So have you seen this guy?
The Jesus action figure. Hmmmmmmm......
I guess it's just hitting the market because I have never seen him before. And just in time for CHRISTmas! Apparently he quotes scripture, and is it me or does he look very much like Val Kilmer.
I am afraid that I am a little torn on this one. You can look at it from two different perspectives really.
1.) There are tons of negative influences on our children today. Violent video games, scantily clad fashion dolls, and some of these cartoons are just over the top . But here we have the Jesus action figure that spouts scripture and provides a positive alternative for that parent who is looking for just the right Christmas gift.
2.) Have we reduced our holy, sovereign Lord to the likes of a children's play toy? How is a world full of sin supposed to take Christianity seriously when we mass produce plastic saviours and slap 'em on the shelf between G.I. Joe and Barbie?
I may be opening a can of worms, but I am curious as to how the rest of you feel about this?
Talk to me........
7 comments:
Welcome back to cyberspace! I missed you!
I've been thinking a lot about that Jesus action figure since I read your Krusty Kamp link awhile back. (BTW, who IS that Krusty guy?)
Stuff like that offends me, but I don't know if it should or not! I just read a fascinating article called "The Importance of Knowing What's Unimportant" in my new Christianity Today magazine. It talked about Daniel.
How did Daniel decide not to eat the food of the culture he was in, yet he didn't complain about being totally indoctrinated in the culture's literature and language?
This author said that living as an exile (which we are), following Daniel's example, requires us to ask of every feature of our culture, "Is this important?"
Is it important to have good alternatives to bad toys? Should we be more concerned about possibly being sacrerilgious, which is a horrible thing, or about getting the message of Christ out there however we can?
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER! Gee, thanks for ruining my day! (Ha!)
Couldn't you stick to WEINIES?
I don't know who Krusty is really. I found him on Shaun Groves blog one day, and I kinda like his disturbed Christian perspective with a twist. And while weiners are fascinating, I prefer more thought provoking material! Glad to be back!
Well, yes, he does look surprisingly (?) a lot like Val Kilmer. Nice cheekbones! To be honest, I haven't given much thought to the action figures of the Bible ( you know there's a whole line of them...) that spout scripture. Knowing that in Jesus' temptation he used scripture against Jesus, it makes me wonder what scripture is said, if it can be taken out of context AND if it sets up these toys to be looked at as idols. Personally speaking, we don't do the violent toys. However, on the other hand, Barbies and Bratz dolls are on the shelves as well. I think this sort of thing (action figures) really reaches to the Christian who struggles with materialistic tendencies to HAVE EVERTHING and want to give it all to their children as well. For example, some parents may figure they are hearing the scripture from the action figure in their absence so why would they want to take the time to actually teach scripture themselves to their children when they are working hard to give their child everything and this 'substitute" (if you will) allows the parent to keep working and stop teaching.
I don't know. Just a thought and not a justification by any means - but a new idea that each toy we desire for our children needs to be wrought over with prayer and in the midst of all that, use teachable moments to determine and further define your own child's needs.
Daniel stood fast about the king's food because it was food that was sacrificed to idols. Being indoctrinated into Babylon's culture, language and literature didn't affect him as much because obviously he knew what to believe otherwise there would be no story about the lion's den.
PS - I love that picture of you on your profile!
This sounds bizarre, but it is directly from the Associated Press--
Two weeks ago, the Marine Reserves Toys for Tots program in Los Angeles overcame concerns about accepting a donation of 4,000 talking Jesus dolls that quote Bible verses by promising to make sure the dolls reach Christian children.
This was posted on Chuck Colson's website--
Ho, Ho, Horrible by Faith Brobst
Ho, ho, ho. A game for those on the "naughty" list? How about for those who are on your "unsaved" list?
The line has really been crossed, folks, with this new piece of entertainment.
"The critics describe it as 'a violent video game in which born-again Christians aim to convert or kill those who don't adhere to their extreme ideology.'" Great. Just great.
The best part is that after you kill people you get to recharge your soul points by bending down in prayer.
Ok, who was smoking what when this "great" idea was conceived? What do you guys think?
Post a Comment