Neutered Christianity on Display at Super Bowl
Neutered Christianity on Display at Super Bowl
Ad campaign claiming to promote the “authentic Jesus” spent $20 million on Super Bowl commercials
“In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.”—Voltaire
If you tuned into the Super Bowl on Sunday, in which the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, you may have seen the He Gets Us commercials.
He Gets Us is a “branding” campaign for Americans to learn about the “authentic Jesus,” according to Christianity Today which reported last March:
“Those behind the ‘He Gets Us’ campaign say they’ll spend $100 million—donated by a small group of wealthy anonymous families—on the national launch, putting the campaign in the same financial arena as big-name brands like Old Navy, TD Ameritrade, and Mercedes-Benz.”
“There’s a marketing term for when someone who views an ad ultimately buys the product: conversion. Christians have another definition for that word: turning a life over to Jesus. It’s this tension between ‘selling’ and ‘converting’ that prompts some Christians to object to deploying business strategies in church or using the secular marketing playbook to promote Christianity.”
Funny, I thought the American church already viewed itself as a business. Just look at “pastors” Robert Jeffress and Rick Warren. But I digress.
That $100 million initial launch included a $20 million ad buy for the Super Bowl, according to The Daily Mail. In fact, He Gets Us plans to spend $1 billion over the next three years.
As a Christian, I’m called to test the spirits. 1 John 4:1 states:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
So, let’s take a look at the spirit of He Gets Us and their ads:
Of course, the narrative media wants you to get caught up in the circus of “left vs. right.” CNN hates the ad campaign. Fox News loves it.
Tune out that idiocy and think for yourself. And just viewing the ads and reviewing their website, He Gets Us is emblematic of the pathetic, neutered state of the modern American church. I’ll get to that in a bit, but let’s look at the He Gets Us “about us” page first which states:
“This all started with a diverse group of people passionate about the authentic Jesus of the Bible. While much has been said about him, much is still misunderstood. But we’re confident that as people clearly understand, read, and learn for themselves about who Jesus is, they’ll find wisdom, hope, and peace unlike any other offered.”
“Be assured, though, that we’re not ‘left’ or ‘right’ or a political organization of any kind. We’re also not affiliated with any particular church or denomination. We simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible — the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love.”
“It wouldn’t be hard to guess that we’re led by Jesus fans and followers. People who believe he was much more than just a good guy and a profound teacher. And that Jesus is the son of God, who came to Earth, died, and was resurrected, then returned to heaven and is alive today. We also have included many voices in our work here — welcoming diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to help us address the many concerns and issues we all face.”
“Our hope is that you see how Jesus experienced challenges and emotions just like we have. We want to provide a safe place to ask questions, including the tough ones.”
“We are also about sharing Jesus’ openness to people that others might have excluded. His message went out to all. And though you may see religious people as often hypocritical or judgmental, know that Jesus saw that too — and didn’t like it either. Instead, Jesus taught and offered radical compassion and stood up for the marginalized.”
“Ultimately, we want people to know his teachings and how he lived while here on Earth. And this will be a starting point to understanding him and his message. Though we believe he was what Christians call fully God and fully man, that may not be what you believe. We’re simply inviting you to explore with us at He Gets Us how might things be different if more people followed his example. So, look at this as an open invitation to engage and learn more. We’re also here to support and listen to you. Connect with us here and via social media.”
Now, let’s look at He Gets Us’ agenda:
“Our agenda is to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.”
That page also states:
“We’ve connected with thousands of people of various faith traditions and those who claim no religion. We spoke to all kinds of people — different backgrounds, beliefs, and, yes, political affiliations. And this is what we’ve learned: From politics to sexuality and religion, so many of us feel like our values, beliefs, and identities are under attack by the ideological ‘others’ around us. Many perceive those who differ with them on issues of justice, dignity, and humanity as not just wrong or misguided but also as evil. As enemies. We often see these ‘others’ as close-minded, selfish, hypocritical — and if we’re honest, many of us respond in kind.”
And let’s look at this statement from another He Gets Us page:
“Jesus was not exclusive. He was radically inclusive.”
I’ve emphasized certain phrases and passages showing He Gets Us’ use of leftist orthodox phraseology.
To view this with a gracious lens, the best thing I can say about this is it is full of half-truths with absolutely no explanation. To view it with a more accurate lens, this is the type of deception that Satan himself would perpetrate.
This is the same mealy-mouthed, watered-down message Americans have become accustomed to in so many American churches.
When I look at the statement that they are neither “left” nor “right,” Revelation 3:14-21 comes to mind:
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
Don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of the “left vs. right” political theater pushed on us. But it’s about right versus wrong that I’m interested in, but He Gets Us has no desire to find the truth.
Can anyone tell me what a “Jesus fan” is? They know that Jesus is “much more than just a good guy and a profound teacher.” So, He Gets Us, what is He?
Well, they kind of get to that recognizing that Jesus is the Son of God who died and was resurrected. That’s great. But please, He Gets Us, tell me why He died and was resurrected? Could He be a Savior? And if so, a Savior for what?
Unfortunately, that might be tricky for He Gets Us because they’d have to reference that bugaboo called sin.
Notice the constant reference to “diverse” groups, including non-Christians and people of “various faith traditions,” that He Gets Us spoke to to learn about the “authentic” Jesus.
I’m sorry, but anyone who has not accepted the free gift of God through the Savior Jesus Christ can tell us nothing about the authentic Jesus. Sure, non-Christians can tell us historical facts about Jesus, but they will never know Jesus until they’ve humbled themselves, recognized their need for a Savior because of their sins and repenting and putting their trust and faith in Him.
Then there’s the Jesus was “radically inclusive” line. That’s true if presented with proper context, context which He Gets Us never presents.
Yes, the free gift of eternal life in Heaven is radically inclusive in that it is/was offered to every human who has walked, is currently walking and will walk this earth. But, many are excluded, not of God’s choice but the choice of man who chooses sin over salvation. I wonder how He Gets Us deals with John 14:6 which states:
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
It’s interesting because He Gets Us comes from a starting point that we’ve got a misunderstanding in our culture, in our society, about what Jesus was like. I agree with them. Yet, He Gets Us presents the same false image of Jesus so roundly presented to us by most modern churches, a God and Jesus who is only love, a snugly little friend there to comfort us. I wonder how He Gets Us deals with Psalm 97:10 which states:
“You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.”
He Gets Us presents the false “love gospel.” And the funny thing is, there is nothing loving about it. The thing is, it isn’t that our society has a lack of love. It’s that it has a lack of understanding what true love is. It isn’t about if Jesus gets us. It’s whether we get Him.
The most loving thing a Christian can do when interacting with a non-Christian is to warn them of the Hell that awaits if they do not repent and put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
And yes, God represented by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit does represent perfect love. God also represents perfect wrath, perfect justice, perfect anger, perfect hate as well.
Just notice the emphasis of He Gets Us. It’s all about “us,” according to them. They’ve even highlighted “us” in Jesus. And I could expect nothing less when we look at our narcissistic society. This stems from a desperate desire for “Christians” to be accepted by the world. And when you choose worldly acceptance, you’ve turned your back from God and can not be called a true Christian.
Deceptive and fake. That’s what He Gets Us is. That’s what we’ve come to expect from the modern American church.
“Fake words. Fake words lead to fake behaviors. Fake behaviors lead to fake laws. Fake laws lead to fake justice. Fake justice leads to fake liberty. Fake liberty leads to a fake God. A fake god leads to a fake Christians.”
“We are in the mess we are in today because most of what you hear from your local churches is fake. The Fake Gospel has led to the destruction of this once-Christian nation.”
“I am not so worried about the Fake News being reported in the news media today. Fake news is nothing more than the bastard child of the Fake Gospel. I am far less worried about the lies of CNN than I am the lies of the pulpit that make the act of lying more palatable to the masses.”
Advertisement: A Tool of the Devil
“If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it. In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”—Edward Bernays
Bernays is knows as the father of public relations and propaganda. As you can see from his quote, he was a collectivist desiring to control the “group mind.”
That’s essentially what advertising is. And I think David Knight explained it well when discussing He Gets Us.
Knight said:
“The problem is that ads are propaganda, often lies…. Ads are fundamentally propaganda, psyop, often lies.”
“What we’re selling people as Christians is the truth. We don’t need to resort to these Satanic tactics. We don’t need to use Satan’s tools. That’s what ads are.”
“Our weapons are mighty, and we need to not shy away from that. You want to know why society is going to hell in a handbasket, why everything is unraveling morally and otherwise? It’s because all these leaders of the so-called establishment churches no longer care about what God says. They’ve got a better way to do this.”
And, as I wrote above, Knight notes the narcissistic angle of the He Gets Us campaign. He said:
“You notice where the orientation is. He gets us, we’re the ones that are important. You are the one that is important, not God. And so, this man-centered, little god cannot change your life, he can’t help you, he can’t save you, he’s not going to do anything to make our society better.”
True Christians must reject this deception and speak out against us. But, it is a lonely place to be a true Christian today. Zman wrote:
“Arguably the most challenging thing in this age is to be a Christian. Your enemies control the commanding heights of Western society. Your friends are always looking for a way to profit from their alleged defense of you. It is a good reminder that all moral frameworks must stand alone. In the case of Christianity, it means the logic of the faith must stand outside of and often opposed to the prevailing orthodoxy.”
“Christianity now finds itself where it started. Welcome to the new Rome.”