The ABC Christmas Bear Is Available—and You Won’t Be Stoned if You Name Him Rowan

I would purchase this cute, cuddly creature but I couldn’t “bear” to think of it as an icon of Rowan.
AP+

An appropriate pose for this bear would be paws over the ears, eyes and mouth.  Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

I am as horrified as the next person by the Draconian response to the Muhammad bear.  But, I couldn’t help thinking, we would probably not name one Jesus, either.

Okay, by “stoned” I mean the violent rock-throwing kind.

Uh, thanks for clarifying, Sarah, especially since BabyBlue is such a fan of Bob “Everybody Must
Get Stoned” Dylan.

But the real question is:  is Rowan stoned in a Dylanesque sort of way?

May I politely suggest this as a more appropriate holiday gift representing our fine ABC.

True, we probably wouldn’t name a Teddy Bear “Jesus”, but if someone did, we would not be clamoring for that person’s execution. —And that is the difference.  Our Lord and Saviour explicitely forbade such a response.      God Bless.  RLHarrell

But, I couldn’t help thinking, we would probably not name one Jesus, either.

Unless they happen to be Hispanic? I’ve worked with a few Jesus (pronounced like ‘Hay -Zeus’) over my lifetime

Okay, by “stoned” I mean the violent rock-throwing kind.

Huh ... what ... I don’t understand ... ;-p

Actually, I’d buy this in a heartbeat, as it’s infinitely more capable than the real Rowan of actually saying something understandable and making a decision.  The Anglican Communion would experience far better leadership with the ABC Christmas Bear.  It is far less likely to say truly stupid things about world politics.  It won’t be doing secret gay Eucharistic celebrations.  The list could go on and on.

Actually, the “TRAVELOCITY GNOME”, is a much better likeness.  He never accomplishes anything either, but he sure seems to try..

I cannot watch on of those “gnome” commercials” without thinking of the abc….......

LoL,
Grannie Gloria

JamesR, it may be that you could tape the bear’s paws over his mouth and have him shut his eyes.  A little cotton in the ears and the effect would be complete.

Hope—you’re right that we probably would not name the bear Jesus.  But I think that may be because Jesus is not a common personal name for people in the 21st century.  Mohammad is pretty popular, I understand, as a human name.

I guess we’ll never know . . . if Jesus were a popular name for kids, would we be offended if we named a bear Jesus.

Sarah:

“I guess we’ll never know . . . if Jesus were a popular name for kids, would we be offended if we named a bear Jesus”

We have a large Hispanic population here in the Bluegrass, and Jesus is a VERY popular name in the area.

Let’s see, 69.99 pounds is what in US dollars today?  Sorry, I have to make a car payment this month! 

“Hope—you’re right that we probably would not name the bear Jesus.  But I think that may be because Jesus is not a common personal name for people in the 21st century.  Mohammad is pretty popular, I understand, as a human name.

I guess we’ll never know . . . if Jesus were a popular name for kids, would we be offended if we named a bear Jesus. “

Well, it is a slow day or I wouldn’t belabor this.  But in this country, if you are NOT HISPANIC, it is NOT common to name little boys Jesus, (why, do you suppose?)  and I expect it would be considered unusual by some, and you can absolutely count on someone being offended.  By just about anything.  And no, of course American Christians would not demand blood, because that is also not our way.  But somebody would probably sue them.
More to the point, how did this woman come to be so ignorant of the customs in the place she was working?  Wouldn’t you suppose the dangers would be explored if a person, particularly a female person, were going to work in that country?

It is very realistic.

If you approach it and start teaching heresy, it doesn’t do anything.

Batteries?

Meanwhile, in the realm of Christmas gifts, scroll down and note the product number for this character!

My slightly Lampoon tinged mind was kind of musing on how all our Islamic friends could have reacted had Elton John named Levon’s son Muhammed rather than Jesus,especially had the song come out in England 35 years later than it did.

Finally, thank heaven above, there is help available for <a >the offended Muslim</a>:

Following the misery inflicted on Islam by a toy bear that ended up with calls for the execution of an English woman, more Muslims are stepping forward with stories of long-suppressed emotional trauma imposed on them by so-called reality. This has led to the creation of support groups and social networks that help followers of the Prophet Mohammed cope with the agony of learning about life outside of their immediate environment, offering assistance with technical resources, practical guidance, and strategies for early intervention and punishment of those who offend Islam.

Hope,

To clarify, Ms. Gibbons did not name the bear. Her class chose the name. And the class did not name the bear after the prophet, but after the most popular student in their class.

If there is to be blame of “ignorance” here, let’s start with the class.

Better yet, let’s start with the politicians who saw in this a chance to grab for power.

In Peru, where I grew up, the name Jesus was a common name given to males -as it is common through out South America.  As with Muslims naming males Mohammad (sp?) is a name given in respect.
I might note that the suburb of Lima where I lived was called “jesus Maria”.

Hope—I don’t understand what you are saying here:

“But in this country, if you are NOT HISPANIC, it is NOT common to name little boys Jesus, (why, do you suppose?) and I expect it would be considered unusual by some, and you can absolutely count on someone being offended.”

That’s what I said.  So . . . if it is not common to name boys Jesus in the US, then how will we ever know—were it a popular thing—that any of us would be offended if one named a bear Jesus???

Again—the name “Mohammed” is a very popular name for boys.  And so it makes it all the more odd that Moslems became offended that the bear was named “Mohammed.”

To parallel—were the name “Jesus” a popular name for boys here in the US I very much doubt that it would be deemed at all odd to name little bears “Jesus” any more than it is odd to name little bears “Bob”.

“Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil”

How about making the organs of speech independently maneuverable to port and starboard?

I’ll not be offended, you can name your bear whatever you want, however £69.99 is just criminal!

I’m surprised they’re also not marketing the mascot bear for Changing Attitude.  Would it look like a he, she, or hermaphrodite?  One thing’s for sure, it would have an Anglican collar around its neck.

Note the link on the Canterbury Cathedral page to “The Green Man.”  They have three “Green Man” products, including a book, Green Man History.   The blurb on the page about the book says, “The archetypal symbol of our unity with the natural world is re-awakened in modern times as we face crucial enviromental decisions. An illustrated story from pre-Christianity to the present. 176 pages.”

Not as bad as the stuff in the Cathedral of St John the Divine, but a worrisome thing nonetheless.

An illustrated story from pre-Christianity to the present. 176 pages

What jam-packed concise history that must surely be, and with illustrations, even.  I must add that to my own library, right now.

Nice offer.  If my parish wasn’t being sued by the “reconciliation” bishop here in dio. San Diego, I might be able to drop $150 (!) on a couple of these.

The eyebrows aren’t hairy enough to resemble the +ABC.

A far cheaper and even more cute chorister bear is available at the Nat’l Cathedral gift shop: https://commerce.cathedral.org//exec/ms/product-detail?SKU=MS-103465

Buyer beware, you may be paying for +Chane’s next “Pride” parade float with your purchase.

Bob Dylan sometimes makes more sense to me than ABC
It’s not all over yet BB

Seriously, the Cathedral Shoppe has really neat gifts. I was wishing I could afford the ABC Bear on my last visit, but I settled for some stained glass replicas and a bottle of Canterbury Cathedral Apricot Brandy.

Speaking of which, click on Food and Drink and you can buy Canterbury Fudge!

I love worshipping at CC. It truly is a special experience. The old cathedral needs massive restoration and there’s a capital campaign going on. Consider supporting the effort or buying some Christmas gifts from the online shoppe!

If Episcopalians were inclined to get angry if Canterbury named a teddy bear Rowan, I wonder how they would express it? 

(1) A specially-appointed committee which will spend a year studying the question and issue a report which will be received by a “reception process” which will take another year, after which everyone(hopefully) will have gotten over it.

(2) Dialogue.

(3) An international, week-long meeting at a five-star hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico to express their outrage.

(4) Conversation.

(5) Having their secretaries compose a nasty letter for them to sign.

(6) More dialogue.

(7) Angrily discussing the question at the club over a really good Madeira.

(8) More conversation.

(9) Dialogue about how effective the conversation is.

(10) Living into their rage.

$140!!!!  Maybe this is how Lambeth Palace will fund the Conference.

Dear Sarah:

Scaring people is not nice… especially with stuffed animals. 

REPENT!

“(3) An international, week-long meeting at a five-star hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico to express their outrage.”

Heh.

Heh heh heh.

In the list of top 1000 boys names in the US, Jesus is #73.  That is well into the top 10%.

Jesus, originally the Greek form of the name, may not be a common name in non-Hispanic circles in the US, but the Hebrew form, Joshua, is reasonably common. Anyone heard of mass riots upon a teddy bear being called “Joshua”?

Tired,
Did you happen to obtain the carload price on that thar redneck cephalopod?

If the shipping isn’t too bad . . . . . . . . . . . .

Does anybody else feel like they’ve stepped through the looking glass???  Just wondering…..

“Again—the name “Mohammed” is a very popular name for boys.  And so it makes it all the more odd that Moslems became offended that the bear was named “Mohammed”

I guess I haven’t been expressing myself very well.
What we have is a drastic difference in cultures, and any person going to live or work in a place where the greatest number of people they are working with are Moslems certainly ought to be warned of some of the sensitivities that wouldn’t be obvious to those of us from Christian based cultures.  For example, remember what appeared to us to be an insane overreaction to that political cartoon that was circulated a few years ago.  The cruel and unusual punishments for crimes that get “dealt away” here.  Remember the kid who was supposed to be whipped for vandalism or littering in Singapore?  Death contracts against Salman Rushdie.  And the way women seem to be blamed for their own rapes and so on.  We aren’t in Kansas any more.
When I travel to another country I try to read up on the customs and ways of the place I am visiting.  Which may be why I didn’t experience any of the famous Parisian rudeness, who knows?
I do think they could argue plausibly that there is a difference between naming a male child and naming a toy animal even if it is not our frame of reference.  And what if the bear had been a girl, they might have murdered the woman on the spot.
Enough, now, I have greatly overlabored what were whimsical thoughts to begin with.

Get +KJS’s tailor to make some knock-offs of her vestments and you could have a new collection trend.  Collect all 38 of them.  Heck, raise the price, call them the Primate Bears and tnen charge more than $140 with the “profit” going to the MDG’s.

Canterbury fudge - we’ll pass.  Had too much of that already.

Sorry, but this likeness is not very good of ++Rowan.  Given its upright posture in the photo, it has a way-too-stiff spine to resemble the ABC, and it is not quite fuzzy-headed enough.  Nice try, but for $140 they’re going to have to do better.

Seventy pounds??? For a teddy bear?  I think not.

At $140.00 I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.