In Defense of Life: Pam Tebow
The Super Bowl ad that has caused such a furor this past week is now online. LifeNews has the video and transcript of the first ad that will be shown today. It’s a wonderful ad that gives the URL of Focus on the Family website for those who want to learn more of the Tebows’ story and ends with the phrase:
Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life.
PAM TEBOW: I call him my miracle baby. He almost didn’t make it into this world. I remember so many times when I almost lost him. It was so hard. Well he’s all grown up now, and I still worry about his health. Everybody treats him like he’s different, but to me, he’s just my baby. He’s my Timmy, and I love him.
TIM TEBOW: Thanks mom. Love you too.
In September 2008, Pam was interviewed on a Tallahassee Christian radio program a few weeks prior to speaking there at a pro-life banquet. Before discussing the difficult circumstances of her pregnancy, she mentions that she and her husband, Bob, taught their children values from their childhood, giving Tim years of preparation before he faced the pressures of being a famous football player.
Pam and Bob had years of preparation before they were faced with the pressure of a difficult pregnancy. As students at the University of Florida, they were both active in Campus Crusade for Christ, in fact, Bob helped start the UF group of the international CCC ministry. This was back in the late sixties and early seventies when campuses were roiled by Viet Nam protests and groups like the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). It’s an understatement to say that debate and interchange was vigorous, and Christians were in a pressure cooker explaining and living their faith to classmates and professors. The Tebows were married the day Pam graduated from college. Bob eventually became a pastor, and they were missionaries to the Philippines at the time Pam was advised to have an abortion.
Here’s a little more background on the Tebows from another interview from the Tallahassee radio program. This interview was with Mike Braun, the Tebows’ pastor in Gainesville. Mike was a wonderful pastor who taught hundreds of college students and encouraged many of them to go into full-time Christian work. His wife was part of getting the pro-life work up and running in Gainesville in the 1970s. (But that’s another story!).
You never know where life will take you. At the time when Pam and Bob trusted God with their unborn baby, they didn’t know Timmy would grow up to win the Heisman. They didn’t know their decision would give them and Tim a platform from which to speak for life and of their faith in Christ. Over two decades ago they were being faithful and trusting God with the life He had given them. That’s all they knew at the time, but today they have spoken to millions.
UPDATE: Hot Air has video of the first commercial as it aired on television. Focus on the Family edited some humor into the end of it!
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H/T: LifeNews (via Hot Air), Focus on the Family, http://www.lifeline-awpc.org/, Gainesville Sun.
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Greatest thread in the history of BJG!
oh and…
…
…
? ON SUICIDE WATCH !!!!
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I’m a Gainesville Gator myself and grew up there. I met Pam Tebow through a mutual friend when I was a senior in high school and she was already in college. Our paths didn’t cross after that although I did become a Christian in college (through another student group), and I know what life was like for Christians on campus. Mike Braun was later my pastor (and boss, as I worked as church secretary for a while). He came of Gainesville in 1970 as the Jesus Movement was just getting started. He influenced the lives of so very many college students and helped ground them in their faith at a tumultuous time in history. He is a brilliant man and one of the best Bible expositors I have ever heard. He not only performed the wedding ceremony of the Tebows, but he did my wedding as well.
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Hey, Eph!
I thought you’d enjoy it!
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INC,
I’ll bet ? rips apart the HHR tomorrow. Just a hunch.
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Well, perhaps someday ? will have a change of heart.
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So why the hell does anyone have a problem with that ad?
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That’s it!! I watched the video now I want to rip out my own uterus and stomp it to death.
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They hadn’t seen it. PP and NOW were reacting to the unknown. But, what they already knew about the Tebows (mom keeps the baby when she’s told she might die, baby grows up to be a young guy who plays football and goes on mission trips, etc.) obviously must have scared them to death.
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One of Mike Braun’s sons is now a pastor. While I was looking up things on the web, I found this on Alveda King’s blog (I think she’s the pro-life niece of MLK, Jr.). Erik was asked by a newcomer at his church if he preaches against abortion and why. He briefly outlines 5 reasons (I wonder what the reaction of the newcomer was).
Here’s one thing Erik wrote:
Trust me, his dad wasn’t known for beating around the bush either!
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They just showed the second ad–another one that’s warm & this one’s lighthearted.
Both ads are very winsome–NOW can’t compete.
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Why are people who claim to be pro-CHOICE always the first to be offended when someone CHOOSES life?
Anyway, there is no game playing in our home today so thank you for putting this thread up, INC. I wanted to see how it was. I was never told by any doctors to have an abortion, but at 16, just about everyone I knew told me to abort my daughter. “You’ll wreck your life” they said. Consider my life “wrecked” then, because I have a beautiful girl who loves the Lord.
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JM, You’re welcome.
The past couple of weeks have revealed that the “pro-choice” people get infuriated if a woman chooses life.
The second ad was funny–I just caught the end of it. I’ll put up a link when it makes it to You-Tube.
There’s a longer interview with the Tebows at Focus on the Family’s website. I think they did a great job of making the commercials brief, warm and funny to get people’s attention.
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Did you see Megyn Kelly rip apart Gloria Allred over her lawsuit? That was great.
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I saw part of that the other day.
Maybe Gloria will think twice next time!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkT6gmcnAlo
The ad NOW wanted to run, but CBS considered it too lame.
a special hattip to HA
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INC – nice thread.
Pro-Choice is really about Pro-Abortion.
There is more to it than being for choice. It is about the (blood) money it generates for Planned Parenthood and the Democrats they support. It is about dehumanizing us to the point we think of other groups that are less desirable (elderly, the handicapped, and those mentally challenged). Same road the Nazi’s went down is the same road these folks want to go down but all that matters is that they really care.
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“Pro-Choice is really about Pro-Abortion.”
BINGO!
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I agree, gnqanq!
I put in an update at the top. The commercial has aired now with some added humor. I do not know if the second commercial is one of the two above or if there’s another yet to come.
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I agree… this controversy about the Tebow ad shows that there is no pro-choice… just pro-abortion. They have been screaming that Mrs. Tebow and Sarah Palin both chose life — they don’t want anyone to have a choice but to abort.
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It must be embarrassing for those who so stridently opposed such a warm mother-son ad.
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Oh my gosh- the prediction of “domestic violence” being whined from the rooftops came true.
Pathetic.
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Wow, I missed the ad, so cool. God is answering our prayers and delivering our nation back to us.
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The Tebow ad, in my opinion, stood out from all the super bowl clutter of nonsense and insulting ads. Except for a little football action, I thought I was watching
Animal House or one of those Porky movies.
Thanks for this thread, INC.
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Bruce, I’ll tell you, last year was pretty bad, but we’re in a far better place today than I thought possible a year ago. I think a lot of people have been praying, and God has been very merciful. It was encouraging to see the Tebow ads.
You’re welcome, mullet.
As I said above the ads were both very warm and winsome. I think Pam was a journalism major. She home schooled her children and the WaPo wrote that she emphasized public speaking to make sure they could effectively communicate their faith.
If you missed this WaPo column from earlier this week, make sure you read it:
Tebow’s Super Bowl ad isn’t intolerant; its critics are
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Thanks, INC and God bless.
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By the way, the Saints won, bad news for commies.
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Hey, Bruce, you’re welcome!
I did go over to Focus on the Family and watch the interview with Bob and Pam Tebow. That’s the place where they get into the life threatening details of her pregnancy. Towards the end Pam spoke of the help available at pro-life pregnancy centers across the nation. Bob gave a very moving appeal as he looked into the camera and spoke directly to anyone watching who was in a crisis pregnancy. He said, “God loves you,” and “God loves your baby.” “Please don’t kill your baby.” He tears up while he is speaking. It’s quite a contrast to the strident voices of Gloria Allred, NOW, etc.
The good guys won this one. Thanks, Lord!
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Good to see you INC. Thanks again for such a great post on this most important issue. I think you are right, the good guys won this one. And once again, the left only managed to draw attention to how hateful they really are.