The Lord works in mysterious ways, it's true. But religious toy manufacturers seeking a publicity angle at Christmastime? Not so mysterious.
The Marine Reserve's originally turned down the Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company's offer to render 4,000 free talking Jesus dolls unto the Toys for Tots program. T4T leaders didn't want to risk offending anyone's religious sensibilities, but then the Messenger of Faith Doll makers asked why the Marines were giving Christmas gifts to Jews or Muslims in the first place?
And anyway, if someone complains, the marketers at BHTBC's One2Believe division said, just tell them it's Val Kilmer from The Saint, and that he's just reciting some poetry, not John 3:16.
The Marines saw the light [sic] and agreed to take the dolls. O2B's Pharisee-in-Chief David Socha said that's more like it, but that "When the hundreds of requests for dolls began to roll in we made a decision to use some of the dolls that we designated to Toys for Tots and provide them to organizations that supported our cause."
He was then interrupted when someone in the market said, "Rabbi, Rabbi."
Marines do an about-face on Jesus doll [madison.com via dt reader derek]
I wonder if they'll take my velvet picture Jesus portait too.
[I'm sure it's just as much fun to play with -ed.]