Shopping at Protestant stores?

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Zenkai

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Is it okay to shop at Protestant stores, such as Lifeway?

I don’t know how they’d use the money I would spend. Maybe use some of it to convert people to Protestantism?
 
I would think that it’s fine. You can’t really pay for someone’s conversion, and the organization is nonprofit, right? So all they’re using the money for is to support their business and the rest is donated. I’ve looked them up (I’ve actually never even heard of LifeWay until today) and all their products appear to be neutral/non-denominational Christian products, so unless they’re selling Protestant-biased products, I see no issue buying their Bibles or whatever it is you’re looking for.
 
I, too, prefer to shop Catholic ( with a capital C ) . One situation I ran into was a local store, that when you walked in to it, you could have sworn that this was definitely a Catholic store - statues of the Blessed Mother, posters of JP II, crucifixes, rosaries, the whole nine yards. I purchased a book entitled " Early Church Fathers for Evangelicals" or something on that order. Well, within the first five pages it was obviously NOT a Catholic book. When I attempted to return it, I was informed that "they were a Christian, not Catholic, bookstore and that they sold to everyone. The lesson learned - ALWAYS check for the Imperator.
 
I appreciate where you are coming from but I see things differently. I assume you mean religious stores specifically because who is to say your mechanic, plumber or restaurant owner isn’t spending some of their income on converting people to the religion of their choice. A Protestant bookstore for example supplies the income for its employees. One would assume these individuals are good, God-fearing people who live the gospel as best they can in all their affairs and therefore show Christ’s love to others by what they say and do. Focusing on the fact that someone is not specifically Catholic, in my opinion, seems to lose sight of the forest through the trees.
Just my $.02
 
RinoaHeartilly said:
I would think that it’s fine. You can’t really pay for someone’s conversion, and the organization is nonprofit, right? So all they’re using the money for is to support their business and the rest is donated. I’ve looked them up (I’ve actually never even heard of LifeWay until today) and all their products appear to be neutral/non-denominational Christian products, so unless they’re selling Protestant-biased products, I see no issue buying their Bibles or whatever it is you’re looking for.
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They only have Protestant items at the LIfeway store that I’ve been to.
 
Zenkai said:
They only have Protestant items at the LIfeway store that I’ve been to.
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That is what I find at a similar chain around here. There is nothing much to buy. The Bibles and study materials are all Protestant. The devotional materials might be acceptable but you have to look through them carefully. Perhaps a coffee mug with a scripture verse or something similar, but I find inspirational items like that even at Target or Walmart. I can get CS Lewis and Veggietales at the local Catholic store. 😛
 
Zenkai said:
They only have Protestant items at the LIfeway store that I’ve been to.
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I mom went to a Lifeway store to buy some Christmas gifts. She is a protestant. When she asked where the crucifixes were (she wanted to buy me one) they told her that they didn’t sell Catholic items. She handed them the things she had and left. She said that it is rude that they don’t sell things for ALL Christians. I really liked that she, being a protestant, stood up for my faith.
 
I prefer to shop at Catholic stores. I certainly don’t bear any hatred for our Protestant brothers and sisters, by the way. I find that I’m more likely to find what I’m looking for, and the clerks are better able to answer my questions. We used to have a Protestant bookstore at our mall. They really didn’t sell any Catholic items, plus they were sometimes rude toward Catholics- I personally experienced this. I certainly don’t assume it’s that way at all Protestant bookstores, but I still prefer to shop at Catholic stores and websites.

As for what these bookstores do with their income, we really don’t know. I would guess that most of it goes to pay employees and utility/rental costs. The rest could conceivably be used to pay for and spread anti-Catholic literature. It’s the not knowing that bothers me.
 
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