Posted on 11/14/2006 9:39:29 PM PST by BurbankKarl
A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program. A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season.
The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls based on Biblical figures and manufactured by one-2-believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company.
The charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature. Vice President Bill Grein of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation says toys are donated to kids based on financial need and the charity knows nothing about the children's backgrounds of religious affiliations.
Grein says, "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."
won't=want
What's not unreasonable about this decision? If they were passing out Moohamnut dolls would the Christians object?
The group should give the dolls to the Salvation Army or other religious charitable organization.
The US Marine Corps is "apolitical" and "religious neutral" and cannot accept these gifts for distribution......
Please....this isn't PC, it's common sense.....Don't turn this into something it is not....
I'm sure that homicide bomber Barbi & Ken dolls would be acceptable though.
This was already settled in case you didn't hear... TFT is going to pass them along to the kids who will definitely want them.
Perhaps, but I don't consider the words of the Bible to be something to be ashamed of.
I'm an eeeeeevangelical Christian (that's like an eeeeevil Republican), and I'm sorry, I find the idea of a talking Jesus doll pretty ridiculous. To give one as a gift to a non-believer is ludicrous. In fact it's blasphemous - "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." - Ex 20:4
Very ineffective and counter-productive ministry tool. It will only serve to alienate and infuriate non-believers.
Sorry - that's how I feel.
Bah Humbug to ToT. There is no Christmas without Christ.
Perhaps you should learn humility....
Your statement smacks of self righteous arrogance....
So the dolls were intended to be worshiped?
I'll side with the Marines on this one. It's a waste if it goes to the wrong home. It's like giving Roseanne Bahr the wrong batteries for her vibrator, you don't get credit for the gift.
No, Padre doesn't need to learn humility. No one should be humble regarding the supremacy of the Christian faith.
It seems a bit idolatrous, Christ isn't an action figure.
I guess I'm in the minority, here, but, gee whiz, I'm just a little squeamish about marketing a Jesus action figure...
Christ was.....
Yeah, wouldn't want to offend all those muslims who celebrate Christmas. According to Ask The Imam, muslims should not even celebrate Thanksgiving.
The bigger outrage were the "action figures" meant to mock Jesus and Christians. Plenty of name stores stocked those.
I think there are better ways to be observant and instructional but there isn't much difference between a sculpted figure (that recites Biblical verse) and a crucifix.
The Marine Corp didn't state the doll was offense, just inaapropriate for their stated mission to distribute toys to all types of households......
If they accepted this doll, would Mohammed dolls be next?
I think this is a little bit of "We can't sell it so let's give it to poor kids". My kids would not play with a doll like this and we are very comfortable in our Chritianity, so why would poor kids? But that issue aside, I think the Marines are right, we ready for all the poor kids to get a talking Buddah?
Who said that the intended recipients were unbelievers?
Turning Christmas into a Jewish and Muslim holiday is questionable.
And I see nothing holy about Ramadan considering muslims see it as a time to wage jihad.
I can respect their right to freedom of religion but I don't have to celebrate or treat their holidays as sacred.
Pandering for profit would be my description...
I don't know. I just imagine my four-year old son playing through some "Power Rangers, Darth Vader, and Jesus" scenario, with all kinds of sacrilege developing on my livingroom floor...
Toys that they are handing out for Christmas? And they don't like it's religious nature?
You wrote, "This is ridiculous. PC on Patrol!"
It is just good sense, not PC run amok. As someone else pointed out, Jewish families, for example, wouldn't want a battery-powered Jesus.
For that matter, I'm a Christian, and I wouldn't want a battery-powered Jesus around the house, either. The concept unsettles me: the Son of Man as talking doll.
I have to agree with the Marines on this one. The dolls can be given out through churches as part of Adopt a Family or Angel Tree.
The idea of a Jesus talking action figure is quite unsettling on its face. I don't think I would give one to my kids.
Christians should not push the Marines too far on this one because the Toys for Tots program has been an institution that has brought joy to countless children over the years, and a closely protected tradition for the Marines who have served in the program (I helped out the years that I was in JROTC). Do you want the liberals to start taking an interest in the program? It would be like pulling down the Soledad cross. You can hear them now, "Marines are supporting Christianity against the first amendment."
(note the c*** ring Mattel gave him)
Is it better to have "the State" celebrating (or mocking) Christmas by erecting a tree in the White House decorated with condoms and syringes?
But think of the accessories.....
swords for beheading infidels...
whips to beat your wives (Barbie harem girl not included)
Extra goats to...(well never mind)
If someone was going to hand out gifts in celebration of Ramadan, I wouldn't expect Christian toys. So if they handed out Moohamnut prophet dolls, well that's the chance somebody'd be taking if they were accepting muzzie holiday gifts.
BTW, I do think the Bible-quoting action figure Jesus is pretty tacky and serious as we are about our faith, I wouldn't buy one for my kids either. If anyone wants to hear Bible verses, you can memorize your own or buy some of the many kids CD's out there just for that purpose.
"We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."
Yes, why do we keep insisting on dragging Christ into Christmas? Just whose birthday are we celebrating anyway, Christ's or Allah's??? We wish you a merry Allahmas, dang it! How dare the poorest and neediest children be given Christian-themed gifts at Christmas time! Better that they get nothing!!!
Puke. It's an irreverant toy, to be sure, but give me a break!!! Is anyone concerned I might be offended at having a holiday on MLK's birthday because I'm not black? Certainly not. They "take a chance" that I'll be glad to have a day off, whatever my sense of personal connection to him. I couldn't possibly have the same appreciation for MLK that a black person might have, but I'm certainly not going to raise a stink about getting a holiday in his honor. I just shut up and enjoy my day. Shame on TFT for worrying that a few people might be upset about receiving CHRISTmas gifts. Rather than bury their heads in the sand and pretend Christmas is about anything but Christ, let them start Hanukkah and Ramadan toy drives if they're so concerned.
Err..Ahh 'nuff said about the goats.....:)
"If they accepted this doll, would Mohammed dolls be next?"
Not bloody likely, as Muhammad has zero to do with Christmas. But maybe they'll hand out Valentines on Groundhog Day.
Give me a small break.
you may forget why most of America sings Joy to the World and Away in the Manger during December, but I don't.
The entire holiday as about the birth of Christ, but He is inappropriate?
ON THE NET...
A CHRISTmas Celebration
http://www.truthusa.com/CHRISTmas.html
http://www.ilovejesus.com/myhome/cindy/index.html
"Messengers Of Faith" have them for sale on their website.
Further, its timing was a co-opting of pagan rituals to make Christianity more appealing, not unlike the timing of Easter.
The dolls use a non-traditional translation as well.
As a Christian, I find these dolls to be a mockery and very offensive. I know most people would think that it's going to offend Mooslims and Jews etc., it offends me more.
LOL!!
Are the gifts being given to kids in conjunction with celebrating Christmas or not?
Don't get silly.
This is the reason for the event. You may think Christmas is commercial and non-religious. That does not make it true. It is a religious Holiday.
your pagan revelations of the time Christmas is old news. this does not change the Reason Christians celebrate Christmas.
It is like banning flags on June 14th.
I agree!
Agree.
When?
When he shamed the Pharisees with their own word games?
When he drove the money changers from the temple?
When he said "No man comes to the Father except by me?
Yaroslav Hasek ["Brave soldier Sveik"] had a story about another religious statue of St. Jan Nepomuk. A soldier who had that statue, had [he believed because of it] a tremendous run of luck at cards. But once his luck ran out, and he lost everything. The next morning, when the battalion was marching further, the statue of St. Jan was hanging in a noose from a tree.
Uh, Jews and muslimes don't celebrate Christmas. What's the problem with this idiot?
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