Comments on: The Berenstain Bears are Christian

By: CJ

CJ — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:14:07 +0000

Wow! This was a huge surprise. I found these newer books by accident. I read most of the Berenstain Bears books when I was a kid, and have a handful for my son as well. I was just browsing around to see if there might be an anthology or something, and “Berenstain Bears: God Loves You???” So bizarre, as there was never any obvious religious connotations in the older books. I wonder if now they’ll republish “Berenstain Bears and The Truth.”

These books always had such good lessons to teach, great artwork and neat stories. I wonder why they decided to cut out non-Christians from their readers, did we do something to piss them off? You don’t need to reference religion to write a story about dealing with moral or ethical dilemmas.

By: FB

FB — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:34:18 +0000

So what. If you get offended by a book don’t buy it. Since when do we judge the world as of faith or no faith, or buy only atheist material.

By: Patrick Phillips

Patrick Phillips — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:38:55 +0000

I thought atheists were supposed to be more intellectual. And yet here they are crying because some children’s books show a different point of view than theirs. I thought it was religious people who can’t tolerate other views. After you’re done lamenting your sad childhoods and how it was all wrecked, maybe you should have an old fashioned book burning to make yourselves feel better.

I see stupidity, intolerance, and most of all hypocrisy is not exclusive to the religious. Must just be a human condition.

By: Simon

Simon — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:05:36 +0000

I always thought they were Jewish…

But, what annoys me is that it happened in the years just after the author’s death.
Like he opposed the change (as one could expect if he was a secular Jew) and they waited until he was out of the picture to redefine the ‘franchise’, not very respectful.

By: Jen R

Jen R — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:45:37 +0000

“Instead, many tend to view God as made in our image, rather than the other way around, as the latter is much more difficult to ~~understand~~ reconcile with the evidence.”

FTFY.

By: PCS

PCS — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:49:59 +0000

@Jess: I think it isn’t necessarily Christian values that atheists find so disturbing as the source of those values. (I don’t know this for certain as I am not an atheist.) The natural man cannot accept an eternal, sovereign, holy and righteous God. Instead, many tend to view God as made in our image, rather than the other way around, as the latter is much more difficult to understand. And a God made in man’s image would be objectionable by any practical standard, so I can understand what atheists are saying. However, it is my opinion that many atheists reject God because they have not really understood who He is or what His attributes really are. I think there are also more than a few Christians in the same boat.
As the hymn goes, “God is His own interpreter.” And I say amen to that!

By: Jess

Jess — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:21:24 +0000

As a Christian, I believe the fear of god does well to keep kids in line. If you’re arguing that religious values hurt childhood development because they are a false understanding, then Aesop’s fables, Disney cartoons, and Mother Goose do just as much to damage to a child. If you are against teaching children religious morals then you must also be against the general values they contain, or you are fighting religion for the sake of fighting religion. Futile at best.

Here are some rules that should be up for debate:
Respect your parents, Don’t kill others, Stealing is bad, Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

Please formulate specific reasons why you think this is bad for others before you blog about it and make yourself look ignorant. On a side note, do you believe all religious texts should be banned from public libraries? That would be the same kind of ignorance shown by the book burners.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:03:50 +0000

Mario, first of all, no one is saying the new books “suck.”

I am simply dismayed by the fact that a beloved series from my childhood is now being used for purposes of religious indoctrination.

I have read one of these books: The Berenstain Bears and the Big Question. Despite the title, there’s absolutely no room for questioning. Here is a direct quote:

“Now, Sister,” Mama said as she began weeding her garden, “all you need to remember is that God made everything — the birds, the flowers, the sunshine. They’re all God’s work — all part of God’s great plan.”

In addition, Bear Country is portrayed as explicitly and exclusively Christian. No religious diversity allowed.

As for morals, why do you think that religious people have better morals than atheists? What does belief in a deity have to do with morality?

By: mario

mario — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:31:52 +0000

how come as soon as you know it was written by someone with more morals than you you say the books suck

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:39:36 +0000

Also, I DON’T think Stan and Jan Berenstain are evangelical Christians, I think they probably are Jewish

You're half right. I've read their autobiography, and Stan was definitely Jewish. He grew up in a very secular, assimilated Jewish family. Jan was from a Christian background, but I don't know how religious she was (or is) or how they raised their kids. The series seems to have been hijacked by their evangelical son. As for their 1971 God book, it seems a bit spoofy to me. They did a similar one called How to Teach Your Children About Sex.