Posted on 05/29/2012 7:55:04 AM PDT by Gamecock
Full Title: Did Veggie Tales prove that you can teach kids to behave Christianly without teaching them Christianity?
A very interesting article here. Remember those veggies that sung like helium intoxicated chip munks and told stories from the bible almost similar to bible stories? Now there seems to be a hint of regret. You see…
VeggieTales “convinced kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity.” So says founder Phil Vischer in a new interview.
VeggieTales was a rags-to-riches entrepreneurial success story. Vischer and his counterpart, Mike Nawrocki, left college to pursue their dream of making wildly creative children’s videos. At the height of their success in the late 1990s, VeggieTales videos sold 7 million copies in a single year and generated $40 million in revenue. Though primarily aimed at a Christian market, VeggieTales had a broader cultural influence, pushing forward the boundaries of computer animation and children’s programming
But success brought failure. Though Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber are still around, they aren’t the same. Big Idea Productions went bankrupt in 2003 and Vischer lost ownership and creative control of the whole enterprise. VeggieTales is no longer VeggieTales. The characters still exist – and in some cases are even voiced by Nawrocki and Vischer as hired talent – but the decisions are now made by studio execs who don’t share the vision or worldview of the original founders.
In a recent issue of WORLD magazine, Vischer acknowledged to interviewer Megan Basham that the bankruptcy and subsequent trials have given him perspective. His words reveal a man who’s beginning to see the difference between moralism and the gospel. And a man humble enough to acknowledge his role in confusing the two:
I looked back at the previous 10 years and realized I had spent 10 years trying to convince kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity. And that was a pretty serious conviction. You can say, ‘Hey kids, be more forgiving because the Bible says so,’ or, ‘Hey kids, be more kind because the Bible says so!’ But that isn’t Christianity, it’s morality.
American Christian[s]… are drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It’s the Oprah god… We’ve completely taken this Disney notion of ‘when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true’ and melded that with faith and come up with something completely different. There’s something wrong in a culture that preaches nothing is more sacred than your dream. I mean, we walk away from marriages to follow our dreams. We abandon children to follow our dreams. We hurt people in the name of our dreams, which as a Christian is just preposterous.
["It's Not About the Dream," WORLD magazine, Sep 24, 2011, 57-58]
I’ve been strongly critical of the Christian subculture over the years because I believe it does more to distort and discredit the gospel than almost any external threat or influence. It’s good to see one of the former saints of that subculture putting his finger on the same weaknesses. It’s even better to see “gospel awakening” in a man with such deep wells of creativity and talent.
And now, it’s that time for Silly Songs with Larry.
I waited anxiously with baited breath for Mr. Asparagus to explain the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation but came away disappointed.
Bear with me for a short story.
When I was in fourth grade I had the Worst Math Teacher Ever. She was a former romantic rival of my mom and apparently still had some jealous rage to work through. I was singled out for mountains of "remedial" homework, had virtually every assignmet, quiz and test marked down for trivialiites and had to give up afternoon recess for an insultingly simple "Math Lab" with a group of second-graders. If I made even a peep of protest a letter or reprimand would be sent to my parents. I collected enough of those to merit a suspension, but the principal (a decent chap who understood what was gong on) never acted on it. By the end of the year I was absolutley hating math. I spent the next eight years avoiding it, shuffling through unavoidable credit courses with a D-Minus average and taking the easiest shlock electives I could when the option became available. I swore that I would never, ever, do math again.
The problem was, I wanted to be an engineer. You can't do any sort of engineering without higher math, and I found myself needing to learn it anyway, often secretly after having represented myself as proficient in order to get hired for a job. To my surprise, I enjoyed learning and applying math. It wasn't at all the horrid drudgery that I rememebered from childhood-it was a powerful tool to accomplish things that would otherwise have been impossible. Math was never the problem. My fourth-grade teacher was the problem, and after she was gone I was the problem.
There are rotten teachers and rotten schools. And there are rotten parents and rotten churches. It doesn't make the message untrue.
Would you really want the Death and Resurrection of Christ to get the typical Veggie-Tales treatment?
I assumed that the guys behind Veggie-Tales knew what they could and couldn't safely and reverently approach with the "talking & singing vegetables" shtick. My first real exposure to Veggie-Tales was through their Jonah movie a few years back, and I was agreeably surprised and actually a little impressed with how well they pulled it off--but under no conceivable circumstances could I imagine their dealing with the story of Christ without its being cringe-worthily irreverent and actually somewhat offensive--not that the creators of the Veggies would have intended it to be so; but there are just some stories that can't handle a bright-and-happy musical comedy treatment, among which that one is numero uno.
No, I think it’s definitely a pretty heavy topic for something like Veggie Tales, and I don’t begrudge the creators for not approaching it.
I’m merely taking issue with the idea that teaching Bible stories is equal to teaching Christianity. There are some pretty fine differences, but it’s still an important thing to do for kids, and Veggie Tales succeeds admirably.
Sorry could not resist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHr7gluh08
I agree that Veggie Tales are basically lessons in good morality, and I think that’s okay. It’s cute entertainment that they enjoy and I don’t mind in reasonable amounts. Since I want my sons to know the Bible and hear sound Christian doctrine, I teach them from the Bible myself and make sure their Sunday school lessons are scripturally sound as well. Most Christian parents that I know do the same.
We seem to agree. Christianity is not the Puritan fear that somebody, somewhere, might be having fun, but neither is it just a happy story with a cartoon ending. God does ask more of us than that we just do what we feel like, but He wants us to enjoy following his will and to have fun doing so.
We’re the pirates who don’t do anything,
We just stay at home and lie around...
I love Veggie Tales. Is it all encompassingly Christian? No. But it is a GOOD start to talk to your kids, or in my case, my grandson, Calvin. Him seeing something on screen and then inserting the gospel as we talk has been a very good method of presenting Christ.
Is it Christianity? No.
Is it Christianity lite? Maybe.
Is it better than 99% of the other garbage on the screen dedicated to turning your little ones skulls into mush? Yes.
I’m merely taking issue with the idea that teaching Bible stories is equal to teaching Christianity. There are some pretty fine differences, but it’s still an important thing to do for kids, and Veggie Tales succeeds admirably.
I agree completely. I regard the Veggie Tales as what some people have called a proto-evangelium--that is, a sort of introduction to or a precursor of the Gospel, providing a moral and conceptual context in which the Gospel, once presented, can make some sense, and within which one can make an appropriate response.
The Veggie Tales provide the same sort of general service that Sunday schools and Bible Schools used to provide, before they became outlets for social engineering and political re-education--that is,they tell Bible Stories, which most kids enjoy hearing because they're often just cool stories--and learning some Biblical concepts of values like good and evil and and mercy and justice can't hurt--and can throw what Christ has to say about these things into sharper relief.
I have no problem with what the Veggie Tales guys are trying to do, and applaud them for what I assume is their good sense in avoiding presenting Jesus directly in their shows, or cartoons, or whatever one might call them. There are some things that simply should not be attempted, and they seem to know this. I haven't seen this "Easter Carol" segment that some other poster has written about, and can only hope that they haven't crossed that line.
I love my lipth!
I watched it a couple of times and then told my kids I would get them some better videos. It didn’t meet my standards.
OOPS,
I watched it a couple of times and then told my grand-kids I would get them some better videos. It didn’t meet my standards.
Sounds like the original creators got to see that first hand.
My thoughts: parents must impart Christianity and Christian values to their children by teaching, loving, modeling Christ in the home and discipline. The Holy Spirit must also work. Veggie Tales is entertainment. Any parent expecting anything more is, well....
I prefer a couple of better Christian cartoons which actually teach the Bible/Gospel and salvation:
“Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible” and “The Adventures of Donkey Ollie” as well as “Monster Sunday School”, “The Gospel Bill Show” and a few others..
The person who wrote this needs to use their time more wisely. You get the most worthless post of the week award.
Actually, Puritans did NOT believe having fun was a bad thing. Not at all. They have just been painted with a false brush by those who were not believers and others just assume what they hear is true.
And that is of course correct.
I think the deeper point that the author makes is in America there is a lack of a true understanding of what Christ did for us.
Can Veggie Tales be useful? Sure.
Is it?
I'll bet there are tons of teens and 20 somethings whose sole knowledge of Scripture is based on Veggie Tales.
And I'm still waiting for my water buffalo.
“By Grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourself it is a gift of God”. This and John 3:16 are the heart of the gospel. You understand your sin and His Grace. You either get it or don’t.
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