Apologists, Christian Bookstores, and "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven"

This week was a bad week for fans of the book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven.

Alex Malarkey, son of author Kevin Malarkey, issued a brief but brutal retraction of the events that took place in The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, a book which has sold very well along with other books in the “heavenly tourism” genre. The publisher, Tyndale House, has agreed to take the book out of print, and Lifeway has begun returning the copies of the book back to the publisher (1). While this is a good step in the right direction, it’s the first step of many that needs to be taken in order to reverse an entire frame of mind, one that has had detrimental effects on apologists and their efforts within the Church. John MacArthur, in his book The Glory of Heaven, says this of the genre:

It’s not a secret that, for the most part, apologists tend to not frequent the big Christian bookstores. When you walk into one and find the newest emotionally charged, mentally fluffy, and spiritually hollow trend being pushed in your face from every degree and angle, it is hugely discouraging. While apologists try to disciple and train Christians to love God with their minds and equip them to give a reason for the hope they have in Christ, Christian bookstores (perhaps unintentionally so) make it harder when they promote and sell books that undercut the value of our work. Why get to know the Word of God better when you can just digest a daily paragraph from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling? Why learn about the resurrection of Christ and cultivate faith in His work when you can read Heaven is for Real (or watch the recent film produced by prosperity teacher T.D. Jakes)? Why study theology, the history of the church, or the defense of the faith when you can get books from pastors and teachers who claim that those things are not necessary, perhaps even harmful, to your relationship with God? Christian bookstores may not intentionally want to see these detrimental effects come about, but they cannot have it both ways. They can’t sell the product without reaping the side effects, whether good or bad.

That’s not to say that I haven’t purchased good books from Christian bookstores. Many books on my bookshelf have come from Lifeway and Mardel and other bookstores. But, getting those books from those stores were not easy. In many cases I had to dig for them in an obscure corner of the store, or had to dig in the bargain bin for them. While shoving copies of Michael Horton’s The Christian Faith or Douglas Groothuis’s Christian Apologetics on the first table of the store might not make sense business-wise, there is something to be said about relegating the meaty, rich, and truly life changing books to the parts of the store that only the deliberate seekers frequent.

Christian bookstores are in a unique position to either strengthen the church or weaken the church based on the content that it promotes. The books we consume affect the ways we live before our God and neighbor, and when Christian bookstores promote books of the heavenly tourism genre, prosperity gospel theology, or of the Jesus Calling variety, they do so to the harm of the average believer and hinder the work of those who are trying to disciple the minds of Christians. Sure, you can buy apologetics books from Christian bookstores, but Christian bookstores are not doing much to help promote the discipleship of believers when it peddles material of the lowest common denominator. These bookstores have a significant influence, and in light of Alex Malarkey’s recantation, that influence has led to the damage of believers, not their growth or blessing. Rather than challenge believers to dig deep into the Scriptures, they promote Jesus Calling and other books that compete with the Word. Rather than stretch Christians to study the resurrection of Christ and have faith in His work, they promote Heaven is for Real, 90 Minutes in Heaven, and other books of a suspect and lucrative genre. Rather than help point Christians in the direction of books and authors that will help them connect with this history of the body of Christ, they point them in opposing directions. It doesn’t have to be this way, but at the present moment, it is the status quo.

In short, good on Tyndale House and Lifeway for pulling The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. It’s a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. Certain books need to be removed, and certain genres need to be pushed. Christian retailers have the chance to drastically change the game when it comes to discipleship, and hopefully this will start the domino effect to that change. One book down, an entire frame of mind to go.

Sources:

1: Washington Post: ‘Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ actually didn’t; books recalled

2: Grace to You: The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine