Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Jesus Doll Rejected


Since we are getting closer to that time of year, I thought I'd share this article with you. As many of you might know, the Marines support a program called "Toys for Tots," which gathers and distributes toys for underprivileged children. The organization is not religious based.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - 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 manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.

But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.

Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.

As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."

Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.

Grein also questioned whether children would welcome a gift designed for religious instruction. "Kids want a gift for the holiday season that is fun," he said.

The program distributed 18 million stuffed animals, games, toy trucks and other gifts to children in 2005.
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Did the Marines make the right decision?

Publicado por courtney01 en 11:57 PM  

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2 comentarios:

eliza said...

I think so. As they said, they might be sending one to a Jewish or Muslim child. What if they were randomly sending out Mohammed dolls? That probably wouldn't go over well. However, my main beef with the dolls is that the whole concept is just tacky. "It has a $20 retail value." That pretty much says it all right there. The image of Jesus is not to be bought and sold like some regular toy.

11/15/2006 12:43 AM  
courtney01 said...

Update to this story:

The Toys for Tots organization has decided to go ahead and take the Jesus dolls after all.

Hmmm.

11/16/2006 1:23 AM  

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