…and this is a 
Ambitious vandalism!
Category: Humor
Posted on: May 20, 2008 8:18 AM, by PZ Myers
A couple of college students in Toronto (what is it with those ferocious godless heathens coming out of that city?) took offense at the patent absurdity of the "Bible and Bible Studies" section of a large bookstore at Yonge and Eglinton, and decided to help organize the shelves by filing their contents more appropriately. They quietly moved the contents to other places in the bookstore, like Fiction, Humour, Sexuality, Erotica, Cuisine, Parenting, Mental Disorder, Parapsychology and the Occult. Then they sent me a photo of the end result.
That's Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation sitting all alone there.
I can't really condone this kind of behavior — think of the poor clerks who have to look everywhere to find and restore the bibles to their little ghetto — but it is funny. It's also godless Canada, so maybe nobody noticed for a few weeks or months. Maybe nobody cared.
Here's the other side of the story.
The book-shuffler also explains his side.
Comments
Behe must be in the diesel engine repair section.
Posted by: danley | May 20, 2008 8:26 AM
"Fiction, Humour, Sexuality, Erotica, Cuisine, Parenting, Mental Disorder, Parapsychology and the Occult"?
Er, cuisine?
Well, sure, if you think ritual imitations of cannibalism are cuisine...
Posted by: Masks of Eris | May 20, 2008 8:30 AM
Well.... The Bible could fit in the cuisine section, just remember all those references to 'locust and honey' casserole, and 'loaves and fishes' potluck...
Posted by: Blaidd Drwg | May 20, 2008 8:35 AM
As a former clerk at a large bookstore, this kind of thing is really annoying. It creates a lot of work for the already over-worked and under-paid employees, who are also the ones who have to deal with irate customers who want their books and want them five minutes ago.
The worst of the re-shelving by customers was during the 2004 election. Customers got nasty. Books by authors from the other side of the aisle were hidden behind books by authors the customer agreed with. Sometimes, whoever was doing this would shelve the books spine-out so that more could be covered at once. Michael Moore had to stare at the ass of Ann Coulter's latest. If you wanted a book criticizing Bush, you had to look behind O'Reilly or Medved. In my experience, the vast majority of this re-shelving was done by right-wingers hiding left-wing books. But whichever direction it went, it was equally obnoxious.
Also, putting Bibles in the Sexuality section is pretty cruel to those who don't fit into the Christian straight ideal, and already have to deal with a load of self-righteous condemnation from the ex-gay crowd. Christians routinely used to put Bibles in that section, as well as in Lesbian/Gay Literature. They also would put tracts, leaflets, and slips of paper advertising Jesus in random books throughout the store. "While you're looking for the truth, the Truth is looking for you!" and then some Bible verses.
Posted by: SteveWH | May 20, 2008 8:40 AM
One bookcase.
One bookcase???
That game would take months in Oklahoma! You would run out of non-Bible places to put the damn things before you ran out of Bible crap!
*pouts*
Posted by: ERV | May 20, 2008 8:45 AM
Where to locate the bible was a raging controversy at my library's recent book sale. The librarians were evenly divided between fiction and non-fiction. A solution was reached with creation of a third section for self help; this included a large pile of L. Ron Hubbard books. Interestingly, Dr. Phil's book was placed in the fiction section.
Posted by: comfortably numb | May 20, 2008 8:48 AM
I have to admit, I was pretty pissed when Behe's The Edge of Evolution came out... it seemed to come out in Canada before anyone here noticed, and it caught me off-guard. I immediately picked up the pile (shelved under Evolution! in the Science section!), and deposited it immediately in the Religion section.
Posted by: katie | May 20, 2008 8:51 AM
One bookcase?
One bookcase???
I don't honestly ever recall seeing that much space devoted to "Bibles & Bible Studies" in even the largest bookstores. They tend to have a "Religion" section, and that's likely got Dawkins et al. in.
I like Britain.
Mostly.
Posted by: Andrew | May 20, 2008 8:52 AM
I was thinking that my local newspaper, the Washington Post, should put the astrology and religion news together. The religion section on Saturday is a hoot -- last week the feature article was on belief among the Burmese that the cyclone was godly retribution because of persecution of Buddhist monks. ????? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603347.html
Posted by: Peter M | May 20, 2008 8:54 AM
I remember decades ago arriving to the library stacks early and bright one morning at a large NYC university library of which I supervised the shelving, only to find the collection totally, and I mean TOTALLY out of call number order. The culprit was a student worker on LSD who re-arranged the collection via color.
Posted by: Logicel | May 20, 2008 8:57 AM
It seems like "Bibles and Bible Studies" was an appropriate place for those books in the first place.
Removing all the New Age mumbo jumbo from the "Science" section would have been my priority.
Posted by: Red Panda | May 20, 2008 9:00 AM
Many bookstores have, in the religion section, a few shelves marked "Christian Fiction."
This is a good place for Behe et al.
Posted by: anon1234 | May 20, 2008 9:06 AM
I was working in a bookstore shortly after the 2000 election recount, when somebody (a customer or coworker) moved George W. Bush's autobiography from its original section to the True Crime section.
Posted by: Nick | May 20, 2008 9:07 AM
Mean, and work-making for the hapless employees, I agree.
But come on, didn't you chuckle even a LITTLE bit? I know I did.
Posted by: Vic | May 20, 2008 9:08 AM
I know people that put stickers in the Gideon's Bibles in hotels. It is kinder, gentler and much more to the point. I suppose these could go on books in bookstores too, but I would never advocate such a thing.
http://www.cafepress.com/antireligion/1116655
Posted by: Kevin F | May 20, 2008 9:19 AM
I believe! I believe that wrapping the Bibles in Charmin wrapping would have been much more appropriate.
BTW - Get ready for Canadian "writer" Dense O'Dreary (co-author of The Spatula Brain)to complain about this and the Godless Atheistic Church Burnin' Darwinists on one of her numerous blog-farm links. And be prepared for her world class BAD sentence structure.
Posted by: J-Dog | May 20, 2008 9:24 AM
Ha, awesome! Those boys make me proud.
Although I do agree that an even sweeter move would be to remove all of the religion crap out of the science section. Nothing pisses me off more.
Posted by: LisaJ | May 20, 2008 9:26 AM
For about a year I lived just outside of Crystal Lake, IL which is a tiny little northwest suburb of Chicago. When I would hit the major chain bookstores I noticed that the new age stuff eclipsed the christian stuff with an estimated margin of 3 or 4 to one. The Crystal Lake/McHenry area is insanely christian and very socially conservative too. I thought it was odd.
Posted by: Suspect Device | May 20, 2008 9:28 AM
Over the weekend, I saw a Christian bookstore with a large banner across it with the words, "going out of business sale".
Sign of the times?
Posted by: Nephi | May 20, 2008 9:36 AM
As a former overworked, underpaid bookstore clerk, I have to side with the folks who have to put the books back correctly. I prefer a more subtle approach for bookstore prankery, such as putting a *single* copy of, say, The God Delusion face out in the Bibles section. When the 10-year anniversary of Princess Di's death came around last year and a local B&N had a huge display of titles on her arranged oh-so-reverently, I myself placed a lone copy of JG Ballard's novel Crash front and center. Heh.
Posted by: Will E. | May 20, 2008 9:43 AM
According to this blogger, it wasn't a whole lotta fun.
Posted by: tabularasa | May 20, 2008 9:48 AM
Posted by: Alexandra | May 20, 2008 9:59 AM
#4: of course, if you didn't have to deal with reshelvers, half of you would be laid off.
Posted by: Hans | May 20, 2008 10:02 AM
This bookstore is actually in my neighbourhood, a few minutes' walk from my house, but I haven't been there in a couple of weeks. It's a densely populated area with lots of 20- and 30-somethings. The bookstore is part of a large Canadian chain, kind of like Borders or Barnes and Noble in the USA.
Anyway, it may be a funny prank, but it created a lot of needless extra work for shop clerks who already have to put up with a lot of BS anyway.
Posted by: Jordan | May 20, 2008 10:03 AM
This is maybe on the fringes of the topic, but has anyone ever noticed that on Audible (audible.de; also on audible.co.uk), there is a whole section on "Religion and spirituality" but no section devoted to "skepticism"? This is most annoying!
Plus, the Bibile cannnot be found anywhere under "fiction"
>>> I am confused...
Posted by: Mike K | May 20, 2008 10:07 AM
I'm in the same boat as ERV. There seems to be a law in South Carolina that Bibles, Bible study guides, Christian fiction and "Inspirational" (apparently only Christians need inspiring) must occupy at least a third of the store.
Posted by: BT Murtagh | May 20, 2008 10:11 AM
Guys, please don't do this sort of thing. It might strike one as funny. However not only does it make for more work for the bookstore employees (as already pointed out) it also is very close to censorship. You are actively interfering with people attempting to get access to information.
Posted by: Joshua Zelinsky | May 20, 2008 10:12 AM
This spring, I had some fun at BarnesNoble by placing copies of The God Delusion on the New for Easter table. I sat in the cafe and watched as browsers got all riled up and stormed to the info desk to complain in the harshest terms over the outrage. It was a great entertainment.
Posted by: Captain Freedom | May 20, 2008 10:18 AM
Canadians are so hot their bookstores have two separate sections for Sexuality and Erotica?
No wonder we don't see many Canadians down here in the southern US, where few book stores have either.
If manuals were necessary for procreation, Redneckus Americanus would be long extinct.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | May 20, 2008 10:18 AM
When I was in high school, my friends and I did, I confess, migrate Naked Lunch onto the "required summer reading" shelf. In my defense, let me note that we lived in Huntsville, Alabama, and it was either shuffle books or die of stupefaction.
Posted by: Blake Stacey | May 20, 2008 10:22 AM
Josh and SteveW,
Wah! Waaah! Waah! You might have a point if they were constantly doing this, but once? It's a joke - that's life. Quit yer whining. It's not censorship, they worked in doing this at least as hard as you have to work undoing it, and it is unquestionably funny. Take it as "performance art" or something. Now this is really funny: http://improveverywhere.com/2002/04/21/warp-zone-wddd/
Get back to work slackers!
Posted by: frog | May 20, 2008 10:24 AM
Looks like Indigo store signage. I haven't shopped at Indigo or Chapters in about six or seven years, since CEO Heather Reisman decided she should tell Canadians what they're allowed to read (made more serious by the fact she controlled something like 90% of the Canadian retail book trade at the time).
Posted by: False Prophet | May 20, 2008 10:25 AM
... and I though my bookstore was bad.
(You know, the kind where there are two complete aisles for Bibles and Bible-related books, plus at least six more for 'Christian Fiction' and 'Inspirational'... but less than a single shelf for all other religions combined?)
At least they have The God Delusion on display on one of the center tables...
Posted by: Benjamin Geiger | May 20, 2008 10:32 AM
Pierce #28: Yes, of course. Sexuality is non-fiction biology, psychology, etc., with titles like "The birds and the bees: how to talk to your child about sex". Erotica is mostly fiction and more fun to read, with titles like "My biggest O" and "The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty".
Evolution has arranged it so manuals aren't necessary for procreation. They arenecessary for recreation without procreation.
Posted by: Canuck | May 20, 2008 10:34 AM
Pierce #28: Yes, of course. Sexuality is non-fiction biology, psychology, etc., with titles like "The birds and the bees: how to talk to your child about sex". Erotica is mostly fiction and more fun to read, with titles like "My biggest O" and "The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty".
Evolution has arranged it so manuals aren't necessary for procreation. They arenecessary for recreation without procreation.
Posted by: Canuck | May 20, 2008 10:36 AM
One of the funniest bookstore displays I have seen was done by a bookstore clerk. It was in the late Nineties when all of the conservative hacks were writing up all of those anti-Clinton books.(A quick note, I do not care for the Clintons.) So the display had books by *nn C**lt*r, Barbara Olsen and the rest of that motley crew. In the middle of the display was a copy of Confederacy Of Dunces. It keep me giggling for days.
Posted by: Janine ID | May 20, 2008 10:38 AM
Nephi: "Over the weekend, I saw a Christian bookstore with a large banner across it with the words, "going out of business sale".
Sign of the times?"
Maybe, but I think that the real sign of the times is the decline in retail outlets in general, resulting in the fall of mom n' pop stores and mighty chains (e.g. Tower) alike. Amazon and Ebay have totally changed the landscape of buying and selling. Also, music, magazines, books, video games, and movies used to be only available as physical objects; now they are increasingly downloaded digital information.
Posted by: Colugo | May 20, 2008 10:40 AM
Stickers in Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms? Why? I do what I would do with any other piece of disgusting trash left behind in my hotel room... I throw it away. Preferably in the bathroom trash, where I can cover it with slightly less offensive items.
Posted by: speedwell | May 20, 2008 10:43 AM
I noticed the other day that the science fiction section of the book store in my mall is bigger than Bibles, Religion, New Age and Religious Fiction combined. The other local book store is large enough that I can avoid those sections entierly, though they usually have Behe in the Science section (until I move it).
Posted by: bc | May 20, 2008 10:48 AM
Reminded me of this.
Posted by: jpf | May 20, 2008 10:48 AM
I used to work in a Canadian bookstore, yes, with separate sexuality and erotica sections - and eventually, a fetish section thanks to a manager who special ordered a few titles in just to make the girl unpacking them blush. When she shelved them, they sold like hotcakes, so we kept ordering more in, in rapt fascination.
Anyway, one day a very attractive young woman brought "The Joy of Sex" to the cash, and mentioned she was buying it as a gift for her boyfriend, but thought it might be "inappropriate." When she brought it back a week later for a refund, it was obvious she was dating a moron - if a beautiful woman hands you a book about sex, you read it as if it is the inerrant word of God.
Posted by: Chili Pepper | May 20, 2008 10:48 AM
anon, who woudda thunk it, but there is even a site for "Christian Fiction".
http://www.christianfictionsite.com/
It seems to have run out of material though since the last announcement is from more than a year ago.
Posted by: bernarda | May 20, 2008 11:00 AM
...if a beautiful woman hands you a book about sex, you read it as if it is the inerrant word of God.
Fair enough. But still, regardless of who's handing it to you, it really does take some humility to accept a gift of 'Sex for Dummies' graciously...
Or, I mean, it would. If it had ever happened. To me. Which it hasn't. Ever.
Posted by: AJ Milne | May 20, 2008 11:01 AM
A few years ago, a friend of mine placed stickers similar these on every bible in a local bookstore. I know that it isn't exactly respectful of others' property, but we were younger back then. If I were to do this now, I think I'd just slip it between the cover, and not actually glue it on. Same sentiment, without the damage to the bookstore (there are far too few good ones around nowadays).
Posted by: spgreenlaw | May 20, 2008 11:01 AM
It seems to me it would have been just as funny, easier and much nicer to the employees to have just swapped the section title with fiction or humor, ect. Plus it might have gone unnoticed for a couple of days.
Also, did PZ misspell humor? Humour? or are there two spellings?
Posted by: Nate | May 20, 2008 11:02 AM
"Also, did PZ misspell humor? Humour? or are there two spellings?"
There are, the one with the second U is Canadian (and UK and Antipedian). I don't know if there is a corelation between liking longer words with being godless, maybe there should be a study.
Posted by: Lynnai | May 20, 2008 11:19 AM
Hilarious tactic.
Posted by: Dan | May 20, 2008 11:21 AM
I don't see moving properly identified books around. OK, I don't understand any good reason to move any books around in a privately-owned bookstore (please tell me that it was a chain, not an independent--those guys are already endangered), but I could see why someone would move Behe (and a host of other ID and non-ID nonsense) out of the science section.
Protesting the mislabeling of pseudoscience as science is more appropriate, and probably more likely to cause lasting change (not good either way, I'll wager).
I'd be pissed to see the Bible and its derivatives in the non-fiction section, sure, but in the Bible section? That's all right. And while it's more prank than censorship, it's not the best action for anyone to do who favors free access to the written word.
That said, it's no big deal from my standpoint. I'm mostly wondering where the employees were as people were bustling about moving a whole shelf of books to various other sections of the bookstore.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Posted by: Glen Davidson | May 20, 2008 11:23 AM
A better title for PZ's post would've been:
"Idiotic losers with nothing better to do"
I'm not the least bit surprised the "reshelving" b.s. came to this.
Posted by: jsn | May 20, 2008 11:25 AM
Nothing better to do than have fun, jsn? Lucky kids. You sound jealous.
Posted by: Dennis N | May 20, 2008 11:33 AM
When in a hotel room, one must always play "Hide the Bible." That way you have much of the satisfaction without defacing property, or doing anything else of questionable legality.
Posted by: Scott D. | May 20, 2008 11:37 AM
I thought Bibles were like soap in hotels. It's not illegal to steal the soap.
Posted by: Dennis N | May 20, 2008 11:44 AM
"please tell me that it was a chain, not an independent--those guys are already endangered"
Biggest chain in Canada, unionized work force too if that helps.
Posted by: Lynnai | May 20, 2008 11:45 AM
"Godless Canada?!" I will have you know that there is a headline in today's "Hill Times" (the Parliamentary newspaper) that reads: "Hundreds flock to National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa." Inside, there is a full page and a quarter about the monumental event, attended by a whole lot of Members of Parliament from all parties. One of the MPs quoted "is part of an initiative called the Faith and Justice Commission, which will be a forum to publicly discuss the connection between religion and politics and reaches out to people of different faiths."
Faith and Justice do not seem especially intertwined, if I recall history. Remember: nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Posted by: Sprocketboy | May 20, 2008 11:52 AM
Our Hastings has three shelves, front and back, several shelves wide, for Christian books..
Posted by: Leigh Shryock | May 20, 2008 12:01 PM
Hans and Frog:
Have you *ever* worked in a retail establishment of any sort? I would guess not. As amusing as such pranks may be, please believe me when I tell you these workers (of which I am one) don't get paid nearly enough to deal with the aftermath these jokers leave us (do you really think this stuff doesn't go on constantly??) nor do we need the "job security" thanks very much all the same.
Between answering queries, cashiering, putting away the stuff that gets returned along with the last minute oh-I-don't-want-this-after-all merchandise, policing the store for trash people can't be bothered to dispose of properly, merchandise left in random places, the destruction caused by people who just have to open the packaging to see what the product *really* looks like and unsupervised/under-supervised kids, among other things that would make your hair stand on end, believe me when I tell you we have more than enough to do.
Sorry for the rant, but I spent an extra 1 ½ hours at work last night dealing with the above issues because of a "surprise" visit from a district manager today. Which wouldn't have me so vexed except that the store manager spent last week cutting hours so it was really bad. GRRRR!!
Posted by: dwarf zebu | May 20, 2008 12:04 PM
I work in that bookstore and I was the one who came upon those shelves just after it happened. I blogged about it and one of my readers just sent me the link to this site. My manager wasn't really impressed and although the scavenger hunt was fun, it ate up a lot of our time on a busy Saturday afternoon.
To the culprits: By the time I reached the shelves, the copy of "Letter to a Christian Nation" was gone. They were just empty, so your prank looked more like the work of fundamentalists. Not sure it accomplished your goal.
Posted by: tall penguin | May 20, 2008 12:13 PM
I currently work in a large university bookstore. People with agendas who reshelve books really annoy me, as it creates a lot of additional work for my staff. I do see the humor in the picture though.
I also have to confess that we shelve Behe in the science section. I thought about changing the section code on the title, but then I realized that we have never actually sold a copy. Leave it in science to languish until it gets returned to the publisher.
Hitchens and Dawkins sell rather well of course, and are always featured at the front of the store.
Posted by: kp | May 20, 2008 12:24 PM
Those little header cards on the shelves just slide in, right? So instead of moving the books, which is time-consuming and tiring and makes more work for the clerks, why not just print up some new headers and slip them in place? Maybe "Delusional Rantings" or "Outdated Mythology"?
Posted by: markbt73 | May 20, 2008 12:25 PM
At a Border's I shop at there was a sign in the Islam section saying that the Quran MUST be shelved on the top shelf with no other books above it. Which I read as, "Quran must be shelved with books on pigs, liquor, and Judaica." You don't get to park your new Jag at an extreme angle taking up two spaces in the mall parking lot without getting keyed, and if you insist on some special treatment for your favorite biblio-lobotomizer, then by Darwin's beard, it WILL get "special treatment."
You know how when people are smart they are sometimes accused, by mere dint of their intelligence, of being "elitist"? But that's not elitism. Demanding a top shelf by fiat is elitism, and that of the most odious type.
Posted by: Greg Peterson | May 20, 2008 12:40 PM
Is the top shelf so tall that no one can reach it? Then maybe it should be there...
Posted by: Dennis N | May 20, 2008 12:44 PM
When I retire and run a used bookstore, I'm so definitely going to have a section labeled "Delusional Rantings". That would be awesome.
Posted by: octopod | May 20, 2008 12:48 PM
I sincerely wish these guys or someone like them would strike down here in the bible belt. From Florida to Tennessee, whenever you walk into a Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, or any other major bookseller (sometimes Borders is halfway decent about this...), you'll find over ten shelves of just bibles, along with multiple other rows of shelves dedicated to Christian fiction, Christian literature, and other Christian titles. (I counted thirteen rows of shelves the last time I was in my Books-A-Million.) But when you go try to find anything on Philosophy, you only have to look on one bookcase of five shelves! And the other religions of the world - all of them are relegated to another single bookcase along the wall.
And God forbid (pun intended) you go into one of these stores looking for anything by Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris, or any other atheist author. You people on here who want to decry the re-shelving of books due to their content should probably take the issue up with the chain bookstore managers. The one in my Florida town has actively taken atheists' books and put them in the wrong sections, behind other texts, and bragged about it to his employees while customers (including me) could hear.
It's not so funny when it's turned back around on your side, now is it?
Posted by: brokenSoldier | May 20, 2008 12:50 PM
The Bible could fit in the cuisine section, just remember all those references to 'locust and honey' casserole, and 'loaves and fishes' potluck... - Blaidd Drwg
Google "Biblical diet"! so that's how Methusaleh lived to 969!
Posted by: Nick Gotts | May 20, 2008 1:06 PM
Somehow when I first read that, I thought it said "LDS"...
Posted by: minusRusty | May 20, 2008 1:12 PM
I saw Letter to a Christian Nation in the Bible Studies section in my local bookstore (also in Canada), and it didn't even occur to me until just now that it may have been misplaced. I just took it for granted that it belonged there.
Posted by: Jams | May 20, 2008 1:16 PM
Waterstones. Here I coooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeee!!!!
Posted by: Dancaban | May 20, 2008 1:17 PM
Isn't "Christian Fiction" somewhat redundant? You could just put the entire "Christian" section there, save for Bible history and the like.
Posted by: Marc | May 20, 2008 1:32 PM
I am astonished at the space taken up by Bibles and other Christian religious literature reported by you people in the Southern US. What a waste of trees!
Over here in UK we have specialised bookshops such as those of the SPCK (Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge) who also stocked general fiction and non fiction works. It was from one of these SPCK shops that I purchased my first copy of Darwin's The Origin of Species by Natural Selection way back.
What gets us over here is the space devoted to New Age nonsense.
Moving books is one thing but the managers of chain stores are normal instructed by HQ as to which sections to place books. Take it up with head office. In the meantime I have designed a bookmark around Richard Dawkins, his books and web site, print out a number in sheets of five, cut up and then place in books which are in, IMHO, the wrong area. I am pleased to report that one such book mark is still in a copy of one of Alistair McGrath's (one of Dawkins fleas) books after six months.
Posted by: Lionel A Smith | May 20, 2008 1:33 PM
To me, the sad part is not a "bible" section or a "religion" section. At the very least, they're more or less correctly labeled.
The sad part is the "science" section, which at many major bookstores is more than half full of newage crap.
Posted by: Craig | May 20, 2008 1:35 PM
Having worked in a public library for 5 years as a student, I should probably point out how bookstore clercs should whine about reshelving the books.
Try keeping 300.000 books in alphabetical order, when 20.000 people per day are constantly pulling books out, and leaving them tables, in the wrong place or just tossing them back on the shelf. All the while helping people to find stuff that's not ordered anymore because of abovementioned idiots.
And I still this is funny. Besides, it's not like you're going to fired over that. My hobby was putting a little scepticism in the "Required reading - nonfiction" case, while getting rid of the crap.
I spend my last few days at the library reordering the science section, getting rid of Behe and the like. That and loaning "The Necronomicon" to Mr. A. Alhazred, adress unknown.
Posted by: Alcari | May 20, 2008 1:44 PM
I'm genuinely curious how many people here have actually read the Bible, or even just the New Testament. It's easy to comment on and mock something you haven't even attempted to comprehend.
It's like someone listening to one movement of one symphony by Mozart or Beethoven and deciding that classical music is "boring."
Posted by: twitterwill | May 20, 2008 1:48 PM
Godless Canada? That's not the Canada I live it, although it would be preferable.
Posted by: Colin J | May 20, 2008 1:55 PM
Why yes, twitterwill I have read the bible. The old testament and the new in several translations as well as the torah. I find it odd that you say "at least the new testament" is it's clear the authors of the sequel depended on the original flick quite a bit (though they did make a sloppy effort to retcon it).
I think you'll find that more skeptics, atheists, and other freethinkers have read these books than your average religious person. Even those who are very devout tend to just read specific parts....just like you accuse us of.
Posted by: Hypatia | May 20, 2008 2:02 PM
Dennis (#52):
I thought it was backup toilet paper. Or rolling papers for the smokers.
Posted by: Vic | May 20, 2008 2:03 PM
I have a degree in Biblical Studies from Northwestern College, where Billy Graham once was president of the school. I was a contracted proof-reader for the book of Matthew for a gender-neutral version of the New International Version of the New Testament. I worked for Worldwide Publications, the publishing arm of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Twitterwill, I will put my knowledge of the Bible against yours any time. And I can honestly say that nothing was more instrumental to my becoming an atheist than my knowledge of the Bible. My comparitive study of other religions already convinced me they couldn't be correct, so when I discovered the same weaknesses and flaws in Christianity and the Bible...well, as Sherlock Holmes said (and I'm paraphrasing), Once one has eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is the truth. And that, friend, is atheism. Thank you, you old scruffy Bible, for setting me free at last--by being so damn impossible to believe that you signposted reality for me.
Posted by: Greg Peterson | May 20, 2008 2:03 PM
I'm genuinely curious how many people who leave silly statements like this genuinely think that we have not read the bible. Twitterwill, if you actually took the time to read the comments at this blog, you would know that most of the people here have a better knowledge of this book then the general public or even those who claim to be christian.
You are merely just an other drive by dumbass.
Posted by: Janine ID | May 20, 2008 2:05 PM
Perhaps more off- than on-topic, The Grauniad is reporting Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'.
Posted by: blf | May 20, 2008 2:17 PM
I always wonder why they have sections for religion and one for religious fiction...Isn't it all fiction?
Posted by: Chris | May 20, 2008 2:33 PM
I actually think the funniest thing about this story is the comment tall penguin made in her blog: namely, that they originally thought the stunt was a theft, because the Bible is the most stolen book.
That is hilarious. That is funnier than the entire rest of the story.
How did that old saying go? "Thou shalt not... thou shalt not..." something. Feel? Kneel? Squeal? Eat veal? Well, I'm sure I'll think of it. In the meantime, I think I'll steal this Bible.
Sheesh.
And yes, for the record, I don't approve of these shenanigans and the hassles they create for bookstore employees. I still think it's funny, though.
Posted by: Greta Christina | May 20, 2008 2:43 PM
I would have thought that it took some time to move all those books to other parts of the bookshop.
What were the staff doing during all that time ? It would suggest either the staff knew what was happening and did not stop them, or were simply not around to stop them. If it was the former it would suggest that the staff did not mind, and if it was the latter maybe it will be a lesson to them in being more attentive to your customers.
Posted by: Matt Penfold | May 20, 2008 2:48 PM
I can't claim to be a bible expert (although I have read most of it), but speaking as a classical music expert I can tell you with authority that 99% of classical music is boring. Including most of Mozart.
Ah, but that 1 per cent!
Posted by: Elwood Herring | May 20, 2008 2:58 PM
The Grauniad is reporting Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'. blf@78
From the article:
Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church's £23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was "abusive and insulting".
Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: "I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.'
Looks like this guy needs good legal help, and I'm fairly confident he'll get it - Liberty (UK's nearest equivalent to ACLU) is on the case. Good luck to him. But I wonder if he really believes that "cults" and "religions" are readily distinguishable? I'd say a "cult" is just a young religion, a religion is just an old cult.
Posted by: Nick Gotts | May 20, 2008 2:59 PM
I think this stunt was inappropriate; it can be hard enough to find help at the average big-box bookstore without sending half the staff off to restore books to their original shelves. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh at the picture, and I can certainly understand the temptation. I came pretty close myself a few months ago - I was browsing the science section of the downtown Seattle B&N, and, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, like a steaming dog-turd in a rose bed, was Denyse O'Leary's "The Spatula Brain". I would have reshelved it, but I couldn't find the "Incoherent Bullshit" section.
Posted by: JohnW | May 20, 2008 3:12 PM
@#72 twitterwill --
I have in fact read the Bible, OT and NT, and some of the apocryphal material. But I'm genuinely curious -- have you actually read the Qu'ran, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Tao Te Ching, the Book of Mormon, and the Baghavad Gita? What about the Jainist Purvas? The Lotus Sutra? The Dianetics of L Ron Hubbard?
Posted by: Etha Williams | May 20, 2008 3:20 PM
#6
"Where to locate the bible was a raging controversy at my library's recent book sale. The librarians were evenly divided between fiction and non-fiction. A solution was reached with creation of a third section for self help; this included a large pile of L. Ron Hubbard books. Interestingly, Dr. Phil's book was placed in the fiction section."
Nobody suggested Mythology? Seems obvious to me.
-OEJ
Posted by: One Eyed Jack | May 20, 2008 3:25 PM
The worst thing in the UK is the Newage books next to, and often intermingled, with the philosophy. There is nothing that makes me more fearful for Western intellectual civilization than Kant or Wittgenstein located next to Deepak Chopra.
Posted by: Martin Fox | May 20, 2008 3:27 PM
Poor clerks but MAN that's funny!!!
I loved pulling pranks like that as a kid.
Posted by: Michelle | May 20, 2008 3:34 PM
Greta Christina @ #80 said: "I actually think the funniest thing about this story is the comment tall penguin made in her blog: namely, that they originally thought the stunt was a theft, because the Bible is the most stolen book."
Hmm. My first thought was of a gaunt guy in a long coat, pacing outside the bookshop and muttering: "Gotta get my fix. Gotta get gotta get my God fix. How? How? Just how?"
And then he goes in and steals a Bible.
Posted by: Masks of Eris | May 20, 2008 3:35 PM
Etha:
And you? Have you read all these books? If yes, bravo. I read some parts of the Bible, and the Qu'ran, but it is really boring. I prefer comics...
Posted by: Daniel R | May 20, 2008 3:38 PM