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The God of Warm Fuzzies

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(Originally inspired by a link mentioned by Josh Sargent)


Image from Jesus Beanie

Originally posted by Joi in The Door Magazine Chat Closet

ARGH!!!!!!

First of all, don't you think Jesus might give more than 25% to charities?

Secondly, isn't this perilously close to idolatry, at least for a lot of people?

"Jesus Beanies are developed and distributed with the hope of creating a toy that will have greater meaning in a young child’s life."

Oh, so your child gets his meaning in life FROM AN 8 DOLLAR TOY???????
Holy schamoley, what kind of parents are these?

"The idea was born from watching our own children interact with Teddy Bears and other stuffed animals. 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."

Ah, so Jesus is on par with teddy bears now, eh? And they're not going to outgrow this?
That's a scary thought. I can just see pastors twenty years from now being unable to preach a sermon without their tattered old Jesus Beanie on the pulpit in front of them.

"In addition to being great friends and warm comfort to our children, Jesus Beanies also have other beneficial applications."

Ah, so instead of salvation and freedom we get friendship and warm comfort.
The God of Warm Fuzzies.

"Though the creativity of our customers has been endless, here are some uses that we’ve already heard about since our introduction in December 2001:
• Fundraisers for Churches and other Religious Causes;"

Ah, so now we can sell Jesus! Keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-released Christ-in-a-Can! Be sure to get this season's colors!

"• Teaching tools for Sunday School and related Bible Educational Programs;"

So, we can't teach them about the real, rather controversial Jesus, just the nice comfortable stuffed toy version. Just what we need for raising a generation of even wimpier Christians.

"• Christmas Ornaments as Reminder of the True Meaning;"

Uh.....so you're BUYING a Jesus doll to remind you that the season's not about buying
things? Yeah, THAT makes sense....

"• Car Back Window and Motorcycle Displays of our Faith;"

Ah yes, the old "God is my co-pilot" sort of thing.

"• And of course Gifts for Birthdays, First Communion and other Special Occasions."

Ah, now we start handing Jesus Christ out like any other cheap trinket people
buy for those occaisions.

"And during that difficult time we’ve all endured since September 11th, many parents have comforted their children with a Jesus Beanie just to reassure them that there is indeed Power and Love through Jesus."

How about giving the love to the kids yourselves, parents? Trust me, they don't need more THINGS. Things are not comforting. They need love from a PERSON!

" Some people have contacted us with the intention of acquiring the Jesus Beanies in lots of 25 or greater. CPR Marketing will make special discount allowances for orders of 25 or more."

Indulgences sold seperately.

"Jesus Beanies have been a project of ours since 1999. At the time there was much talk about the new millennium and the media had begun to discuss what the new century would be like. Much of this talk centered upon a continuing breakdown in morals and values among the day’s youth. This was spurred by school shootings, gang warfare, rising drug abuse and even cases where young children had murdered friends, family and neighborhood kids -- just for fun. We thought that maybe it was time to introduce children to a better way, much earlier."

So....selling an $8 toy is going to reduce violence and turn the culture around?

"The concept of the Jesus Beanie was born from watching our own children play with popular bean bag toys. They knew all about each one, had even memorized their tags. So we began to ask them about the 10 commandments, characters of the bible, and the 12 apostles. Much to our dismay, they remembered little. 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."

Um, ,the kids know these things because all kids memorize inane bits of trivia.
And giving them a doll is going to help them learn the Bible? You'd have better luck
with a Teddy Ruxpin that read the Bible to them!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Isn't Jesus trivialised enough as it is?? Now He's a Beanie Baby!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*stomps around room for a while, fuming*

There. That was incredibly cathartic.

Image: And Gold Is All That's Left by Sandra Bonello

Image: Lost and Thirsty by Angelo Crespo

Image: Ancient Data Spheres by Atticus Roberts

Image: Devotion by Scott Luttrell

For more twisted images, discuss it at The Door Magazine Chat Closet

Reflections At Thirty

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"The Old Becoming New"

Turning thirty was a relief. The previous year overwhelmed me with inner turbulence, wasting considerable time. Seemingly endless, my attempts to control the situation were persistently frustrated. Moreover, my increased anxiety only intensified the problem. My difficult circumstances needed to ease to gain some perspective.

It didn't happen quickly or easily. As my thirtieth birthday approached, the pressure to resolve the outstanding problems only created more tension. Desiring a solution by then was appealing, though. Entering a new decade without old distractions would allow for a fresh and focused beginning. (That's the theory, anyway.) However, it became evident to me that this was too narrow, although the idea did encourage deeper inquiry.

What did my current circumstances mean? Would asking that question provoke the answer to appear? Whatever the answer was, it was obvious the answer was not present. Perhaps in time it will be partially or fully revealed. Perhaps in time the question will be less urgent. Regardless, some change was necessary. That piece of the puzzle was certain. The reason remains obscure.

The answer is still elusive; the question is still vivid. The tension has slightly loosened, and the difficulties have mildly eased. Yet this has been discovered on the way through thirty: let the old become new again!

Image: An individual by Lee Stadler

(inspired by Josh Sargent's frustration toward blogs without a comment option)

Unfertilized

spontaneous...............autonomy
raw.............................artificial R.E.F.L.E.C.T
elegant.......................distance I.N.P.U.T
original.......................prudence I.N.S.P.I.R.E
offering........................privacy C.O.M.P.L.I.C.A.T.E
beginning....................defence

"The present moment is where the past and future collide, and within a moment there is monumental potential. That's the mystery of a moment. It is small enough to ignore and big enough to change your life forever. Life is a sum total of what you do with the moments given you.

The most spiritual thing you will engage in today is making choices."
-Seizing Your Divine Moment, Erwin McManus

(From Josh Sargent's blog)



(Image: The Lost Watch by KCE Gleghorn)

Therapeutic

Words: Nothing At All by Steve Holland
Image: Motivation by Despair.com

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

i feel/nothing at all//i wanna cry/because i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//i'd rather feel pain/than nothing at all//

Mystery

Words: from Joi at The Door Magazine Chat Closet
Image: Morning Star by Tyrone Pow

In my experience, it's often those who profess to be agnostics that see God most clearly. Maybe because they are the only ones who acknowledge that they don't know what He is like. They can frequently see more clearly.

Isolation

"I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." --Sir Isaac Newton

Presence

Words: from Shadows by Ben Okafor
Image: from here

I travel steady on this long dirt track
My heart weighs heavy yet the heels won't crack
In a darkened corner I've seen a brand new star
And I have seen my shadows fall

I fly like an eagle, hungry for you
I wait like a hunter and a shepherd would
One day I'll be able to play this tune
And I will see my shadows fall


Shadows fall...I have seen all my shadows fall...

E pluribus Unum

Words: Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus by Audio Adrenaline
Image: cover of The Clash of Fundamentalisms"

Never gonna be as big as Jesus...Never gonna hold the world in my hand...Never gonna be as big as Jesus...Never gonna build a promised land...

Never gonna be as big as Jesus...Never gonna hold the world in my hand...Never gonna be as big as Jesus...Never gonna build a promised land...

[Consumed]

Words: Human Shield by Training For Utopia
Image: "The Lamentation" by Dick Detzner

pin me up. stretch out the limbs. i'm your human shield. you've set out to feed, or feast. but not of you. no, you set me up. come, partake of me. without your permission, without your response come have me. come have at me. have all me. come have at me. have me. i don't need this cocoon. get in. feast. inside and out.

w[H]oleness

Words: Your Dying Soul by Mental Destruction
Image: "Burn" by Tanja Stark

Your Eyes My Eyes
So Very Close Together
Your Eyes My Eyes
The Pain Remains Forever?

Feel The Bolts Of Thunder
Driven Through My Flesh
Buried Deep Down Under
The Past You So Regret



My Fears Gathered
Around Your Dying Soul
Aching To Be Living
But Too Scared To Lose Control

With Both Eyes Bleeding
It Was Hard To See
Where The Path Was Leading
And Was It Ever Me?

The Future--Uplifting

When you find yourself lying
In a ditch on the side of the road
You might get ready
You might get ready to dream
When the sun comes up over the mountain
Flap your wings
When the sun comes up over the mountain
Fly

---from Flap Your Wings, The Choir

The Future--Uncertain

if it all comes true
and our dreams fall like bombs from the blue
oh my love stand by me

and if all comes real
confirming this fear that i feel
oh my love come stand by me
stand by me

---from If It All Comes True by Chagall Guevera

The future-- Wild

I search for method to my madness
But, alas, there seems to
No systematic type of anything at all
I fumble, I crawl
I grope in the darkness
I bounce off the wall
And I fear there ain't no prize winner here
No
I'm just a pilgrim on a journey through life
Wading in the river of joy and strife
And through some process
I've come to realize that
I must relinquish control

(The Pilgrim Song, Patsy Moore)

The future-- Seductive

in my delusions of grandeur i can do what i want to do be what i want to be delusions of grandeur lilfe is but a dream no impossibility as far as i can see no impossibility

---from Delusions of Grandeur by Fleming & John