Church libraries

[elfs]

One of the ways to get a feel for a church is to go see what they have in their library. Most churches have a lending library, a shelf with the books they think are most important to their members. The church where Yamaraashi-chan goes for choir practice appears to be a fairly liberal mainstream denomination, and the books on their shelves reflect that: most of them are either about affirming one's own faith, or about family matters. There were very few gotchas on the shelf; perhaps the most egregious was a book on "How to speak to a Muslim," which seemed to imply that if you read the Bible fast enough and loud enough he'd come to understand that the Koran made even less sense than you were.

There were only two IDiot books on the shelves: Phillip Johnson's hoary old "Defeating Darwinism," which attempts to lawyerize evolutionary theory; someone should explain to Johnson that science ain't a courtroom. The other was called "What's Darwin Got To Do With It," which is a comic book in the same bent as Larry Gonik's "Cartoon Guide To.." series (the one on Evolution is great, if outdated). The artwork was okay but the science terrible, ultimately resting on every outdated caricature of biology, that "AM Radio Darwinism" that has nothing to do with the biology pharmaceutical and agricultural scientists use every day.

There are few things sadder than seeing someone actively encouraging-- and profiting from encouraging-- the downfall of America. If, as many futurists predict, the next generation of major technologies will be biotechnologies then South Korea, China and India can all stop worrying. America is too caught up in stuff like this to seriously lead the way.

Comments

[memegarden.livejournal.com]

I like the U District UU church's library/bookstore (they do both in one room). They carry Barbara Kingsolver and some good children's books, and lend out books on various religions.

[memegarden.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I think church bulletin boards are usefully informative, too. I decided this after I noticed the same UU church had a poster up listing danger signs that you're being abused by your BDSM partner, and a number to call.

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

Libraries, in general, can do odd things. At school, the library was run by the English department, and every so often you'd get some strange science. Such as Velikovsky's "Worlds in Collision" in physics.

And, more startling, an account of the first voyages of the USS Nautilus, with photographs, written by the Captain, was shelved as fiction.

OK, that got sorted when I pointed it out.

But a lot of books in libraries are choices by people without the specific technical expertise They depend on reviews. It looks a little like that church library got tainted by biased reviewers.

Of course you have some standing as a parent (though I don't keep track of the complications of your parental responsibilities), but I'd be careful what I put on paper. From the church's point of view you might be too much of a stranger.

A lot of people wouldn't bother.

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

sneak in a few copies of "Stranger in a strange land"

[areitu.livejournal.com]

After a sermon at a Lutheran church, I was looking over the tables with books and pamphlets they set up for the congregation to look over. Of course there were ID books, but what I found most amusing was, on one end of the table, there were pamphlets with a comic-style cartoon on it advocating the right to pray, learn ID and be openly Christian in schools. Basically it was a cartoon of some kids praying, being reprimanded and almost getting into a firstfight over it then standing up for their rights and calling for tolerance.

On the other end of the same table were three pamphlets: JUDAISM, ISLAM and MORMONISM. Those pamphlets contained a cliff-notes description of the religons in a suprisingly unbiased manner. The last paragraph of each pamphlet asked the reader to bring in a Jewish/Muslim/Mormon friend to see the church pastor. The MORMON pamphlet emphasized this a bit more than the others.

Nobody ever said tolerance was accecptance!