I came across a news report about a church in Alamogordo, N.M., that sparked my interest. The parishioners at this church decided to ring in the New Year by having a bonfire. What I found interesting and disturbing was that they didn’t burn scrap lumber, yard debris and old furniture like most folks do at a bonfire. They decided to burn books. Not just any old books, mind you; they put to the torch such books as the works of William Shakespeare and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
Jack Brock, pastor and founder of the church, said that “these books teach kids how they can get into witchcraft and become a witch, wizard or warlock.” He also called the books “a masterpiece of satanic deception.” When I went to the church’s Web site to see what the parishioners and Brock had to say, I found Pastor Brock’s sermon in which he replied to his critics. A summary of the sermon read, “This message focuses upon scriptural passages that portray God’s use of fire throughout the Bible as an act of His judgement against evil. … God has always used fire as a means of purging or cleansing.”
I don’t know what kind of pastor Brock is, but I do know what kind of pastor Billy Graham is. Graham is considered one of the most influential voices of Evangelical Christianity and has consistently been considered one of the most respected men in America for the last 40 or 50 years. Graham has never hosted any book burnings. I looked in several history books for people who gained notoriety for hosting book burnings, and I came across two names: Torquemada, the most notorious leader of the Spanish Inquisition, and Adolf Hitler, who needs no introduction. If I were a pastor trying to make a name for myself in the world of religion, I know who I’d rather emulate.
As far as these books teaching kids witchcraft and being a “masterpiece of satanic deception,” I don’t get into debates over taste and personal preferences. If Brock read those books and that’s his opinion of them, so be it. I’m sure somebody else, whose opinion is just as valid, read them and thought otherwise.
I was particularly intrigued by the Web site’s summary of Brock’s message, though. Yes, God has used fire “throughout the Bible as an act of His judgement against evil,” and “God has always used fire as a means of purging or cleansing,” but where in the Bible is Jack Brock or anybody else specifically given permission to use fire as an act of judgement or to purge or cleanse?
This is what is most troubling about this situation: Brock and his congregation, like the Taliban, have taken up the mantle of responsibility for judging and destroying what they consider evil. They have decided that they don’t like the way God is handling the situation and are doing something about it. They are essentially trying to be like God, for which Lucifer got in a heap of trouble.
Brock has expressed concern over what these books do and do not teach children, but what about what his church’s actions are teaching? After all, actions speak louder than words, right? These actions teach children that if they come across a book they don’t like or disagree with, they should destroy it.
What is most unnerving about this line of logic is the realization that other book burners have come to after they’ve burned all the “bad” books. Torquemada soon realized, as did Hitler, that books don’t commit heresy, people do. Torquemada sent thousands to a horrific death in the name of fighting “evil.” No one needs a reminder of what Hitler did upon graduating from book burning.
So what is the bottom line? Simply this: if you don’t want to read something, don’t read it. If you don’t want your kids reading something, don’t let them read it. And don’t rely on people like Jack Brock to tell you what you should or shouldn’t read. Make that decision for yourself.