Playing with Jesus?

I stumbled upon something this week that caught me a little off guard. I had read a book review in which the writer lamented the phenomenon of the “cuddly Jesus.” This is the idea that we have sometimes made Jesus so feminine that no self respecting man would want to follow him, and we’ve characterized him as such a safe, passive, “buddy” that really, no one would be inspired to following him.
That struck me as an interesting observation, so I did a search for “cuddly Jesus” to see what other writers might have to say about it. What I got back was information about Jesus “toys.” I’d heard rumors, from time to time, about Jesus action figures, but I had no idea just how many Jesus toys are now available. Most of them seem to be manufactured with good intentions, such as the Jesus puppet, for use in Bible classes and storytelling. The action figures of Jesus and other Bible characters are supposed to help our kids act out their favorite Bible stories. And the plush Jesus dolls (think Beanie Baby) are supposed to help kids “bond” with our Savior. Other toys are so cynical as to be considered blasphemous by some, such as the “Jesus Astronaut Action Figure” (a limited edition, no less) and the various bobble-head and talking dashboard Jesuses.
I am tempted to take offense at these last few products, but I know it is, for the most part, the shallow, card board cut-out version of Jesus that they mock, and not the real, Lion of Judah Jesus. So, I feel obliged to extend some measure of grace, even if I find the some of the offerings pretty tasteless and rude.
Blasphemy, as I understand it, is limited to those who know they are messing with God, and do it anyway. I don’t get the impression the makers of these toys really know who they are dealing with. I mean, if Jesus can hang on the cross and ask his Father to forgive those who put him there because they don’t understand the significance of their actions, then I guess we can handle it when the world gives us some ribbing about our Christian images and idiosyncrasies.
What I actually find more disturbing are the toys intended for our good. I don’t want to be overly pious about this. I can certainly understand the argument that if our children have toys that reflect their favorite heroes, they should have a toy that reflects the ultimate hero of humanity. But there is a definite ironic ickyness to having a Jesus that we can so easily manipulate. Or a Jesus that is perpetually warm, soft, and cuddly. We may well be forging a bond between our kids and Jesus, but what Jesus? Is this the revolutionary Jesus, who upset the social and religious order of things? The Jesus who is the living image of the invisible God? The Jesus who endured death on our behalf and invites us to take up our own cross and follow his example? Is this the dangerous, powerful, and controversial Son of God? Or is this the Jesus that we can leave on the shelf or in the toy box until we are ready to play? Is this the “always a comforter, never a confronter” Jesus that our culture has so embraced?
Perhaps I’m being overly cynical, as I often am. But our world has an infatuation with a Jesus that always affirms, always comforts, always endorses my own plans. He is a Jesus whose actions I can control; whose presence is my decision. He is fun to play with, but He is not the Jesus of the Gospels.