Toy Review: Creation by Design Bible Trading Cards

Manufacturer: Creation by Design LLC
Price: $3.99 per 5 card pack

We get pitched by hundreds of companies each year to do toy reviews for LI Kids. One of the things I love is when we are pitched by smaller companies. Often, these companies offer some of the best options for kids because they are not structured to think like a corporate company would. We try to approach each toy with an open mind and to offer advice about how each parent would feel and how the children playing with said toy feel, too. There have been many times when we didn’t like something, but the kids did, so the item still received a fair review.

One thing we rarely review is products that deal with religion (any religion). The reason for us going a more secular route is because we believe in promoting toys that will work for all kids. Often, when you delve into religious toys, they revolve around various religions and exclude plenty of children that have parents that do not believe in what this religion teaches. If someone approaches us wanting us to review anything that is based in religion we tell them that the product will be reviewed honestly, with our opinion, and the interest of the children in mind.

That being said, I was informed that the Bible Trading Cards I’m reviewing would work for any child, Christian or not. The idea was to think of them like you would Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards. The problem is that these Bible cards are not like those cards. With Pokemon cards you collect them and you battle. There is a purpose to the cards. The same can be said with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Even when kids in the 80s collected Garbage Pail Kids, the cards had puzzles on the back which made collecting them worthwhile. Try as I might, I seriously fail to see the point in collecting these Bible cards unless the purpose is to get your child interested in The Bible. Even then, I fear they might fail at their intended purpose.

Positives & Negatives:

Positives:
-Good for Christians interested in getting their child into religion

Negatives:
-Could promote the religious indoctrination of young minds
-Not overly interesting unless you’re interested in the Christian religion
-Many cards discuss violence and show violent images
-Too “deep” of a fiction story for younger minds
-Somewhat expensive for the amount your receive

Pricing & Availability:
You can pick up a set of five of these cards in your standard baseball card packs for $3.99. The only problem with that is that I can get 20 baseball cards for $1 or 10 Pokemon Cards for $1.50. Assuming these cards are of a similar nature, the higher price range would make me less interested in purchasing them for my kids. I have not run into these anywhere in a brick and mortar store, though you can pick these up online at the Bible Cards website.

Durability:
The Bible Cards that we received were made with a stronger cardboard than your average cards though they still are cards, so they will bend and kids will need to be careful with them. We didn’t have any problem with them bending, but as adults, we know how to handle things gingerly. Depending on how interactive your child is with their toys will dictate how much you need to worry about these cards.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
I had to think long and hard before knowing just how to fill this section out. How fun these are will really depend on your feelings towards The Bible. If you believe that the words in The Bible are 100% the word of God then you will probably love these cards. On the other hand, if you believe that The Bible is a fiction best seller then you might find these cards a bit of a stretch. Additionally, if you fall into this second group you may end up feeling that these cards are too old for the average young child. I had a real hard time finding the entertainment in these Bible cards.

The computer art that encompassed one side of the cards was good, but only in a sporadic sense. I was never amazed by the art. It was passable and it was clearly done by someone with some skill, but occasionally the art was amateurish. I never found myself staring at the art in awe. I looked at one side and then was ready to flip it over and see what was on the other side.

The opposite side contains two sections. The first section contains some “factual” information and the second side tells a brief portion of a Bible story written into easier (more kid-friendly) terms than you might find in The Bible. To give you an idea of what to expect, the following passage comes from the “The Sacrifice of Isaac.”

“Abraham took Isaac and traveled to Moriah to bring a sacrifice. When Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb was that they were going to sacrifice, Abraham said that God would provide a lamb for them. In Moriah they built an altar and Abraham placed Isaac on the altar and was going to sacrifice him to God. But God called out to Abraham that he should stop, as this had been a test of Abraham’s love for, and devotion to, God.”

How this is acceptable for a small child I don’t know. The idea that anyone is willing to kill for God does not make it any less death. It also doesn’t make it acceptable for children because the attempted murder/sacrifice is for God. This is just one example of how these cards rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed that the more that I read them, the more I disagreed with the supposed secular, “good for all children” message.

Not only would I not recommend these, I cannot imagine how a non-Christian child would feel receiving these cards. The “Egyptians Drown” card tells the story of how the Egyptians were chasing the Israelites and God made the Egyptians drown because they couldn’t leave well enough alone. If you flip the card over you get to see the art depiction of the drowning Egyptians. Considering Egyptians didn’t believe in the monotheistic Christian God, this card would probably not be a comfort to children of other religions.

Many of the cards are like this. There are cards that describe the various plagues, covering lice, boils, flies, the murder of first born sons, and other delicious, child-friendly topics. With cards like these I imagine it will be a rare occurrence to see kids on a playground trading a boil card for the lice card. I won’t even get into the pretty pictures of Cain killing Abel, pestilence raining over the city, or the river of blood cards. How anyone could want any child to see these, Christian or not is beyond me.

From what I am to understand these cards were created to get kids away from the violence in video games and television. I am a video game fan and while I play some violent games, I also like and recommend Mario. Often in Mario’s newer games he is cleaning up the world where he lives and making the environment better. Even looking at Pokemon, you don’t have to battle and if you chose not to, you end up with cute cuddly little animals that come without lice, plague, and the possibility of sacrifice – human or otherwise.

Normally, I run all toys in Lil B’s age range by him and these cards fit his age according to the package and emails I was given. However, I opted to not give them to him as I feel the content in these cards are too old for a child of four. They discuss things that four year olds do not need to know about and are not secular enough to allow a child to freely choose the religion that suits what is in their heart and mind.

I honestly don’t think it would matter though because I think that he would have tossed them aside without much of a glance. Since there is no science to them, by that I mean there is no game or no point other than to read the card and move on, he would not find a point to playing with them. Most kids want a toy to play with. If they want to read they will pick up a book.

Bottom Line:
I rarely say this, but there is no way that I can recommend these Bible cards without feeling like I am offering a disservice to my readers. These cards are graphic, violent, and not entirely factual unless you believe in the word of the Bible. They aren’t secular and would probably scare children of other religions when they find out what God does to non-believers.

I feel these cards are meant to get children interested in the Bible through indoctrination and nothing more. Since I am against brainwashing my children through “entertainment” I cannot find a nice way to say there is a point to these cards. If you’re looking for some cards for your children I recommend picking up Pokemon, Baseball cards, or something else instead.

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Technorati Tags: Creation by Design, Christian, Bible Cards, Lice, Plague, Collectible Cards, Old Testament, Pokemon, Not Recommended

Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.