Monday, June 09, 2008

Fahrenheit Four-Fifty-Dumb

Somewhere near Shreveport, LA, some genius had the following brilliant thought: "You know what would make the Gospel seem welcoming to non-Christians and would make our area's churches seem like vibrant communities that people would actually want to join? A book burning! Let's hear it for some Christian nihilism! Woo WOO!"

Bonus: the guy who's running the show heads a church called "The International House of Prayer." The sad part is that if the pastor weren't making douchey remarks like "It is allowed for Harry Potter to be taught in our schools, but not the Bible" (patently false) and "I'm not a doom-and-gloom preacher... but we are at the threshold of dark days" (in the same category as "I'm not a racist but..."), the awesomeness of the church's name might actually draw people in...

7 comments:

Mike said...

Are there schools that "teach" "Harry Potter"? What's to be taught there? "Children, this is how one plays Quidditch." Gimme a break.

Anyway, it's good to have a book burning every now and then, since it reminds the rest of us how sane and rational we truly are.

Ben said...

Well, is Harry Potter ever taught in English class? If so...then it's taught in schools. Of course, for that matter, I read some of the King James Bible in English class.

By the way, what is "Christian Nihilism?" Isn't "nihilism" the belief in nothing?

In the end, the only books that should be burned are those that one burn very well at a certain grill in front of Chaffin 316.

Jeff said...

Yeah, essentially. In my mind, it's practices of Christianity that seek to negate everything instead of standing for the Gospel.

Matthew B. Novak said...

Hey now. I can imagine at least one class of people that would be interested in joining this church because of book burnings: the cold.

Oh wait, did you say Shreveport? Nevermind, there aren't any cold people there.

Mike said...

That's my point, Ben: if "Harry Potter" actually is ever taught in English class, I weep for the state of our nation's literature programs (though, in fairness, I can see where such could be used to foster literacy).

I too studied some of the Bible (and the Torah, and the Koran) in English class when I was in high school.

Man, burning that effing Networks book was so satisfying.

Anonymous said...

Man, there's nothing I hate more than walking into IHOP for a stack of pancakes and finding out I'm at a book burning instead.

Matthew B. Novak said...

Or that they're out of the 3 berry syrup.