Baby Jesus theft
Baby Jesus theft involves stealing plastic or ceramic figurines of the infant Jesus (generally known as "Baby Jesus") from outdoor public and private nativity displays during the Christmas season.[1] Babies Jesus are sometimes recovered by searchers or returned by the thieves within hours or days of their disappearances.[2]
Baby Jesus thefts typically outrage communities suffering such losses.[1] Some view such thefts as pranks while others view them as sins or blasphemies. A Pennsylvania State Police Corporal told the Morning Call newspaper, "They think it's a prank, but it isn't a prank to some of these people. Plus, it's just wrong to steal the baby Jesus."[2]
Selected cases
Baby Jesus theft generally occurs late at night or in the very early morning hours. The thefts are typically discovered in the morning hours as victims leave home to find a private lawn display vandalized or arrive at work to find a workplace display pillaged. A Stony Point supervisor, for example, noted that the town's Baby Jesus was likely stolen "late Sunday or early Monday." The supervisor's assistant noticed the statue missing Monday morning.[3]
Some victims of Baby Jesus theft look to God to right the wrong. Members of the Andover, New York First Baptist Church discovered Baby Jesus missing from their outdoor manger scene before Christmas 2008. Pastor Frank Troutman believed the thieves were neighborhood children and Baby Jesus would be returned when the thoeves' parents found the figurine in their children's possession. Troutman did not file an official report with police but remarked, "God’s going to handle [the theft] just fine, I think."[4]
Some Babies Jesus have been defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols.[5] In December 2008, a 19 year old homeless, unemployed man "just hanging out" in Eureka Springs, Arkansas was arrested for stealing a Baby Jesus valued at US$375. The statue was grafitti covered and damaged beyond repair. The man claimed to have stolen the object in order "to fit in."[6]
Some communities suffer repeat Baby Jesus thefts. When a Baby Jesus in Stony Point, New York, was stolen in December 2008, a town official remarked, "If someone did it as a prank, I don't find it funny." The crèche had been vandalized the year before and a menorah next to it had been toppled and broken.[7]
Baby Jesus theft has attracted media notice outside the United States. Washington journalist David Nasaw of the online presence of England's The Guardian notes that dozens of communities across America have suffered Baby Jesus thefts, and, in some instances, entire nativity scenes. He observes that it is unclear of such thefts are on the rise as Federal law enforcement officials do not track Baby Jesus theft.[2]
Security measures
In one case, a Texas family took matters into their own hands. After losing their teeter-totter to thieves, they positioned surveillance cameras in their yard and discovered a teenage girl stealing a US$500 Baby Jesus.[5] Others are reluctant to exercise such vigilance. One Indiana man who suffered the loss of his Baby Jesus rebuffed suggestions to secure the figurines on his porch because, "that would be like putting Jesus in jail".[2]
Surveillance cameras are sometimes unreliable. A nativity scene set up at Fifth and Market Streets near Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shortly before Christmas 2008 was despoiled of its Baby Jesus within days. Rangers for Independence National Historical Park reviewed camera footage and found no images showing the removal of the figurine from the display.[8]
Some communities are protecting their Babies Jesus with GPS devices concealed within the ceramic figurines.[5]While most disappearances of Babies Jesus are regarded as pranks, some wonder if an Anti-Christian sentiment lurks behind the thefts. Attorney Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group, has said:[5]
"I suspect most of it is childish pranks. Clearly, there are adults with an agenda to remove Christ from Christmas. But they tend to occupy themselves with the courts and courtroom of public opinion."[5]
References
- ^ a b Cloud, Olivia M. Joy to the World: Inspirational Christmas Messages from America's Preachers. Simon and Schuster, 2006. ISBN 1416540008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Nasaw, David."Thefts of Baby Jesus Figurines Sweep US". The Guardian. January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ Rubein, Ben. "Stony Point Town Hall's Baby Jesus Stolen". The Journal News. December 31, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ Quinn, Brian. "Andover Paster Hopes God will Investigate Theft of Baby Jesus". Wellsville Daily Reporter. December 16, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Communities Protect Baby Jesus Statues With Hidden Cameras, GPS". Associated Press. December 10, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ Lee, Don."Suspect Arrested in Baby Jesus Theft" Lovely County Citizen, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. December 22, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ "Baby Jesus Stolen From New York Town Hall Display". Associated Press. December 31, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ^ "Baby Jesus Theft Not Caught on Tape". Philadelphia Inquirer. December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
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