This is just plain awesome. My birthday is in two weeks, incidentally.
It reminds me of the scene from CRASH where the little girl believes that her father has given her a protective cloak and jumps in the way of a bullet to “save” her father. She is saved through sheer happenstance, but undoubtedly the father learns something about how seriously children take their parents’ claims to truth.
In the same way, “Armor of God” pajamas can be a helpful object lesson for children, but they shouldn’t become reckless claims that God will stop a bullet. I’m not saying kids who wear these will try to stop someone from stealing a volkswagon, but the theological claims that God protects some people more than others…well, it can lead children down a very difficult path that I’m uncomfortable with.
[/Johnny Raincloud]
I just bought the coloring books for my Ephesians Bible Study at St. Nicholas.
If I wore pajamas, these would be the ones.
way behind on the trend, man. i aksed for these pjs a year ago on my blog.
more problematic of the “protective” aspect is the militarism of young children and the association of god and war.
Piggybacking on HP: also problematic is the gender issue in the picture. The boy gets a military helmet and shield while the girl gets… a wedding veil and a book?!?! This advertisement insinuates that women are helpless to defend themselves, and that their role is merely a passive accessory to those who take the “real” action.