SwartyFeb 17, 2023
George Takei  🏳️‍🌈🖖🏽

If you thought those Super Bowl Jesus ads seemed innocuous enough, they are far from it.

The origins of the $20 million ad campaign to bring Jesus to the masses are quite insidious, including some of the most radical extremists on the religious right. Read more here: https://secondnexus.com/he-gets-us-ad-campaign?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=toot&utm_campaign=2N

Jesus At The Super Bowl—Who Is Behind The 'He Gets Us' Ad Campaign

It’s not as innocent as it seems.

Second Nexus
Feb 14, 2023 at 8:42pmWeb
Show threadNoahFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei Yet another grift.
Show threadDcircleFFeb 14, 2023
@knoawyls @georgetakei Yeah.
# Jesus gets [white straight het] us]”
Show threadWhiteLadySpeaksSpanishFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei I grew up with the southern Baptist Jesus. They dispense with the kind Jesus pretty quickly
Show threadKarl AuerbachFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei It is long past time to eliminate the tax exemptions granted at the Federal and state levels to "churches". Such exemptions are *not* required by the US Constitution.
Show threadBlueDotAZFeb 14, 2023
@karlauerbach @georgetakei Oooh, digging the originalist argument.
Show threadKarl AuerbachFeb 14, 2023

@cujobyte @georgetakei Yeah, originalism can cut in multiple directions.

Wait until I pull out my "originalist based on what" argument. It begins by noting that most of the US came from France, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Dole Pineapple - not places that were under the typical Jolly Old England common law fantasy typically cited by originalist judges.

(I've also got originalst *textual* argument that ought to trump Heller's use of originalist fabricated history.)

Show threadNichol BrummerFeb 14, 2023
@karlauerbach @georgetakei actually, buildings with a public/ community function have a certain common value. This is only true for church buildings when they facilitate use by other groups. For those cases there may be an argument that they deserve some kind of support from the local community & government
Show threadDoomslayerFeb 15, 2023
@Nichol @karlauerbach @georgetakei If you truly believe that then fight for your local libraries. Churches have an agenda. Libraries don't.
Show threadKarl AuerbachFeb 15, 2023
@doomslayer @Nichol @georgetakei My wife and I contribute a fair chunk of our yearly income to supporting things like performing arts, student and low income housing, Internet Archives, etc etc. So yes, we do put our money where our mouths are.
Show threadNichol BrummerFeb 15, 2023
@doomslayer @karlauerbach @georgetakei I live in a secularising country, where churches are emptying, and a good number of them are converted into apartment buildings. You are right that libraries can fill part of that social cohesion linking function. They are also in trouble: it isn't properly appreciated that we need to rebuild society, in a world that has individualised too much.
Show threadKarl AuerbachFeb 15, 2023

@Nichol @georgetakei I'm not against tax exemptions for charitable purposes, I'm only against exemptions for religious expenses/income.

So to the extent that a church engages in charity, then those expenses and income ought to be exempt.

Show threadDr. Michael WilliamsFeb 15, 2023
@karlauerbach @Nichol @georgetakei I've found that religious organizations invariably use charitable activity as a front to pursue their true goal, which is always proselytizing for their faith. I'm not saying they don't help people in certain ways, but the help they offer usually comes with the subtle suggestion of conversion. This is primarily religious activity; I'm not sure it's possible to differentiate between "charitable" and "religious" activities I this way.
Show threadKarl AuerbachFeb 15, 2023

@carvaka @Nichol @georgetakei That is the logic that SCOTUS used - that they felt it was too hard to separate religion from charity.

But can one say that "prosperity churches" are engaged in charity when they buy fleets of jet Gulfstreams and Citations?

My wife helps run a local church that is more a social/charitable institution than a church - in fact many members call it the atheist church.

Show threadNichol BrummerFeb 15, 2023
@karlauerbach @carvaka @georgetakei church buildings could be opened up to much more non-religious local community activity. If churches invite in this 'competition' it would be helpful. Then, even without the religious activities, the building would have a local purpose.
Show threadHugh Young-BishFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei
And how much of those millions comes, by way of mansion-dwelling televangelists, from widows' mites?
Show threadMichael VilainFeb 14, 2023

@georgetakei Whomever is saying he's white clearly doesn't know the genetics and history of mankind. He was Sematic.

Or Joe and Mary's boy. Depends on who you talk to.

Show threadClaire JamesonFeb 14, 2023
@mvilain @georgetakei Semitic?
Show threadMichael VilainFeb 15, 2023
@Feverdreams73 @georgetakei Autocorrect didn't catch that. Thanks.
Show threadHugh Young-BishFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei
So they are wolves in sheep's clothing.
Show threadMashal GrouchyFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei Love goes out the door when Jesus comes innuendo.
Show threadChefAleksFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei I always thought Jesus was more of a “word of mouth” kind of guy.
Show threadDammitJohnFeb 14, 2023

@georgetakei
They only seem to get excited for tax cuts, and for punching women and ethnic/sexual minorities.

And never, EVER, for feeding and housing people in need. There's never twenty million for those things.

Show threadTan_Hana_Dharma_MangrwaFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei Yeah, I think the message is "Do as I say, not as I do." No wonder Jesus once said, "So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach." (Mt. 23:3)
Show threadWobbledance1Feb 14, 2023

@georgetakei Shop at Michaels. Stop shopping at Hobby Lobby.

Money talks, bullshit walks.

Show threadTan_Hana_Dharma_MangrwaFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei It's almost like a Ponzi ad. Just like "You will get money" means "I will get your money." The real message is the opposite of what's being promised.
Show threadGeorge Takei  🏳️‍🌈🖖🏽Feb 14, 2023
@tanhana_dm I see what you mean!
Show threadCameron PurdyFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei John 11:35 "Jesus wept."
Show threadLiz Throop | populationalFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei Those churches must be pretty confident they’ll find supporters — but what if they don’t?
Show threadCorvoFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei
Thank you for calling this out, Mr. Takei.
I have been among the group warning agaisnt this disturbing astro turf, (fake grass roots) message.
No matter what people follow we must follow a message we ALL recognize as ethical.
Not an illusion backed by (would-be) hidden & faceless billionaire powers.
Show threadReay JespersenFeb 14, 2023
@georgetakei That can’t be Jesus because he’s white. 😁
Show threadDcircleFFeb 15, 2023

@georgetakei

Yes. Seemed like a good message at the time. But then you do your homework and realize “Jesus gets us” really means “Jesus gets us white conservative hetero people”

Show threadLiz Throop | populationalFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei Their current high profile creates a big surface for talking back. https://www.instagram.com/p/ColdJnrOykg/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
He Gets Us on Instagram: "Jesus loved the people we hate. “We” meaning me, you, all of us.⁠ Link in bio. #HeGetsUs"

1,616 Likes, 80 Comments - He Gets Us (@hegetsus) on Instagram: "Jesus loved the people we hate. “We” meaning me, you, all of us.⁠ Link in bio. #HeGetsUs"

Instagram
Show threadDudeFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei more "Christians" that do nothing Jesus said to do, like loving others as you love yourself. Only hatred for others that are different from themselves from these conservative "Christians".
Show threadClara ListensprechenFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei Ya, heads up on those ads not being confined to the Superbowl. Rightwingnut cable providers like Optimum are running them to supplant content provider channel ads. Except for MSNBC, at least in Optimum (aka Suddenlink) cable service.
Show threadClara ListensprechenFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei ...I should add that Optimum (Suddenlink) is also currently overrunning provider ads with a small selection of Ad Council PSAs that they repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat within the same ad breaks, on multiple channels. This tells me that the cable provider isn't getting enough outside ad revenue to stay above water financially.
Show threadLAF and LOVEFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei can you imagine the outcry if a Muslim group ran ads on their prophet??! OMG the Christians would go berserk.
Show threadMamaBodesFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei 😡😡😡
Show threadChris RollinsFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei One (of many) distasteful part of this was the “both-sidesing” of the imagery, as if that Viking insurrectionist moron is somehow equivalent to BLM protesters.
Show threadJenXFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei He gets them alright, just not in the way they mean. If you have to pay $20 million to “prove” you’re the “chosen ones” then you have most likely chosen poorly.
Show threadDouglas Phillips BooksFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei religious fundamentalism is the scourge of every society. Christianity here in the US. Islam in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. It's all the same. As modern, educated people continue to walk away from religion, the fundamentalists resort to ever deeper deceptions. It seems to be the only trick they know.
Show threadMATAK79Feb 15, 2023
@georgetakei
Show threadPat ClementsFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei a call to religion is a breath away from a call to something insidious in His name.
Show threadJenna WrightFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei I can bet the volunteers from churches who answer ?’s from people visiting their sit, sign them up for text messages & help them find a church are the same CNP tied churches in the 2020 documentary ’People You May Know’ (link📌to my profile) who used the Cambridge Analytica tied data culling co GLOO’s “Insights” program to psych profile new attendees & radicalize them into far right politics to manipulate their votes, and, by extension, influence the outcome of our 2016 election.
Show threadSuzan BallmerFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei and if they can spend that much on SB ads, they can pay taxes
Show threadliz_albinFeb 15, 2023
@georgetakei I’m a Jew. I never find Christian ads innocuous.
Show threadMike Sturm  Feb 16, 2023
@georgetakei I am a progressive Christian, and I have to applaud the content of the ad. It depicts the Jesus I follow - who displays sacrificial love for everyone. It seems most on this thread think Christians are some monolithic group that espouses hate and intolerance. Perhaps some do, but many others oppose the hate. The ad was supported by a mix of Christians, not just those with hypocritical track records. Why not applaud this step away from hate instead of being intolerant ourselves?