has spoken out against:
- Mormonism (“a heresy from the pit of hell”)
- Judaism (“you can’t be saved being a Jew”)
- Catholicism (“the genius of Satan”)
and, of course,
Of course, while Jeffress is merely exercising his religious freedom, any attempt to disagree with him is an attack on that freedom:
Denny Burk, a cultural commentator and professor at Boyce College in Louisville, Ken., said Tebow’s decision is a significant event for the nation’s Christian community and could serve as a troubling bellwether.
“This moment will appear to many as another marker of Christianity’s cultural marginalization,” he wrote on his website. “In the broad tolerance of views in our public discourse, who’s in and who’s out? What voices are allowed in the cacophony that is American democracy? Which voices should be excluded? Christian voices have long been a part of the din but moments like these make it seem like those days are coming to an end.”
Pass the smelling salts! I’ll need them when I stop laughing. Apparently disagreeing with Jeffress, deciding not to associate with him, suggesting that others rethink their association with him, is an assault on Jeffress’ liberty — wait, no, that’s not right — is an assault on Christianity itself and American democracy along with it.
See, it’s fine to call someone a Satanic, heretical pervert from the pit of Hell, but if your target calls you a bigot in reply then you get to be all, OMG, Can you believe what he just said??
I actually got into a twitter battle with Super-Anti-Gay Peter Labarbera over this. Frankly I stumbled badly at first. I’m a big opponent of measures that stifle freedom of speech. I’m horrified by European hate speech laws and I’m against the notion that some ideas are too egregious even to be debated:
For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it. [Thomas Jefferson]
I stand by that, but in this case it led me down the wrong track, when Labarbera invoked the Gay Thought Police. My basic error? Letting my opponent set the terms of the debate. I forgot this:
When debating someone, you don’t have to respond to the words they’ve chosen. You don’t always have to offer a point-by-point rebuttal. Sometimes the best thing is to offer an alternative perspective, one that renders your opponents’ words obsolete.
That’s a hard lesson for me because you know how I love my point-by-point rebuttals. But twitter 140-character limit forced meto change strategy. After stumbling about offering hypothetical reasons why the Gay Lobby might not have been the main pressure on Tebow, I got a reply from LaBarbera saying, “Who started the campaign? It was the Gay Lobby. Own it.” And I thought…
Why not?
All that would mean is the Gay Lobby prevented Tebow from endorsing an anti-gay, anti-Catholic, anti-Judaism, anti-Mormon bigot. It would mean Catholics, Jews, and Mormons should thank us, and Tebow should be grateful, too. It would mean we’re doing God’s work. And I said so.
Peter LaBarbera stopped responding after that.
Some of you may be thinking, “Well, DUH, Rob.” But this was a good experience for me. I can get so wrapped up in the minutiae of a debate that I forget to step back and wonder if we’re even talking about the right thing. I forget to touch base with the basic principles that led me into the debate in the first place.
Of course, before I congratulate myself too hard, I have to remember I was arguing with Peter LaBarbera, and that presents all the challenge of trying to overpower an elderly squirrel.
If you’re curious, the tweet sequence is after the jump.
Tim Tebow now joins pantheon ofcelebrities who’ve cowered before the Homosexual Lobby. Very sad that he threw Jeffres under the bus. #tcot
— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) February 21, 2013
@peterlabarbera Maybe Tim didn’t want to work with someone who says the Catholic Church represents “the genius of Satan” #bigotryrunsinpacks
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 21, 2013
@robtish That’s his right as a pastor. Perhaps you’re ignorant of fact tht Catholics + Protestants have debated theology for centuries #tcot
— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) February 21, 2013
@peterlabarbera Of course! And its Tims right to avoid antiCath bigotry like that. Doesnt mean he caved to Gay Lobby, he just did right thng
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 21, 2013
@robtish Also, it was the Gay Thought Police that started the campaign against Tebow, not Catholics. #TebowCaves #tcot #hhrs #Christian
— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) February 21, 2013
@robtish where’s your information that he was pulling out mainly on the Catholic issue?
— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) February 21, 2013
@peterlabarbera Don’t know that he was. Jeffress is anti-gay anti-Catholic anti-Judaism anti-Mormon so Tim had MANY reasons to stay away.
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 21, 2013
@robtish C’mon, Rob. Who started the campaign? It was the Gay Lobby. Own it. #TebowCaves #gayThoughtPolice #tcot
— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) February 21, 2013
@peterlabarbera I’d love to own. Then Catholics, Jews, Mormons will thank me for keeping Tebow from endorsing pastor who defames them.
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 22, 2013
@peterlabarbera @lvng4chrst @ccmcleod Gay lobby prevented Tebow from working w/ anti-gay anti-Catholic anti-Judaism anti-Mormon bigot? Yay!
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 22, 2013
@peterlabarbera @lvng4chrst @ccmcleod Sounds like the Gay Lobby is doing God’s work and protecting Tebow from sin.
— Rob Tisinai (@robtish) February 22, 2013
Where’s LaBarbera’s evidence he was pulling out on the gay issue?
It would have been prudent for the article to have mentioned some of the controversial lines Jeffress had used, especially since we don’t know specifically why Tebow canceled in the first place. Of course, the church can say he canceled simply because the church opposes same-sex marriage, but we know what that’s often “simply wrong.” LaBarbera can speculate all he wants, but until we know for sure why Tebow changed his mind, let’s all just be happy that he did.
Ironically, if the pastor and his allies had simply kept their mouths shut, most people wouldn’t notice or care about why Tebow canceled.
Instead, by blaming it on the gay issue, they’ve framed their own position on homosexuality as so extreme that even a devout conservative Baptist like Tebow (supposedly) can’t stomach it.
I can get so wrapped up in the minutiae of a debate that I forget to step back and wonder if we’re even talking about the right thing. I forget to touch base with the basic principles that led me into the debate in the first place.
This happened to me, just today. I’ve put myself on a time-out (in this case, from Joe.My.God.), while I reflect. It’s hard. You’re trying to Find Truth, but the Ego (Me, Myself & I) inserts itself. Which is which? I can’t tell sometimes.