"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word."
— 1 Kings 18:21 (ESV)
The NFL made its choice on February 8, 2026. In front of 128.2 million viewers—millions of them Christian families gathered to watch what was once America's shared cultural moment—the league served up a pornographic spectacle delivered almost entirely in Spanish, featuring an artist most American families had never heard of, celebrating values antithetical to Scripture, and designed to make Christians feel like strangers in their own land.
This wasn't a halftime show. It was a middle finger to Christian America.
What followed wasn't merely disappointing entertainment or a questionable artistic choice. It was a declaration: The institutions that once at least pretended to honor the God of Scripture and Family values have abandoned even that pretense. The Super Bowl, the closest thing secular America has to a ‘holy’ day, became a liturgy of rebellion, a corporate altar call to Baal dressed up as "inclusivity" and "global reach."
And the worst part? Millions of professing Christians sat through it, complained on social media, and will be back next year. The prophets of Baal are laughing.
Let's establish the facts before dealing with what they mean. Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist with 90.5 million Spotify listeners globally, performed at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. The NFL brass congratulated themselves on their "bold choice" and "global vision." Media outlets like The Washington Post had the audacity to claim the show had "wholesome, traditional family values that would have fit right in with some of the more sentimental commercials."
That's a lie.
The performance featured sexually explicit choreography that would make a strip club blush. It celebrated unbridled lust, mocked the biblical mandate that sexual expression belongs exclusively within the covenant of marriage (Genesis 2:24, Hebrews 13:4), and was delivered in a language that excluded the overwhelming majority of the American audience.
According to Nielsen data, Bad Bunny drew 128.2 million viewers—impressive, but notably short of the records set by Kendrick Lamar in 2025 (133.5 million) and Michael Jackson in 1993 (133.4 million). So much for the "most-watched halftime show in history" narrative circulating on social media. Even by the NFL's own crass metric of viewership maximization, this was a failure.
But the numbers tell only part of the story. An anonymous survey of NFL players by The Athletic revealed that 41.4% of players opposed the selection of Bad Bunny, with most citing unfamiliarity with the artist. Think about that: The men who just finished playing the game—the actual reason 128 million people tuned in—didn't even know who was performing.
ESPN put it well: "When even the players on the field don't know who's performing at halftime, something fundamental has shifted about who these performances are meant to serve."
President Trump, to his credit, refused to mince words. In a Truth Social post, he wrote:
Trump gets pilloried by the evangelical establishment for being "mean" or "undignified." But here's what he understands that most pastors don't: This was a slap in the face. The NFL chose shock value, global market expansion, and the approval of coastal elites over the families of America who made the Super Bowl what it is. And Trump had the spine to say so.
If the halftime show itself wasn't insulting enough, what came after revealed the depth of deception the cultural left will employ to manipulate public sentiment.
During the performance, Bad Bunny handed a Grammy award to a five-year-old child. Within minutes, social media erupted with claims that the child was Liam Conejo Ramos, a boy recently detained by ICE in Minneapolis during immigration enforcement actions. Journalist Mariana Atencio, posting from her verified account, amplified the narrative. Other media figures followed suit. The implication was clear: Bad Bunny was making a bold political statement against Trump's immigration policies by elevating this detained child on America's biggest stage.
It was all a lie.
According to ABC News and CBS News, the child was actually Lincoln Fox Ramadan, a child actor from Costa Mesa, California, hired through standard entertainment industry casting. The truth only emerged after the young actor's Instagram account posted videos and photos from the performance, forcing countless influencers and anti-ICE propagandists to quietly delete their posts in embarrassment.
This wasn't an innocent mistake. This was coordinated propaganda. The anti-ICE, open-borders Left saw an opportunity and manufactured a narrative out of whole cloth. And it worked—for hours, millions of Americans believed the lie. Even after the truth came out, how many people saw the correction? How many still believe it?
This is the media environment Christians live in. Lies travel halfway around the world before truth gets its boots on. And the people spreading these lies face zero consequences because the institutions that should hold them accountable are on their side.
While the NFL celebrated rebellion at Levi's Stadium, Turning Point USA offered something radically different: the All-American Halftime Show, featuring Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.
The contrast wasn't just aesthetic; it was theological.
Kid Rock opened with "Bawitdaba," his 1999 hit known for explicit content and celebration of the party lifestyle. He performed under his stage name with all the brash energy that made him famous in the music industry. But the, when he returned to the stage for His closing number he was introduced by his birth name, Robert Ritchie, and performed an acoustic cover of Cody Johnson's "'Til You Can't"—a song about cherishing time with loved ones before it's too late. Then, as documented by ChurchLeaders and multiple other outlets, Kid Rock told viewers they could give their lives to Jesus and receive a second chance. Behind him, the screen displayed photos of the late TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk and his widow, followed by Isaiah 6:8.
This wasn't a perfect performance by a perfect man by any means. Kid Rock's past is exactly what we've come to expect from a rock star.
But that was the point.
The TPUSA event told a story the NFL's show could never tell: the story of redemption. It acknowledged sin, demonstrated transformation, and pointed people to the only One who can actually save them.
The official halftime show celebrated vulgarity and self-expression without the slightest hint of moral compass anywhere in site. It portrayed an overwhelming show of depravity. The TPUSA alternative showed what Christians should have been demanding from the NFL all along; entertainment that acknowledges the family.
Yes, the TPUSA event drew far fewer viewers—approximately 6.1 million concurrent on YouTube at its peak, with total viewership across platforms estimated between 5-20 million according to Rolling Stone. But here's the question Christians need to ask: Would you rather have 128 million people watch pornography, or 6 million watch the gospel proclaimed?
Here's where we need to get honest, because the Super Bowl halftime show isn't really the problem. It's a symptom.
The real issue is this: Millions of Christians will watch the 2027 Super Bowl.
They'll complain about the halftime show. They'll post memes. They'll share articles like this one. And then they'll tune in again next year, put money in the NFL's pocket through viewership and advertising revenue, and teach their children that this is just how things are now.
This is the Babylonian captivity of American Christianity. We know we're in exile. We know the culture is hostile to Christ. We know the institutions mock everything we believe. And we keep showing up, keep consuming, keep hoping that somehow our continued patronage will earn us a seat at the table.
It won't.
The NFL made a business calculation. They looked at demographic trends, streaming data, and global market opportunities, and decided that chasing international audiences and Gen Z viewers was worth alienating their traditional Christian base. Why? Because they know Christians will complain but still watch. They know we'll huff and puff on social media but never actually do anything.
And they're right.
Entertainment is never just entertainment. Entertainment is liturgy. It's catechesis. It shapes what we love, what we long for, what we consider normal, acceptable, and beautiful.
Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." This isn't a suggestion for personal quiet time with a matcha and color coded notes. This is a command about what we allow to shape our minds and affections.
When we expose ourselves and our children to entertainment that celebrates sexual immorality, that revels in rebellion against God's design, that treats covenant faithfulness as boring and lust as liberation; we are catechizing ourselves and our kids into a worldview that stands opposed to Scripture.
And it works. We know it works because we see the fruit. Christian teenagers who grow up consuming the same entertainment as their secular peers adopt the same sexual ethics. Christian parents who watch the same shows and sports as the world start thinking like the world. The line between "engaging culture" and "being conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2) gets blurrier every year.
The Super Bowl halftime show matters because it revealed how far American entertainment has drifted from anything resembling biblical standards or just basic wholesome family values. And it reveals how comfortable Christians have become with that drift. You cannot serve God and consume Baal's liturgy. You cannot worship Christ on Sunday and watch pornographic choreography on Super Bowl Sunday and expect your children to discern the difference.
Elijah stood on Mount Carmel and gave Israel a choice: "How long will you go limping between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." The people didn't answer.
The silence, the refusal to choose, is the defining characteristic of American Christianity today. We know the NFL serves Baal. We know the entertainment industry celebrates everything God hates. We know our continued participation in these systems is forming our children into pagans.
And we don't answer.
The 2026 Super Bowl halftime show wasn't the problem. Our response—or lack thereof—is the problem. The NFL will keep producing these spectacles because Christians keep watching. The culture will keep degrading because Christians keep consuming. And our children will keep abandoning the faith because we taught them that faithfulness means complaining online while still participating in the very systems we claim to oppose.
Elijah didn't ask Israel to complain about the prophets of Baal. He didn't ask them to post their concerns on the Phoenician TikTok. He called down fire from heaven, slaughtered the false prophets, and called the nation to repentance.
We can't call down fire. But we can stop bowing the knee. We can build alternatives. We can raise children who love what God loves and hate what God hates. We can be faithful in a Babylon that grows darker by the day.
The question is; Will we?
Or will we sit down, turn on the game, and wait to see what degradation the 2027 halftime show brings?
The prophets of Baal are waiting for your answer.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
— Romans 12:2 (ESV)
