Comments on: Church Bookstores

By: Big Gary

Big Gary — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:17:07 +0000

So they left in all the murders, and blocked all the nudity.
That sounds about like American Fundy morality.

By: Jenny Haniver

Jenny Haniver — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:36:11 +0000

The place that used to be in the log cabin??? Yes!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 01:21:44 +0000

The bookstore in the church I grew up in was always SO expensive, but it was still always crowded.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:04:36 +0000

Oh, right, I forgot about the bookstores! The church I grew up in had a bookstore in it’s own little nook right next to the secretary’s office. I do remember an assortment of KJV bibles, covers, CD’s, bookmarks, etc. It was run by whichever ladies volunteered that week. And the tape ministry, LOL! I forgot about that, but my church did it too. I honestly can’t recall anybody buying those, but they were offered.

By: Richard Sullivan

Richard Sullivan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:44:05 +0000

How’s the sales tax issue treated? Because it’s in a tax-exempt building, sales tax need not apply? If you go to your average “christian” bookstore, you’ll pay sales tax. I bring this up because many fundies hide behind the cross to avoid paying taxes on their “ministries”. Hmmm… I remember a story in the NT about a fish, a coin, and taxes.

By: RJW

RJW — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:12:12 +0000

Nowadays, as mentioned, church bookstores aren’t just a fundy thing. However, I find them irrelevent in our current culture. If I really wanted something, I could order it online (and at a less-expensive price).

I did have a laugh a couple of years ago when I visited my uncle’s super-fundy church and they mentioned the “tape ministry”. TAPE ministry?? Who even owns cassettes these days . . .or cassette players for that matter.

By: Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:33:11 +0000

@Amanda: Such is the death sentence associated with watching movies on TV and attending an IFB christian school. I can remember the sketchy looks I received from my best friend’s parents after watching the movies I’d recommended…

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:41:07 +0000

@Camille, there are also dangers to watching those “edited” films, such as later forgetting that what you’d seen was the edited version and recommending it to someone with “high standards.” Oops.

By: RWales

RWales — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:47:47 +0000

The fundy church I grew up in had a small bookstore in the basement (that my mother ran). The pastor had a sly way of making sure that the church was not becoming a “den of thieves” or a store by saying that if you could not afford any of the materials, but felt that you needed it for your spiritual growth, you could take what you wanted and the church would cover it; the same rule went for the merchandise sold by traveling evangelists and musical groups.
In spite of that rule, the church did not have to compensate for much- the majority of the materials for sale were outdated SOTL books about the evils of alcohol and women working outside of the home (not sure if there is a different category of SOTL materials).

By: Camille

Camille — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:27:34 +0000

You all remember Bob Harrison’s movies? It was sometime between 1992-1996 in Greenville, SC. You could rent recently released videos with the “bad stuff” taken out. EASY BREEZY MORALITY!!

Everyone was talking about it, so we rented _Schindler’s List_ to watch with our BOJO friends. We had already seen it on the big screen. Shhh! Don’t tell.

But so . . . we watch. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder — at Schindler’s List!! All the skin above the knee and below the shoulders was blocked out completely. But all the murder and death and shooting was shown unedited. What? Sex is evil, but cold-blooded maniacal and senseless murder is not gratuitous?

And the bad words were only blocked on the front speakers. My geek hubby’s surround sound system completely picked up the bad words on the back speakers, so it just highlighted the thing we weren’t supposed to hear.

Like those TV Guardians. Remember those?

So much stuff fundies like . . . .