I don't believe him. He could have refused to speak to fox and all
other media. He knew exactly what he was doing and though he'd get so
good PR for his church. Well, his actions may have actually harmed
Christianity rather than helped it. AND BY THE BY, I have shopped at Costco for years and have NEVER seen any books labeled as fiction or non-fiction. So I do believe the Costco employee who apologized for the mis-labeling and explained the labels were from the vendor. Here is a Christian reaction to the
controversy from Sojourners and the pastor's apology Daily Kos story.....
The religion section of The Huffington Post published an article on Tuesday about how some Christians are responding to Costco. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about how Christians are celebrating the fact that this big-box store not only makes a profit and actually pays its employees a living wage.
That, after all, would be Good News.
No. These Christians are outraged because Costco had Bibles labeled as fiction.
*Gasp*
Well, I had to see this for myself, so I went to Costco during my lunch break. Now, as any loyal Costco shopper will tell you, there are two times when you should never go to Costco because of the crowds: the weekend and 12:00 p.m.
So, I braved the lunchtime crowds to find the Bibles labeled with the offensive “fiction” sticker. I planned to take a picture of said Bibles for you to see, but alas, my Costco didn’t have Bibles, fictional or otherwise.
They did, however, have hot dogs. And I’ll take a $1.50 non-fictional hot dog over a $14.99 fictional Bible every time.
I love Costco.
We know about this Costco’s offensive Bible sticker because of a pastor named Caleb Kaltenbach. Despite his totally awesome name and his totally awesome twitter profile picture where he’s drinking from an R2D2 mug, Kaltenbach is all offended by Costco.
Dude, simmer down.
Christians are becoming known for being offended by anything. Some even claim that Christians in the United States are being persecuted. I wouldn’t be surprised if some loony tunes Christian states that Costco is part of a cultural conspiracy to persecute Christians.
Kattenbach didn’t say that, but he came close. He actually got an apology out of Costco by talking to Fox News (bet you didn’t see that one coming), stating: “On the one hand Christians should not yell out ‘persecution.’ We aren’t living in Iraq or Iran. But on the other hand, I believe that we do need to stand up for our faith and we need to be vocal about our concerns.”
No. We don’t. Because every time we “stand up for our faith” and are “vocal about our concerns” we make fools of ourselves. I can already hear someone offering a vague quote from St. Paul about the Christian faith being “foolishness to the Gentiles.” So, okay. Go ahead and take pride in being foolish.
But Paul wasn’t talking about being stupid. Christ crucified is foolishness to many because it says God’s power isn’t seen in fighting against the Empire of Costco when it offends us. The foolishness of Christ crucified is that Christ didn’t fight back. He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t whine about being offended. Rather, he offered forgiveness and then he moved on to his resurrection and offered peace.
Now, nonviolent love that offers forgiveness and love to those who have offended us is foolishness to the world and to many Christians. But that’s the kind of foolishness St. Paul was talking about. If the Gospels are non-fictional (and I’m foolish enough to believe they are) accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then we should follow Jesus into the death of not being offended and into a resurrected life of loving everyone, especially those with whom we might take offense. In other words, death and resurrection is a process of becoming un-offended.
If the Gospels are accurate accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then how would the resurrected Jesus respond to the Bible being called “fiction”? He’d gently laugh, and then he’d multiply the $1.50 hot dogs so that everyone could share in the bountiful feast that is the Kingdom of God.
Adam Ericksen blogs at the Raven Foundation, where he uses mimetic theory to provide social commentary on religion, politics, and pop culture. Follow Adam on Twitter @adamericksen.
http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/11/21/bible-costco-and-fiction-foolish-christians-and-multiplying-hot-dogs/
The religion section of The Huffington Post published an article on Tuesday about how some Christians are responding to Costco. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about how Christians are celebrating the fact that this big-box store not only makes a profit and actually pays its employees a living wage.
Costco recently apologized for placing "fiction" stickers on Bibles. Nicholas Eckhart/flickr
No. These Christians are outraged because Costco had Bibles labeled as fiction.
*Gasp*
Well, I had to see this for myself, so I went to Costco during my lunch break. Now, as any loyal Costco shopper will tell you, there are two times when you should never go to Costco because of the crowds: the weekend and 12:00 p.m.
So, I braved the lunchtime crowds to find the Bibles labeled with the offensive “fiction” sticker. I planned to take a picture of said Bibles for you to see, but alas, my Costco didn’t have Bibles, fictional or otherwise.
They did, however, have hot dogs. And I’ll take a $1.50 non-fictional hot dog over a $14.99 fictional Bible every time.
I love Costco.
We know about this Costco’s offensive Bible sticker because of a pastor named Caleb Kaltenbach. Despite his totally awesome name and his totally awesome twitter profile picture where he’s drinking from an R2D2 mug, Kaltenbach is all offended by Costco.
Dude, simmer down.
Christians are becoming known for being offended by anything. Some even claim that Christians in the United States are being persecuted. I wouldn’t be surprised if some loony tunes Christian states that Costco is part of a cultural conspiracy to persecute Christians.
Kattenbach didn’t say that, but he came close. He actually got an apology out of Costco by talking to Fox News (bet you didn’t see that one coming), stating: “On the one hand Christians should not yell out ‘persecution.’ We aren’t living in Iraq or Iran. But on the other hand, I believe that we do need to stand up for our faith and we need to be vocal about our concerns.”
No. We don’t. Because every time we “stand up for our faith” and are “vocal about our concerns” we make fools of ourselves. I can already hear someone offering a vague quote from St. Paul about the Christian faith being “foolishness to the Gentiles.” So, okay. Go ahead and take pride in being foolish.
But Paul wasn’t talking about being stupid. Christ crucified is foolishness to many because it says God’s power isn’t seen in fighting against the Empire of Costco when it offends us. The foolishness of Christ crucified is that Christ didn’t fight back. He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t whine about being offended. Rather, he offered forgiveness and then he moved on to his resurrection and offered peace.
Now, nonviolent love that offers forgiveness and love to those who have offended us is foolishness to the world and to many Christians. But that’s the kind of foolishness St. Paul was talking about. If the Gospels are non-fictional (and I’m foolish enough to believe they are) accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then we should follow Jesus into the death of not being offended and into a resurrected life of loving everyone, especially those with whom we might take offense. In other words, death and resurrection is a process of becoming un-offended.
If the Gospels are accurate accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then how would the resurrected Jesus respond to the Bible being called “fiction”? He’d gently laugh, and then he’d multiply the $1.50 hot dogs so that everyone could share in the bountiful feast that is the Kingdom of God.
Adam Ericksen blogs at the Raven Foundation, where he uses mimetic theory to provide social commentary on religion, politics, and pop culture. Follow Adam on Twitter @adamericksen.
http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/11/21/bible-costco-and-fiction-foolish-christians-and-multiplying-hot-dogs/
Pastor Apologizes to Costco, Praises Them for Their Good Works
thomstarkFollow
I'm an avid reader of the Kos, but this is my first diary, and it's kind of personal.
I first learned about this story from The Young Turks. When I saw the quote from the pastor about Costco labeling their Bibles as "fiction," I laughed and groaned. Then I saw the name of the pastor. It was Caleb Kaltenbach, an old friend of mine from college. My immediate reaction was to be angry at him. I tagged him on Facebook and called him out, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to see what really went down.
He called me, and told me his side of things. Turns out, he was being misquoted in the media, and it was never his intention to launch a crusade over how Costco had labeled their Bibles. He thought it was humorous, so he posted a snarky pic, having no idea the media shitstorm that would ensue. Naively, he was taken along for the ride by Fox and others.
Now probably 99 out of a 100 times, when a conservative Christian says something ridiculous in the media, they mean it. But I know Caleb, and I know he's not one of those culture warrior Christians.
Tonight, Caleb took responsibility for the controversy he unwittingly initiated, and posted an apology to Costco, and statements of support for them, on his Facebook and Twitter, where this all began.
So from my perspective, what this story is really about is how the media (especially Fox, obviously, but the media on both sides of the largely fictional left/right divide) feed on controversy, like parasites. And if there isn't controversy, they need to create it. It's cynicism at its finest—manipulating the emotions of those who are easily manipulated in order to turn a profit. I'm not denying that there are stupid and dangerous Christians (and fundies of all religious and non-religious stripes) out there. There are lots of them. But I do think that the primary reason there are so many of them is not something inherent in their faiths/ideologies, but something deeply embedded in the establishment media modus operandi. The media needs fundies because it needs controversy, and so it is invested in creating fundies, by limiting the parameters of acceptable public discourse, enabling, perpetuating, and amplifying the ignorance of some, then giving them the microphones.
No, I'm not denying that certain popular brands of religion have any share of the blame. Of course they do. But what we often fail to see is the way that the media and the politicians shape and recreate religion in ways that serve the purposes of perpetuating this fictive bi-polar national conflict, in order to distract us from their more basic, essentially economic, agenda.
(NOTE: This Diary has been edited to make clear the distinction between theological conservatism and political conservatism.)
I first learned about this story from The Young Turks. When I saw the quote from the pastor about Costco labeling their Bibles as "fiction," I laughed and groaned. Then I saw the name of the pastor. It was Caleb Kaltenbach, an old friend of mine from college. My immediate reaction was to be angry at him. I tagged him on Facebook and called him out, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to see what really went down.
He called me, and told me his side of things. Turns out, he was being misquoted in the media, and it was never his intention to launch a crusade over how Costco had labeled their Bibles. He thought it was humorous, so he posted a snarky pic, having no idea the media shitstorm that would ensue. Naively, he was taken along for the ride by Fox and others.
Now probably 99 out of a 100 times, when a conservative Christian says something ridiculous in the media, they mean it. But I know Caleb, and I know he's not one of those culture warrior Christians.
Tonight, Caleb took responsibility for the controversy he unwittingly initiated, and posted an apology to Costco, and statements of support for them, on his Facebook and Twitter, where this all began.
I'm not crusading against Costco or anyone else. I am sorry that this has created a difficult season for them
Cultural warfare over book labels casts a shadow over the Gospel. Never my intent when I snapped a pic...
Matthew 25: God cares about how we care for our brothers & sisters in need... I'm glad #Costco is an example of that
#Costco stands on the side of the Gospel when they pay employees a living wage & do good. Judge a tree by its fruit, not by its labels(His Facebook is here.) Caleb isn't a culture warrior. He genuinely believes that being a Christian is about what one does for those in need, not about owning the culture. Yes, Caleb is a theological conservative, with theologically conservative views (though not necessarily politically conservative views). But while I most definitely am not a theological conservative, he and I remain friends. He's not interested in converting me to his way of thinking. He wants to cooperate with differently-minded people based on common ground. That's his thing. And, for every loud-mouthed fundy Christian who wants to make America over in their puny image, there's a down-to-earth conservative Christian who has bigger fish to fry.
So from my perspective, what this story is really about is how the media (especially Fox, obviously, but the media on both sides of the largely fictional left/right divide) feed on controversy, like parasites. And if there isn't controversy, they need to create it. It's cynicism at its finest—manipulating the emotions of those who are easily manipulated in order to turn a profit. I'm not denying that there are stupid and dangerous Christians (and fundies of all religious and non-religious stripes) out there. There are lots of them. But I do think that the primary reason there are so many of them is not something inherent in their faiths/ideologies, but something deeply embedded in the establishment media modus operandi. The media needs fundies because it needs controversy, and so it is invested in creating fundies, by limiting the parameters of acceptable public discourse, enabling, perpetuating, and amplifying the ignorance of some, then giving them the microphones.
No, I'm not denying that certain popular brands of religion have any share of the blame. Of course they do. But what we often fail to see is the way that the media and the politicians shape and recreate religion in ways that serve the purposes of perpetuating this fictive bi-polar national conflict, in order to distract us from their more basic, essentially economic, agenda.
(NOTE: This Diary has been edited to make clear the distinction between theological conservatism and political conservatism.)
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