American Family Association faces backlash after attacks on Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow

I was going to write a long-winded piece on  Tim Tebow canceling his appearance at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas due to controversy about the head of the church's (Robert Jeffres) vicious comments about gays, Jews, Mormons, and Catholics. But in researching that post, something else caught my attention and I just had to make you aware of it.

Naturally, the American Family Association's fake news publication One News Now (which the group now calls Instant Analysis) blistered Tebow on his decision to cancel:

Instead of standing with the Christian leader of their day, the disciples of Christ fled like panicked sheep when he came under direct attack. I had thought and hoped Tebow was made of sterner stuff. Tebow needs to clarify and expand on his remarks immediately, and undo this disastrous decision. Dr. Jeffress is a man of unconditional love and will gladly receive him back. 

The publication even invites readers to either tweet their support of disappointment to Tebow by using the hashtags  #tebowcaves or  #tebowsupport.

But the AFA had better stop worrying about Tebow and worry about its supporters.

In a huge surprise to me, the comments on Instant Analysis (formerly One News Now) favor Tebow and actually takes AFA to task for attacking him. Here are just a few:

• I am not disappointed in Tebow, but in you for setting up a hashtag and news headline "tebowcaves" to automate heckling of someone that has stood far beyond where most people, and probably yourself would stand. Why would you create a link to entice thousands of others to torment him? As believers we understand that your acts do not represent Christianity, However, non believers view these type of acts as a representation of "Christians". Please consider your actions before recruiting thousands of people to turn against another believer. Thank you.

•  My thoughts mirror most of the prior ones. How quickly we jump to conclusions w/o knowing the whole story. Tim Tebow has not suddenly become the bad guy here. We should be showing our love and support during what must be a difficult time for him. How can we "Christians" turning on him help the situation? It's hardly acting the part of a Christian...

• Much as I have supported, sponsored and appreciated AFA for years, and as a  large part of my pro-family, anti-tyranny activism is through them, I believe  that the hashtags are a downright mean-spirited idea and I'm ashamed of AFA in  that regard. From the whole world's history with Tebow's faithfulness to date in the face of the diseased liberal left, I think we can be certain he knows how to pray about his  own decisions --and has the freedom to do so! Good GRIEF, AFA! Voice your disappointment if you wish, and raise questions that will draw accurate answers when the facts come in, but draw the line at bullying, please! You've got an  apology to make, and I hope to see you somehow back off that foolish  mob-gathering "Tebowcaves" hashtag. You are always ready for me to pop off  pointed letters that register my disappointment with various offenders; well,  here's my letter to you.

• I couldn't agree more,  .... I will be looking a lot more closely at AFA activity and agenda in the future before I jump in and support. My antennae are up bigtime ...

• What is wrong with the people that wrote this article?? You're being judgemental! You are not God. Only Tim knows what is between him and God and the reasons he is not speaking at this church. Read the Bible and you will see many instances where people are persecuted for doing the very thing God has asked them to do. Several years ago (about 12 years), my family and our pastor's family started a new church. We felt the Lord was calling for us to do that work. Wouldn't you know it, the very people that made fun of us by calling us names (seriously!) were the supposed Christians we had attended church with earlier! Today, that church is alive and well. If God is in it, NO man can defeat it. Tim, you keep doing what the Lord tells you to do............pay no mind to mere men who call themselves Christian.

• When a pastor chooses to take such a public stance on controversial issues - perhaps devoid of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, I might add - then they will get the attention they want, but only serve to further separate people rather than helping people join together. Chasing homosexuals from your church is not what Jesus did. This pastor is a loudmouth who wanted attention...and he got it. clapclapclap But I do not applaud his clumsy attention-getting behavior. I do applaud Tebow distancing himself from this loudmouth attention seeker. While we all are guilty of all-too-Human behavior from time to time, pastors must hold themselves to a higher standard and not take advantage of the trust and sometimes blind faith congregations have in THEM, rather than in Jesus Christ. Just sayin'.

• I am no longer in receiving messages or participating in this judgmental site. I'm not perfect like the people who run it. I don't deserve to associate with them.

I guess the American Family Association just learned the hard way that while you can pick on gays, you don't mess with football players.

 UPDATE - AFA wiped away all of the links and put up a "update" with a half-assed apology