Photo: He Gets Us
Jesus-oriented commercials with the tagline “He Gets Us,” which aired during Sunday night’s Super Bowl, are raising questions after new reporting reveals that the organization behind the ads has poured millions of dollars into anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The series of “He Gets Us” ads — three of which aired during the NFL playoffs, two during the Super Bowl — depict a modern view of Jesus in an apparent attempt to market his teachings to Millennials and Gen Zers.
One, whichtells the story of an immigrant familywho fled their homes to escape persecution, compares refugees to Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Another, which shows several images of modern protests and political division and appears topreach a message of nonpartisan unity, reads, “Jesus loves the people we hate.”
But while the pro-Christ campaign’s website suggests that Jesus “was fed up with politics,” the group backing the ads appears quite political.
Green’s involvement in the “He Gets Us” campaign is illustrative that the group has aims beyond a slick marketing campaign. As CNN reports, the group behind the multi-million-dollar ads helps fund another conservative group: Alliance Defending Freedom.
He Gets Us
The Alliance Defending Freedom is currently involved in two controversial cases: one that aims to overturn an anti-discrimination law in Colorado (which is beingargued before the Supreme Court) and another in Texas, which aims to end federal approval of abortion drugmifepristone. If the group were to succeed in its Texas effort, the country could see a nationwide ban on medical abortion.
The ADF filed the Texas suit in November on behalf of four antiabortion medical organizations and four doctors who say they have treated patients with the drug, theTexas Tribunereports.
As Liz Wagner, senior federal policy counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerraduring a recent meeting, “It’s hard to really comprehend the full and terrible impact if what the plaintiffs have asked for in that case is actually granted. It would be catastrophic.”
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Responding to the “He Gets Us” campaign — and, seemingly, its portrayal of protesting being out of line with Jesus' behavior — Catholic Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Corteztweeted, “Something tells me Jesus would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.”
source: people.com
