Sandra raises an excellent issue:
“My point is: Do you have the same type of reaction, whatever your reaction,
to any other religious or philosophical based books? If not, then maybe you
should do some 'soul searching' as to why 'Christian' based books only raise
this much negative (or positive) reaction. One book that comes to mind is "A
Wrinkle in Time"; Charles and Calvin are able to identify to Mrs. Whatsit
that 'the Dark Thing' is 'evil'. When Calvin asks who has been 'fighting'
for them, Mrs. Whatsit says that they know, then Mrs. Who quotes The Bible,
"And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not." Where upon Charles Wallace says, "Jesus!" (p. 85 in the paperback that
I happened to grab). Did those of you who are suggesting that 'Left Behind'
books not be on your shelves, have the same debate over the Madeleine
L'Engles theology or the mixing of science fiction or fantasy and
Christianity?”
For my school, I would say “no.” Neither would I purchase Catholic books
that claim only Catholics are going to heaven. Nor would I buy books from
other religious traditions that cast other faith traditions in a negative
light. We recently had a discussion about “One More River,” by Lynne Reid
Banks. When are complaints about a book valid? Do we have to not risk
offending anyone because of an author’s viewpoint? None of these are easy
questions. But, as professionals we need to constantly look at ourselves
and our own biases and how they effect book selection.
Bene e Pace (Blessings and Peace),
Paula S.W. Laurita, MLIS
St. John's Catholic School, K-8
Madison, AL
HYPERLINK "mailto:plaurita@stjohnb.com"plaurita@stjohnb.com
HYPERLINK
"http://librarysciences.bellaonline.com"http://librarysciences.bellaonline.c
om
librarysciences@bellaonline.com
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