DangerousTalkDangerous Talk » Atheist in a Discount Christian Bookstore

Atheist in a Discount Christian Bookstore

Posted on November 15th, 2010 by Staks

Over the weekend, I had the interesting opportunity to visit a discount Christian bookstore. Whenever I can, I like to take a look at what Christians are selling and buying. I just find it fascinating. I feel like a anthropologist studying a primitive culture.

For starters, I love how the store was open on Saturday (the Sabbath Day). This of course is one of God’s big 10 rules that he wrote in stone and are punishable by death. But I digress. I walked around the store with a grin on my face and feeling like an undercover agent on a reconnaissance mission. I was secretly hoping that the young guy with the large wooden cross around his neck who worked there would stop me and ask if I was looking for something in particular. I would of course asked him if they had the Moral Landscape by Sam Harris or perhaps if I wanted to be even more provocative, I might ask about The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. But alas, he didn’t ask.

I did notice that there was a surprising amount a fiction in the store (while everything in the store is technically fiction, I am referring to what Christians consider fiction). They only had a small section for inspirational and self-help. I didn’t see any apologetics (which is really what interests me most in a Christian bookstore).

I did find an interesting book which I seriously considered getting, “Left Behind for Kids.” It was only a dollar, but I couldn’t justify the expense morally.