{"id":1596,"date":"2007-07-18T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-18T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/gi-jesus.html"},"modified":"2007-07-18T12:45:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-18T12:45:00","slug":"gi-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/gi-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"G.I. Jesus?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> A confession: when I was a kid, I had a G.I. Joe. <\/p>\n

I played with it and I liked it. <\/p>\n

There. I said it. <\/p>\n

But I’m not sure how I would have reacted if my parents had given me an action figure Jesus, like the ones Wal Mart plans to sell<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Wal-Mart said Tuesday it will test sales in some stores of biblical action figures whose makers say they are aimed at Christian parents who prefer their children play with Samson, David or Noah rather than with a comic book character or Bratz doll. <\/p>\n

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien said the toys made by One2believe, a Valencia, Calif., company, will be offered in 425 of Wal-Mart’s 3,376 discount stores and Supercenters. <\/p>\n

One2believe Chief Executive David Socha said his products were part of a “battle for the toy box” with dolls and figures that he said carry negative messages. <\/p>\n

“If you’re very religious, it’s a battle for your children’s minds and what they’re playing with and pretending. There are remakes out there of Satan and evil things,” Socha said. <\/p>\n

Wal-Mart’s O’Brien said the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer believes there is demand for faith-based toys. <\/p>\n

The toy line will be on some Wal-Mart shelves starting in August, mainly in the Midwest and South but also in California and as far northeast as Pennsylvania, O’Brien said. <\/p>\n

“It is a test. It’s not a national rollout,” O’Brien said. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What next? An action figure Pope Benedict?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A confession: when I was a kid, I had a G.I. Joe. I played with it and I liked it. There. I said it. But I’m not sure how I would have reacted if my parents had given me an action figure Jesus, like the ones Wal Mart plans to sell: Wal-Mart said Tuesday it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nG.I. 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