Theology Thursday: About those Jesus ads

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's topic:
"He gets us"?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
I’m traveling this week for a preaching conference, but I wanted to share with you this article from a Baptist writer I’ve come to respect and appreciate by the name of Samuel James. Samuel works for a Christian publishing company, and I subscribe to his Substack where he regularly offers thoughtful examinations of Christianity, the church, and culture - especially as they relate to technology and our digital age.

In this piece, published at The Gospel Coalition, Samuel thinks through the popular “He Gets Us” ads - run during the Super Bowl and other major events - that seek to portray a relational Jesus to an American culture that largely doesn’t know him.

Much of what Samuel argues here is similar to what I think as well, and I also agree with his conclusion that the ads are ultimately unsuccessful. His reasoning for that opinion is really interesting.

Here’s an excerpt:

In the ad campaign, Jesus is more a compassionate friend than a Lord. Without more content—Who really is Jesus? Who are we? Exactly how does Jesus “get” us?—the Jesus of the ad campaign is simply a feeling to chase, rather than a person to listen to.

There’s a danger here of context collapse, where an idea that’s true and correct in one particular context loses its truthfulness by being broadcast in a way that disregards that context. For example, “Jesus gets us” is a message best used for people who have already accepted their need for a Savior and desire assurance that nothing they’ve done can cause Jesus to cast them out (John 6:37).

In terms of a mass audience whose cultural religion is most likely expressive individualism, however, “he gets us” sounds like a mantra that reinforces the primacy of the self. This mentality keeps my personal psychology at the center, so the question that matters isn’t “What must I do to be saved” but “What must you do to affirm me?”

I encourage you to read the whole article HERE.

TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.