Finding Anti-Catholic Materials in a Bookstore

Q: I went into a Protestant bookstore recently and found a bunch of anti-Catholic material on the shelves. What should I do?

A: The best way to handle situations in which one finds it in a book store, you did the right thing. It should definitely be pointed out, as some book stores are not really aware of it or do not have a strong commitment to carrying it, and pointing it out can get it taken off the shelves. The best thing to do is approach the cashier and then ask to see the manager (or assistant manager if the manager is not there). This will be the person who makes the decisions.

In talking to the manager, one should stress three things:

First, one should point out the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church, citing examples of things that the manager will recognize as foundations of orthodoxy (e.g., the Trinity, the fact we are saved by grace and do not earn our place in heaven, that we must all repent of our sins and have a personal relationship with Christ, etc.).

Second, one should point out errors in the anti-Catholic material, for even if the manager doesn’t mind carrying anti-Catholic material, he may mind carrying erroneous material.

Third, one should point out the hatefulness and un-Christian nature of the mindset which motivated the work’s production.

Finally, if possible one should give the manager something to read about the anti-Catholic material he is carrying (e.g., This Rock’s article on Dave Hunt’s A Woman Rides the Beast or Jim McCarthy’s Catholicism: Crisis of Faith or Christianity Today’s piece on Alberto Rivera).

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