As an alternate for the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was given a Nativity Set by One2Believe to review. One2Believe is a company that specializes in Bible-based toys. Their vision, from their website, is:
to help children learn important Bible lessons and to have them come to faith in Jesus. Our goal is to provide fun ways of teaching children about the greatest people who ever lived. Through the toys that we design children will learn and play out exciting stories about real people. Our toys teach children that there are real superheroes they can believe in!
one2believe has a great desire to support parents in their battle for their children’s hearts and minds. We pray that parents will take the lead by engaging their children in faith and get them excited about Jesus. In Phillipians it speaks about pressing on, at one2believe we believe that we will either influence the world or the world will influence us.
I really like the concept of these toys. I think that it is a great way to teach small children about the Bible. However, my personal conviction is to avoid things that show images of Christ. I realize I’m in the minority here, but any drawing or representation that is made of Christ is incorrect. I don’t want to put false images of my Savior into my mind or the mind of my children’s. So before I let me children play with the Nativity Set I removed the Baby Jesus. Honestly, aside from my personal conviction about images of Christ, I really do not like the Baby Jesus in this set. He doesn’t look like a baby, but is too long and skinny with lots of hair, a goofy face, and ears that stick out.
However, aside from the concerns that I have mentioned, I do generally like this toy. It is made of sturdy plastic for durability and safety. The animals and people are cute and my smaller children (ages 2 and 6) have enjoyed playing with it. In addition to the Nativity Set, One2Believe offers several other playsets including David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Moses and the Ten Plagues, as well as several dolls, and a "Jesus Loves Me" teddy bear. I would recommend this company to someone who is looking for Biblically based toys for their children.