Hilarious New Tim Tebow T-Mobile Superbowl Commercials

These gems were too good not to post…  You’re welcome:

Best Links of the Week

The World if There Were Only 100 People

Fight Club sequel plot revealed

Great article by J. Budziszewski entitled, “Why Hooking Up is Letting You Down”

Article from the Polaris Project on “Human Trafficking Trends in the United States”

Great long-form piece from Sports Illustrated entitled, “The Book of Tebow”

Solid article from Kevin DeYoung entitled, “Seven Thoughts on Pastors Writing Books”

New Tim Tebow Jockey Commercial

I don’t think Tim should go into acting… but I am sure he’ll sell a lot of shirts.

‘Skills Don’t Translate to the NFL…’

Tim Tebow’s skills clearly don’t translate well to the NFL.  He’s too slow, has an awkward throwing motion, and will get hammered by faster and stronger defenders.  I couldn’t resist.

Best Links of the Week

Chuck DeGroat has one of the best pieces I have read in a long long time called, “What’s Wrong With Your Pastor?”  Orthodoxy without orthopathos is orthoworthless.

Tim Tebow writing a memoir about ‘faith, family, and football’ entitled Through My Eyes, and can be pre-ordered in hardcover and Kindle.

Marvin Olasky is resuming full-time duties at World Magazine.

Kansas State nutrition professor loses 27 pounds over two months while eating a diet of Twinkies and Nutty Buddy Bars, while lowering bad cholesterol by 20% and raising good cholesterol by 20%.

Company creating an app and cell phone plug-in device to test for STDs.  I am not sure if this is exceedingly strange or a good idea… or both.

iPhone app of the week:  MileBug – creates IRS compliant travel logs simply and easily and you can email yourself the reports in both Word or Excel formats.  If you don’t want to pay the $2.99 they have a Lite version that allows you to create 10 trip reports before having to email yourself.  Also, it allows you to take notes and add parking, toll, or food expenses to each mileage report.

Pretty crazy trick play in a Middle School football game:

Women solves Wheel of Fortune puzzle with just one letter:

Video of Tim Tebow Superbowl Ad

Update:  so apparently the above version was not the one played in the Superbowl, this one below is the one that aired.  Not sure which I like better.  Not sure what all the fuss is about, both are pretty vanilla.  I don’t think the culture wars will be dying down anytime soon.

Also, a much longer video with Bob and Pam Tebow give much more back-story of their pregnancy with Tim is worth watching here.

Thoughts?

Best Links of the Week

The Problematic Path of a Graduate Degree in the Humanities

I am starting a new installment of this blog for the best links of the week.  They will typically be in accordance with the major topics discussed here (theology, philosophy, culture, economics, and politics).  Depending on how many good articles were out on the net, the number of links will vary.  Enjoy.

1.  “Graduate School in the Humanities:  Just Don’t Go“:  controversial, informative, and lucid look at the current status of graduate school humanities programs and the dysfunctionality of finding work thereafter.

2.  MSNBC article on Matt Chandler’s battle with cancer – there are some strange things about this story involving him punching a healthcare provider…  Also excellent is a year old article by John Piper entitled, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.”

3.  Previously mentioned article by pro-choice Sally Jenkins (Washington Post) defending Pam/Tim Tebow’s Superbowl Ad.

4.  “Haiti Three Weeks Later“:  absolutely stirring images from the Boston Globes excellent photo-essay segment “The Big Picture.”

5.  Pew Survey on Social Networking: Teens Love Facebook, Hate Blogging, Are Always Online, and Don’t Use Twitter

6.  Newsweek on the ineffectiveness of Anti-Depressants.  Not sure I share the conclusions, but interesting article.

7.  “A Christian Nation“:  article exploring relationship between Christianity and pop-culture and how we are highly marketed to.   There are weaknesses to the author’s argumentation but interesting nonetheless to get an outsiders view of Christianity and pop-culture.

8.  “Should Conan, Goldman Sachs send megabucks to Haiti?“:  Interesting proposal.

9.  “The Rise of the Calvinists“: article exploring Scott Brown’s theological convictions as a member of a CRC church.

Tim Tebow Superbowl Ad Redux

Tim Tebow Superbowl Redux

Here is an excellent article from a pro-choice journalist providing some fresh air to the whole Superbowl commercial debate.  The article argues persuasively that Tim Tebow is good for women and not the other way around.

On a sidenote, I have never understood why liberals are big government on everything except abortion.  For whatever reason, they appeal to small government and personal liberty when it comes to this issue.  I suppose logical consistency can be sacrificed for rationalizing sin.

Tim Tebow in Superbowl Commercial

Tim Tebow

I have been sitting on this story for a few weeks now as it was mere rumor.  However, the Denver Post and Colorado Springs Independent now corroborate that Focus on the Family has purchased a 30 second ad in this years Superbowl.

Pam Tebow had amoebic dysentery during her pregnancy with Tim.  The doctors counseled her to abort Tim but Pam and Bob would not abort Tim.  The ad will promote the obvious, life is beautiful and we are thankful that these parents chose to not kill their son.

The story hits close to home.  My own mother had shingles during the first half of her pregnancy with my older brother.  The doctors said that there was next to no chance that he would be a normal baby and their unilateral counsel was to abort him.  My parents refused.  My brother was valedictorian of his high school class and will have acquired his PhD in Materials Science this year.  He was the best man at my wedding and is my best friend.  I cannot imagine my life without my brother.

Tim’s football skills nor my brother’s academic success justify the decisions of their parents.  These men were created in the image of God, knit together in their mothers womb, and by necessity are of intrinsic worth.  If Tim had not won two National Championships or my brother been smart, the decisions of their parents were still moral.

Abortion is a stain on this country.  I honestly believe we will feel the same shame and remorse for abortion that we be feel now for slavery.  True social justice is protecting the rights of the weakest members of society.

Post-script:

I did not want to make this post to be about Focus on the Family.  I have been critical of the Christian Right on this blog before, particularly their employing of reductionistic methods that fail to understand the complexities of American culture(s).  I am also not sure if spending millions of dollars on a Superbowl ad is a wise use of funds.  I hope that the ad is well done and compelling.

Introduction to Apologetics, Part 7: Concluding Thoughts

Tim Tebow as Presuppositionalist

I see a place for all the apologetic schools in defense of Christianity.  There are some that are firmly entrenched in their particular school or tradition, and for the most part I understand where they are coming from.  I happen to think the presuppositionatlists are head and shoulders above the other schools and I happen to agree that their approach is the most Biblical, and therefore the most God glorifying.  However, I see a lot of value in the classical and evidentialist schools and I don’t think we should throw the baby out with the bath water.  From a personal perspective, intelligent design, the teleological argument, and the ontological argument had a profound impact on my life.

I think the main value of evidences are to bolster pre-existing faith by showing that our faith is not unreasonable, unjustified, or unwarranted.  I think the main value of presuppositional apologetics is calling all non-Christian worldviews to task over the fact that they hold mutually exclusive propositions and cannot account for all things.

Perhaps its a silly analogy, but I liken apologetics to the three phases of football:  offense, defense, and special teams.  The presuppositionalists are on the offensive challenging false notions in other worldviews.  The classical and evidentialist apologetists are defending the reasonability of the Christian faith.  Then there are guys like Blaise Pascal, and Alvin Plantinga that specialize in kickoffs, punts, PATs, and field goals.  Together they present a coherent, consistent, and believable Christianity that makes sense of existence intellectually, emotionally, and experientially.