Thursday, January 20, 2005

The Sins of SpongeBob:

Ok, I’m not a big fan of the what-would-Jesus-do approach to Christian ethics. But with terrorism, wars, tsunamis, and genocides to worry about, can anyone imagine Jesus actually taking the time to attack a cartoon character?

Fortunately, Jesus doesn't have to because James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family is here to do it for him. According to a New York Times story (reg. required) today:

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

Nor is this message of tolerance a mere venial sin. As Dobson’s assistant Paul Batura explains:

We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids. It is a classic bait and switch."

Indeed. First get the kids to stop bullying sissies and tomboys, and next thing you know they’ll be begging for tickets to the next Cher concert.

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