First Thursday - Book Signing

We will be having our inaugural

"First Thursday--An Evening with the Author"

tomorrow, October 1, 2009, beginning at 6:00p.m.

Dr. Regesh will be on hand to discuss and sign his provocative book:

Saint Paul, The First Antichrist-- Deception and Dogma

The book that changes everything.

Dr. John Ben Regesh shares a fascinating revelation of his own as he closely examines ancient scripture to expose what he sees to be the fraudulent teachings of one of the most influential ‘Christians’ in history.

By laying out the writings of Saint Paul and comparing relevant passages with the teachings of Jesus Christ, Dr. Regesh reveals where he sees the error of Paul’s teachings without conjecture, theory, or supposition.

Using passages from the Bible, Regesh's indictment against Paul is constructed before your very eyes. The truth of this book stands against any attack and promises to cause a whirlwind of controversy and consternation throughout Christianity.

You will also be introduced to concepts like the eighth day of creation, moving from darkness to light and death to life, the Creation Continuum, and how John 21 is actually the demotion of Peter from leader of the Church. Finally, the true reason that Christmas is on the 25th of December.


About the Author:

Growing up in a strict Roman Catholic family, Dr. John Ben Regesh, J.D., spent most of his life studying theology and scripture, including successfully translating the New Testament from Latin. Dr. Regesh has practiced law since 1977 and preached the last ten years to a small but active congregation. He is the Archbishop of The Christian Church in Texas and is currently working on his next book that explains the true teachings of Jesus Christ and the Law.

I found his presentation to be well-reasoned and logical although I cannot say that I am convinced of the premise which Dr. Regesh spells out in the pages of this book. But, in honor of Banned Books Week, I found myself returning to my tattered old Catholic Study Bible and rereading the often difficult letters of Paul. The wonderful thing about being presented with ideas that challenge our way of thinking is we are forced to reevaluate and utilize our critical and analytical skills, which is a habit often neglected in favor of the quick sound bite or comfortable opinion.

Hopefully, we will see some of you tomorrow night. Stop by to meet this fascinating local author, enjoy a glass of wine and some interesting conversation.

Banned Books Week

Manifesto

To you zealots and bigots and false
patriots who live in fear of discourse.
You screamers and banners and burners
who would force books
off shelves in your brand name
of greater good.

You say you’re afraid for children,
innocents ripe for corruption
by perversion or sorcery on the page.
But sticks and stones do break
bones, and ignorance is no armor.
You do not speak for me,
and will not deny my kids magic
in favor of miracles.

You say you’re afraid for America,
the red, white and blue corroded
by terrorists, socialists, the sexually
confused. But we are a vast quilt
of patchwork cultures and multi-gendered
identities. You cannot speak for those
whose ancestors braved
different seas.

You say you’re afraid for God,
the living word eroded by Muhammed
and Darwin and Magdalene.
But the omnipotent sculptor of heaven
and earth designed intelligence.
Surely you dare not speak
for the father, who opens
his arms to all.

A word to the unwise.
Torch every book.
Char every page.
Burn every word to ash.
Ideas are incombustible.
And therein lies your real fear.

— Ellen Hopkins,
bestselling author of Crank and newly published Tricks

Thinking About Banned Books Week

The last week of September is recognized by the American Library Association as Banned Books Week. I am in the process of thinking of some ways to recognize the need to be constantly aware of ongoing attempts at censorship in all forms. I know that as a bookseller I have argued with myself over what books to carry and when to say "I will not have that in my store".

For example, I am a political and news junkie and enjoy reading political commentary - when it is written with a clear, logical and reasoned approach. Much of what passes for commentary today is simply over-heated, hateful, divisive, partisan rhetoric which, in my opinion, adds little to the debate and certainly does not help us in reaching the goal of a well-informed electorate. Yet, when I considered not carrying some of the more egregious authors of these best-selling titles, I realized that I would be practicing my own style of censorship.





From the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression website supporting the recognition of Banned Books Week from September 26 - October 3, 2009:

Book censorship of all kinds – even book-burning – continues today. Challenges may come from parents, teachers, clergy members, elected officials, or organized groups, and arise due to objections to language, violence, sexual or racial themes, or religious viewpoint, to name just a few. In 2008, the ALA counted 513 challenges. Many other cases go unreported.

This year, for example, in Shelby, Michigan Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison was suspended from the curriculum after the superintendent ordered a teacher to remove the book from advanced English classes.

In Vineland, NJ, the principal of Landis Intermediate School literally tore pages out of the school's copy of the nationally acclaimed poetry anthology, Paint Me Like I Am, written by teens for teens after one parent raised concerns over the "age-appropriateness" of Jason Tirado's poem, "Diary of an Abusive Step-father." In West Bend, WI several books were challenged at the Community Memorial Public Library and the Library Board was accused of "promoting the overt indoctrination of the gay-agenda." In addition, the Christian Civil Liberties Union's Milwaukee branch filed a legal claim arguing its elderly plaintiffs suffered mental and emotional damage due to the book's presence in the public library's Young Adult section.

To be honest, I wrestle with these decisions daily. Am I being a literary snob when I don't order the latest Harlequin romance series book? Do I develop a separate section for "Christian literature"? How much do I preview the books in my Young Adult sections for content that some parents may find objectionable? How do I decide what "may be objectionable"?

With each question, I am becoming more and more convinced that I need to provide the materials, and generally let the market decide, although, I will always strive to find and stock quality literature of all genres, religious beliefs, and political positions even though it may be outsold by more popular titles.

If you have any suggestions, ideas, or are interesting in helping Paragraphs and South Padre Island recognize Banned Books Week, I would love to hear from you.

Test Your Knowledge of Banned Books

The Guardian has a challenging quiz testing their readers knowledge of some of the most frequently challenged and banned books.

To take this quiz and find out if you have been exercising your freedom to read: go here

via: Shelf Awareness

Banned Books Week

Since 1982, the last week of September has been designated by the American Library Association as Banned Books Week - Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

From the ALA website:

Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

As the Intellectual Freedom Manual (ALA, 7th edition) states:

“Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate; and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of the work, and the viewpoints of both the author and receiver of information. Freedom to express oneself through a chosen mode of communication, including the Internet, becomes virtually meaningless if access to that information is not protected. Intellectual freedom implies a circle, and that circle is broken if either freedom of expression or access to ideas is stifled.”

Even though books are often challenged for the best intentions -- to protect others from difficult or objectionable ideas -- the censorship of books is always dangerous in a democracy. As John Stuart Mill states in In Liberty:

“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner; if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”

A book is considered to have been challenged when someone makes an attempt to have it removed from a public or school library, a curriculum or to otherwise limit access to the book in any way. The book is not considered to have been banned unless the challenge is successful and access to the book is restricted in some way.

In the 21st century the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling top the list of those books challenged and/or banned. Other familiar titles include Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, A Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. See the complete list of the top 100 challenged/banned books since 2000.