Ted Kluck juxtaposes the public faiths of NFL quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Robert Griffin III:
If “mentioning your faith” had a spectrum, Tebow would be on the high end of that spectrum, and Griffin would be on the moderate-to-low end. While public faith was an integral part of the Tebow brand, Griffin seems low-key by comparison. He said nothing more than “God had a plan” at his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech. He has tweeted periodically—but not excessively—about his faith. His Twitter bio is a play on the popular evangelical mantra of relationship-not-religion, saying “I have no Religion. I have a relationship with God.” Still, Griffin seems to be walking a fine line, appealing to Christians and non-Christians alike.
Despite Griffin’s nuances, Kluck is wary of the trend:
There’s something weird about the Christian celebrity culture. It certainly exists—it’s what enables me to write books about football stars—but I can’t help but wonder if it should exist, if it does us more harm than good. I’m reminded of Paul’s word in 2 Corinthians 2:17, which reads, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.” Sometimes it feels like we’re doing exactly that. Our hero-making, at times, ignores the most central truths of our faith. Whether we’re talking about Tebow or RGIII or the next big name, we risk losing the gospel message in the powerful and popularized narrative of the Christian athlete.
The Dish 