You might say it's a real A.D. campaign...

Or you might not...anyway, have you ever heard of this niche religious movement called--hand on, let me see if I've got this right--Christ-ism? Wait, no, Christianity. Yeah, that's it. If you haven't and you're a fan of the football, you're about to hear what it's all about at this year's annual Super-bowl sporting event.

"Christianity? Never heard of them. Are they a band or something?"

-literally no one in the world

Pictured: a crusader bludgeoning
non-believers with God's love.

The movement, founded in the first century A.D., is based around a street preacher/son of God who hung out with the destitute, the chronically ill, and the socially outcast and called out the political and religious establishment of his age for its hypocrisy. The religion went on to be the dominant belief system for a significant percentage of the human species for the subsequent two thousand years. It inspired art, architecture and incredible acts of kindness, but it was also used as justification for slavery, countless wars, and acts of brutality and intolerance that resonate down through the ages.

So it's a little weird that someone feels that they need to take out a Super Bowl ad to raise awareness of the religion's existence. Although I am given to understand that God does routinely take time out of his busy schedule to intervene on the behalf of the faithful in the outcomes of sporting events, so what do I know?

"He who prayeth the hardest shall winneth the big game, so sayeth the Lord."

-the Bible.

They should probably call it: 
"We Don't Get Him, Like At All." 

The ad campaign dubbed "He Gets Us" (he in this case being Jesus) is aimed at the youths, a demographic the religion has lost significant ground with over the past few decades. Why? I don't don't, but if I were to speculate, I'd say it has something to do with the way Christian organizations have become increasingly hostile and toxically right-wing. They tent to be anti-choice, anti-LGBTQIA+, xenophobic, racist, authoritarian, hyper-capitalist and--fine, Republican.

"Birth control? I don't know, have you
discussed this with your managers pastor?"

-some doctor

He Gets Us however aims to change all that. Huh? No, not by actually addressing the gross, right-wing bent of American Christianity, but by trying to change the public perception. The hip sounding He Gets Us website emphasizes the love one another, everyone has a seat at the table, Jesus as Hippy vibe and that's super. But the organizations funding the campaign are a bunch of conservative, anti-choice, homophobic groups and individuals including David Green, the Hobby Lobby founder who fought for an won the right for businesses to deny birth control coverage for employees on religious grounds.

After all, a rebranding is way easier for American Evangelical Christianity than actually examining the questions and irreconcilable paradoxes at the heart of their political beliefs. Questions like "how can pro-life people also be pro-death penalty, pro-gun, and anti-healthcare?" And "why are Evangelicals anti-gay when Jesus mentions gay people exactly zero times?" You know, the real come to Jesus stuff they don't like to think about.

You know, David Green is awfully vocal about how Christian he is for
a guy who has not, as Jesus explicitly asks, given all his money way to the poor.
Pretty sure he never said anything about donating to right-wing political groups.