Nothing tiny about this Tim …
Denver Bronchos quarterback is back in the headlines again (really, did he ever leave them?) and I’m not surprised.
People laughed when he said God told him he would be starting quarterback, but here he is, the Bronchos starting quarterback and I’d say he’s been pretty successful (Those who don’t agree might want to catch the highlights of Sunday’s game between the Bronchos and the Pittsburgh Steelers …and then get back with me … ) 
The thing about him is he seems to have big faith … nothing tiny about this Tim.
Big faith and he’s not afraid to show it.
Here’s more from others who have an opinion about Tebow, football and faith …
Washington Post’s On Faith blog: “Why I Believe in Tim Tebow” (by Sally Quinn)
USA Today: “Tim Tebow’s stats boost Bible verse John 3:16″
Advertising Age: “Tim Tebow: The NFL’s new $10 million man?”
(CUTLINE: Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow greets fans after the Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in overtime of an NFL football wild card playoff game Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in Denver. AP Photo/The Denver Post, Joe Amon) #NewsOK
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Penn State and the faith community
It seems that the Penn State sex abuse scandal is what everyone is talking about these days.
You almost can’t escape it … everyday there are unfortunately new bits of information that come out about the alleged cover up of alleged sex crimes by a former assistant football coach at the university.
It seems the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had its fall meeting earlier this week in Baltimore, briefly discussed the Penn State debacle.
USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog reported Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s remarks about the issue in a recent blog post.
Read what he had to say by following this link to the posting: USA Today Faith & Reason blog: “Bishops offer Penn State Help to Prevent Abuse.”
Look for a related story in The Oklahoman’s Life section soon.
Also, the Washington Post’s On Faith blog also has some interesting postings on the subject of Penn State: Washington Post’s On Faith: “A Priests View of Penn State.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Tebowing: The rest of the story
When you want to know if something has become popular just talk to a teenager.
So I asked my daughter last night about “Tebowing” — the new 
phenomena that was the subject of one of my recent blog postings.
To my surprise she had indeed heard of Tebowing. As a matter of fact, she told me Tim Tebow had recently tweeted (because of course Twitter is how the kids find out about everything) that he liked the idea.
If you haven’t heard of Tebowing, here’s my brief explanation: A Denver native created or came up with the word to describe when someone gets down on a knee and starts praying, even if everyone else around them is
doing something completely different.
This apparently was inspired by Tebow, who plays for the Denver Bronchos NFL team, doing that very thing on the sidelines during a football game.
Last week, when I first heard about this, I wondered if perhaps this was something that mocked Tebow and his Christian faith. But now, I”m thinking, who cares if the intent is to mock, this may actually get some folks down on their knees and maybe they will pray.
One can only hope.
Anyway, here are some stories about the issue for those interested in what the rest of the nation is saying about this:
TIME: Tebowing: Football Meme goes from the field to the Internet
Fox Sports: Denver Bronchos QB Tim Tebow sees ‘Tebowing’ phenomena as a ‘blessing.’
USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog: Tim Tebow revives prayer in public debate
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Tebowing … is this supposed to be funny?
OK, I know I’m doing something a little risky, blogging about Tim Tebow here in Sooner Country, but I can’t help it.
I’ve been following Tebow’s NFL career just because he’s an interesting young athlete who is very upfront about his faith beliefs. He has gotten as much attention for his Christian faith beliefs as he has for his athletic talent.
Of course, he found his way on my radar as a University of Florida football player, but I won’t say too much about that, Sooner fans.
Anyway, it seems that the much-talked-about former Gator has inspired Tebowing. 
What is Tebowing? Glad you asked and remember I didn’t come up with this, I”m just telling about it.
Tebowing, according to Tebowing.com, means ”To get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.”
It was apparently started by a Denver native. Tebow (pictured) is quarterback for the Denver Bronchos, if you didn’t already know that.
Anyway, I read an article on CBN.com that said Tebowing was a trending topic on Twitter on Thursday. Follow this link to read the story: “Fun of Offensive?: Tebowing Goes Viral.”
CBN.com asked its readers if they thought this new trend was making fun of Tebow’s faith.
I’m not sure what I think about it at this point. One thing I do know is that Tebow has always attracted lots of attention and that doesn’t seem to have changed now that he’s playing in the big league.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
“Unbroken” connections
Last month, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Louie Zamperini, 94, the World War II POW and Olympic athlete, when he visited Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid. We posed for this photo together in the Rev. Wade Burleson’s office, where I conducted the interview.
Before the interview, I got a copy of “Unbroken,” the book chronicling Zamperini’s amazing life but I wasn’t able to finish it before his visit.
I’m finishing it up now and I have been amazed at how many people have read the book or are in the middle of reading it. Everywhere I go, people are talking about the book. When I have it with me, which I frequently do, someone stops me to say that they have read it and it is a great book.
It is a best-seller by Laura Hillenbrand who earned accolades from Zamperini about how well she captured his story, which includes the account of how he came to give his life to the Lord.
Anyway, it just blows my mind about the many ways the book has served as a connecting point for me and so many people.
I guess that’s what good books are supposed to do.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Incidentally, I don’t believe in happenstance. I believe that many of our encounters are divinely orchestrated. Another way to look at it is seeing each encounter through a spiritual lense. It is in that context that I say that I was so touched by Mr. Zamperini and what he had to say about his faith journey. There were lots of spiritual lessons gleaned from that interview.
Coach with Bible as playbook
USA Today’s religion blog had an interesting posting today about former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel.
The blog described Tressel (pictured in a March AP photo) as a “Bible is my playbook” coach. 
It’s an interesting commentary about ethics, faith and sports.
Since I know I’m not the only sports fan in these here parts, I thought I’d share the USA Today link with you so you can read the commentary for yourselves.
USA Today’s Faith & Reason Blog: “Is Tressel’s OSU exit a scandal for evangelism via athletics as well?.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Perk, I hardly knew ya
I don’t think anyone was more surprised than me to learn that Kendrick Perkins had been traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
I told my teenagers and they had a good laugh. 
Here’s why:
I’m a Boston Celtics fan (yes, I admit it) and I’d nicknamed Perkins “Devil Man” because he always seemed to have a scowl on his face and because of the way his thick eyebrows seemed to create a fuzzy uni-brow ala Groucho Marx when he frowned. He was perpetually in frown-mode.
I told my kids I’ll have to stop calling him “Devil Man” now that he’s on our team.
The nickname had nothing to do with his playing. As a Celtics fan, I was heartbroken when he got hurt and couldn’t play in Game 7 in the Celtics-L.A. Lakers battle for the NBA championship last year. Yep, he is a difference maker and I think if he had been healthy and in that last game, Kobe, Pau and the boys might not have pulled that one out.
Ok, enough about the past.
So I read with great interest Jenni Carlson’s story about Perkins being an altar boy at his church growing up. Perkins, I hardly knew ya! Guess the mean-mug look is the persona he puts on for the games. Hey, if it helps you win man, I say keep on doing it.
Anyway, I’ve issued myself a cease and desist on the nickname on my man Perk. Now that he’s suiting up in Thunder blue, he’s an angel in my book.
I finally got a chance to see Perkins play the other day and I’m definitely glad he’s playing for Oklahoma City now.
Oh, and one final thing.
My son lives in Boston and he said that Bostonians are not happy at all about the Perkins trade. Although I hated to see Jeff Green go, methinks the Thunder and Oklahoma City got a great deal.
I’m looking forward to seeing Perk play again tonight.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Buddhist says Tiger understands Buddhism
After listening to golfer Tiger Woods talk about recommiting himself to his Buddhist faith, I had a chat with a local Buddhist leader I met last year at the Buddha Mind Monastery, 5616 S Anderson Road.
Jian Mao is abbess of the monastery. I met her at the monastery’s 2009 Chinese New Year celebration.
She had this to say about Woods and his avowal to ascribe to the Buddhist teachings of his youth:
“The fundamental Buddhist teaching, the Four Noble Truths, points out our false ego (misconception of the self-identity) and that greed, anger and ignorance are the causes of our suffering. Based on our ego, we endlessly seek for the temporarily physical pleasure to satisfy our desires, but not the inner peace and joy,” she said.
“I agree with his understanding of Buddhism and hope he could be back to the right track, live the life of integrity and bring peace to his family and those who once admired him.”
(PHOTO BY JOHN CLANTON/THE OKLAHOMAN: Jian Mao, abbess of the Buddha Mind Monastery in Oklahoma City, participates in the 2009 Chinese New Year celebration at the monastery, 5616 S Anderson Road.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
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Tiger says his Buddhist faith will help him
Tiger Woods made it pretty clear today that his Buddhism faith will play a key role in his future.
Woods made a much-anticipated public appearance today, his first since the scandal regarding his his multiple adulterous affairs erupted in November 2009. The champion golfer acknowledged that he had a lot of work today regarding his wife and family, among other things. Then he said he expected his faith to come to his aid.
“Part of this for me is Buddhism. It teaches that craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and practice restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught,” Woods read from his prepared statement.
Religion writers and others across the country are speaking out about what Woods had to say. I’ve included the links to some of the interesting faith-related commentary.
From USA Today’s Faith and Reason blog: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/02/tiger-woods-apology-buddhism-buddhist/1
From MediaIte: http://www.mediaite.com/online/tiger-woods-i-lost-track-of-my-buddhist-teachings/
What do I think?
I hope Woods is sincere. The public apology was a big step for him I’m sure. I agree with his wife, though. Actions speak louder than words and he will have to prove that he wants to change and will change his behavior by doing just that: Change. And I agree with him — that faith can help him on his road to redemption.
(AP PHOTO: Tiger Woods and his mother Kultida Woods hug after the golfer read a statement today at the Sawgrass Players Club in Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
“March Gladness”
March Madness has turned into March Gladness.
Everybody’s got their brackets done for the NCAA basketball tournament. Now it seems a faith group has found a way to help you give more during this basketball bonanza.
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, an Episcopal group working to eradicate poverty, aims to do good with its project focusing on the tournament.
The group is running a bracket for the tournament to raise money for charity, the Associated Press reported.
Money raised through the “March Gladness” pot will be donated to nonprofits that work toward the group’s Millennium Development Goals. I know from having talked to the Rt. Rev. Ed Konieczny, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, that meeting these goals is a high priority for the bishops and Anglicans across the globe.
The eight goals, drafted in 2000, are to: feed the hungry, educate all children, empower women, save children’s lives, keep motherhood safe, heal the sick, care for the environment and work together to heal the world.
Check out the March Gladness effort and see how it all works by going online to www.e4gr.org/marchgladness.html.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
