A follow-up to my earlier posting.
Associated Press – November 17, 2006:
LOS ANGELES — The Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots program has decided to accept a donation of Bible-quoting Jesus dolls, reversing course after saying earlier this week that it couldn’t take them.
“The talking Jesus doll issue has been resolved,” the organization announced on its Web site Wednesday. “Toys for Tots has found appropriate places for these items. We have notified the donor of our willingness to handle this transaction.”
The short note on the Web site did not explain what it would do with the dolls.
“I second that!”
Me too, except for the part about J being more right than me! Boo! Hiss!
I think the kids should all get Swear Bears.
“Is there really any such thing as a “Christian” child?”
Sure. One only need be a follower of Christ and there’s no age limit on that.
“Or can we call these indocrinated children? At what point did the child apply reason and critical thinking to deep and profound theological questions?”
All children are indoctrinated to their parents’ belief systems.
“Did the child choose Christianity after extensive comparative research into the world’s many religious dogmas? Or, did the parent say “Jesus loves you.” and in the niave and gullible mind of a child who looks upon the parent with unblinking trust did the child add Jesus to the list of facts about the world they’ve learned since birth?”
Why is choosing after such an exhaustive compariative search necessary? If the parent believes in Jesus and Jesus does in fact love that child then why is accepting that naive or gullible?
#33 Scott
“All children are indoctrinated to their parents’ belief systems”
Not true both my parents were Jewish and I am agnostic and always have been. My parents were ok with that and always exposed me to as many religions as they could or of which they had knowledge.
#28 – Well, yes… If you think I’m argueing against the toy, then yes, my logic is flawed… And research does show that boys want guns and girls want dolls to a certain degree.
I’m asking about the belief itself. Thumper kids want Jesus Dolls, of course, because ThumperMom and ThumperDad drilled Thumpiness into their little empty heads.
Christians (the actively religious, I suppose) consider thier belief to be an act of faith, and they are secure in their personal relationship with the Lord. How can one take such faith seriously if it comes from those who have never allowed their faith to be challenged?
Yes… I’m drifting away from the topic… But it’s a related question I hope is worthy of some discussion.
#33 If the parent believes in Jesus and Jesus does in fact love that child then why is accepting that naive or gullible?
Leave aside for the moment that children are naive and gullible because they are children….
Jesus does not neccassarily “in fact” love that child. Jesus, if he existed (unlikely), is long dead. Obviously, that’s what I think…
You are operating from the position that Jesus not only exists, but despite everything we know about living organisms, is still aware and omniscient today and actually knows the hypothetical child and for whatever reason has some emotional attachment… despite having been executed about 2000 years ago… and that said attachment can somehow benefits the child.
You operate from this position in spite of there being not a single credible shred of credible evidence on this Earth, ever, that points to the existence of a supernatural entity of any kind, let alone a God who is all powerful and all knowing…
So… Why if the parent believes in Jesus and Jesus does in fact love that child then why is accepting that naive or gullible?
Because it isn’t true? Because it is better to be alone and afraid and right than comforted and secure and wrong? Or how about the one with the least biased judgement built in… Because faith, if it is to be credible, shouldn’t be that easy?
5. You remind me of a homeless guy walking down the street shaking his fist at the sky blathering about absolutely nothing. WTF was that about anyway?
I think we all can agree in one thing:
The earlier in ones life religion is introduced, the better chances for that person to be a believer later.
Let’s imagine, nobody ever hear of Jesus and the surrounding stories before they are, say., 20 years old. Imagine normally educated people hearing of christianity for the first time:
“You’re telling me what? A virgin? A zombie? She levitated into heaven? He did what? And this is written where? And that is HOW OLD? Written by whom? And you have no proof what so ever of this? Are you out of your freaking mind?”
Let’s face it. The kids need those dolls. Badly. And please hurry before they start thinking on their own and asking pesky questions.
#37, you mean he’s not a crazy homeless guy ranting about nonsense?! I’m confused!
#38, I think I lost the last of my faith when I realized the rotten truth. They told me our Lord in Heaven is our father and we are his children. Then they tell me that Jesus was his only son. So now, that he isn’t my father, that makes me, a, … sniff, …, sniff, … bastard !!!Or is that a son of a bastard?
#40
Yeah, same here. I always had problems with the holy threesome.
I also have problems understanding why Pilatus is so dissed. What’s up with that?
After all, he was the one making the bloody sacrifice possible, wasn’t he?
Without him, Jesus would probably still be alive and well. But on the other hand all the people would be a bunch of sinners.
Besides, God created Jesus with the crucification in mind, or?
This might sound disrespectful, but I assure you, the questions make sense to me.
Sanity Prevails??
I think that everyone realizes that Christmas has not been a strictly religous holiday for quite sometime.
Toys for Tots is about helping out poor kids who will return to school in January hearing “I got an Ipod!” or “I got a Sony PSP” from the other kids. I’m sure that a talking Jesus doll is actually worse than nothing in tis situation.