Intelligent Christian Life Forms

With the heat here in Washington nearing 95, and with our air conditioning on the blink, I took my semi-monthly stroll to area bookstores to peruse their religion and philosophy sections. I do this partly because I'm a geek; partly because I like to see what other stores carry. I'll non-chalantly flip over new titles and abscond with an ISBN to order into my bookstore. Today, I was especially sad. Maybe this isn't something new, but I noticed something a bit vexing today.

Of the three major book chains I visited today, I came to the conclusion that unless you read the "Left Behind" series (and honestly believe it), or bathe in the gnosticism of the DaVinci Code, you aren't the type of Christian they want shopping in their stores. God-forbid that someone on the Christian journey would saunter into one of these bookstores looking for a book on prayer and spiritual disciplines, not to mention Christian social action. Orthodox theology can't even be found, nor feminist or emerging theologies; not even a drop of Church history. Plenty of Church fantasy, little of Church history.

All this makes me proud of my employer (no this is not an advertisement). I'm proud that we can be a place where intelligent Christian life can be nurtured, formed, supported, and challenged. Not a lot of booksellers can say that in these Purpose Driven days.