In Episode 71 of Keeping Watch (on the Rumble platform), two ministers and one deacon from the Canadian Church of God International attacked the Jesus Super Bowl ad on their weekly program. Pastors Adrian Davis and Murray Palmatier, accompanied by Deacon Jan Kowalczyk, said that the ad which depicted people washing the feet of sinners was heretical and should be rejected by true Christians. What was wrong with the ad? They didn't like the message: "Jesus didn't teach hate. He washed feet. He gets us. All of Us. Love thy neighbor."
Mr. Palmatier and Mr. Davis said that there were too many doctrinal errors to list in the thirty second ad, and they cautioned CGI members not to get caught up in the "emotionalism" of the ad! "What about us getting him?" Pastor Murray demanded. "How many times did Christ wash feet in the Bible?" he continued. "And whose feet did he wash?" Pastor Davis added. The answers, of course, are: one occasion, and he washed the feet of his disciples. "In every other case, it was his feet being washed by devotees," Pastor Palmatier pointed out. They went on to remind their audience that this ad appeared during the "Taylor Swift Super Bowl." In other words, the audience was huge - men and women watching. "These people hate Christ," Pastor Davis added, and he went on to say that the ad was full of "Marxist" ideas.
For me, the ad reflected the "Love thy neighbor" theme very clearly. When I was watching it, I was reminded of Christ's statement that he came here to serve, NOT to be served (Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45). Indeed, Christ's aim was to sacrifice himself so that our sins could be wiped away, and we could be reconciled to Almighty God. I also thought of a passage from the first epistle of John: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." (I John 4:7-12, ESV). So, I'm thinking that it's Davis, Palmatier, and Kowalczyk who don't get Jesus and are promulgating heretical notions. The truth is that Armstrongites have always been uncomfortable with the concept of LOVE!
I'm in total agreement with you! Wow. Their statements reveal so much about THEM and their theology.
ReplyDeleteWell 653, in this case there are multiple Trinity believing, Sunday keeping Christians who believe exactly like the CGI boys, showing that it is not a theology issue or heretical notions. Go on Youtube and you can review for yourself the many presentations against the ad.
ReplyDeleteI have reviewed several and will attempt to give a summary of the opposition. Many of these points will overlap.
1. The ad presents a FALSE Christ!
Jesus didn't go around washing everybodys feet. He washed the disciples feet for a spiritual lesson. Paul mentions washing "the saints" feet in 1 Tim.5:10, not just any one on the street.
Everybody loves Jesus as long as you don"t define Him and His message. As long as He is just another guy, a good teacher or philosopher, He is acceptable. The Jesus of Rev.2:22-23, Matt. 18:6, 21:41, 22:7-13, 24:48-51, would not be tolerated!
2. The ad presents a FALSE Gospel.
"Jesus didn't teach hate"?? Everybody knows that. What Jesus did hate was sin.
The message of Jesus was not STOP HATING, but repent and believe the Gospel. His purpose was to call sinners to repentance. The ad doesn't call anyone to repentance, virtue, or truth. Nothing about denying yourself or Jesus's hard sayings.
"Jesus Gets US"? That's not why He came! The real issue is DO WE GET HIM, and do we know Him? The true Gospel offers hope. People need help, not someone who "gets them". The ad is merely an attempt to rebrand the Gospel.
3. The ad follows the political and social agenda narrative and correctness.
Whose feet ARE NOT being washed? No white person's feet are being washed. The policeman is not getting his feet washed. Only the left wing victim hierarchy are being served.
Jesus is misrepresented for political gain and is defined as a social justice Jesus. He is presented as approving the social issues of today, the LGBTQ movement, climate change, abortion, and race relations. Since "hate" today is considered as disagreeing with the official political narrative, the saying, "He didn't teach hate" is misleading to say the least.
4. The ad misrepresents the Biblical concept of LOVE.
"Loving thy neighbor" in scripture is clearly defined and law based (Romans 13:8-10), and is not meant to be seen as an acceptance of sin. The love is love is love idea that teaches we must accept all the desires of our fellowman is FALSE.
God is Love and God defines Love. The "world" only knows the love of the world, the love that allows everyone to do his own thing. If one does not agree with that, it's labeled as "hate".
My take on this is pretty close to these summarized points. 17 million dollars was spent for 90 seconds of ad time. I don't believe a legitimate Christian organization would (could) do that!
Who bankrolled this endeavor and for what purpose? And why is it so in tune with today's social engineered narrative? Jesus is clearly presented as a "packaged brand" with the goal of hooking people on that brand. The CGI boys and many other orthodox Christians seem to agree!
Just posted this over at Banned by "HWA"
ReplyDeleteHe gets us:
Hebrews 2:14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.