Hmmm … not certain what I think about that.
This just in … my e-mail box from LightHusband:
Talking Jesus Doll Stirs Debate … yes … that’s what it is … a talking Jesus action figure. He quotes Bible verses and tells the story of the loaves and fishes. There’s a lot of concern spouted about how children will become desensitized to these … perhaps even mix and match his robes for Bratz clothing.
My concern is not so much for that, Jesus can wear any clothes the kids want and well, He’ll still just be a plastic action figure. I have a larger concern. This doll is, you got it … Made In China.
Does anyone else catch the irony? An action figure which is arguably an icon of religious freedom being manufactured in one of the least free nations on earth. By people who would be put to death if they worshipped Him. That’s beyond ironic and moving toward cruel.
I don’t even want to get into the whichever commandment … Thou shalt not make any graven images. We broke that one a long, long time ago.
I have a real problem with a Jesus doll being made by slaves, sold by a company (Wal-Mart) which condones slave like conditions in its stores … Jesus was about justice, mercy and freedom. He explicitly said in Luke 4, “I have come to set the captives free.” There is no captivity like economic slavery (read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck sometime if you doubt me). There is no hope, no light and no freedom there; the bondage is eternal. So manufacturing and selling a Jesus action figure in that environment … well, it just makes my skin crawl.
How much is the salvation of little Western souls worth? Apparently more than the lives of Chinese men and women.