A Jesus Doll for Christmas?

The Marine Reserve Toys for Tots program initially turned down an offer of 4,000 talking Jesus dolls from the manufacturer.

I understand the Marines’ logic since the toys could go to any needy child but it’s still hard to miss the irony of a decision that says that dolls of Jesus aren’t appropriate gifts at Christmas.

At least that was the initial decision. Now the Marines have decided to accept the 4,000 dolls and claim they have located appropriate places to donate them.

Well, that may be, but the fact that the toys needed special treatment sort of underscores the fact that maybe they weren’t a good idea to begin with doesn’t it? Now before everyone starts pointing out that Christmas is all about Jesus, allow me to point out that I covered that one last year here “Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?”

What most of us associate with Christmas, including the giving of gifts, is actually pagan in origin and was simply adapted by the early church for the new religion. That being the case, I don’t have a hard time associating the Toys for Tots program with the general holiday season rather than looking upon it as a Christmas specific thing.

I am uncomfortable whenever an agency associated with the government does anything that can be viewed as an endorsement of a particular religion or religion in general. If its Jesus dolls this year, what is it next year, video tapes of bible stories?

Yes this is the old slippery slope argument and I know full well that it is pure logical fallacy. Ignoring the slippery slope for the moment, there is still the concern that even the hint of government endorsement leads to two classes of citizens. There are the fully enfranchised citizens that are members of the endorsed group, and the second class citizens, that aren’t members of the endorsed group.

This was the division created by the Jim Crow laws in the past. This is the division created by Defense of Marriage Acts in the present. This is the division that too many evangelical Christian organizations advocate in defiance of the American tradition of the separation of church and state and the American principle of equal protection under the law.

Still, with that being said, I find it hard to justify not giving a toy to a child especially around Christmas.

I was on the company’s web site and they have five biblical dolls. For $20 you can choose from Jesus, Mary, Moses, David or Esther. The pitch is pure evangelical Protestant right down to Jesus mouthing John 3:3, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

So, according to the Jesus doll, if you’re not a “Born Again Christian” you’re going to hell. Will Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Greek Orthodox please form an orderly line by the down escalator? Non-Christians, please wait until the heretics are serviced.

I find it especially amusing that that the entire “Born Again” idea comes from a conversation that could only have been held in Greek because the play on words only works in Greek and not Aramaic, Hebrew or English. While it’s quite possible that Nicodemus spoke Greek, and not out of the realm of the reasonable that Jesus spoke Greek, it’s rather unlikely they would be talking privately in that language rather than Aramaic. In other words, I doubt that the conversation ever took place.

Anyway, I hope the kids enjoy the dolls.