Costco Labels Bible As Fiction

[alchemy]

nation.foxnews.com/2013/11/18/starnes-exclusive-costco-labels-bible-fiction

Cue fundie boycott of Costco.

What do the Bible, "The Hunger Games" and "Fifty Shades of Grey" have in common? All three are works of fiction, according to the booksellers at Costco.

Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach made that shocking discovery last Friday as he was shopping for a present for his wife at a Costco in Simi Valley, Calif.

“All the Bibles were labeled as fiction,†the pastor told me. “It seemed bizarre to me.â€

Kaltenbach is the lead pastor at Discovery Church, a non-denominational Christian congregation in southern California.

He thought there must be some sort of mistake so he scoured the shelf for other Bibles. Every copy was plastered with a sticker that read, “$14.99 Fiction.â€

The pastor knew something must be amiss so he set off in search of a Costco employee hoping for an answer. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anyone willing to answer his question (which is not all that surprising if you’ve shopped at Costco).

Since no one in the store was willing to offer assistance, the good shepherd of Discovery Church snapped a photograph of the Bible and tweeted it to his flock.

“People are pretty shocked and upset,†he told me. “We are supposed to be living in an era of tolerance, but what Costco did doesn’t seem too tolerant.â€

I doubt they would label the Koran as fiction, Pastor Kaltenbach said. Heaven help us if they did.

“If they don’t believe in the Bible, that’s fine – but at least label it as ‘religion’ as some bookstores do, or ‘inspiration’,†he said.

So does the warehouse store that sells laundry detergent by the gallon have a problem with the Word of God?

I called Costco headquarters in Issaquah, Wash. hoping to get answers. The nice lady who answered the phone told me she was aware of the issue and chalked it up to a “human error at a warehouse.â€

“It’s all fixed,†she said.

But actually, it’s not fixed – because there’s a boatload of Bibles in the Simi Valley store still marked as fiction.

At that point, the nice lady on the phone became not-so-nice and promptly informed me that Costco doesn’t talk to the press.

“Nothing to report,†she said curtly.

With all due respect, perhaps they should leave the reporting to the professionals and we’ll leave the bulk purchases of toilet paper to Costco.

Pastor Kaltenbach said he’s not one to speak out on such slights, but seeing the Good Book labeled as fiction was bit too much to take.

“On the one hand Christians should not yell out ‘persecution’,†he said. “We aren’t living in Iraq or Iran. But on the other hand, I believe that we do need to stand up for our faith and we need to be vocal about our concerns.â€

That’s a message that resonates with pastor and author Robert Jeffress.

“Let’s hope Costco’s explanation is true and not the result of having been caught attempting to marginalize the very foundation of Christian beliefs, the Bible,†Pastor Jeffress told me. “Christians need to call out organizations like Costco whose actions undermine Christianity – regardless of whether those actions are accidental or intentional.â€

Steven Smith, of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the fiction label identifies the thinking of the labeler more than the content of the book.

At least the minister isn't crying persecution.

[August]

Really? They can't seriously think that normal people would file it as anything but.

[tabitha2]

I will say even non fundie Christians are likely be put off. Bibles have a their place in the religion and spirituality section.

[GeoBQn]

It must be an individual store thing. I'm used to seeing Cosco book departments that have an entire section devoted to bibles and Christian books.

[Peas n carrots]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I can't help it.

[OkToBeTakei]

Of course he had to get a dig at the evil Muslims. If it's all supposed to be as nice and tolerant as he says the Koran should have been for sale also.

Am I right in thinking that Costco is basically a supermarket? I would expect it to be in a religious/ spirituality section in a dedicated book shop but maybe not in a supermarket?

[doggie]

well of course it is in fiction as that is what it is. If it was not fiction it would be truth and therefore not a religion based on faith.

[Loveday]

I will say even non fundie Christians are likely be put off. Bibles have a their place in the religion and spirituality section.

I'd have been slightly put off myself, and I'm a really laid-back kind of Christian. I wouldn't have complained, though. Life's just way too short. But I seriously doubt this was done on purpose--whoever priced them probably just had a roll of 'fiction' stickers with the right price already loaded in his price gun (do they still mark merchandise that way these days?) and was too lazy to change it. :lol:

[Coconut Flan]

I don't think our Costco sorts books. They are simply books piled on tables with a price. If they sort at all it's children vs adults.

[bucherwurm]

It would be kind of odd if the Bible was labeled fiction when there was a religious book section one aisle over. But we don't know if there is or not. Maybe they just got a shipment of bibles and didn't have anything else to label them with. If that is the case, then I'm not too worried, but I might be a bit confused if there was a specific section for religious books and it was still labeled fiction.

[Megan]

Of course he had to get a dig at the evil Muslims. If it's all supposed to be as nice and tolerant as he says the Koran should have been for sale also.

Am I right in thinking that Costco is basically a supermarket? I would expect it to be in a religious/ spirituality section in a dedicated book shop but maybe not in a supermarket?

Costco is a big bulk store that people can buy a membership to. You can buy your 2 gallons of ketchup and 144 rolls of toilet paper all in one place in 'Murica!

(they do sell many things in semi-reasonable sizes, it's just generally thought of as a place to buy large quantities of stuff at good prices)

I also think some Costco worker had a roll of stickers and was told to mark down books, unaware that the sticker said fiction. Given the demographics of the US, odds are the person pricing everything was a Christian.

[OkToBeTakei]

Costco is a big bulk store that people can buy a membership to. You can buy your 2 gallons of ketchup and 144 rolls of toilet paper all in one place in 'Murica!

(they do sell many things in semi-reasonable sizes, it's just generally thought of as a place to buy large quantities of stuff at good prices)

I also think some Costco worker had a roll of stickers and was told to mark down books, unaware that the sticker said fiction. Given the demographics of the US, odds are the person pricing everything was a Christian.

There is one not far from me, they are certainly not as common as in the US. Never noticed books, I'll check as I'll probably do a pre-Christmas wine run :lol:

[terranova]

We don't stock copies of the Bible at the bookshop I work in, but if we did it would be in Religion/Faith section. No point in offending potential customers.

We do stock a penguin classic version of the Koran though. Mainly because you can get Bibles at the local Christian bookshop but not a Koran.

[debrand]

“Let’s hope Costco’s explanation is true and not the result of having been caught attempting to marginalize the very foundation of Christian beliefs, the Bible,†Pastor Jeffress told me. “Christians need to call out organizations like Costco whose actions undermine Christianity – regardless of whether those actions are accidental or intentional.â€

If Costco wanted to undermine Christianity, it simply wouldn't carry bibles; however, it isn't unreasonable to ask that the books be placed in a religious section. How does the store label books from other religions?

[dolcecigno]

I'm sorry but this has me cracking up :lol: :lol: :lol: As funny as it is, though, I can understand why people would be offended and hope that it was done so in error (albeit a very funny one) rather than intentionally.

[Miggy]

I'm with the Pastor on this one. Ok, it's a bulk supermarket and doesn't have proper sections but then, why label it at all? As a Christian I believe it is true (well, I believe we are suppose to interpret the instructions within it - not follow it all literally!) but I also know many people don't believe it. I could say the same of Darwin or many other scientists who have had some of their theories disproven by later research. Do they now belong in fiction? Why not just call them all BOOKS?

[Megan]

There is one not far from me, they are certainly not as common as in the US. Never noticed books, I'll check as I'll probably do a pre-Christmas wine run :lol:

The one's I've been in have been absolutely, mind-bogglingly massive, so book sections might be US-specific or even regional. Like the one's I've been to, you can get a dolly/cart type thing like the ones from home improvement stores instead of a regular shopping cart because they have such ridiculous stock. It's like shopping in a warehouse with bonus food samples. As such, they have absolutely everything in the known universe (where else can you get a minifridge, a backyard playset, 100-pack of hot pockets, your fiction-labeled Bible, and a package containing 50 pairs of socks, all in one stop?), which might not be the case elsewhere. The one I went to as a kid had a good number of books, albeit similar stock to an airport bookstore. Usually stuck next to the clothes section, for whatever reason.

I've never checked out their wine selection, though... now I'm curious. Basement level prices on cases of wine? Sign me up!

[Peas n carrots]

Not to totally derail the thread, but you can get EVERYTHING at Costco. They take care of you from crib to casket.

No, I'm not kidding

http://www.costco.com/funeral.html

[OkToBeTakei]

Not to totally derail the thread, but you can get EVERYTHING at Costco. They take care of you from crib to casket.

No, I'm not kidding

http://www.costco.com/funeral.html

:lol: ask Mr p&c about the Co-op. You can buy a plain loaf and get your funeral sorted at the same time.

[Coconut Flan]

The ones around here also cater to the neighborhood somewhat. The best beer Costco in Southern California is not that far from my house.

[Peas n carrots]

:lol: ask Mr p&c about the Co-op. You can buy a plain loaf and get your funeral sorted at the same time.

Oh yes I forgot The Co-op did funerals as well! Mr. P&C's dad works for The Co-op now (he worked for a Somerfield that was bought out by them) so perhaps we can get a family discount on an urn lol?

[Stephanie66]

What will Zsu Zsu do?

[bionicmlle]

I was wondering what the Maxwells will do. Seems that their membership may change to Sam's since the Waltons are more in line with their philosophy.

[salex]

2 things

1) Depending on their tagger, it could have been a joke or it could have been put on by a person who doesn't really know what "fiction" means other than "book". I have tutored for Project Literacy and taught college English and communications classes and the number of people who don't know what common words mean in both groups is astounding. I had a small accelerated class of Juniors one year in a college class who were supposed to have taken a placement exam to even be in the class. None of them knew what the word "innoculate" meant, so it is quite possible for a tagger in a store (whose first language may or may not be English) not to know exactly what "fiction" means. Sad but true.

2) This thread calls for this.

[twinmama]

I've never been in a Costco that had any kind of book sections. They're all just tossed in giant piles on a super long table.

I find this hilarious, but even if I was religious I think I would probably shrug it off as some smart ass trying to be funny, not an actual affront to my beliefs. Some people take everything way too seriously.