Christ and Culture and Dogs and Cats

Sam Hamstra | Jan 4, 2012

ASPCA Commercial Plays Silent NightThe American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) ran a commercial during our most recent Advent-Christmas season. It featured Sarah McLachlan, a pop vocal performer with several Grammy Awards on her shelf, discussing the unfortunate plight of abandoned dogs and cats. During the first half of the commercial viewers read a message on the screen and witnessed close-up photos of several dogs and cats whose eyes shouted "help me," (unlike the eyes of my American Eskimo, "C.J.", on the left.) During the last half of the commercial, McLachlan offered a nice invitation to support the work of the ASPCA. The interesting part of the commercial, that which prompts this blog, was the decision of the writer and producer to include McLachlan's beautiful rendition of "Silent Night, Holy Night."

Here's how it played out:

During the first half of the commercial, with our eyes we read these words "Every day thousands of dogs and cars are abandoned, left to suffer alone. Many abandoned animals will die waiting for someone to help." With our ears, we hear the words of a classic Christmas hymn: "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."

Then, in the second half of the commercial, we see McLachlan sitting on a sofa with a dog. We also listen to her message encouraging viewers to adopt an abandoned pet. But, simultaneously, we hear a recording of McLachlan singing these words: "Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!"

The most striking moment in the commercial, for me anyway, was toward the end when McLachlan's dialogue paused just long enough for the viewer to hear McLachlan's song. It went like this:

 "For just $18 a month, only 60 cents a day, you will help rescue animals who have been left to die." "Christ the Savior is born."

I don't know if you have seen the commercial. (If not, you can check it out here.) After I first witnessed it, I came away disappointed. I felt as though my faith was being disrespected and distorted by linking the birth of Jesus Christ my Savior to a marketing campaign to save abused dogs and cats. Days have passed but I still feel that the commercial caricatured Christianity by juxtaposing the message of the birth of the Savior to an invitation to become a savior of a dog or cat. Those familiar with the apostle Paul's teaching in Philippians 2:4-10 can drill a little deeper. The message of the birth of the Savior includes God the Father abandoning his Son who then suffers the cruelty of the cross. Now that message is linked to abandoned dogs and cats who die waiting for help.

Not wanting to be a prude, especially during the Christmas season, I sought and found something positive about the commercial. With the help of Vinny, a college student in the field of media, I was able to see and now applaud the creativity of the commercial's writer and producer for drawing on the sentimentality of the Christmas season to promote the cause of the ASPCA. They effectively linked a performance by McLachlan to a cause embraced by McLachlan and, in so doing, prompted warm feelings for the work of the ASPCA.

Having made that observation, I imagine some friends who view themselves as Kuyperians (folks who sing the praises of the Dutchman Abraham Kuyper and hang out at places like the Institute for Christian studies in Toronto or Calvin College in Grand Rapids) whispering in my ear telling me that the ASCPA has hit the nail on the head. I imagine that, in their estimation, the commercial may genuinely reflect a transformationalist view of Christ's relationship with culture. After all, Jesus Christ came to save the world—creation included; by saving a dog and cat we participate in the mission of Christ. Sounds right, doesn't it?

In spite of the acknowledgments that, artistically, the commercial has some creative merit and, theologically, it partially addresses a Christian's relationship with creation, I continue to wrestle with it. I do so, not simply because of its message, but because of what it may say about American culture. Could it be that this commercial illustrates a shift in society, one noted by Craig A. Carter in his Rethinking Christ and Culture: A Post-Christendom Perspective (Brazos Press, 2006), that we now "live in a society whose intellectual elites are united in their conviction" that Christianity must be banished from the public square, "except when it is trotted out as part of a civil religion designed to rally the citizens to war"—or, in this case, saving animals (19). Sure seems that way. If that be the case, then this commercial is but one more confirmation that Christ-followers in America live in a post-Christian culture. As such, it is good viewing for it provides a window into the society in which we now live and into the hearts of people we seek to reach with the Gospel message that "Christ the Savior is born. Christ the Savior is born."

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