Charactor school bags.

GAMZu

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 6:28 pm

OK, I can understand that there MIGHT be a problem to watch/read something which was made with the intention to spread christianity or some other belief. Even if the reader is not aware of the connection, it still is full of tuma which will rub off on a spiritual, not intellectual, level.
But playing with toys fashioned after the characters or using objects featuring that character won't have any effect, since it's not actively giving over the message.

Choc, where did your son get that info? Did you verify it from any source?

chocolate moose

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 6:40 pm

GR wrote:

I don't know, I read the entire Narnia series well before I was a teenager and never did it cross my mind that it had anything to do with Christianity until I read it on here.

me too....it was dh who told me.

greenfire

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 7:15 pm

hey im gonna be devils advocate here ... some of you are saying they're just playing ... they don't even know ... would you feel the same way if it was a cross with "he who shall not be named" hanging ... probably not ...

harry potter ... we are reading here ... including enough imamother's ... I think we're older than 10 1/2 ...

I personally feel we have enough challenges to make a big deal of insignificant things ...

gryp

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 8:07 pm

greenfire, a cross is an avodah zara, a choo-choo train isn't!

Has anyone ever confirmed this rumor about the Narnia series? Just wondering. When I read it, since it was all magic, the lion coming back to save them just seemed like more magic to me, nothing more.

greenfire

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 8:25 pm

GR wrote:

greenfire, a cross is an avodah zara, a choo-choo train isn't!
.

but that is just because you see it that way ... others see thomas the choo-choo the same way ...

GR wrote:

amother wrote:

GR wrote:

Again, I don't buy it for the train, I don't buy it on something we use everyday. We use it once or twice a year and the train is covered anyway by a blanket.

I don't see the need for one to defend ones self if they see nothing wrong with buying it.

I agree, just wanted the record to be clear that I'm not for buying them under usual circumstances.

normal vs. not normal ... same difference ...

gryp

Mon, Aug 20 2007, 11:18 pm

Thanks!

Quote:

Aslan and Yoshke are the same character in two different worlds. There is no allegory involved. As Lewis has Aslan say at the end of Dawn Treader, "There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name."

Sheesh, I don't like that.

mimivan

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 1:02 am

what's more C.S. Lewis (Narnia Author) had a "romance" with a Jewish woman he influenced to convert to Xtianity (from the film Shadowlands...saw this before I became frum and was annoyed by it even then)

mimivan

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 4:10 am

chocolate moose wrote:

GR wrote:

I don't know, I read the entire Narnia series well before I was a teenager and never did it cross my mind that it had anything to do with Christianity until I read it on here.

me too....it was dh who told me.

CM, I know this pun is unintended but Rolling Laughter

shalhevet

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 4:19 am

chocolate moose wrote:

GR wrote:

I don't know, I read the entire Narnia series well before I was a teenager and never did it cross my mind that it had anything to do with Christianity until I read it on here.

me too....it was dh who told me.

me three... I guess now I know why I went from MO to chareidi... Wink

shalhevet

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 4:45 am

I am finding this discussion very interesting. Nearly all of our children's books are chareidi books (Menucha Bekerman, Menucha Fuchs etc for the little ones) but we do have some Thomas (which I actually think have very good values - I was surprised at some of the comments here), Spot/ Pinuki etc.

However I have no problem with character bags/ products as long as the drawings are tzniyus and cute. I certainly allow Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder etc. I really don't think it's the same as letting them read the books. A picture is giving the message of the picture - is it friendly and smiling or nasty and aggressive? In fact I had a voucher for a free item in Fox this summer. The amount was only enough for a baby's T-shirt and I had a hard time finding a suitable picture for my 2 year old shock

All the pictures were really aggressive, even of animals. There was a glaring cow and I can't remember what else.

I don't think that my kids are picking up Mickey Mouse values by having his picture on a bag/ pencil, especially since they don't read the books. When there is a cute popular character for them it is just a cute picture since they aren't exposed to any of the accompanying culture.

GAMZu

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 9:15 am

I agree with shalhevet's entire post, especially this part:

Quote:

I have no problem with character bags/ products as long as the drawings are tzniyus and cute. I certainly allow Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder etc. I really don't think it's the same as letting them read the books.

Raisin

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 9:59 am

mimivan wrote:

He didn't just have a romance, he married her. I actually taught her grandchildren a few years ago - she has 2 sons, one is a big x-tian, and the other rediscovered his Jewish roots. He was extremely embarrassed of who his stepfather was!

I think the Thomas books are totally harmless. I have a book with a bunch of the original stories in. and the only messages they preach are kindness, not boasting etc. I'd rather my kids are reading that then other kids books where the kids are chutzpadig and worse.

I also have no problem with backbacks with Dora or bob the builder or similar. My kids have never seen the shows or read the books, and it is just a cute person.

The only objection I have is I feel you are paying extra for a character - a similar schoolbag without a tv character will cost less money.

mummiedearest

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 1:47 pm

I have no objection to licensed characters on schoolbags from a religious point of view. I just don't want my kid getting so attached to one character that he wants everything with that character on it. I don't want to go into a toy store with him to buy one thing and have him beg for that cute mickey mouse toy just because it has mickey on it.

as for the books, I don't mind if he reads mickey mouse. mickey doesn't have any specific values. thomas books are fine, as are mr. rogers (I don't know if they sell his books anymore). as long as they are intelligent and have full sentences, why should I object?

mummiedearest

Tue, Aug 21 2007, 4:15 pm

look, I can understand an objection to jeez and gee, as they are derived from "Yoshke," which I do not believe is ok to use as an exclamation. though I was wondering why people take issue with using it to refer to the person, as the halachic problem is with using the word "christ"= god/savior as his title. I always understood "Yoshke" to be the anglicized version of the Hebrew "Yeshu" which no one seems to object to. So if possible, I would like clarification on issues with A) "Yoshke", B) "sheesh", and C) thomas the tank engine=preacher of heretical ideas.

Anyone? I'm quite serious.