Not only did WorldNetDaily melt down over “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” also know as the black national anthem, being sung at the Super Bowl, it also had a collective freakout over a certain commercial that aired during the game. Hanne Nabintu Herland grumbled in her Feb. 14 column that a commercial designed to make Jesus relatable to people was somehow “Marxist”:
The legacy of the Judeo-Christian ethics of tough love is the only set of values in the West that have been able to unite us. We have not developed any other ethics that have been able to sustain core stability. These several thousand-years-old tough love rules abolishes egoism and sets clear boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice and the duties and corresponding rights of men. The distinctly Christian morality that denies man the right to selfishness has been central in developing personal responsibility, human rights, ideals of freedom and solidarity, which stem from a Christian pool of thought.
Yet, the current mainstream narrative pushes the very opposite: a Marxist relativism that makes it almost impossible to acknowledge objective truths. This was painstakingly illustrated in a recent Super Bowl Sunday ad, titled “Foot Washing,” subtly promoting the hedonist view. The ad focuses on setting aside differences by canceling the core Christian belief of tough truths as defined in the Bible, such as the difference between right and wrong. The idea is that Christians are to leave Christianity behind and join the contemporary lawlessness by taking on a slave-like attitude. In the Marxist Super Bowl ad, Christians were again reminded that “their sole function in life is to be doormats for all,” as bestselling author Raymond Ibrahim points out.
The advertisement corresponds with classical Marxist thinking, introducing lawlessness as the path to peace. The solution to society’s problems is the abolition of traditional law and order as we are all to be unified in a utopian classless, non-religious society, where everyone washes other people’s feet and no one talks about what is right and what is wrong anymore. The progressive vision shines through the blatantly blasphemous message, pushing for social change by abolishing the Christian definition of true love.
In his column the same day, Michael Brown was particularly offended of an image of a woman’s feet being washed outside of a “family planning clinic”:
And that’s the problem with the “He Gets Us” campaign, despite its good intentions and despite some limited, positive fruit the ads have probably produced.
Not only so, but the ads run the real possibility of making real Christians look bad, in particular, the ad that ran during the Super Bowl, sharing how Jesus washed feet rather than spread hate.
As Ryan Bomberger asked, why depict someone washing the feet of a woman in front of a Family Planning Center (in other words, in front of an abortion clinic)? What message does this send?
And what does it say of the loving Christians who year in and year out share the Gospel with those entering these clinics – not yelling or screaming or condemning but telling these women that there’s a better way?
Are they now the bad people because they’re not simply washing the feet of those about to terminate the life of their child? And can we even compare Jesus washing the feet of His disciples – an act of great humility and service – with someone washing the feet of a woman on her way to get an abortion?
And was there an image of someone washing the feet of an LGBTQ-identified individual? If so, does that mean that the aggrieved father speaking at a school board meeting and protesting the presence of biological males in the girls’ bathroom is not like Jesus? Does that mean that all Christians who do not affirm same-sex “marriage” are not like Jesus?
The reality, of course, is that Jesus did far more than wash the feet of us sinners. He died for us and paid for our sins – for the very worst of us and for the most despicable sins. The blood of Jesus truly cleanses us from all sin. Thank God!
WND published the Ibrahim tirade Herland alluded to in a Feb. 15 column:
Once again, Christians are being reminded that their sole and exclusive function in life is to be doormats for all and sundry. One of Super Bowl Sunday’s ads, titled “Foot Washing,” consists of several consecutive images of people washing the feet of other people.
As might be expected, the ad was infused with a very not-so-subtle political element: The majority of those washing feet were white or seemed to fit an “American” profile, while an inordinate amount of those getting their feet washed did not. Images included a white woman washing the feet of a recently arrived and annoyed looking Hispanic migrant; a white woman washing the feet of a Muslim woman in hijab; a white man washing the feet of an American Indian; and a white male Christian clergyman washing the feet of a black “trans” man/woman.
At the very end, the point of the commercial was made clear by the following words: “Jesus Didn’t Teach Hate. He Washed Feet.”
So he did. But he also taught so many other things – including that people must repent of their sins or face the fires of gehenna – and even engaged in violence, as when he flipped tables over and whipped money changers out of the Temple.
As such, and seeing that Jesus said and did many things, why is it that Christians are always and only reminded of feet washing and cheek turning?
Could it be because those sponsoring such messages actually dislike and seek to paralyze Christians and their impact on society?
For example, one of the commercial’s images depicted a woman washing the feet of another woman who had apparently just undergone an abortion at a “Family Planning Clinic.” The message is clear: The true Christian doesn’t protest on behalf of the unborn outside abortion clinics; the true Christian shuts up and does whatever to accommodate those choosing to “abort” their progeny.
Stripped of its pious veneer, such messaging is tantamount to saying true Christians do not resist but rather accommodate sin. After all, and to be clear, the claim that Christians – anybody for that matter – should not “hate” is a complete smokescreen. Christians do not protest at abortion clinics, or against illegal migration, or against Islam, because they are haters, but because they oppose the killing of the unborn as well as the subversion and making insecure of their nation. Big difference.
And surely the commercial is not saying that opposition is always inherently wrong? For if so, no one would have the right to oppose even a Hitler, but would rather, under the logic of the commercial, be required to wash Nazi feet!
Way to liken a woman getting family planning to a Nazi, Raymond.