"Christian" Book stores

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It appears to me that in some cases, larger chain and/or franchise Christian bookstores have autonomy in ordering books and media from Catholic sources as well. For example, the Parables book store in my location has several sections devoted to Catholic books. Very nice rosaries, guides, Bibles, DVD’s can also be purchased, including catechisms, and the current writings of the Popes.

A lot of the “whys” have to do with basic capitalism - - is there a local market . . . will we make any money . . . . so, a generic Christian bookstore in Queens, or the south side of Milwaukee, will more likely include Catholic and even Orthodox materials. On the other hand, in Nashville Tennessee, . . . . not so much.
 
The last time I ventured into a “Christian” book store, they had a large display featuring sale prices on Lorraine Boettner’s “Roman Catholicism.” Haven’t visited any lately. In these parts, it appears we don’t figure into the Christian community as they see it.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
I’m in Seattle (one of the most unchurched cities in America), where any kind of Christian bookstore has a tough go of it. There was a Lifeway near me, and I used to be a regular customer, but it closed, and the only ones left are in the most distant 'burbs, nearly an hour drive away. There’s a Family Christian store I can get to easier, but I don’t like their selection of anything very much, though they carry a fair amount of Catholic stuff.

Just IMO, a bookstore that calls itself “Christian” and not “(whatever) particular kind of Christian” ought to support the needs of all kinds of Christians. I may be Protestant (technically at least, not being Catholic or Orthodox), but I don’t limit myself to Protestant authors or Protestant Bibles. I’ve found lots of Catholic and Orthodox writers who had something worthwhile to say. The best bookstore I’ve found for that is Half-Price Books, a local chain of large used bookstores that stocks stuff from every religion. Since they carry Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Wiccan stuff, they sure aren’t going to care that you’re Catholic!
 
on_fire said:
I live in the Bible belt and have had on occasion gone into “Christian” book stores and cannot find any Catholic Bibles in them.The other day they had a poster up saying Over 400 years of Bible study commentary available.Should I ask the employees or the manager if this is a Christian bookstore why dont you carry any Catholic Bibles…or just let it go and walk out?
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I think it’s a good idea if done non-confrontationally. There are two possible reasons why they may not carry Catholic material: it may be because they regard Catholicism as in some way deficiently Christian (or even non-Christian, though this view is less common than many on this forum believe), or it may be because they have just never considered the possibility. From an economic perspective, if Catholics avoid “Christian bookstores” and never ask for Catholic literature, the owners will be unlikely to stock Catholic literature unless they have a very strong commitment to ecumenism. And of course many evangelicals, while not holding to any kind of formal belief that “Catholics are not Christians,” have a low opinion of the Christian commitment and spiritual life of the average Catholic. It’s possible that they have never met a Catholic who really cared about reading the Bible. I certainly have had Catholic students who told me with all seriousness that as Catholics of course they didn’t read the Bible much. On one occasion a student told me this while sitting in my office, and I pulled out my copy of the Catechism and read him what the CCC has to say about the subject. The average evangelical Protestant is not going to be that knowledgeable about Catholicism, nor should they be expected to be.

In short, don’t assume that the omission is due to an anti-Catholic animus unless you get more evidence. Ask them if they have any Catholic Bibles, and if they say they don’t, ask them if they have considered stocking them. They may say something like, “there’s no demand,” and at that point you can try to persuade them on two grounds:
  1. Catholics like yourself don’t shop at “Christian bookstores” because such bookstores don’t have Catholic materials. It’s a vicious circle. If they start stocking Catholic stuff and word gets around, they may have more demand.
  2. If you feel comfortable doing so, you could also admit that many Catholics don’t study the Bible enough and that this is something you and many other devout Catholics are trying to change. Many evangelicals honestly care about people having a relationship with Jesus and studying the Bible a lot more than they do about people joining their church or agreeing with all their theological ideas. They may jump at the idea that they are helping evangelize Catholics–not for Protestantism per se but for those aspects of our common Christianity that are particularly important to Protestants (like knowledge of the Bible).
If the owner really considers Catholicism fundamentally heretical, then this will come out at some point in the discussion, and at that point you would probably do best to walk away (though of course you can always try to argue the point, since it’s true that many Protestants base their view of Catholicism on a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding).

Edwin
 
Brywan said:
Is that legal?!
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I think it should be, if it isn’t. If they can’t discriminate against Catholics, then they couldn’t discriminate against Wiccans or anyone else. If they want the business to be about selling Christian books, then they get to decide (in a country with no established religion) what they mean by “Christian.”

Here’s where a state church would be helpful–it would provide a standard for what is considered “Christian.” But the U.S. doesn’t have such a thing, and on balance the American system doesn’t seem to work much worse than any other–maybe a bit better in some ways.

Edwin
 
PatriceA said:
I agree. But for the sake of the advice needed in this thread, a distinction needs to be made between a “Christian” bookstore and a Catholic bookstore. Especially where the OP lives. We lived in that very diocese for a total of four years, and there is a very clear line drawn by other denominations that we as Catholics are not considered “Christian.”
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Which other denominations? Few if any of the larger denominations would take such a stance. Generally you find it among very small denominations and “non-denominational” churches. Even Southern Baptists wouldn’t necessarily say that Catholics are not Christians, though many of them might.

Edwin
 
Come one out to Kansas City. We have two Catholic bookstores that I know of, one of which I work at :).
 
Nicea325 said:
Why bother to ask? If you confirmed they do not carry any Catholic Bibles,it pretty much means they do not want anything Catholic. Walk out and never give them your business.
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Of course, if everyone follows your advice, the situation will just perpetuate itself.

Which may be fine by you. But clearly some folks would like to change things.

You don’t in fact know that they have an anti-Catholic animus–it may be that all the Catholics are doing what you suggest and the owners have never considered the possibility that there might be a market for Catholic Bibles.

Edwin
 
Brywan said:
Is that legal?!
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It may or may not be, depending upon where you are. If one chooses to make it illegal, then online sales at a Catholic publishing house would be requires to sell non-Catholic materials.

As a brick and mortar storefront, even if legal, itis probably be lousy capitalism. 🤷

Jon
 
You people should be thankful you even have christian bookstores, catholic or “christian”. Being an Australian a christian of any denomination bookstore is a foreign concept, even though 60 something percent claim to be christian only 5 - 10% actually go to church.

Funnily enough considering catholics (actual and claimed) only form 25% of the population catholics consist of over half the church-goers (55 -60%). The anglicans and the more mainline protestants (the uniting church [methodist/presbyterian] and so on] really have low attendance. The orthodox do well but are small and tied with the immigrant communities and your evangelicals/pentecostals/baptists do okay but they are small and rather irrelevant and marginal here and always have a sort of revolving door sort of attendance thing. Mormons do really badly from their own admission here.
 
I was in a Mardel’s a couple of years ago and noticed that they had a couple of books about the Catholic Church in the ‘cult’ section. A man who worked there walked by me and asked if everything was alright. I told him not really and pointed to the books. He said something along the lines of, “Well, you know this is mostly a protestant store.” (Mardel also sells a lot of home educational material) I said, “Yes, I understand that. But over there” (I pointed not five feet away) “you are selling Catholic bibles. And I have seen Saint Christopher medals in here before. I don’t understand why you would cater to Catholics while at the same time calling them a ‘cult’.” He stuttered and starting trying to ask me generic Catholic questions like ‘why we keep Christ on the cross’ and etc… I left.🤷

We are blessed to have two Catholic book/goods stores nearby. The staff are friendly, both have wonderful kid sections full of toys so that my children can have fun within eyesight and I can enjoy browsing a fully Catholic selection.
 
Mrs_V said:
I was in a Mardel’s a couple of years ago and noticed that they had a couple of books about the Catholic Church in the ‘cult’ section. A man who worked there walked by me and asked if everything was alright. I told him not really and pointed to the books. He said something along the lines of, “Well, you know this is mostly a protestant store.” (Mardel also sells a lot of home educational material) I said, “Yes, I understand that. But over there” (I pointed not five feet away) “you are selling Catholic bibles. And I have seen Saint Christopher medals in here before. I don’t understand why you would cater to Catholics while at the same time calling them a ‘cult’.” He stuttered and starting trying to ask me generic Catholic questions like ‘why we keep Christ on the cross’ and etc… I left.🤷

We are blessed to have two Catholic book/goods stores nearby. The staff are friendly, both have wonderful kid sections full of toys so that my children can have fun within eyesight and I can enjoy browsing a fully Catholic selection.
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I’m feeling a lot of contempt I shouldn’t be feelings. I spent so many years defending my Paganism. Now I’m Catholic and now I’m not Christian enough? I want to cuss right now.
 
Different versions of the bible can be found for all religions and or languages. The issue is with the doctrine and if it becomes faulty or changed. Each bible can be used when reading to understand the further context or meaning of the passage. I would make a careful choice when purchasing bibles you are unsure or unaware about, until you know more about them. For example, you can read a nkj version then read the same verse in an amplified bible for better understanding. If you are unsure of what to purchase be sure that the christian websites have an accurate and detailed description for your needs. At a website called www.bible4you.com you can find biblical explanations and layouts of each bible. This is key to help finding what will fit your needs. www.bibles4you.com also offers church supplies and not just bibles for large purchase quantities. Giving affordable prices, deals for large purchases of bibles or church supplies, and other offerings are great to help you all grow in the world and reach others. As we are all brothers and sisters in Christ who accept him and live according to his doctrine we are family. I hope this may be a blessing to you who reads it and helps you find the bible or church supplies you need to continue your walk.

God Bless! 👍
 
vsedriver said:
we have a very large Parables book store in town. I stopped in to ask for some Catholic books and the clerk made a face and said they only carried Christian books. I was so ticked I just left.
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This has been my experience with the Christian chain stores in the Atlanta area especially Lifeway. Hearing that they are affiliated or connected with the Southern Baptists make sense.

These stores are great if you need a copy of 'The Purpose Driven Life for Auto Mechanics"or the latest Third Day CD. They have a large selection of the latest pop-theology prosperity Gospel preacher but would never carry a book by St. John of the Cross or a copy of The Imitation of Christ. I have better luck at Barnes and Noble and Books a Million and simply don’t go to “Christian” book stores at all.

Here in Atlanta there is Mary’s Garden in Marietta (Sandy Plains Rd.), the Jesuit Retreat House and the best is the Cistercian Monsastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

-Tim-
 
Inspired by this thread and just for drill I just phoned the 3 prominent Christian bookstores in my area. One is a Lifeway and the other 2 are owned by an AoG family that I know from my days away from the faith.

They were all cordial and checked on my request for either a Douay-Rheims Bible or an RSV-CE 2nd edition.

None of them had them in stock. All said they could get them. (duh…)

The AoG lady (whose voice I recognized btw) said they were out of stock on a lot of Bibles since Christmas and when I pointed out that the NABRE was coming out soon she said they’d have to get that in.

Pretty much the same for DRB and RSV-CE.

Lifeway guy said that if they are Catholic they are not something they would carry in stock, (I didn’t bother to ask why that was…) but of course they can get them though all he had in his comp was a DRV NT from TAN (Nice, I have one in paperback).

These folks are outta luck because I know I can walk into Books-A-Million or B&N and put my hand on the RSV-CE 2nd right now today. (It’s where I got my compact Bible which I really like!) and might even find a DRB as well, though less likely.

Amazon has all of the above and then some at good prices, so…
 
Mrs_V said:
I was in a Mardel’s a couple of years ago and noticed that they had a couple of books about the Catholic Church in the ‘cult’ section. A man who worked there walked by me and asked if everything was alright. I told him not really and pointed to the books. He said something along the lines of, “Well, you know this is mostly a protestant store.” (Mardel also sells a lot of home educational material) I said, “Yes, I understand that. But over there” (I pointed not five feet away) “you are selling Catholic bibles. And I have seen Saint Christopher medals in here before. I don’t understand why you would cater to Catholics while at the same time calling them a ‘cult’.” He stuttered and starting trying to ask me generic Catholic questions like ‘why we keep Christ on the cross’ and etc… I left.🤷

We are blessed to have two Catholic book/goods stores nearby. The staff are friendly, both have wonderful kid sections full of toys so that my children can have fun within eyesight and I can enjoy browsing a fully Catholic selection.
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John Martignoni has a great response to this question in his 2-Minute Apologetics which would have blown that guy right outta the water.👍

I had a friend ask me why Catholics have Crucifixes in our churches…don’t we believe Jesus has risen? Why do we keep Him on the cross?

There are some really excellent Catholic Tracts available from Grotto press and one I would suggest carrying is …( The picture is a link)
grottopress.org/assets/images/db_images/db_a_Salvation6.jpg
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Name

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CIL Tract: Sound Bites on Salvation (set of 25)
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$4.50
 
There is one other aspect of this.

When it comes to commerce, it’s always nice to deal with folks of similar interest.

If someone fails to carry what we need…we just go elsewhere…taking our hard earned money with us.

Frankly, I like doing business with Catholics where possible. 🤷
 
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