Another Super Bowl, another ad controversy
It's not the first time, but there has been another controversy surrounding the message of a Super Bowl ad. You may remember there was the tension over Focus on the Family running an ad featuring Tim Tebow a while back. Not too long after that, Birmingham-based Fixed Point Foundation had submitted a John 3:16 ad to be run during the big game - rejected!
This year, an organization called Faces of Choice wanted to run an ad featuring abortion survivors and contacted Fox, the network that is broadcasting this year's game. According to LifeSiteNews,
Faces of Choice, a new non-profit whose ad featuring 14 survivors of abortion was shown at the March for Life, say they have been “given the runaround” by the network for six months.
The ad, which features the faces and stories of abortion survivors, is designed to raise awareness of the survivors of abortion who all univocally make it clear that they are persons and not a "choice." Faces of Choice applied to run a 30-second version of the ad. The ad doesn’t mention abortion. Faces of Choice says it has been carefully produced so that it is appropriate for the Super Bowl audience.According to the article, the storyboard had been approved, but Fox's legal department kept asking questions. Apparently, the ad was never cleared.
Meanwhile, The Blaze reported about an ad that a number of viewers, especially Christian viewers, would find objectionable. It states...
...news broke that two former contestants from "RuPaul's Drag Race" would appear in a Super Bowl commercial this Sunday, marking the first time that drag queens are to be featured in an ad for the big game.
The same will apparently not be true for abortion survivors.The website reports that:
Bob Witeck, a marketing expert for LGBTQ audiences, said that the ad is "revolutionary."
“For queer audiences, [drag] is an art form and an 'outsiders' language," he explained.
“Reaching the Super Bowl means taking our language into every home in the nation and millions around the world."The Christian Post quoted Dr. James Dobson about the commercial, for Sabra hummus:
"So there you have it. Fox has said ‘yes’ to drag queens and ‘no’ to abortion survivors,” Evangelical leader James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement. “Celebrating sexual fantasy while denying the value of every life... could the soul of America be any more lost?”
Dobson accused Fox Sports of transforming the Super Bowl from a “family-friendly event into an opportunity to promote a gender ideology that goes against the most basic biological realities.”The article also related:
...a Fox spokesperson told The Washington Times in a statement that the network was "unable to accommodate" Faces of Choice and other advertisers because they “sold out at a record pace this year.”And, another ad sure to please the gay community is an Amazon Alexa ad that features talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her "partner," Portia de Rossi.
TN Governor signs new law protecting faith-based adoption agencies from being forced to violate convictions
A bill that would have protected the conscience rights of faith-based adoption agencies has now been signed into law in Tennessee by Gov. Bill Lee, according to FoxNews.com, which reported on January 26:
The governor of Tennessee signed a controversial law Friday that allows adoption agencies within the state to refuse to place children in homes that "violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies.”The article notes that: "This comes after the Trump administration proposed a new rule in November that would allow faith-based foster care and adoption agencies to continue receiving federal money even if they turn away same-sex couples on the basis of the agencies' religious beliefs."
The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, was widely condemned by members of the LGBTQ community for providing legal protections to agencies that reject foster care or adoption applications from same-sex homes. It also prohibits the state from denying agencies licenses or grants for public funding because they have a religious objection to placing a child in a certain home.
The Fox story relates that Governor Lee's spokesman, Gillum Ferguson, told the Tennessean newspaper, “The governor believes that protection of rights is important, especially religious liberty," adding, "This bill is centered around protecting the religious liberty of Tennesseans and that’s why he signed it.”
Anti-parental rights statement by government official challenged in Spain
Recently, I reported about a group of New Jersey parents who are protesting a mandate that so-called "LGBTQ history" be taught in schools there. Those protesting see it as a matter of parental rights.
There are evangelical Christians in Spain who have expressed concerns about an education official's comments demonstrating contempt for parental rights. The story, from ChristianNews.net, links to the website, EvangelicalFocus.com, which reports that...
...Education Minister Isabel Celáa said in a press conference that “no one should commit the mistake of thinking that children belong to their parents”.The article goes on to say that:
In the first public appearance after the conformation of the new government, Social Democrat Celáa announced that the central Spanish government would bring the Region of Murcia (South-east Spain) to the courts after its regional government allowed parents to decide whether their children would attend talks and other special activities which could collide with their moral and ethical views.According to the story, these "classes include sex education and workshops on LGBT issues given by external speakers." Shortly after Celáa's comments, the "Equality Minister," Irene Montero, described the actions in Murcia as “censorship and sexism.”
Three evangelical organizations responded:
The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) denounced that “a code of values charged with ideology is being imposed on our children, which presents ideological dogmas as if they were absolute truths, creating a kind of ‘lay religion’”.The article goes on to say that:
Meanwhile, the Evangelical Council of the Region of Murcia, also expressed its “deep concern and disagreement” with Celáa’s words. The evangelical body in that region underlined that “parents have the right to educate children according to their ethical and moral convictions, this being a Constitutional right, which cannot be subject to changing policies or ideological proposals”.
Finally, the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE), called to end what they believe to be “a false debate” because “it hurts us all, especially the children”.
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