Surprise, Surprise, CGI Medina Didn’t Like the Jesus Super Bowl Ad Either!
Lonnie Hendrix
The February 24 Sabbath service in Medina, Ohio echoed the disgust of their Canadian brethren with the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl Ad which featured antagonists washing each other’s feet. Medina member Jeff Flanick delivered the broadside against the commercial. Predictably, he insisted that the ad was not Bible-based, and that it presented a “nicey, nicey” Jesus. Flanick said that the ad doesn’t get folks interested in the “right” Jesus, and it looks at Christ through a “progressive/social justice” lens – portraying a Jesus that is too inclusive!
Indeed, as I listened to the ad, I began to understand the fierce reaction of these men to this sixty second Super Bowl commercial. In short, they perceive the ad as the embodiment of “false” Christianity – that it represents all of the things that they find so objectionable about traditional Christianity. Mr. Flanick didn’t like the non-denominational bent of the advertisement. He even quoted the Armstrong standard proof-text of John 6:44 to demonstrate that “God is NOT trying to save the world now.” Flanick went on to insist that Matthew 15:22 dealt a “fatal blow” to passive inclusivity. In other words, for these CGI members, the commercial is an assault on their view of themselves as God’s chosen people – the only “true” Christians. For them, those other folks are presenting a “false” Jesus and are NOT “real” Christians.
They ignore, of course, that favorite passage of more traditional Christians: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17, ESV) For Jeff and his associates, traditional Christians have interpreted this statement by Jesus too literally. From their perspective, truly believing in Jesus is a much more labor intensive exercise than simply accepting the fact that Jesus was the Messiah/Savior promised in the Old Testament. They ignore that Jesus pointed to himself as “the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6, ESV) For them, their little unique package of doctrines is “the truth.”
For Mr. Flanick, the “He Gets Us” ad presented things like abortion, illegal immigration, homosexuality, and transgenderism in a positive light. For him, the ad portrayed righteous folks bowing down to sinners and washing them (their feet) while they are still in a fallen state. Once again, Mr. Flanick rejects the traditional understanding that Jesus kept company with sinners, and that he came here to minister to those who were in the grips of sin. According to him, most Christians do NOT understand passages like Matthew 9:10-13. That Jesus was only around those folks to insist that they repent and start keeping the Law. Of course, to arrive at this conclusion, he has to ignore Paul’s words to the believers at Rome: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8, ESV) They simply do not get that God’s love intervenes where we are – immersed in sin!
More particularly, Jeff didn’t like some of the images portrayed in the advertisement. He didn’t like the woman getting her feet washed in front of a Planned Parenthood Clinic. He also didn’t like the woman in a hijab having her feet washed. Likewise, he didn’t like the “amorphous” gay/transgender person having his/her feet washed. Mr. Flanick would have preferred seeing those people portrayed as repenting of their sins. He wants to see folks conforming to Christ. He doesn’t like seeing Christians serve and accept sinners where they are – none of that reaching out to those fallen folks! Indeed, when he dealt with the story of the woman taken in adultery about to be stoned (see John 8:1-11), Jeff focused on Christ’s instructions to her to “go, and from now on sin no more.” Predictably, he barely mentioned that her accusers had been forced to drop their stones, and that Christ had told her “Neither do I condemn you.”
Of course, this is all consistent with the Armstrong Church of God view that Christians are obligated to observe/keep some of the precepts in Torah/Law of Moses. In support of that view, he quoted the traditional Armstrongism proof-texts about Jesus not coming to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:19-18). For Jeff, there is no “New” Testament or Covenant. In his view, Christ simply “repaired” or “renewed” the covenant which was already in existence. Moreover, because of their rejection of the Trinity, Jeff insisted that Jesus was the source of Torah/Law, NOT God the Father. In effect, Christ is implementing his own will, not the will of his Father. Once again, there is no recognition of Christ’s summary and condensation of the Law into two Great commandments for his followers (Matthew 22:34-40). There is no recognition of Paul’s insistence that love fulfills the requirements of the Law (Romans 13:8-14).
Jeff then returned to one of CGI’s favorite themes – bashing gay people. To demonstrate his point about sinners, he recalled how his former church (United Church of Christ) had ordained a gay person in clear violation of God’s standards. Unfortunately, CGI itself seems to ignore Paul’s instruction to Timothy that Church leaders must be the husband of ONE wife and manage his own household well (see I Timothy 3:2-5). No awareness or recognition of removing the beam from your own eye before trying to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5). Without compunction, however, Mr. Flanick went on to quote some of the “clobber” passages which have been used to condemn homosexuals.
Interestingly, Mr. Flanick did reference (in passing) two of the passages which challenge Armstrongism’s theology about a Christian’s obligation to observe Torah. For example, he mentioned James 2:10, but I prefer to quote the entire passage: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:8-13, ESV) Likewise, he referenced Romans 3:23. Once again, however, I prefer to quote the entire passage: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-26, ESV)
Mr. Flanick sees no irony or hypocrisy inherent in referencing these passages to prove his point. There is no awareness or recognition of the fact that the Armstrong Churches of God have ignored or modified numerous commandments of Torah. For him, grace is a thing that covers past sins. In speaking of believers, John said: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (I John 1:8-10, ESV) Sorry, Jeff. I still like the ad and its message: Jesus does get us, and that’s important. Because he gets us, he was able to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins and help us when we are tempted to sin (Hebrews 2:14-18). All we have to do is ask!
Lonnie Hendrix
25 comments:
This post ignores the concept of the bride of Christ.
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."
Not everything taught HWA was wrong. Lonnie's posts seem like out-and-out Protestantism.
" For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
Yes Lonnie, but only a select few right now. "The world" will have that opportunity later. That's why the ad is so bad. It defies the plan of God, pushing man's way in its place.
I would say too many people care too much about that ad, but the COGs in particular have a time honored history of literally looking for things to cry about.
Wow Lonnie, you've been busy getting on top of this so fast. I'll make a deal with you. I won't play the "judge not" card on your post if you don't with my comment!
Is it logical to assume that those behind the "He Gets us" ads are not what they appear to be? Many are asking. Also, don't we have the God given right to investigate and apply common sense before we jump on any bandwagon?
We all have experience with church organizations and how carnality works. Church organizations operate as "businesses"! They take in money and they spend money. Each has it's own purpose for doing so. The point is, how many businesses do you know who spend great sums of money without having a way to determine their return on investment? Is that logical? You spend 17 million dollars to reach 100 million people and for what purpose?
Whatever the purpose is, you have no way of knowing the results of your actions.
Did people learn anything about Christ from the ad? There is no way of knowing.
Did anyone come to Christ? There is no way of knowing.
Did people learn anything about LOVE and HATE? How would you know?
Legitimate religious organizations don't operate that way with their funds! They spend money to make money through new converts to further their unique message and work. They all thrive on their uniqueness and desire to maintain a power base which is supported by their members.
On the other hand, there are entities who are trying to change our society and cultural perception through social engineering platforms and have money to burn to accomplish their goals and directives.
One of the tools used which is visible in the Super Bowl ad is the changing of definitions, a powerful weapon in this world system's playbook. The definition of a "vaccine" was radically altered to allow for the use of experimental modified RNA gene therapy. Even the definition of "pandemic" was changed.
In the ad, LOVE is redefined, where the media pushed idea of "love is love" is the accepted formula. Along with the ad, there are also many commercials on HATE and its application. "Stop hate" and "make peace" appear on many athletic uniforms to influence the masses to think we can actually do that by fiat -- WITHOUT CHRIST!
HATE in their playbook is not the hate defined in Scripture, but a term that is applied to those who are actually telling the TRUTH about certain things, like ethnic groups who occupy most governmental positions and control most of this world's wealth, or those groups who statistically commit the most crimes, or those who receive the most government assistance. You can probably identify these groups strictly by the information I am providing, but this of itself is not HATE, but FACTS, the truth!
Now more than ever it is critical that we pay attention to what is being spoon fed to us as TRUTH. The Pharisees were able to convince the people through fake news and propaganda to crucify the Son of God. In the future the "whole world will wonder after the Beast"! Don't think things are any different now.
2 Thess. 2:3 says, " let no one deceive you by any means". Good advice!
There is Christianity as it has been understood for thousands of years, and there is Christianity as it was redefined by HWA. And, of course HWA even provided the human reasoning to explain the very small numbers who would be attracted to his version of Christianity. Participants in the classic version of Christianity have always been shocked by HWA's supposed doctrine that the majority of the world's population would get a second chance, as opposed to finding Jesus and undergoing conversion during their one life on the planet.
I believe that the commercials are realized as being effective by the majority of the people in the ACOGs who might have been watching the Super Bowl, and since they conflict with what ACOG members were taught in HWA's version of Christianity, they have to have something to say about them. After all, these members had been taught that something during the end times would bring the COG into prominence, making the world notice them, and that's one more event that has just flat failed to materialize. When they see the Sunday keeping Christians achieve that notice, of course they are going to twist their faces up in a withering, self-righteous sneer as they protest and criticize them. That has always been the Armstrongite way!
By the way, Gary and Lonnie, thank you for bringing these wonderful ads to our attention. Not being a football fan, I did not watch the Super Bowl, and would not have known about them had they not been raised for discussion here at Banned. As we enter the countdown for the presidential election, there is not a hell of a lot that we can feel optimistic about, since it appears that either choice available to us is going to mean checkmate for the USA, and these ads brings a realization that there are still good people with right motivations on the planet.
I invite folks to check out for yourselves the website of the folks behind the ad:
https://hegetsus.com/en
There is an "About us" section, and they answer many of the questions that BP8 asked there.
The truth that Jesus will not put up with sin forever.....seems to be ignored.
The Church of God International placed Jeff Flanick's sermon on its latest representative sermon roster for 2024: https://www.cgi.org/media-app-1?sapurl=LytxNWdtL2xiL21pLytkNjNodzYzP2VtYmVkPXRydWUmcmVjZW50Um91dGU9YXBwLndlYi1hcHAubGlicmFyeS5saXN0JnJlY2VudFJvdXRlU2x1Zz0lMkI2aGh6NTV0
So, despite their little disclaimer statement, we are forced to conclude that Jeff's views reflect the views of the wider organization in this matter.
At least the Jews are honest. They totally reject Jesus as their Messiah. CGI and the other Armstrongist COGs are Chrinos! (Christians in name only!) They weight the covenants 90% Old, and 10% New!
It should be the other way around!
Mystified said...
"Participants in the classic version of Christianity have always been shocked by HWA's supposed doctrine that the majority of the world's population would get a second chance, as opposed to finding Jesus and undergoing conversion during their one life on the planet."
That's not an HWA original dogma- he stole it right out of the JW Watchtower playbook.
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" HWA missed that one.
The Mormons can perform rituals by proxy on your behalf in their temples long after you're gone to make sure you can learn all the secret handshakes and tokens to get into the pearly gates.
'"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" HWA missed that one.'
Nope, he preached it. The period of judgement for those in the first resurrection is now, the period of judgement for everyone else comes later. There is a resurrection after the millennium, remember?
Actually Lonnie I don't think the web site addresses any of the points I raised, but I do encourage all to get on it and see for themselves. There are some interesting admissions and quotations there that are very revealing and affirm my assertions.
WHAT IS THEIR AGENDA AND PURPOSE?
--"our agenda is to move beyond the mess of our CURRENT CULTURAL MOVEMENT."
--"the campaign exists to remind us of the example Jesus set of unconditional love while inviting all to explore His teachings".
The tern "unconditional love" is self serving and defined in modern terminology. Also, Jesus' example and teachings are one dimensional. Very few examples.
--"we look at the biography of Jesus through a MODERN LENS"! Why not a biblical lens?
--"we have a common desire to rediscover and share the compelling story of Jesus's life in A NEW WAY". What's new about it?
--"no matter what your response to His story, we encourage you to explore it from A NEW PERSPECTIVE ". What's wrong with the old perspective?
--" the story of Jesus doesn't belong to anyone. It has something to offer everyone, inviting Christians, non-christians, and those who aren't sure what they believe to CONSIDER JESUS ".
In other words, they want people to learn about their NEW version of Jesus, A new age Jesus, the one Christians apparently don't know.
HOW ARE THEY FUNDED and BY WHO?
They are very vague and cryptic about exactly WHO is behind the movement.
--" the movement is not funded by any single individual, political position, church, or faith denomination ".
No, we just love Jesus and are willing to go into competition with the modern church and spend millions of dollars to prove it, even though we have no way to determine our effectiveness and return on investment! Who honestly buys that?
--" our campaign comprises humble PERSPECTIVES from A diverse group of Jesus fans". That sounds scholarly doesn't it?
--"our work represents input from Christians who believe Jesus is the son of God, as well as many others, though NOT CHRISTIAN, share a deep admiration for the MAN Jesus was".
So we have non-christians defining Biblical terminology for us and the narrative of "the compelling story of Christ in a NEW WAY"?????
These admissions are plain. Don't be fooled by this new version of Jesus, and the religious jargon that promotes this false modern narrative. Even Jim Jones pushed a " love" agenda and promoted a Jesus Christ of his own making, and he was an atheist! Yes he had a soup kitchen and fed the poor, and encouraged his diverse multi racial flock to love one another, but it was all a scam.
Finally, get it out of your head that this opposition is just an "Armsstrongite" thing. There are many big names in modern orthodox Christianity who recognize this HE GETS US movement for what it is.
I'm thinking of some classic Ton Loc right now. As in "Funky Cold Medina"!
BP8: Your comments reminded me of the following.....!
2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
In reaction to the quotes from "He Gets Us has an agenda," I thought it would be helpful to supply the entire article (I know some folks won't have enough time and/or objectivity and intellectual curiosity to check it out for themselves:
How did the story of a man who taught and practiced unconditional love, peace, and kindness; who spent his life defending the poor and the marginalized; a man who even forgave his killers while they executed him unjustly — whose life inspired a radical movement that is still impacting the world thousands of years later — how did this man’s story become associated with hatred and oppression for so many people? And how might we all rediscover the promise of the love his story represents? Those are the questions at the heart of He Gets Us.
We’ve done a lot of homework on our culture. We researched how people feel about each other and what they think about Jesus and Christianity. 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.
The more ideologically defensive we become, the more we are willing to sacrifice things like kindness, patience, and the respect and dignity of others for the sake of victory — the righteous ends justifying the dehumanizing means. And it’s tearing us apart. We experience it in politics, in the workplace, in schools, and even in churches. And at the heart of the conflicts is a fundamental disagreement about what it means to be good.
Throughout our shared history, Jesus has represented the ultimate good that humankind is capable of aspiring to. And though some no longer believe in God, most are still compelled by the idea of a person capable of unconditional love for others despite their differences. But many of us simply cannot reconcile the idea of that person with the way our culture experiences religion today. Whether it’s hypocrisy and discrimination in the church, or scandals both real and perceived among religious leaders, or the polarization of our politics, many have relegated Jesus from the world’s greatest love story to just another tactic used to intensify our deep cultural divisions.
(Part 1 of 2, continued below)
How did we get here? And what might we learn from the example of Jesus to help move beyond the animosity we feel for one another? How can we rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus, the world’s most radical love activist? That is our agenda at He Gets Us: to move beyond the mess of our current cultural moment to a place where all of us are invited to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.
He Gets Us is a diverse group of Jesus followers with a wide variety of faith journeys and lived experiences. Our work represents the input from Christians who believe that Jesus is the son of God as well as many others who, though not Christians, share a deep admiration for the man that Jesus was, and we are deeply inspired and curious to explore his story. We look at the biography of Jesus through a modern lens to find new relevance in often overlooked moments and themes from his life. If you’d like to join us, you’re invited. Below you’ll find several resources to explore the story of Jesus for yourself.
By grace sin is forgiven. By love sin is not tolerated. It would be great to see a commercial on that.
And BP8, wanting to justify himself, asked "And who is my neighbor?"
No, Christ did not teach and practiced unconditional love, peace, and kindness. Everything is cause and effect, which is why He condemned the Pharisees for instance. Neither did He forgive His killers. That one verse was added centuries later. The "we are all brother and sisters" slop benefits the least moral groups. It's like my former minister criticizing me for avoiding the obviously unrepentant church members. Criminals want victims.
Anon 2/26/253
The answer to your question is the SAME ANSWER given by the Lord Jesus Christ 2000 years ago and recorded in Luke 10:29-34.
It DOES NOT need to be redefined.
It DOES NOT need to be expressed in a NEW WAY or a NEW PERSPECTIVE.
It DOES NOT need to be modified through a MODERN lens.
It has stood the test of time and there is no need to add to it or take away from it.
Hello Mark Wolf: I appreciate your comment because it led me to consider that perhaps Armstrongites hate that ad because they assume the ad promoted tolerance is sin or condones sin.
I don't see the ad as condoning sin in anyway - I've stated in the related thread that the only feet that can be washed are the feet of sinners.
All of the various types of sinners in the ad exist within the Armstrongite splinters - and they all have their feet washed during Armstrongite Passover.
You won't see the woman with a hijab at "Passover" but be sure that some among you are broad religious hobbyists participating in just another ritual, and there are also those who don't really believe the whole Armstrong thing but go along with it for the sake of family or friends - these people have always been present in Armstrongism though they are not really of the same religion.
Be assured that gay people are also having their feet washed during Armstrongite Passover, as they have since the beginning.
Again, the only feet that can be washed are the feet of sinners. Washing those sinful feet does not, in any way condone sin - whether the feet are in the ad or in the Masonic Lodge where the Armstrongite church is holding their rendition of Passover.
Just a caz observation, but I believe that some people really dig on the way President Trump polarized everybody and made families want to actually kill one another over their opposing views at the dinner table. So, of course the polarized are going to find a unifying, inclusive, and loving message to be offensive! It's just sooo anti-MAGA! How could these people be so antiAmerican as to pay $17 Million to put these commercials on TV?
"Just a caz observation, but I believe that some people really dig on the way President Trump polarized everybody and made families want to actually kill one another over their opposing views at the dinner table."
Matt. 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
The parallels are intriguing. Jesus came to get back to the law as intended, Trump tried to get back to the Constitution as intended. Both were/are hounded mercilessly. Man is truly corrupt.
551, you are right. Both Christ and Trump share some interesting parallels. However, whenever I bring that to some ones attention, they erroneously think I'm trying to make a Christ out of Trump, which I am not!
I don't like nor trust Trump, but like Christ who was not part of the religious establishment, Trump is not a professional career politician, which in my book puts him miles ahead of the Biden, Obama, Pelosi, McConnell and Clinton types.
Another comparison is that both being OUTSIDERS, suffered the same consequences for that fact. They were rejected by the existing power structure, which is a logical response, for nobody wants to share "power".
Also, both had massive followings and were reveared by those who identified with their platform. A "fear of the people" tends to shake things up and move the powers that be and their propaganda machine to action. Typical "world system" stuff. Remember HWA, Rader, and GTA in 1978?
Had Christ and Trump only acknowledged and endorsed the existing power base, history would be quite different!
" However, whenever I bring that to some ones attention, they erroneously think I'm trying to make a Christ out of Trump, which I am not!"
I get the same reaction. It's as if people can't think. They don't understand the point I'm making until I explain it to them.
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