Thank God Tim Tebow is a senior at the University of Florida.

Or, if Tebow was talking for me, "Praise the Lord!"

I don't know how many more "God bless" comments I can stand from the 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

Religion - except for the "Hail Mary" pass - has no place in sports.

In Tebow's case, he should play football and forget about us sinners for 31/2 hours every Saturday.

Somehow, we'll survive without him displaying a "John 3:16" Bible verse under his eyes. We separate church and state. Why not church and sports?

Would it fly with the NCAA or TV networks if a player exhibited "God is dead" on his face?

Freedom of expression would be wiped away as quickly as the greasepaint.

When I played football in high school and junior college, we said a prayer before each game. It didn't dwell on winning or losing. We asked God to keep players from both teams free of injury.

Pastors tell you the Lord doesn't care who wins or loses - he'd need DirecTV and 25 televisions to follow the games - yet you have to wonder if Tebow doesn't receive preferential treatment from above.

The Gators (5-0) have won two national championships since he arrived. They're ranked No. 1 in the polls and are favorites to repeat as champions.

Tebow has been God's gift to college football the past four years. He's a brainy and physical throwback to quarterbacks who use their legs and arm.

It's hard to find fault with such an exemplary young man, but I have.

In a Monday story in USA Today, religion writer Tom Krattenmaker reported these findings:

"Tebow does his missionary trips to the Philippines under the auspices of his father Bob Tebow's Evangelistic Association. The Tebow organization espouses a far-right theology. Its bottom line: Only those who assent to its version of Christianity will avoid eternal punishment. The ministry boldly declares, 'We reject the modern ecumenical movement.'"

If Tebow is selling that, this Lutheran isn't buying.

Plus, his under-eye markings do more than cut glare. They serve as a prompt to television announcers - who then gush over Tebow's off-field accomplishments.

Portland, Ore.-based Krattenmaker, a member of USA Today's board of contributors, reports the Tebow organization's literature estimates 75 percent of the Philippines' inhabitants "have never once heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ." More than 80 percent of its citizens are Roman Catholic.

"In making and acting on rigid claims about who is or isn't in good standing with God, the Bob Tebow organization is working at cross purposes with the majority of Americans - indeed, the majority of American Christians - and their more generous conception of salvation." Krattenmaker writes.

The author of "Onward Christian Athletes" doesn't begrudge Tebow's work.

"Certainly, Tim Tebow must be applauded for the good he does working on his father's missions, but he should be seen, too, as one who promotes a form of belief that makes unwelcome judgments about everyone else's religion," he writes.

"Let's not forget the twinge that is felt by sports-loving Jewish kids and parents, for example, or by champions for interfaith cooperation, when adored sports figures like Tebow use their fame to push a Jesus-or-else message," Krattenmaker says.

Jesus or else?

Krattenmaker says sports-world evangelicalism excludes the Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, non-evangelical Protestant and agnostic.

The next time Tebow throws a "Hail Mary" pass, look beyond the eye black.