Why Jimmy Kimmel’s Jokes About Christian Super Bowl Ads Are Weak And Ignorant

“Where did Jesus get the $7 million for a Super Bowl commercial? Did he turn water into money []?” asked late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel while attempting to lampoon Super Bowl advertisements for the Catholic prayer app Hallow and nondenominational “He Gets Us” campaign.

The comedian went on to poke fun at Hallow’s Lent-focused collaboration with Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg by saying, “If I sign up for the app, will [Wahlberg] know I skipped Ash Wednesday? If I don’t come back with a Marky Mark on my forehead, will he rat me out to God?”

Bland jokes aside, the nominally Catholic comedian’s monologue reiterates the culture’s everpresent anti-Christian bias.

Unless it bends over backward to accommodate the whims of the era, Christianity is ruthlessly denigrated. Every major cultural institution treats it with disdain and disgust, and viewing it as a threat to its legitimacy, the federal government weaponizes itself against believers.

But even if we set aside theology and logical proofs of God’s existence, Christianity is overwhelmingly a positive influence in the world and the lives of its practitioners. We could measure its effect in terms of civilizations, hospitals, and schools built in its name, or we could just look at how it improves the lives of its adherents.

Children raised in devout households don’t just pray and attend church more often than their peers; evidence suggests they also perform better in school and “complete more college education,” thus