Books Belong on Shelves

We're going to come down on the side of the picketing Christians. We've read the books with a "Christian" point of view about homosexuality (among other topics). We don't like them. We think they are wrong just like books with "Christian" perspectives on race and gender were wrong in previous generations. That said, we don't get to boot the books that offend us, we can't have it both ways. Tolerance, by definition, means living with things that you don't necessarily agree with. If books are simply not shelved because we don't like them, it's banning by subterfuge. There is nothing to fear is allowing people to speak. It is when we inhibit the freedom of expression that danger is born.

An aside about this story, it seemed a little odd that the protesters were asked if they'd read the books that were at the source of the controversy. Can't recall the last time that someone had to pass a book report before they could stand up in defense of Catcher in the Rye. Maybe it was a legitimate question, strikes us as a little anti-Christian bias on the part of the reporting team.