So when CCM promotes its Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus action figure collection, it states that not only will the figures help children “mingle play time with faith time,” but the collection will bring the nativity “to life.” The product information also indicates that the figures will create “hours of fun for acting out the Christmas story.”

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StretchArmstrong SixMillionDollarMan BigJim MajorMattMason ActionMan Jesus Action Figure Value and Price GuideHow warranted is the criticism of biblical action figures? Yes, they’re tactile. Yes, they probably ignite children’s imaginations. But is this anything new?

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Although let us not worry to much, as he can walk on water, heal all woes and most importantly TURN WATER INTO WINE.

And Ship-of-Fools ( www.ship-of-fools.com)is likely unsurpassed in reflecting on all things religious. On the market for about one year, the figure sprang less from a theological motive and more from a desire for something novel. But not all biblical action figures are novelty items. Some are intended for actual use by children. Flannel board figures, while not three-dimensional, have offered children a means of acting out stories with Bible characters for decades. The figures may be for children, but there’s no escaping theology. Train Up a Child, for example, offers a light-skinned and a dark-skinned line of figures. CCM’s initial lines had olive-colored skin.

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SOF’s point, of course, is that kids’ imaginations can, and do, run wild. And those imaginations might not shut down just because the figures represent characters from Holy Scriptures. If there is an ethic behind biblical action figures, it may have less to do with which figures are put into plastic and more to do with how Jesus—in the hands of children—behaves. The blurring of boundaries isn’t lost on Kalich: “We feel our action figures serve the same purpose as other Christian products for children, such as coloring books, board games, plush toys and others,” he said.

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Folklorist Simon Bronner, in Grasping Things: Folk Material Culture and Mass Society in America, wrote that touch is important because its “association with the hand implies the grip of possession.” That is, people become invested in ideas when they can experience them through other senses, especially touch. For example, Cook Communications Ministries ( www.cookministries.com) has produced a line of action figures including Jesus, Moses, David, Goliath and Samson.