Exclusive: Hanne Nabintu Herland says spot failed to uphold Judeo-Christian ethics of tough love
By The legacy of the Judeo-Christian ethics of tough love is the only set of values in the West that have been able to unite us. We have not developed any other ethics that have been able to sustain core stability. These several thousand-years-old tough love rules abolishes egoism and sets clear boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice and the duties and corresponding rights of men. The distinctly Christian morality that denies man the right to selfishness has been central in developing personal responsibility, human rights, ideals of freedom and solidarity, which stem from a Christian pool of thought.
Yet, the current mainstream narrative pushes the very opposite: a Marxist relativism that makes it almost impossible to acknowledge objective truths. This was painstakingly illustrated in a recent Super Bowl Sunday ad, titled “Foot Washing,” subtly promoting the hedonist view. The ad focuses on setting aside differences by canceling the core Christian belief of tough truths as defined in the Bible, such as the difference between right and wrong. The idea is that Christians are to leave Christianity behind and join the contemporary lawlessness by taking on a slave-like attitude. In the Marxist Super Bowl ad, Christians were again reminded that “their sole function in life is to be doormats for all,” as bestselling author Raymond Ibrahim points out.
The advertisement corresponds with classical Marxist thinking, introducing lawlessness as the path to peace. The solution to society’s problems is the abolition of traditional law and order as we are all to be unified in a utopian classless, non-religious society, where everyone washes other people’s feet and no one talks about what is right and what is wrong anymore. The progressive vision shines through the blatantly blasphemous message, pushing for social change by abolishing the Christian definition of true love.
In accordance with Marxism, the idea is that liberal change is always for the better. It implies a belief in the inherent goodness of man as opposed to Christianity, which teaches that man’s soul is locked in the battle between good and evil. In the Christian view, man must fight the good fight and subdue evil within himself. In the nihilist world, mankind is to embrace all its lusts as it proves its ability to win the battle of history without God. Religion is the opium of the people, you see.
Reading what Jesus says in the New Testament section of the Bible is a very sharp lesson in tough love. Quite clearly he commands his followers to lay down their lives, do as he says and not call him “Lord” if they refuse to follow his commandments.(Luke 6:46 and James 1:42 as examples). It was precisely the distinction between right and wrong, the very effect of the Ten Commandments and strict normative rules on how we are to treat one another, that created the order, stability and prosperity that once made the West such a great civilization.