'Fiction' Label On Bibles At Costco Shocks Pastor - Updated 11/22

[cbayer]

Last edited Fri Nov 22, 2013, 07:17 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/costco-bible-fiction_n_4304784.html


The Huffington Post | By Yasmine Hafiz
Posted: 11/19/2013 4:45 pm EST | Updated: 11/20/2013 6:05 pm EST


California pastor Caleb Kaltenbach tweeted this photo of a Bible labelled as fiction at Costco to his followers on Nov. 15, 2013. (Twitter/QMI AGENCY)

UPDATE Nov. 20 --

Costco has issued an apology to Fox News, stating, "Costco's distributor mislabeled a small percentage of the Bibles, however we take responsibility and should have caught the mistake. We are correcting this with them for future distribution. In addition, we are immediately relabeling all mislabeled Bibles. We greatly apologize for this error."

Elizabeth went to her mother Lorraine with a vexing question. She had just completed her weekly reading assignment, and wasn't sure about which category her book fell under: fiction, or non-fiction. Lorraine also had a tough time answering the question, because the book they were wondering about was the Bible.

They're not the only ones who have wondered whether the Bible falls into the category of fiction or nonfiction.

Costco recently roused the ire of Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach when he discovered a stack of Bibles with a 'Fiction' sticker at their Simi Valley, Calif. location. He told Todd Starnes of Fox News, "All the Bibles were labeled as fiction. It seemed bizarre to me."

more at link

Pastor Apologizes to Costco, Praises Them for Their Good Works

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/22/1257519/-Pastor-Apologizes-to-Costco-Praises-Them-for-Their-Good-Works#

I first learned about this story from The Young Turks. When I saw the quote from the pastor about Costco labeling their Bibles as "fiction," I laughed and groaned. Then I saw the name of the pastor. It was Caleb Kaltenbach, an old friend of mine from college. My immediate reaction was to be angry at him. I tagged him on Facebook and called him out, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to see what really went down.

He called me, and told me his side of things. Turns out, he was being misquoted in the media, and it was never his intention to launch a crusade over how Costco had labeled their Bibles. He thought it was humorous, so he posted a snarky pic, having no idea the media shitstorm that would ensue. Naively, he was taken along for the ride by Fox and others.

Now probably 99 out of a 100 times, when a conservative Christian says something ridiculous in the media, they mean it. But I know Caleb, and I know he's not one of those culture warrior Christians.

Tonight, Caleb took responsibility for the controversy he unwittingly initiated, and posted an apology to Costco, and statements of support for them, on his Facebook and Twitter, where this all began.

more at link

[tanyev]

1. Did he look to see if any other books were also labelled incorrectly?

I bet the designation of fiction or non-fiction on a label is not a high priority piece of information for Costco.

[xfundy]

9. How would you have it labelled?

"Infallible?"

"Fiction" or "Fantasy" comes as close as possible to accuracy in labelling.

[cbayer]

10. I have a reason to go to Costco today and am going to look at how they sort books.

It's not an either/or issue. Bookstores and libraries generally have a section for religion or reference books.

[Mariana]

13. By now they've probably pulled all "wrongly" labeled Bibles

off the shelves, and I imagine they've also checked any other religiously themed material to make sure none of it is labeled "incorrectly".

Let us know what you find out.

[cbayer]

14. I went to Costco in Mexico and nothing was marked fiction or non-fiction, lol.

[dimbear]

2. You usually recognize fiction by everything working out in the end.

Bible not so much.

[doc03]

3. I don' t know but between all the different versions of the bible and all the other

hundreds of religions most of them have to be bullshit.

[Scuba]

4. The book has a talking snake and a man who lives inside a whale. Where would you file it?

[dimbear]

6. Also zombies, unicorns, ghosts and a talking donkey. It's practically Universal Studios. n/t

[DURHAM D]

5. otoh - Many years ago I found The Da Vinci Code in non-fiction.

After some discussion they decided to put it in both fiction and non-fiction.

[hrmjustin]

7. I can see how he was upset but I also think he likes the attention.

[xfundy]

8. He's right to be upset!

Oh, wait, no he's not. He's just looking for something to get PO'd about so he can get upset and upset the 'flock.'

[AtheistCrusader]

11. Technically it belongs under Historical Fiction, or Mythology.

It is not strictly 'Fiction'.

[cbayer]

12. Technically it belongs under philosophy, psychology and religion, at least according

to the Library of Congress.

[okasha]

16. Exactly.

Within that designation, it's a mixture of foundation epic, love poetry, history, hymns, theology, cultural documents and advice on leading and maintaining a congregation. There's a reason it's called Ta Biblia, The Books.

[cbayer]

17. Hola Okasha!

Glad to see you.

[okasha]

18. Hola!

Things get hectic at the end of a semester--no time for anything that's not a matter of survival. Where are you in Mexico now? Still headed down the west coast?

[cbayer]

19. Glad your semester has ended (or is ending).

In Ensenada getting some last minute work done on the boat. Heading for La Paz next week.

I'm loving it here and my Spanish is getting better every day…. something I never thought would happen.

[okasha]

20. It's not over till the middle of next month.

Still have a couple paintings to finish, pots to throw, figure out why we've had two disastrous firings (probably because beginning students contaminated glazes), plus holiday stuff. Me hace loca!

[dimbear]

15. Interesting analysis over at Kos, which sees the pastor's actions as pretty selfish --

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/21/1257374/-Costco-labels-Bible-as-fiction-in-this-store-Pastor-goes-viral-for-wrong-reason?showAll=yes

Keep in mind that if you need a big box store, Costco is one of the least evil ones.

[cbayer]

21. OP updated