Sunday, November 18, 2007

'Interesting' finds...

Well, today, I was browsing for something, and I happen to be in the Popular Bookstore near my home. Look at what I saw:

OK, this is a secular bookstore, but this just shows that Joel Osteen's heresies are available here in Singapore (and being promoted, as we can see from the 20% off sticker), where I am SURE there would be people buying, even those who call themselves Christians.

And in one New Evangelical bookstore, I saw this:

Breath prayers ... where have I heard of them before? Oh, of course, in Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life. So now anyone interested or curious can find out how to start on your journey into the mists of New Age Contemplative Spirituality.

4 comments:

ricki said...

I cannot stand going into Christian bookstores these days. I don't know if I should be embarrassed, angry, sad, etc.. It's horrible.

Daniel C said...

Rick, it is indeed bad and very sad. How is the situation over in America though? Here in Singapore, the Word faith 'preachers' (ie Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, the two Kenneths, John Hagee etc.) 'own' most of the shelf space, with a sprinking of Rick Warren, Ed Silvoso, C. Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner, Blackaby etc. In the larger 'more conservative' bookstores, books by Brian McLaren, Rob Bell etc can be found, besides the Word-faith books, and alongside good books by people like John Piper, Josh Harris and maybe a few MacArthur. It has been a long time since I bought books from any one of these bookstores.

As an aside, the most ridiculous thing I have seen is a bookstore selling Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life alongside MacArthur's Fool's Gold, which have one chapter criticizing the PDL. Evidently, that 'Christian' bookstore is just there for the money and that is why I think they are not interested in what is actually being sold, as long as there is a market for it.

MC said...

im sure there are good christian bookstores in singapore.. no?

Daniel C said...

Well, there certainly are, but somehow I don't think any of the franchised and more well-known stores are good. Some are better than others, obviously. IMHO, a lot of stores treat the selling of Christians books, bibles etc more as business than as ministry.