Well, the fact is that Fox DID refuse air time to at least one sponsor. And here is the ad they censored.
The ad, by the way, was produced by Fixed Point Foundation. And it is a very effective one. Perhaps that's why Fox was so afraid of it. For even as the extremely understated Tim Tebow ad showed last year, the forces in the media who loathe Christianity and the ideals of the pro-life movement will do anything they can to make such innocent and wholesome messages seem like hate speech.
But, in this case, Fox caved in before any pressure was applied. Shame on them.
As the blog Brutally Honest concluded, "Apparently, Fox is concerned that Super Bowl viewers might be inspired to actually look up John 3:16. Which, in my mind, brings up the question of Mark 8:38. Maybe someone at Fox should look that one up too. (Hat tip: Blogs Lucianne Loves)
If you'd like to express your opinion to Fox about this matter (and I hope you will), please use this e-mail: askfox@fox.com. Below is the e-mail I sent:
Dear Fox,
With all the coarse, tasteless and offensive commercials you allowed to air during the Super Bowl, why on earth did you refuse the extremely understated and innocent John 3:16 spot? You certainly must realize this suggests a blatant lack of religious tolerance, not to mention some really distorted priorities.