Christian Bookstores

Bookstores are some of my favorite places on earth. I love to rifle through shelves, looking for bargains on exceptional works of literature. Nevertheless, certain stores depress me, particularly those that sell poorly written books--what I have come to call twaddle. This evening, my family and I stepped into a Christian bookstore. Every time I enter one of these bastions of warm, fuzzy religious feelings, I come away depressed. Why? Because I can't help believing that these stores represent Christ inaccurately to the world. I recently had an intense and fascinating discussion of this issue with several dear friends, and wanted to take the time to summarize my perspective here.

The Problem of Pain

"'But please, please--won't you--can't you give me something that will cure Mother?' Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great front feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

Man is not God

Ok, so I have to confess I've been tardy on the reading list. I wrote out a beautiful schedule, and as soon as debate and community college season came along, I forgot about it. This only serves to remind me once again of my imperfections.