Like you, my husband and I too had a dream; granted it wasn’t to have such a fabulously creative and inspiring idea such as yours but none the less, a dream. We are now at the point you were at immediately following the bankruptcy proceedings of Big Idea…our dream has died and we literally have nothing except each other, our children, and above all else, GOD.

I don’t know why but I was compelled to write to you and let you know I was touched and encouraged by your raw honesty throughout the book. I’m sure you hear it all the time and the words are so small but please know they are sincere: Thank you! Thank you for allowing God to break you and then use you again.

I close with a song that I sang in church as a child…I believe this is what God has and is doing through you!

God Bless,
Kathleen

“Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me;
Break me,
Melt me,
Mold me,
Fill me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.”

Hear that, Phil? No need to swoop in and “moderate” me, heh. (Oh, wait… he doesn’t really seem to squash all opposition like that that, does he?)

Chris Johnson-
I guess it’s natural for a thinking person in a youth group to be suspicious of what the shallower members are into. My own youth group was pretty full of bluster sometimes, and not all of it really reflected much of Jesus’ teachings. Teens can be pretty shallow. (Me, too plenty of times.) Veggie Tales, it turns out, *does* have a good bit to do with Jesus’ teachings. If you were made to feel like you were on the outside, that’s not good. That wasn’t fair. I just don’t see that as a good reason to assume that a philosophy is bankrupt, you know?

And as for the popularity of Veggie Tales: plenty of us just really think it’s funny, and also like it because yes, it reflects what we believe about the world. Are you gullible for liking things that have a message you totally agree with? Are you being “tricked” if you love a movie that faithfully portrays your humanist worldview?

Also, I notice that you’re talking as if Phil doesn’t know that pride comes before a fall, or that his motives might not have been pure at every moment. Actually, he’s critiqued himself pretty honestly – and unflatteringly – on that topic in his own writings and in interviews. Some of those can be found on this site. (… I think. Now let me see…)

Lots of people, young and old, name Christianity as their religion. If some of us misuse that name, it doesn’t seem rational – to me- to reject the philosphy that they’re hypocritically ignoring.

And, oh yeah: Who you callin’ lame? Actually, I guess maybe that was an over-reaction with the DVD dub thing. I’m just an unknown artist who knows too much about copyright law and intellectual property. My wife would agree with you, I think.
Sorry for being legalistic, to you and to Barbara.

You are a sad person.