Even more about media...

A continuation on musings about children, the media, and Jesus:

In the last post, I wrote of a review of a book called The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust by Mark Pinsky (Westminster John Knox Press). Let me be clear on this one point: I am not slamming Disney characters. I am a genuine, first-generation member of the Mickey Mouse Club. It drove my mother nuts when my little friends and I vaulted over the living room sofa in our muddy shoes to land in front of the early-1950s-era Philco TV at 4:30 every weekday afternoon to sing the Mickey Mouse Club song. I loved all the cartoon characters. I loved Spin and Marty. I loved "Lady and the Tramp." You name it. I am not, repeat not, slamming Disney characters. I am just concerned that our kids may be more familiar with Disney characters than they are with Jesus.

In his book, Pinsky says that images of Disney characters are "far more recognizable around the world than images of Jesus or the Buddha." And that is scary.

He also says that there is a kind of gospel associated with the stories: "Good is always rewarded; evil is always punished. Faith is an essential element -- faith in yourself and, even more, faith in something *greater* than yourself, some higher power. Optimism and hard work complete the basic canon."

Well, OK, nothing wrong with those values, I guess. I mean, when we teach our children the story of David and Goliath in Vacation Bible School, that's pretty much the core of it. But the story of Christianity has a whole lot more to it than that. I have told my congregation that if Hollywood had written the story of Jesus, he sure wouldn't have ended up dying on a cross. Peter, after denying him three times, would have gotten so disgusted with himself that he would have rallied, gathered the other disciples, and staged a commando raid on the Roman soldiers on the way to Golgotha and rescued Jesus. I kinda favor Bruce Willis as Peter. I'm not sure who would play Jesus. Maybe Will Smith.

But it didn't happen that way. Jesus died. And then there was that weird morning at the tomb, when the women thought they saw something. It's always the women, huh?

In my own church, I fret because parents aren't bringing their children to Sunday School. Somehow they can get the kids to school on Monday morning at 7:30, but they can't get them to Sunday school at 9:45. How are they going to learn about Jesus if they don't take part in Christian education? They sure learn a lot in front of the TV set and playing video games. The parents tell me, "If the kids wanted to come, we'd bring them." Somehow that argument falls apart when Monday morning rolls around. Very few kids actually want to go to school, but their parents darn sure make them go.

I don't know what to say. My Catholic friends in my community tell me there is still a vestige of belief among some parents that if their kids aren't baptized and confirmed in the church, they'll go to hell. That's a nice motivator to get them there, but it has never been part of my denomination's belief system. I suspect we need to work on the parents in order to get the kids to Sunday school. It's one hour a week. How many hours do they spend in front of the TV?

I have been told by some of my readers that they can't post comments to this blog. Not sure why. Apparently there is something I haven't figured out yet as far as setting it up. Those of you who know how to get in touch with me, please send me your comments. Any ideas you have on kids and the church will be much appreciated!

Pastor Kathy

P.S. Update on an earlier post: Robert Blake's show about Father Hardstep was called "Hell Town."