Advertising campaign for Jesus, what do you think of this? (Link included)

No, I think that this is just another example of [insert “persecuted” demographic] jumping up and down and waving their arms so people will notice them.

There’s most certainly some agenda here, I won’t pretend I know what it is, but do you buy everything you see on television commercials?

Believers will have a very different view of course; especially those who’s domination doesn’t include Jesus, but it seems to make so little difference to me in contrast to Viagra pills, Christmas or cellular phones.

It is pretty ass though, ain’t denying that.

“Using prime-time media and modern marketing techniques to preach the Gospel”

Christianity has jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of them.

Flashy programming, infomercial, and over bloated marketing to squeeze you for a few bucks.
What Christianity has forgotten is… WWJD?

@ChazMaz
he’d prolly rotate on his cross…no wait that doesn’t work

The article also said “The campaign raised an awareness of spirituality and people seemed more willing and prepared to speak about their beliefs,” Since when did you need Jesus to help people become more spiritual? This is ridiculous.

@HumourMe Nothing wrong with people speaking about their beliefs. The point here is, even without all that, they still would.

@HumourMe – EXACTALLY!

@Symbeline this isn’t speaking about their beliefs, this is a multi-million dollar marketing campaign using Jesus as their corporate logo.

@HumourMe Yeah, the Spaniards did that before, too. Actually you might have a point.

Being in Christian Broadcasting I see it all day long.

It’s a brilliant campaign and I saw a similar one with Pro Wrestlers hawking the gospel. Gets the youngins hook line and sinker!! It’s like handing out credit cards to college students….gotcha for life!!!

I see no real problem with it. If we are willing to watch guys fight while they are wearing shorts labeled “Condom Depot” across the butt, or pay money to see race cars covered with the names of sugary breakfast cereals, why not? After all, it is no longer the only game in town.

Here is a site where you can see various church logos, and maybe even contract the company to design a logo for your church or deity Evelynism anyone?

I guess Carmina Burana really does make everything epic.

This is something rather new to Australia so I was very surprised when I saw it. I think we are slowly turning into America. But I find advertising ceral and condoms very different to advertising Christianity, it just crosses the line in my opinion.

@HumourMe Don’t worry about it. I’m thinking Christianity is getting old and faded; this is a last resort. That it’s a ridiculous one probbaly proves that it’s had it’s place, and needs to gtfo.

“this is a last resort”

@HumourMe – Now that is a prophetic statement.

@Symbeline Exactly, that’s what I’m trying to say, is this just a last ditch effort to woo back people into the church since people are starting to wake up and smell the roses about what Christianity and religion in particular really does/stands for/promotes?

My husband wears this shirt all the time and no one seems to think it’s a problem. If it is okay to put Buddha on something, then why isn’t it okay to put Jesus on something?

@HumourMe Yeah. If Jesus is all that awesome, he doesn’t need no campaigning anyways. I mean, look how famous he got back in the day with just stone tablets lmao.

It sounds pretty hilarious to me.

I would totally watch the Jesus racing team. I would feel obligated to gamble, though I’m not sure how I would place my bet. You might think with God on their side the Jesus team would be a sure thing, but God does work in Mysterious Ways.

Could I bet a quinella?

“back in the day with just stone tablets ”

That was moses, but still a good point. :-)

@Darwin I wouldn’t care if someone wore that shirt, but that’s is very different to sponsoring a racing car team and putting ad’s on TV and other media outlets like newspapers, magazines and radio.

This campaign just adds to the already really funny joke that is religion…
how sad is that, these bible thumpers will do anything to get followers

@fundevogel I wouldn’t bet on that car….he crashes it in the first video on that site..lol

well… he was a mascot for a stolen , invented religion that seems to be doing well . based on murder , lies , scams , smear campaigns ,, cola war tactics etc… the kind of business bulldog any business could use .. by stepping on the compition… so i can see it ... id even hire him ;-).

@tyrantxseries Couldn’t agree with you more. GA. Religion is just making a mockery out of itself because of this.

I think that placing the image of Jesus on a worldly symbol in a competitive sport cheapens his message. As if he had some preference for the outcome. It’s like a boxer having him emblazoned to his ass as he genuflects. “Lord bless me as I beat the shit out of this guy”.
My Kingdom is not of this earth
~Jesus

In the United States we have separation of church and state, but we do not have a ban on combining religion with business. That’s one of the main reasons why Scientology exists, because L. Ron Hubbard knew he wouldn’t get rich writing science fiction but he would if he founded a religion.

All sorts of strange folks have owned or sponsored racing teams. There is even a Team Daemon Racing so why not a team named for the other side? At least the Christian church has the kind of money needed for today’s very expensive cars and equipment.

If you don’t like seeing such ads then change the channel, turn the page, or just ignore them.

@SeventhSense Laughs…so true.

@SeventhSense – I suspect that if he exists, Jesus and God have a good laugh at it all. After all, doesn’t almost every army believe that “God is on our side”?

Bottom line, Christianity is not about money and Jesus does not need any.

At least that is how it is in its purest sense.

And yea there was Monty Python’s Holy Hand grenade of Antioch

And the Lord spake, saying, “First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once at the number three, being the third number be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.”

@ChazMaz “Christianity is not about money”, please, don’t make me laugh this hard, this early in the morning..lol

No it is not. But, please laugh all you want. :-)

It is what it has become and it keeps getting worse and worse.

I still prefer Buddy Christ.

@ChazMaz and it won’t get any better either. The downfall of Christianity is already among us people, and this campaign isn’t gonna help one bit but make religion look bad, which in reality is good because I want people to know that it is actually bad.

@AstroChuck Lmao, I nominate this for picture of the year. Purely for it’s comic value.

I am smack dab at ground zero.

It is tragic, and that is the way it goes. In the end, it is the truth that will set you free.

I don’t think it’s tragic I think it was inevitable and necessary for society to progress into the future.

True, life is a process.

@HumourMe
There won’t be much progress until we can truly grasp the simple messages of Jesus. Very few have but those such as Martin Luther King, Dali Lama and Gandhi can testify to its essence and power.

Looks like New South Wales and Western Australia are becoming Americanized. Of course what else would you expect. Both America and Australia were colonized by criminals released from England.

@SeventhSense Well the simple message of Jesus is supposedly to love one another, treat others as you want to be treated, etc. however shouldn’t we all have the ability to work that out for ourselves without the help from Jesus and the bible? Or religion in general?

Yes, or we are just a process of action and reaction. The moment God snapped his “fingers”. Putting the universe into motion.

Wow. What do you suppose would happen if this were turned around and some advertiser started using Jesus to sell products? You know, as a celebrity spokesman? Picture an actor playing Jesus with his robes and hair flapping behind him, flying down the road in an SUV, with a voice-over: Almighty power under the hood. Or selling bottled water so clear you’ll never know it’s been walked on. Or hair color “so natural you’ll think Dad made it.” Or . . . wow, I could do this all night!

@Jeruba hahaha…so many possibilties!

Jesus is being marketed using a marketing plan similar to one used for a beverage?

It is typical of advertising – distorting the facts to make something you would otherwise laugh at suddenly seem appealing.

I think it is backlash. Atheism (and agnosticism, the lazy mans atheism) is definitely on the rise, and I think that scares the HELL out of them (if only it really did scare the hell out of them. lulz)

“advertiser started using Jesus to sell products? ”

We have in Orlando, Florida The Holy Land Experience.
I find it a poor excuse to market Christianity.

What it is missing is a roller coaster. It could be called the Holy Roller.

It is certainly easier and more efficient in spreading the Word than by actually emulating Jesus

@HumourMe
Well the simple message of Jesus is supposedly to love one another, treat others as you want to be treated, etc. however shouldn’t we all have the ability to work that out for ourselves without the help from Jesus and the bible? Or religion in general?
No doubt and I think we all should, yet self will working alone seems to have conflicting efforts at times to the collective. Whatever the form, community at large needs to be considered in all things.

I don’t, like you, think that all forms of advertising/promotion are “forcing views on people” but they are manipulative. But then, I do say that proselytism is a form of violence… and considering the impact and influence the media plays on society and individuals, maybe I agree with you after all. But still, I wouldn’t say “forcing”—there’s a better word than that, I think. (Not sure what it is.)

I don’t believe in saying things like “you’re not a real Christian” or “that’s not real Christianity,” because Christianity is the most diverse religion in the world and who am I to say what authentic Christianity is? But I do know what feels right to me, what speaks to me about Jesus and the Bible, and based on that…

I think this breed of Christianity is a misunderstanding of what Jesus stands for. In fact, I think it’s worse than simple misunderstanding: I think it’s indoctrination by the dominant society. I do not believe the dominant society is, at heart, Christian. I believe it is Roman. Roman society adopted Christianity for political purposes but they did so in-name only, and they’ve been messing with the religion ever since. They’re like the Borg: they assimilate, but because they don’t have Borg technology, they have to throw the people they’re assimilating a bone—little vestiges of who they used to be. The very idea of “Racing for Jesus,” plus the images on the website, reflect the Roman State religiosity (the Imperial cult), not Christianity. The thoughtless adherence to and application of names/images, the sense of material glory, all of these speak (scream) of what Jesus was fighting against!

“Well the simple message of Jesus is supposedly to love one another, treat others as you want to be treated, etc.”

I disagree. I think the simple message of Jesus is to love the disenfranchised (in a material sense—not the kind of spiritual-love that many Christians tout), consciously think about your engagement with society and the world (don’t go with the flow, don’t be easily pacified/fooled), and reject the dominant culture (which, 2000 years later, is the same culture, give or take a little).

this just tends to prove my theory that in the postmodern world, religions have to either indoctrinate children since birth (which religions and other belief systems have traditionally done and still do) or win over the consumer in the marketplace of belief systems.

Eric Idle (of Monty Python) said the first working title for LIfe of Brian was Jesus: Lust for Glory. I know it doesn’t exactly relate to the question, but I just found it pretty hilarious.

LOL

Religion: the greatest scam ever invented.

Religion, like anything else advertised, does not amount to what is promised – people will always find that out.

Christianity, unlike anything else that needs an angle to promote or sell its self, is guided by a supernatural power.

Having faith alone, the size of a mustard seed, should move mountains.

Individuals needing to use rudimentary snake oil partakes. To “sell” something that needs no other help.

Is nothing more then hypocrisy.

Individuals needing to use rudimentary snake oil practices, to “sell” something that needs no other help.

Is nothing more then hypocrisy.

@nicobanks I don’t really care what Jesus’ “message” is, I was just using it as an example to say that whatever it is I’m sure humans are smart enought to figure it out for themselves most of the time without the help from an organized religion.

@reijinni: no one invented it, though, and they sure didn’t think of it as a scam when they did it. though I agree with the spirit of your statement as far as the way it tends to function in practice.

I’ll probaly be attacked for this but I don’t believe Jesus was real and if he was then I don’t think he was “gods son” or as unique as the bible says he was. I need more proof then what is written in a book.

Nah you won’t be attacked for that. In fact people on here are usually attacked if they do believe Jesus was real, so I wouldn’t worry. :) I very much agree with you though.

@jamcanfi74 There aren’t too many people on here who would say Jesus was the son of God, so you’ll be quite safe. People on Fluther are usually more civilised than to attack anyway. However your answer does not say a great deal about the advertising campaign.

Maybe there already is one of these:

A JesusLand theme park similar to DisneyLand or Dollywood where the New Testament Stories are recreated for the crowds at regular intervals during the day

I’ll leave it to others’ imagination to fill in the details of the spectacles and entertainments such a park might present!

It already exists.

The Holy Land Experience in Orlando Florida.

@reijinni
No plagiarism. At least give credit to George Carlin.

@HumourMe Well, I disagree with that too. Humans are greatest when they organize. No one could survive on their own, nor could anyone develop any thoughts on their own. We need community and even leadership to make sense of absolutely everything, and that includes Jesus. But that’s not to say I think people should join organized religions, that’s entirely up to them (I’m not even a follower of any religion); it’s also not to say that I don’t recognize the harm that organized religions have done. It’s just to say I see some benefit and necessity there, even if theoretical.

@Polly_Math That is hilarious.

Christians have been proselytizing for a long, long time. This seems to be merely another incarnation of that.
Where do you get the idea that one should not try to advance his beliefs? Is that not the very point of the debates that fill these threads? Is that not the goal of every law, every book, every demonstration, every scrap of opinion ever printed? Is that not the very purpose of such ideas as “we shouldn’t “force” our ideas on other people”?
Anyway, “forcing” implies coercion, as in “Convert or I’ll saw your head off!” which theologians agree is rather more empty than a relationship with Jesus Christ ought to be. Advertising, proselytizing, etc. are not forcing.

@jamcanfi74
If it helps you any, the historian Josephus (late first century A.D.) corroborates the existence of Jesus in a paragraph of his book, “Antiquities of the Jews”:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”

@Nullo It seems most scholars think that the Testimonium Flavianum has been embellished by Christians. In my opinion Jesus did exist, as a human, but I think it is unwise to use this as evidence when its authenticity is still under investigation.

@FireMadeFlesh
Wiki says: “The authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum has been disputed since the 17th century, although most modern scholars agree that it is partially authentic.”
and
“The topic of the Testimonium’s authenticity has attracted much scholarly discussion. This discussion generally falls into three camps of:

* Those who defend the entire authenticity of the passage;
* Those who reject the entire passage;
* Those who believe the passage has an authentic core but also includes later embellishments by Christian scribes.”
It is by no means the incontrovertible evidence that some look for, but it does seem to have weight. When you consider that the ideologies of the Christian faith put a lot of stock in the truth, embellishment becomes less of a threat.
In my own opinion, the embellishment argument is merely another attempt at discrediting a source.

I would rather see religious people committing random acts of selfless kindness and helping those who face starvation or disease without requiring the recipients of their charity to submit to a sermon or agree to worship as their benefactors do.

When asked by those you help, “Why do you come here to help us?” It is appropriate to answer, “I believe my G_d expects me to do so and it gives me joy to do so.” That will fill more pews and attract more sincere interest than expensive media promotional campaigns extolling the virtue of their faith and their deity over all other faiths and deities.

Don’t tell them what to believe, show them how you believe G_d expects you to care for those who cannot care for themselves, I say.

If they want to hear more about your faith tell them!
If they ask you to refrain from doing so, then please refrain!

@Dr_Lawrence
How do you know that they don’t? As far as I am aware, what you outlined is a pretty common evangelistic doctrine for the less outgoing Christians.

@nullo I know many Christians who do! The ones who preach at others without invitation or consent irritate me because their behaviour in intrusive and disrespectful.

@Dr_Lawrence Some people respond to proselytizing better than others. In your case, it would probably not be the best approach. But in the case of somebody who’s actively looking for God (or something), it would be just the thing. Street witnessing is an effective way to accomplish the latter, and if you’re uninterested, you just leave graciously and move on.

I do. When the same missionaries came to my house two to three times a month, I lost my usual even temper and offered to introduce them to my large dog.