The organization responsible for two advertisements that promoted the Christian faith and aired during the Super Bowl responded on Monday to a series of attacks made by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, and others who took issue with advertisements that promoted Jesus as a role model.
'He Gets Up' Response
When asked for a response to the ongoing attacks, Jason Vanderground, a representative for He Gets Us, told Fox News Digital that their research indicates that many people's first experience of Jesus is through imperfect Christians who portray him in ways that distort or obscure his extreme compassion and love for others.
They believe it is more vital now than ever for the genuine Jesus to be shown in the public marketplace in the same way He is described in the Bible. He Gets Us, a campaign that promotes itself as a "movement to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness," aired two advertisement spots during the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
Despite the ideals of love and acceptance, Ocasio-Cortez compared the advertisements to Nazism. According to He Gets Us, the advertisement's purpose is anything but fascist.
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Christian Super Bowl Ads
A pair of advertisements about Jesus will play on Super Bowl Sunday as part of an initiative by a Christian organization to deliver a message of love and tolerance to 100 million people. The $20 million advertising campaign, backed in part by the family behind the evangelical craft store company Hobby Lobby, Christian groups, and other anonymous donors, will launch with two advertisements centered on the idea "He Gets Us."
As reported, during a time when the number of Christians in the United States is declining and religion has become a divisive issue, the group seeks to reach as many people as possible and assist in promoting the message of Jesus, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God.
The ads emphasize that Jesus was a refugee and was wrongly labeled like other marginalized minority groups in modern society. Bob Smietana, a national reporter for Religion News Service, told NPR that the emphasis is intended to appeal to the LGBTQ community and other groups that traditionally felt unwanted in the church.
One advertisement portrays a slideshow of refugees departing their country to avoid persecution. The ad closes by revealing that the narrative is truly about Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The two ads that will air on Sunday will focus on how youngsters represent and express the love of Jesus and how to become better people through overcoming anger.
However, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stated on Sunday that she does not believe Jesus would endorse Super Bowl advertisements that made Nazism "appear benign." It was unclear which advertisement she was referring to, but one of the He Gets Us ads that aired on Sunday night began with a black-and-white image of a man yelling at a police officer in riot gear. The screen displayed other images of turmoil, followed by the phrase, "Jesus loved the people we despise." The family behind Hobby Lobby, Christian organizations, and anonymous individuals partially funds the advertising effort.
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