Dear Lord; Good afternoon Father. As You’re aware Lord, I’ve had something on my mind the last few days that’s been bothering me. The funny thing is, my aggravations are regarding an event I’ve never really had much interest in; the Super Bowl.
I’ve never been a big football fan. In fact, other than a couple of games I went to when I was in college, I’ve never even attended a live game… It just never really caught my interest. This year really wasn’t much different, until I read a news story about a commercial that had been rejected by Fox Broadcasting Company for “delivering a religious message”. As I’ve seen some pretty racy and scary Super Bowl commercials over the years, I went and sought out the “offending” segment :
Really?? This was deemed to contain too much religious doctrine?? Wow… I am so terribly sorry Father. We’ve truly fallen from You as a society. From a country that has “In God We Trust” on our currency, this truly makes no sense to me. Fox certainly isn’t worried about offending viewers with the content on shows like “Family Guy” or Fox Sports’ Internet show “Cubed”, but they’re concerned that someone might take a reference to a Bible verse as an affront?
Fox issued a statement last week that stated :
“As a matter of company policy, Fox Broadcasting Company does not accept advertising from religious organizations for the purpose of advancing particular beliefs or practices. The Fixed Point Foundation was provided with our guidelines prior to their submission of storyboards for our review. Upon examination, the advertising submitted clearly delivers a religious message and as a result has been rejected.”
Ok, so the reason they’re airing commercials for the new movie “The Rite” is because it’s not from a religious organization? Wow… I’m completely at a loss on this one.
I realize that as a private company Fox has the right to choose what they do and don’t air on their network within FCC guidelines, but if a little of that “concern” about offending viewers were redirected to examining some of the programming and advertisements they do broadcast, I have a feeling the lineup would be far different than it is now.
Heavenly Father, thank You for letting me rant on about this today. As always, You’re a wonderful listener. Please fill our hearts and minds with Your Presence and Understanding, so that everyone can experience that Hope :
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Amen.
~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
I totally agree with you. This world doesn’t accept Him or any reference to Him. Unfortunately for them…
It really is sad isn’t it. All we can do is to pray for those among us who are lost, and hope they see His Light.
Have a Blessed Day Allison!
the sad thing is that some shows can show a woman being raped or a child being violated, but heaven forbid we speak about hope, faith or even love with out it being a problem. the world is becoming a very scary place.
Terrifying, isn’t it Katie… Thankfully, He’s there with us to combat the chaos.
Have a Blessed Day Dear.
It’s frustrating and pathetic… we live in a lost world and this is the sad result. I just try to remember that it is God that moves a heart to hear… and no person and certainly no broadcasting network can stop God if it is in His plan to move. Maybe all He is looking for in this case is just obedience from the people who made the video. Maybe, it’s also about the publicity it is getting by being rejected. It might not be on Superbowl Sunday TV, but it is being talked about 🙂 Not to fuel your flame my friend, but Have you seen this article with these ads… http://www.everydaychristian.com/blogs/post/proposed_super_bowl_ad_parish_uses_doritos_and_pepsi_for_communion/
It really is frustrating Heidi. We certainly don’t know the plan here, but we can absolutely pray for those who are lost and keep our eyes and hearts on Him.
And as for the other video, Oh. My. Goodness. I have a pretty good sense of humor, but this pushes WAY past the bounds of taste in my opinion. So sad…
Thank you for the comment, and have a Blessed Day!
Commercials in general are so offensive. I have a hard time with the fact that they can offend us, but we can’t offend them. Praying for all who watch the Super Bowl.
You know Jenifer, quite a few of them are these days. And yes, it does seem to be a double standard for some reason.
Take care, and Have a Blessed Day!
I can’t believe they found that commercial to be offensive. All it did was give the info, it’s up to people to look it up. Wow! What a fallen world we live in. It’s ok to show just about anything on tv, except scripture. How sad!
Exactly what I thought Lisa. The web site it shows to go to is just as basic : http://www.lookup316.com. Not only are they restricting talking about His Message of Hope, they’re stopping references to it altogether? In a country based on freedom of religion, this truly is a sad state of affairs.
Have a Blessed Day my friend!
That is a great commercial! I thought it was subtle but effective. I guess the days are just getting closer to Christ’s return! Praise the Lord!!
I thought it was as well, and I’m afraid you may be right. We need to keep our eyes on Him for Guidance in these troubled times.
Have a Blessed Day Kelli!