Anyone out there remember those “Where’s Waldo” books?  It is really a simple sort of book. There is this guy Waldo in a picture.  Find him.  Growing up where I did, I encountered not merely the phenomenon but also the shock, horror and disgust which got it banned for many libraries.  I will not tell you that I approve of the offending image, nor that I feel it was appropriate, but what followed was equally ridiculous.

I attended a private Christian school at the time.  Every other Friday we received an advertisement (which pretended to be a magazine, but I saw through their ploy)  for books that children of our age would enjoy.  When we got them there was a very simple exercise, read it and circle three books you would like to read.  But then the great Waldo hunt began, once it was public knowledge amongst the teaching staff, we added a new exercise to the mix.  First, when we got the advertisement we would search for all books published by Candlewick (publisher’s of Waldo books) and scribble all over their adds so that they could not be read by anyone.  Then we would look for books to read.  Of course the Waldo books from our library were already long gone.  Later that semester new books appeared in their place.  It seems Waldo could not be kept down so he had been “Christianized” and behold the “Find Freddy” series was born.  Freddy was a good Christian boy touring the great stories of the Bible.  You could find Freddy at the birth of Christ or the Resurrection (seems the Crucification was itself sanitized away).

Fighting from every side, the Church as a whole stole this successful idea as they censored the opposition.  Of course, as their pawn I was told nothing of why we hated Waldo.  For my “protection” I was kept innocent of what was done that merited such rancor.  Instead I was shown the way a Christian community responds to something inappropriate.  With hate, with censors, and with theft.

Sounds to me like somebody missed out on Love your enemies and pray for those how persecute you.  In the end we were their enemies by our choice and where the persecutors rather than the persecuted.  I know Jesus died for these people, that ought to be enough for anyone to show them love.  Ultimately that was not the most appropriate drawing, but the truth can be spoken in love.  It means something when you care enough to be tactful.  The end result of this sad little story is simply this, good caring Christians taught a school of children to hate without reason and without limit.  Go read Matthew 18:6 now.