Why Tim Tebow kneels

By Joseph Pecar

"Tebow's 316: Coincidence, or Divine Intervention?" That's the question the secular media posed following the Bronco's spectacular January 8 victory over the Steelers.

By "Divine Intervention" media pundits mockingly suggest that if there is a God, does He not have something better to do than determining which team wins football games — or maybe even ensuring that the Broncos would win so many games.

But it's not final scores or who wins what games that prompted literally millions of people who don't even believe that God exists to wonder whether something like Divine Intervention did take place during the Steelers game.

Instead, it was a sequence of four highly unlikely and as yet inexplicable incidents — namely, Tebow's 316 total passing yards; Tebow's per completion average of 31.6 yards; the TV ratings peaking at 31.6 after his game-winning 80-yard overtime touchdown pass; and the time of possession by Pittsburg in the overtime game of 31 minutes and 06 seconds. As shown below, taken together these incidents cannot be attributed to "chance," nor for that matter, to the scheming actions of one or any groups of men.

This combination of incredibly unlikely incidents produced a "viral" Internet response including 9,420 tweets per second after Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass, a play taking just 11 seconds (the longest overtime touchdown pass in the shortest overtime period in playoff history). In a telecast including a Tebow inspired "Focus on the Family" ad, there were 100 million hits on Google "John 3:16" searches during the game, paradoxically occurring in just 0.11 seconds.

Clearly, even if they wanted to, there is no way Tebow, the coach, team members, media moguls (nor even all the "king's men") could ever have conspired to create such a highly unlikely sequence of events — each related to "3:16." What tied these extraordinary events to Tebow was his pre-game practice of painting "John" and the number "3:16" on his cheeks — one of Tebow's favorite Biblical passages — Chapter 3, Verse 16 of the Gospel of St. John, (N.B., frequently referred to as "the Gospel in a nutshell.")

In a way, lay believers (and more so clerics) agree with non-believers that Divine Intervention for no other reason than to determine which team wins or loses particular football games, or even season records, is not likely.

However, serious believers do embrace the notion that God has in the past and continues to this day to Intervene in human activities to, for example, increase the number of men acknowledging God's existence and to make known what God commands believers to do once they acknowledge His existence. Giving God credit for pre-eminent intelligence — it's not surprising He intervenes in ways that affect the hearts and minds of men via activities, like football, that attract great numbers of people.

So while it is true that sports coverage is what primarily attracts crowds, it's now undeniably clear that the "Steelers," and other Tebow games, have "in the secular arena" provoked a nationwide dialog regarding faith.

It's a dialog that has metamorphosed from "did Divine Intervention occur" to the fundamental question of God's existence (if there's no God there can't be Divine Intervention) and related questions including how and in what venues every man has unalienable rights to profess their faith — in this case meaning even at football games. The dialogue's broad scope is evidenced by the fact that many are inspired by Tebow's overtly religious kneeling during games, while others publicly deem it offensive.

Fully aware of the religious role he feels obligated to fulfill, Tebow himself said at a postgame press conference, "I am so thankful for the platform God has given me." The "platform" Tebow is referring to is his and NFL Football's immense popularity, which enables them to attract throngs of Nationwide fans to games, newscasts, and other events.

Certainly, even on a purely secular level, few would argue that it is fitting, right and just for all children to privately and publicly acknowledge and thank their parents for their part in each child's creation and care.

Likewise then, if one holds that both God and Divine intervention exist, is it not also fitting, right and just, and incumbent on all men to privately and publicly kneel in praise, worship and thanksgiving to God, the creator of everything created. Here everything includes all the things of the Universe, and beyond material gifts and with infinite love, God's creation of an eternal, unique human life for each and every person.


And that ladies and gentlemen is my opinion of Why Tim Tebow Kneels. He is simply doing what he believes God created him to do, and — as a superhero football star — made it possible for him to do it so well! Whether he wins or loses games he prays that all people be enlightened to always know and live in accordance with the Will of God.

Since it is known that he spends much time and effort in training for, preparing for and playing football to the best of his abilities, at a Prison Fellowship National Prayer Breakfast Reception Tebow surprised many by saying he views "football as a means to an end." That "end" being the opportunity to develop and utilize the "Platform" his winning record and popularity creates to evangelize to the widest possible audience.

Clearly, by engendering a nationwide God-centered dialogue in the "secular media," a dialogue that reaches those who are already "believers" — and perhaps more importantly — "non-believers" as well, Tebow has been astonishingly successful. Beyond his football and evangelizing achievements, for a young man Tebow has already made great strides in establishing and contributing to the four different charities he outlined in his address at a February 3, 2010 Prison Fellowship National Prayer Breakfast Reception — his favorite charities being Brighter Day and his ministry to "death row" prison inmates.

Danny Wuerffel, a Heisman trophy winner and son of a pastor, is another football superhero who like Tebow always put his faith before football — in college and while playing in the National Football League as well.

A January 13, 2012 Wall Street Journal article entitled Tim Tebow's Role Model, tells how "Tebow's parents made it a point to introduce the two more than a decade ago, while Mr. Wuerffel was still playing at Florida. Both players' families understood that football provided a platform that could be used to talk about the most important thing in their life — their faith. Their attitudes mirrored that of C.S. Lewis (a renowned 20th Century moral philosopher), who reasoned that 'Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important'."

Incisively we see that C.S. Lewis' wisdom applies to the ongoing nationwide Divine Intervention dialogue. Since it revolves around the belief that God does exist, then, "If such beliefs in God are false, the dialogue results are of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing they cannot be is moderately important."

Matt Barkley, the star quarterback for the University of Southern California Trojans, is yet another well known football player following in the footsteps of Tebow and Wuerffel. Recent USC quarterbacks Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, and Carson Palmer, all established a presence in the NFL, and experts are projecting Matt to join them.

For now, like Tebow and Wuerffel, Matt too has a platform in which the spotlight is shining on his every move, including his faith, a growing faith that is making a difference at his school and in the lives of others. In his own words Matt adjures, "I'm leaving my mark at USC....as a man of God".

In 2010, during his holiday break Barkley hung up his cleats, rolled up his sleeves and with family and friends ventured to the central Nigerian city of Jos visiting orphans, widows, villagers and prisoners, bringing 1,200 pounds of much-needed supplies, hygiene kits, sports equipment, toys and Christmas gifts, and personally helping to build a water tower, dig trenches for water pipes and hold sports camps for youngsters.

In closing, is it not utterly amazing that a nationwide debate on a matter of such universal interest and possibly eternal importance has emerged from football? Imagine how eager rabbis, priests and ministers, and even their institutions, would be able to similarly take advantage of the secular media willingly broadcasting to vast Internet, TV, radio and print media audiences their exegetical faith-based exhortations.

What remains to be seen is the extent to which the nationwide dialogue — which essentially evolved from differing views about how and why the incredibly unlikely events during the Steelers' game took place — can or will impact the views on religion held by believers and non-believers.

For believers, it is Biblical teachings and centuries-old religious dogmas, along with salient facts surrounding the football happenings, on which they conclude that "indeed Divine Intervention did cause the four unlikely Bronco/Steelers game events." These convictions, reflect traditional beliefs that when confronted with events — the occurrence of which can neither be denied, attributed to actions of men, nor reasonably ascribed to random chance (for example miracles like well documented cures and apparitions at Lourdes and Fatima) — that they see them as ongoing Divine Intervention.

Nevertheless, understandably many believers are surprised God chose to intervene in football games. In explaining that to themselves, they adjudge His actions to be modern day examples that "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform." Although these words are the first two lines of a Hymn by William Cowper (1731-1800), as with many Hymns, the tenet has a solid Biblical basis.

In contrast, Atheists hold that God does not exist — i.e., there is no Divinity. Consequently they must rightly conclude there can be no such thing as "Divine" Intervention. This immediately leads to the question of what non-believers do think produced four such unlikely events. The question is particularly relevant since it was the "secular" media (an aggregation of companies and individuals typically skeptical of, and often hostile to, religious beliefs and institutions) that posed the very question that begins this article, that is, "Tebow's 316: Coincidence, or Divine Intervention?."

While admittedly posing that question may have been made in a disparaging or mockingly manner, since believers do ascribe the events to Divine Intervention, it now seems fair to ask non-believers three questions.

1. Do you acknowledge that the four highly unlikely events took place during the Broncos/Steelers game?
   
   
2. Do you concur that these events could not have been the result of preplanned actions by men?
   
   
3. Do you ascribe these events as happening as the result of random chance?
   

If non-believers answer yes to each of these questions then one first naturally wonders whether they are aware of the fact that the probability that all four "316 occurrences" can be explained as simply separate random events, is what mathematics professors refer to as "vanishingly small."

That being the case, at this point in the ongoing dialogue, it would be helpful if those denying that Divine Intervention caused the unlikely events of the Steelers' game would articulate their explanation of exactly what did take place and why.

© Joseph Pecar