HEELCATCHER

A year and a half ago I wrote a post about Tim Tebow (see https://heelcatcher.com/?p=602). It was in the height of his improbable run of leading the Denver Broncos into the playoffs…despite putting up awful stats as a quarterback and generally waiting until the last two minutes of the 4th quarter to play well. It was a fun ride and Tebow became a phenomenom and a pariah both at the same time.

Since then, Tebow has been wished sayonara by the Broncos (who never really wanted him as a QB), languished through an abysmal year with the Jets (who never really knew why they had him), and been passed over by every other team in the NFL (who never really thought he belonged in the NFL to begin with). 

Until Belichick and the New England Patriots picked him up on a no guarantee, two-year contract this past week.

Tebow is back on the NFL radar and all over the Twitter world…though many would say that he never really left it. 

I was excited to hear the news that the Patriots had picked him up. I was hoping that he would get another chance to play in the NFL. I figured Jacksonville would be the first to pick him up when he was released. It seemed like a no brainer to me. If the goal of an NFL team (at least in the business sense) is to sell tickets, then Tebow would be an immediate draw to a mediocre franchise. What would be the harm of giving the "Tebow experiment" a year to work? Jacksonville isn't wowing anyone on the field right now and their current QB isn't that exciting to the Jacksonville fan base. C'mon, would you be more likely to watch a Jacksonville game if Tebow was QBing or Blaine Gabbert was? If Tebow didn't work out, then everyone would know it. If he did, then Jacksonville would not only be successful in the ticket office but in the win column as well. But Jacksonville, which is sort of like the neglected little step-child of the NFL, apparently didn't want to appear to be desperate or out of step with the other teams in the league. Why risk being the laughingstock of the league when you are already snickered at as a franchise?

So many thought that Tebow's only real hope was the Patriots. Belichick could keep the media circus in line. Josh McDaniels, who was the only one who really believed in Tebow on draft day, is on the Patriots' staff. And the starting QB, Tom Brady, is so solidly entrenched that no QB controversy could feasibily develop. But the Patriots didn't seem interested.

Until now. 

After the Patriots picked Tebow up, I read some of the comments by sportswriters. Most thought that Belichick was arrogant or just plain stupid. Few saw any value in Tebow. Many used the opportunity to again blast the man they love to blast. "He can't play QB." "His mechanics are terrible." "Welcome to the circus." "Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb…." 

Why all the fascination, fuming, and fuss over Tebow?

I am a Tebow fan. I guess I am one of the "crazies" that sportswriters like to lampoon. But I don't like Tebow because I think he is the next Peyton Manning. Hey, Denver is much better off with Peyton at the helm. I don't know a lot about QB mechanics and so who I am to say whether Tebow can make it in the NFL? Maybe he can't. Maybe all the naysayers will be proved right. That's okay. Football to me is just entertainment. It is not life or death (despite what many fans think). It is a game. A fun game. A lucrative game. But a game nonetheless. 

I like Tebow because I respect him. I admire his Christian faith. I think he is a young man of integrity. I think he is a hard worker, an authentic individual, a good athlete, and a person with a genuine desire to use his influence and affluence to encourage others, help the needy, and share the good news of Jesus Christ. I like Tebow because he is someone that I would gladly have my four boys look up to and emulate. That can't be said about a lot of sports stars. So for that reason, I would love to see him succeed. 

So for the life of me, I can't understand why people seem to hate him so much…and want him to fail. Maybe he gets too much attention. Sportswriters like to blame Tebow fans for keeping him on the radar…but Tebow fans aren't the ones who keep writing sports columns about him and featuring him on ESPN. Maybe his fans are too devoted to him. That's possible but not really new or unusual in the sports world. How can fans of sports athletes decry other fans of sports athletes for being fans of sports athletes? "Well, Tebow hasn't done enough to deserve it." I don't know. Two national collegiate championships and a Heisman Trophy aren't too shabby. And despite poor statistics, he actually has done remarkably well as a starting NFL QB…at least in the wins and "intangibles" categories. 

No, Tebow seems to inspire disdain and disgust for some other reason. Maybe he is "too good" as a role model. Maybe he's the good kid that always gets A's in the class and so the other kids in the class start wanting him to fail. Maybe people see him as a fake because he smiles too much. Maybe people have lingering loatheful feelings from his days as a Florida Gator. Maybe people hate second and third string QB's with bad mechanics. Maybe some hate Tebow because he represents what our society can no longer seem to understand or tolerate–a commitment to sexual purity and an unabashed devotion to Jesus Christ as his Savior. 

I don't know.   

But I do know if Tebow makes the cut and plays this year in the NFL, then I will say something that I don't think I have ever said before.

"Go Patriots!"

Stuck on a airplane for nine hours gives you a chance to watch some of the current movies out there….assuming you can find something halfway decent. I watched Skyfall and wasn't impressed. Was there actually a plot in that movie? It had no suspense, no surprises, no real story. But I guess if you shoot at things, get shot, blow things up, get the girl (and then another one), and look manly through it all then you have enough for another James Bond movie. It wasn't for me.

The only other movie that looked interesting was the Life of Pi. I had heard about it but I wasn't too tempted to go to the movies and watch it for $10…or even go to a Redbox and rent it for $1.29. It seemed a little weird from what I saw. But hey, it was free on the plane and I had time. So I hit "play."

I was pleasantly surprised.

It was a great story with a mix of humor, suspense, and vivid visual effects. The plot was so unique–a boy stuck on a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and Bengal tiger–that it was hard not to be drawn in. And as an added bonus, it was clean and avoided needless vulgarity.

But after watching the movie…and thoroughly enjoying it…I had to stop and think about its message. The Life of Pi preaches a message that resonates with much of our culture today. But is it true?

The movie begins with a young writer visiting Pi because he hears that Pi has a story that "will make him believe in God." The young man is eager to hear the story. So a middle-aged Pi begins to tell it. (And if you haven't seen the movie, then you may want to stop here and go watch it first.)

Pi grows up in India with a sharp, curious mind and a receptive, spiritual heart. His dad owns a zoo which adds to Pi's young adventures and the beauty of his childhood. There is an innocence to Pi that is refreshing. For instance, deep down, Pi feels he can befriend the zoo's Bengal tiger. His father has to show him the the ferociousness of the tiger…and the harsh reality of life…in order to preserve his son from his own naivete. 

But Pi is undeterred in his innocent optimism…especially in the spiritual realm. He embraces Hinduism and its cultural story. Then he embraces Christianity and its story of God's love. Then he embraces Islam and its discipline and devotion. His father jokes that if Pi can embrace a few more religions then he can live his whole life on holiday. 

Instead of religion, Pi's dad pushes him toward reason and a rationalistic view of the universe. Only science gives practical answers to life's problems. Science operates in reality; religion in fantasy. And you have to choose in which realm you will live. 

The background is set. And now the real story begins.

Due to circumstances and failing finances, Pi's family sets sail on a boat toward Canada. His dad brings the animals of the zoo to sell for income. Along the way, the boat sinks in the midst of a violent storm. Through the course of events that are too hard to explain, Pi ends up as the only survivor in a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a tired baboon, a hungry hyena, and the aforementioned Bengal tiger. And before long, all that are left are Pi and the tiger.

The next 227 days on the lifeboat are an adventure to say the least. Deeply inspiring, wildly compelling, and rationally unbelievable.

In the end, Pi ends up half-dead on a beach in Mexico. The tiger, gaunt, bedraggled, and now befriended to Pi, disappears into the Mexican jungle before help arrives.

Pi is rescued alone.

In the hospital recovering, Pi is visited by representatives of the boat company looking to write a report on the vessel's sinking. Pi tells the story of the animals on the lifeboat but the representatives seem unable to accept it. It is simply beyond belief. So, to satisfy them, Pi tells another story, replacing the animals with human characters, and changing the wildness of the story into something easier to explain…and to believe. The representatives seem satisfied and leave.

The scene pans back to Pi talking with the young writer. "I have told you two different stories. Same basic facts. Same ending. Which do you believe?"

The writer replies, "The story with the tiger because it is the better story." 

Pi says. "And so it is with God." 

The writer wryly smiles. Now he understands. There are two ways of looking at the universe. Both must deal with the reality of what we see. We can either believe the rationality of science or accept the unbelievable wonder of spirituality. Pi, and now the writer, take the route of spirituality because it makes the "better story."

While the credits were rolling, I paused to think about the message of the movie.

On the surface, it seems pretty good. Through Pi's story, the young writer moved from doubtful atheism to hopeful theism. That sounds like movement in the right direction, doesn't it? There is much to like about the Life of Pi.

But then I thought a little more. Is faith merely picking the "better story"? 

If so, then it really doesn't matter what you believe. Simply look for what interests you, what makes you feel inspired, what "works" for you. This is the route that Pi has taken. He embraces all religions because they simply enhance the "story." Reality is mystery. Unknowable. Unfathomable. Unattainable. So look at the facts of reality and choose to see a better story. Whatever that might be. Take your choice among the world religions. Or take them all. Or invent your own for that matter. 

It's the ultimate postmodern dream. Construct your own reality. Choose your own belief. Write your own story. 

But in the end, the fact remains. Either Pi was on the boat with a bunch of animals or he wasn't. Reality is reality. Anything else is delusion. Even if it is the "better story." 

Either we live in a random universe with no meaning or there is a God who has created. Either the Bible tells the historical story of redemption or it is a fanciful myth. Either Christ lived, died, and rose from the dead or He didn't.

Christianity doesn't allow itself to be one of many perspectives. It claims to be reality. And its Savior claims to be the creator God…in human flesh…the only Conqueror of sin and death…in real space-time history.

Yes, faith enters the equation. We can't know all things. We have to trust some authority. We have to be willing to believe. But ultimately true faith must be tied to evidence, to truth, to reality. Otherwise, it is not faith but fantasy.

Even if it is the "better story."