Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction Once Again

If you want to know how things are now in the Southern Baptist Convention, take a look at this letter from Susi Lockard of Brentwood, TN, which appeared in a recent edition of Baptists Today.

“Something is bothering me. I tried to buy Hillary Clinton’s book It Takes a Village from the Baptist Book Store in Nashville (TN) and they said they didn’t have it and wouldn’t be carrying it. I got the book from the Cokesbury Book Store. This is a well-documented, well-written book which should be read by everyone interested in children and family values.

“Last week, I received an invitation from the Baptist Book Store to attend an autograph party for Marilyn Quayle. Her new book is a political murder mystery.

Not only are they carrying her book, but she is their honored guest.

“The Baptist Book Store has always been committed to the best Christian resources available. Should one’s political label automatically exclude them or include them as an author? One wonders why a political murder mystery is seen as more helpful than a book which addresses the genuine, pressing problems of children and families today.

“One has to assume that political maneuvering of the far right is playing a part. If so, I am sorry to see our Sunday School Board and Southern Baptist Convention agencies being used by political entities.”

August 1996