Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a representative for the state of New York in the House of Representatives in the United States Congress, recently claimed that a pair of Christian Super Bowl ads are an attempt “to make fascism look benign.”
Official Congressional photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic representative for NY-14. Photo taken January 2019. Photo Credit: Franmarie Metzler; U.S. House Office of Photography, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ocasio-Cortez posted to Twitter writing, “Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Twitter
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The two ads in question “Love Your Enemies” and “Be Childlike” aired in both the first and second half of the Super Bowl that saw the Kansas City Chiefs prevail over the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
“Love Your Enemies” shows numerous black and white photos of people getting into heated arguments and in some cases violently attacking each other.
It concludes with a message, “Jesus loved the people we hate. He gets us. All of us. Jesus.”
The ad eventually redirects to the HeGetsUs website that declares, “So what could possibly be louder and more powerful than hate? Love can. But not just any love. Confounding love. Unconditional love. Sacrificial love. The love we see in Jesus.”
It also asserts, “He Gets Us invites people to explore the story, teachings, and mission of one who lived that way. No matter what you believe about God or Christianity, consider this: What might we learn today from a person like that? ”
Artistic representation of Jesus Christ God, the second divine Person of the Most Holy Trinity (Cathedral of Cefalù, c. 1130.) Photo Credit: Andreas Wahra, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
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The ad and site are clearly inspired by Christ’s teaching found in the Book of Matthew, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”
“For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Christ instructed.
The Crucified Christ by Peter Paul Rubens Photo Credit: Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The second ad is titled “Be Childlike.” Similar to “Love Your Enemies” it features a collection of black and white images and even video clips of children being children. Patsy Cline’s “If I Could See The World” plays over top the video.
It concludes with the message, “Jesus didn’t want us to act like adults. He gets us. All of us. Jesus.”
Similar to the first ad it also encourages people to visit the HeGetsUs website with a landing page focused on the ad. On this page it details how Christ approached people with a childlike attitude and contrasted this to childish.
It states, “He approached everyone with unending grace, unconditional love, and that seemingly irrational capacity for compassion, generosity, and forgiveness.”
“His story demonstrates that we are capable of rediscovering that childlike way — to embrace the qualities of innocence, openness, and trust and to let go of our egos and pride. Jesus taught that fulfillment belongs to people who can trust God with childlike faith and also represent their convictions and beliefs without ever losing their confounding love and respect for another person’s dignity,” it adds.
Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness (Jésus tenté dans le désert) by James Tissot. Brooklyn Museum, New York
The ad is also clearly inspired by Christ’s teaching found in Matthew 18:1-5 that states, “At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.'”
Christ blessing the children from the studio of Artus Wolffort Photo Credit: Studio of Artus Wolfaerts (Antwerp, 1581-1641), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Interestingly, Ocasio-Cortez’s accusation that somehow following Christ’s teaching is an “attempt to make fascism look benign” comes in the wake of the FBI purposely targeting Catholics.
Former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin at UncoverDC published an unclassified document that cites the Southern Poverty Law Center. It states in part, “FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly observed interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.”
The document adds, “FBI Richmond makes this assessment with high confidence based on FBI investigations, local law enforcement agency reporting, and liaison reporting, with varying degrees of corroboration and access.”
The document specifically included nine groups: Catholic Apologetics International, Catholic Family News/Catholic Family Ministries, Inc., Christ or Chaos, Culture Wars/Fidelity Press, The Fatima Crusader/International Fatima Rosary Crusade, In the Spirit of Chartres Committee, The Remnant/The Remnant Press, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Tradition in Action.
Unclassified FBI Document Regarding Targeting of Catholics via UncoverDC
Following the publication of this document, the FBI would rescind the memo telling The Daily Signal, “While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product—disseminated only within the FBI—regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI.”
The FBI added, “Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document.”
“The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity,” the organization added.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), official portrait, 116th United States Congress Photo Credit: US House Office of Photography, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What do you make of Ocasio-Cortez’s seeming attack on Christianity?