Posted on 11/14/2006 11:13:58 AM PST by Tulsa Ramjet
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program.
A Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the 1 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, Virginia.
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."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
"If Toys for Tots is collecting toys for Christmas I don't understand the problem."
Right. If they collect for Kwanzai, they can pass out little Malcom X's. The little bow tie is an actual clip-on.
I guarantee you, this will become a HUGE story over the next couple of weeks
Of course it's an American holiday. All Americans celebrate it. It's a national holiday, recognized by the government. What's so hard to understand?
Thanks for thinking of me... :-)
I used to celebrate Christmas, but stopped about 5 years ago....
The Top 10 Reasons I Don't Celebrate Christmas
That being said, imagine if some Muslim group wanted to include Ayatollah dolls that spouted phrases such as "Death to America"!
A Jesus Doll? Is this a spin off of the Dogma Buddy Christ or something?
I see massive overreaction on this thread.
Interesting stuff and I mostly agree with you, but I don't see a reason not to celebrate Christmas as both a pagan and Christian holiday. It's like any other holiday these days - it's a national party - with specific themes invoked. One of them is Christ's birth. Another is Santa Claus. And so on. It's an accumulation of traditions over hundreds of years, so I just look at it as that.
Next issue!
I'd rather get backed up by an agnostic Marine than a conceited holy-roller any day.
"the conditions surrounding His birth in a stable in Bethlehem, the heavenly choir's performance for the shepherds in the fields outside the town. But nowhere in the Bible is there any record of anyone observing Christmas or any hint that God the Father or Jesus Christ expects us to do so."
What do you think the shepherds were there for at his manger? Free lambchops? It was a celebration. No doubt it has gotten out of control commercially. I HATE having to stand in line for BlockBusters sales after Thanksgiving.
The doll seems kind of tacky.
I vote for the GWB flight suit doll.
I prefer large print Bibles as armor, preferably the wordier versions.
Toys for Tots has a website and an Email address. Write to them and tell them what you think of this.
For me, the issue is more: "Did they do this for attention or was it a sincere gift?"
The answer makes all the difference.
You are a scholar on ALL of the "Conspiracy Theories," aren't you? LOL!
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