Well, here I am again, sitting out in front of Safeway in Woodland Park, connected to the free wifi here. :) Checked the email and now I'm checking some of the blogs I regularly read. Mel just left to go get us a Burger King cheeseburger. After we are done here, we'll head down to Colorado Springs and go get Mel's new glasses. Then, if we can find the right store we were told about, we'll go look at a place that may have some teaching materials for sale that I can use in Ukraine.
A couple weeks ago we went to a local "Christian" "bookstore". All of that in quotes. "Christian" because it has the appearance of Christianity, but most of the stuff for sale in there is pure JUNK. Heresy by the boatload. Materialism by the crate. I felt sick to my stomach after being in there for just a few minutes. "Bookstore" because maybe 1/3 of the store was books. The rest was cutesy pictures to put on your wall, cutesy stuff to scatter around your house, DVDs for kids that may or may not have presented the truth of Scripture correctly and how can you tell without BUYING it first and prescreening it? And absolutely NOTHING to use for teaching in a church or Sunday School situation for kids - unless you want to do the DVD thing.
I was appalled. I told the guy at the counter that I was appalled. He kind of hemmed and hawed and told me that you have to buy that stuff off the internet.
I was sickened. But in reality I was not surprised at all. I remember a few years ago going into the same store and being smacked in the face with the "Angel of the Month Club" angels. Made me want to puke. When people in the Bible saw angels they fell down on their faces in total terror. Those 'angels' would never have scared anyone, much less drawn their attention to the Living God. We had lived in an area that celebrated New Age religion to the max, and there it was again in the "Christian" "bookstore".
Needless to say, I get exercised about the shallowness of the American church. I could go on and on about it - but Mel just got back with that cheeseburger and I want to eat it while it's still hot. :) :)
I am hoping and praying that this store we were told about will have some real teaching materials. Will find out in a couple hours!!
3 comments:
you actually TOLD the guy you were appalled? Good for you!:) The invitation to come visit our church is still standing. Most people have never met you in person. AND we can go camping afterwards. Not overnight (at least not us, Rachael is still too little to sleep in a cold tent) but just for the day. We will get the canoe out and bring the grill. Let me know what you think.
Well, it's not just the "American church", sad to say.
Not only do these bookstores seem to be full of junk, they never seem to have the books I want. Why is it the good stuff is always "unavailable"?
Thanks, Olya, for the invitation. We hope to be in your neck of the woods either in December or sometime after the first of next year. We're home now strictly for medical and visiting only the churches within the immediate area right now (we haven't been to these two churches in 6 years - that's what happens when your support base covers such a large area - the Western half of the US). We'll be in touch for scheduling later this summer, after we get back to Kherson.
I really did tell the guy I was appalled. He was uncomfortable, to say the least - he doesn't choose what goes in the store. I did find some of what I wanted at Mardels, but most of their stuff was geared toward homeschoolers. I do want to go back there in the winter, tho, and see what else I can find.
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