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Super Bowl Ad »He Gets Us«: Jesus Christ Super Bowl Star

2023-02-14T15:22:56.372Z


A Christian campaign is investing around $20 million in Super Bowl advertising. It's about charity, understanding and the Son of God. Behind it are apparently right-wing financiers.


Enlarge image

Scene from a He Gets Us commercial: "Jesus didn't want us to act like adults"

Photo: He Gets Us / YouTube

  • Jesus Christ would let you go first when checkout three opened at the grocery store.

  • Jesus Christ would offer his seat on the bus to elderly women.

  • Jesus Christ would only write positive Facebook comments.

One could imagine the Son of God to be like this or something similar if he were to rise again today – for God's sake.

In the USA, the "He Gets Us" campaign has given more thought to this.

100 million dollars are invested there in advertising that is intended to bring people closer to Jesus Christ again.

And the creators were sure to draw attention on Sunday: during the breaks in the Super Bowl, this huge event with 113 million viewers in the USA alone, they ran two commercials.

One shows children helping each other or hugging each other.

The message: "Jesus didn't want us to act like adults."

The second commercial shows people arguing, yelling at each other, even physically attacking each other.

White and black, women and men, young and old.

Here it says at the end: »Jesus loved the people we hate.«

Jesus Christ Super Bowl Star.

Both commercials caused a stir in the United States.

According to USA Today, 30 seconds of advertising time during the American football final cost about $7 million.

That would be $21 million for the two Jesus spots.

The network of »He Gets Us«

Who pays so much money - and what does the campaign expect from it?

The advertising seems harmless, who can object if advertising is made for charity and against hate?

But at second glance it becomes clear that »He Gets Us« obviously maintains contacts with people and organizations that do not want to treat everyone equally.

According to its own website, »He Gets Us« is an initiative of the Servant Foundation, an organization that advocates living according to the principles of the Bible.

According to the leftist magazine Jacobin, that Servant Foundation donated more than $50 million between 2018 and 2020 to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), one of the largest right-wing Christian groups in the country.

She fights against abortion rights and the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

The civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the ADF as a "hate group".

The fact that the Servant Foundation donates to this "hate group" on the one hand, but on the other hand promotes charity between all people via the "He Gets Us" advertising campaign, does not quite fit together.

A controversial donor

Then there's David Green, who says he donates a lot of money to He Gets Us.

Green is co-founder of craft chain Hobby Lobby, which has been the subject of some controversy in recent years.

According to CNN, the company promotes anti-LGBTQ laws and, on religious grounds, opposed a law that required companies to provide their employees with access to abortifacients.

Green explained in an interview last November that he wanted to create "a movement" with the "He Gets Us" campaign that is oriented towards Jesus.

Former US President Donald Trump is also counting on the support of the Christian right for his planned comeback.

Meanwhile, the campaign says on its website that it is neither right nor left and not a political organization at all.

One is also not tied to a specific church or denomination: "We just want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as described in the Bible - the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion and love."

On its website, on which »He Gets Us« advertises for partners, the campaign does, however, substantiate its values.

One recognizes the Lausanne obligation as the intention of the movement, it says there.

This is a 1974 evangelical pledge that also spawned a movement.

This spoke out against "confused sexuality", marriage was reserved for a man and a woman.

Jesus is there for everyone

On whether He Gets Us also supports LGBTQ people, campaign spokesman Jason Vanderground told CNN, "The debate on LGBTQ+ issues is a great example of the real Jesus becoming all too prominent in debates on political and social issues is often lost, overlooked or distorted.” The focus of the campaign is to look at Jesus as presented in the Bible: “He understands us and He loves us, and that includes people on all sides of the subject.”

The campaign has not only been criticized for its contacts with right-wing individuals and groups, but also for its basic approach of spending millions of dollars on religious advertising.

"Young people are digital natives who understand the difference between clever marketing and authenticity," pastor and biblical scholar Kevin M. Young told CNN: "Mega churches, mega events and mega marketing expenditures are seen as money that is used to fund community programs and advocating for the oppressed — like refugees, LGBTQ+ people, and abortion rights — and for the poor.” Young people wanted a church that puts faith into action and actively reaches out to those in need, Young said.

And Jesus Christ would probably understand that too.

ptz

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2023-02-14

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