The Jesus Beanies have arrived! What’s next?

The Jesus Beanies have arrived! What’s next?

“We hope Jesus Beanies and future introductions will become teaching
tools to guide young children and spur their interest in a better way of
interacting with others, a better way of seeing themselves, and in a
better way of life.”

Behind Jesus Beanies

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Christian or not, children can now choose their own favorite version of a
cuddly Jesus toy: a blue-eyes or a brown eyed Jesus Beanie. Both carry a
nice-sounding lesson: We should turn to Jesus “for love, comfort, security
and guidance, especially in those times when we feel lost or alone.”

But which “Jesus” will they actually turn to for comfort and guidance?
The Biblical Jesus whom they can neither see nor touch — or this soft,
huggable toy “that loves you back?” Or a blend of both: a imaginary God who
is soft, loving and non-judmental?

“The idea was born from watching our own children interact with Teddy
Bears and other stuffed animals,” the makers at CPR Marketing tell us. “So
we asked ourselves if there was a way we could transfer that young child’s
quest for comfort to a source they wouldn’t outgrow. This is why we
developed the Jesus Beanie.”[2]

Their goal sounds noble: “create a toy that would promote religious
development in our children, at an earlier age.”[2]
 In other words, CPR Marketing, a secular “privately-owned public
relations and marketing firm founded in 1996,” claims to know how to help
Christian parents instill faith in their children. How does such a plan line
up with
Psalm 1, which tells God’s people not to follow the counsel of
unbelievers?

Naturally, this marketing firm wants to reach beyond just Christian
parents and children. According to CPR’s list of suggestions, the
Jesus-figure can serve churches in a number of ways: as a Christmas
ornament, as a funeral or grave decoration, as a gift for special occasions
and as a statement of faith on an office desk.

It’s all part of CPR’s “sincere quest just to do good.”[1]

But what is “good” to the world may be bad in God’s eyes. Would God be
pleased with a toy that teaches his children to find comfort and guidance
through a man-made image of Jesus?  Might such a revered object be all too
similar to the idols forbidden by the second commandment?  Is not the very
name of this idol-like toy a mockery to our holy God? Might a stuffed figure
bearing the name of Jesus trivialize both the name and the glory of our
sovereign King?

Remember God’s warnings to His wayward Old Testament people who had
forgotten His Word and lost sight of His glory:

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness….
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!”  Isaiah 5:2-21

“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord
spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act
corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any
figure: the likeness of male or female….”  Deuteronomy 4:15-16

“You thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you.”
Psalm 50:21

In Old Testament days, God would
withdraw His loving care and protection from Israel when His people rejected
His laws and “walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil
hearts.” (Jeremiah 7:24)
Left to their own resources, they faced devastating droughts, famines, wars
and plagues.

Some might argue that the Jesus Beanie is good compared to the
overt evils in today’s world of popular toys and entertainment. But God
warns us not to compare good and evil on a relative scale. His guidelines
are absolute. And when we trivialize truth, neglect His Word and gradually
embrace the world’s ways, we too join the downward slide toward bondage.

“Christian” gadgets and spiritual toys have become big business for those
who would market the gospel to a hedonistic nation. Today’s quest for emotional
thrills, social unity and feel-good evangelism makes Christians especially
vulnerable to compromise. So do the apparent triumphs of Christian
marketing. For example, the rising sales of Mel Gibson’s licensed key
chains, pins, pewter nails and coffee mugs seem to demonstrate great
success![4]
So do the marketing strategies of big churches whose message is driven by
the “felt needs” of the unbelieving community.

And so do the Jesus Beanies. “In early 2003, we introduced the Jesus
Beanie at a Boston trade show called Congress 2003, a show dedicated to
reaching christian educators,” explains CPR Marketing. “Much to our
surprise, we were not only told we were the talk of the show, but we sold
out of our show stock supply. By April, we were just plain sold out. This
was assurance to us that we were on the right path.”[2]

In our times, there is no limit to what man will do to “help God out” and
to demonstrate earthly illusions of spiritual success. And so, a more recent
CPR report titled “The
Ten Commandments in a Cuddly Doll” has introduced a new beanie in its
religious line-up:  “The Moses Beanie: Give Me Ten!”

What will be next?

Endnotes:

1.

Behind Jesus Beanies
at
http://www.jesusbeanies.com/about-jesus.htm

2.

Jesus Beanies – The Toy that
Loves You Back at

http://www.jesusbeanies.com/index-jesus.htm

3. See “America’s Spiritual
Slide” at
http://www.crossroad.to/charts/SpiritualSlide.html

4.
William Neuman, “‘Jesus’
Nail Sale,” New York Post, February 19, 2004“Mel
Gibson’s Passion” at

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/04/passion.htm