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Yuck, this is an ad for Christianity (in general!) by the self-appointed defenders of the faith and Creation Museum creators, Answers In Genesis:
I know: what? Let’s try to unpack this unarguably misguided commercial. First, I know this is supposed to be somewhat metaphorical, but why are you standing on a lonely deserted road with a skinhead kid with a gun? And it’s OKAY if he shoots you, because you’re not a Christian so you “don’t matter to God”? Does the kid represent the people behind this commercial? Because it really seems like the kid is doing what the people behind this commercial want to do to non-Christians. I think they had fun with this, in fact, and that is gross. Christianity needs a better advertising agency. (Thanks to Sarah for the tip!)
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I thought that’s the way the Muslim Fundamentalists did things? Hard to believe that an ad agency could be stupid enough to think THIS works…
they need padma lakshmi to sit on a stoop and talk about how awesome god is as she licks droplets of salvation sauce off her fingers.
i believe they’re playing to the idiotic notion that because one is without god he or she is automatically without morals and is therefore expendable.
Yeah, threats tend not to work. Remember the Catholic Church super bowl commercial on the Simpsons that was like the ZZ Top video, where two scantily clad women were writhing on a car, wearing crucifixes? That’s a step in the right direction, I think.
Gross, Christianity.
Ok, as a Christian, can I just clear something up? I don’t really get how it happened, but somewhere along the line, British-academic-style-apologetics went OFF THE RAILS in America, and instead of being the study of answering questions about Christianity, it turned into some kind of hyper-aggressive-bumper-sticker-insult-culture. This kind of thing makes me sick.
This video makes me want to barf up the secular easter dinner I ate last night with my gay boyfriend’s atheist family.
I’m pretty sure if you play this ad immediately after the NOM anti-gay marriage ad, the sheer hypocrisy of the whole thing will make your head explode.
Not that my following explanation will make the commercial any easier to swallow, but I think their intentions were to show that if someone believes they don’t matter to God then it will be easy for them to feel that they don’t matter to anyone. The commercial isn’t saying non-Christians “don’t matter to God”. A.I.G. think that the rise in school shootings amongst other things might be connected to the belief in evolution which, in their thoughts, leaves kids without answers in life thus trapping some of them in inescapable despair. I’m not saying this nominates the commercial for an awesome award, and as a Christian myself, I can’t give the commercial my stamp of approval, but as per usual, Lindsay, someone has to have the same misguided bent as you in order to misinterpret more proof that “Christianity stinks”. Gmarley has a beard.
I so have a beard.
“A.I.G. think that the rise in school shootings amongst other things might be connected to the belief in evolution which, in their thoughts, leaves kids without answers in life thus trapping some of them in inescapable despair.”
I’m sorry but this explanation is almost worse than the video itself (which is still bad, regardless of your attempt to excuse it). That is such a horrible scapegoat to push anti-evolutionary backwardsness that it makes my head spin. If kids are killing themselves and others because the mysteries of life cannot be conveniently explained to them in a nice little package then there is something gravely wrong here.
I am NOT anti-Christian, by the way. I’m anti-ignorance, stupidity, and bigotry. Even with your explanation this commercial still falls in at least one of those categories.
He plainly said he didn’t give it approval.
I know that. He still tried to offer an explanation of it to give another take on it, and I was merely refuting that line of thinking. I didn’t mean it to be so much directed towards him personally as towards A.I.G, if that really is their stance.
Word. I guess the importance of what Greebin’ was saying is… Ok, let’s get our sensitive pants on. I can take a ribbing when it comes to Christianity. I didn’t get into this to not be made fun of, and sometimes the making-fun-of is pretty reasonable criticism. I’m just sayin, like, when it comes to a hugely complex system of faith, “bad ass” tag-lines and oh-my-that’s-the worst-thing-ever-straight-to-DVD movies probably isn’t the way to go. Now, WITH THAT SAID, sometimes (SOMETIMES) the wording on this blog gets a little far-reaching. And I mean “WAAAHHHH I’M GONNA CRY LIKE A BABY WAHHHHH!” Whatever. I just think it warrants a bit of a clarification, especially from people who actually care what other people think about their belief, such that “This is an ad for Christianity” shouldn’t obscure the actual argument in play here. Again, this is a terrible ad, no matter which way you spin it, I just want to keep the bad separate from the horrendously bad, ya dig?
Once again, T.L.o.t.M., I’m not writing to excuse the commercial or it’s thinking. We are allies in our thoughts that they are extremely misguided. My comment was simply to clear up any thoughts that might leave one thinking the commercial is saying, “If you aren’t a Christian then you don’t matter to God”. It is a shame that this commercial was made. This stuff happens far too often and people fail to see that this is a “misrepresentation” of Christianity. It IS NOT accurate. The topic of discussion should be how this fails to be true Christianity but what usually happens is that the conversation is about how Christianity is wrong. People can dismiss Christianity if they want to, but they should do so on it’s actual merits, not because of a straw man. The sad part is that Christians have been guilty of these misrepresentations for quite some time now and Lindsay here is grabbing the fumble and running for a defensive touchdown when the referee should make it clear that the play was dead. Christianity didn’t fumble the ball. A.I.G. did. I’m anti-ignorance as well which is why I commented on Lindsay’s interpretation in the first place.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying and I totally agree. To be fair though, with no context it is way too easy for this video to be interpreted the way it was in the post. That’s definitely how it seemed to me at first.
Anyway, enough seriousgum.
i love that this is someone’s answer to the question: What Would Jesus Do?
doubtless this is the exact message he would have chosen had television and youtube been available channels of communication. keep up the good work, answers in genesis!
I’m sorry, but WHAT?! i doubt that there is a credible causal link between evolution taught in schools and a rise in school shootings. first of all, correlation does not prove causation. it’s like the old example where drownings and ice cream sales increase, not because ice cream causes drowning, but because of warm weather. yes, social darwinism is an attitude held by the rich in the during the industrial revolution( and beyond) to justify a lack of altruistic programs for the less fortunate, but it’s a big leap from being a not-so-great samaritan to mowing down a school full of innocent people because of human evolution. lets talk about underfunded schools where kids fall through the cracks and parents who don’t talk to their own children and a society that excuses and even glamorizes violence in popular culture. blaming evolution education for school violence is a deliberate manipulation of facts to prove a point, not an unbiased scientific conclusion, which is the enitre problem with teaching creationism- it’s not science, it’s propaganda.
the same as this tv commercial, which is poorly made, regardless of religious leanings, because it doesn’t make a clear point in any direction except for the one that says if you don’t believe like we do(because we obviously matter to god, since he helped us make such an awesome commercial), you will get shot. perhaps they could make a better ad if their message made sense.
I bet that kid’s parents made him eat chalk at Easter.
This adds a whole new meaning to “bringing the good news.”
Remember that billboard in “Idiocracy” that said: ‘If you don’t smoke Tarrylton’s, then fuck you!’ ? This is just like that. Except replace the first part with ‘If you don’t believe in God…’
Hey SCREW YOU kid.
Why does Noah sound like a KGB operative?
What’s most upsetting to me is that the skin on his head looks like hair. Get that xenophobe some Selsun Blue!
Appropriateforumforseriousdiscussionsabouttheologyandethicsincontemporarymediagum.com
I think it was an episode of Spin City where the mayor, in an effort to stimulate office conversation, hung a sign above the water cooler that read simply, “God?”
… k, byyyyyyyyyyye!
andethicsincontemporarymediagum.com
Whyyyyy won’t this comment section contain my self-indulgent witticisms???
heheh. AIG. Nice acronym work.
First, love that this group, on its website, refers to itself as AiG – good nickname, guys. Nothing confusing or damaging about that.
Second, this godlessness=school shootings claim is the most depressing argument for Christianity ever. It basically admits that faith is just a handy means of controlling people.
Paul, you seem a little eager to get to your conclusion. Slow down and allow logic to run its course. “Second, this godlessness=school shootings claim is the most depressing argument for Christianity ever.” There’s the top bun. “It basically admits that faith is just a handy means of controlling people”, and there’s the bottom bun. Put a little burger in there. Just because the world loves a cynic (especially a religious cynic at that) doesn’t mean you have to betray the scientific method when it comes to theorizing (or attempting to). You’ve just raped the word “basically” and robbed it of all its meaning. There doesn’t seem to be any character limit on these comments so please elaborate a bit on how you figure the above ad nails the coffin shut on the idea that faith is a means of controlling people. I do sort of get what you mean though because I always thought child proof caps were a handy way of controlling toddlers.
I was trying to be pithy – I did not mean to rape a word with an empty hamburger (?), but OK. Here’s your explanation of AiG’s argument:
“A.I.G. think that the rise in school shootings amongst other things might be connected to the belief in evolution which, in their thoughts, leaves kids without answers in life thus trapping some of them in inescapable despair.”
So to stop real-world problems, “school shootings amongst other things”, we better make sure all these kids are Christians. This is a utilitarian argument for faith – never mind if it’s true, we need it for social engineering purposes! I think that’s a depressing argument. This is the point I was trying to make in the…the bottom bun? Sorry, figurative language is hard.
Here’s the problem though, Paul. You are interpreting A.i.G’s commercial through the lenses of your presupposition as if their idea of Christianity is the same as your idea. To them, and to many others, Christianity is a true and real relationship with the true and real God. The Bible puts forth the notion that when a man or woman comes to know God they are “born again”. I realize that for most people outside of the church, the term “born again” can bring certain connotations that make it hard to understand what Jesus really meant when He spoke with Nicodemus that night in the 3rd chapter of John’s Gospel. You’d have to admit that if God does exist and if He does extend an invitation to replace that which we have lost (separation from God during the fall) and then on top of that He agrees to dwell within us and literally live out the impossible within us and through us (I realize their is a lot of unpacked theology in there and we can go through it if you or someone else would like) that this would have to change someone. This would change someone’s very nature as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17. We’re not talking about the minor difference or effect something like a daily regiment of vitamin C would have on a person. We’re talking about the person being completely new. You can take that a step or two further when you realize the Bible claims that we are not as we were intended apart from the grace and forgiveness of Christ. Does all this mean that you have to accept Christianity and be converted? No. I’m not forming a closed case scenario that leaves you utterly powerless and unable to resist. I just thought it might be helpful to give you a glimpse at how huge Christianity really is, regardless of whether it is true or false; and that while forming an opinion or stance against it, you would do best to argue against what it actually claims to be as opposed to arguing your small notions of it. Again, I’m not claiming I’ve written anything that should seal the deal on you accept the Gospel of Christ. I’m just attempting to show you why I spoke out against your drive by assessment. Sorry also if my figurative language was hard to follow. I merely meant your point was all bone and no meat; or I guess I meant all burger and no bun. To be honest, I think you knew perfectly well what I was saying. It might have just served you well to act as if you didn’t get it. This is a practice that might lend a hand to many a wrong assumption made on your part. In closing, thank you all for reading the longest comment ever. Paul, I truly mean you know harm or ill will; I just figured if you can’t write bluntly here, then where can you.
“I did not mean to rape a word with an empty hamburger (?)” is the funniest thing I have heard all week, and this has been the week of Teabagging.
For the sake of me having at least one quasi-substantive comment on this TOPICAL AND UNBIASED POST, I would like to first clarify for myself that AiG thinks evolution inspires existential crises in young children? The result of which is inevitably gun-related violence? Okay? Is that what you guys are saying? I think that totally has merit. One of the most moving passages in “The Stranger” is Meursault’s realization that Galpagan finches have different beaks because they are in fact different species. And then he shoots two Arabs.
In my faith, ultimately there’s no “I” at all so there’s nothing to matter to matter and nobody to matter to. Sorry, I just read the Diamond Sutra this morning.
Finally, people are injecting some violence into religious debate. It’s about time.
Finally? Don’t you mean, once again?
I guess I don’t matter. That hurtz my heart.
I love Jesus! I think He is the bee’s knees and that He has the power to change anyone’s life for the better by inspiring love and compassion. …that said i don’t get this commercial at all. …as an artist i feel like if something needs interpreted so much and still leaves us confused, it doesn’t succeed. sorry AiG.
Why do we need a religiously themed post every day on Videogum? I need some viral gems, not stupidness like this. A man’s not a man unless he knows the funniest crap online.
Actually surprised there was a somewhat respectable discussion on religion here on the internets that hasn’t yet devolved into a middle-school recess-like argument, e.g “You and your opinions are totally dumb and also gay.” “No there not, yours are, douche.” etc.
That said, this commercial is an epic fail. As a Christian, I can say that the guys behind Christian media need to start using their brains a bit more…and also hire people with talent for their movies. That is all.
i just want to hear joel bauers take on this.
I have never understood why people who refer to themselves as Christian are so afraid of death. If you believe in an afterlife, why would dying being such an awful thing? Scary, yes. Bad? Not according to the tenets of your religion.