A book by any other name ...

From before and then throughout my years in officership, I’ve grown a small library of Christian books that sits alongside my collection of Bibles (92, at last count, although a few are New Testaments only).

Christian publishing is a huge field and thousands of new books are released every year. This has been the case for more than 500 years, since Johnny Gutenberg developed a printing press that could rattle off as many as 20 books a day! Which was better than one book every three months.

Amidst the hundreds of thousands of Christian titles printed, there are some, well, odd ones. Let’s consider a few.

Does God Ever Speak Through Cats? – By David Evans, published in 2006. The author writes of when he moved to a new house and adopted a stray cat, and he draws parallels between the ‘lost and found’ life of the cat and his own faith journey.

My favourite review in Amazon includes Ryan H. saying: “My neighbour’s cat once looked me dead in the eye and began to telepathically dictate a lost chapter of the Book of Revelation to me. He explained that he was the angel Gabriel (in cat form), and God had chosen me as his prophet.”

The Bible Cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome – By Don Colbert, published 2002. “Invite bowel regularity into your life! You don’t have to suffer the bloating or discomfort of irritable bowel syndrome any longer! ... God wants you to be healthy. Now, at last, here’s a source of information that will help you get healthy – body, mind and spirit.”

And I really want Rhoda – one of the Amazon reviewers – as my friend. She buys the best presents: “I ordered this booklet for a gift for a friend. I have had one for years. I find mine to be an excellent refresher and encourager when IBS flares up.” Regarding the second and third sentences there, I don’t know if she’s talking about the book or her friend.

Oozing For My Lord – By Betty Carolyn Hearon-Love, published in 2007. Apparently, this small book is about how the author wanted to be so filled with God’s love that it simply ‘oozed’ out of her. She said that God gave her the title for the book even before she began writing it.

While I genuinely appreciate the sentiment of the book, I question that ‘oozing’ was what God said. I suspect she misheard, and he wanted a book on sleeping peacefully for God called, ‘Snoozing For My Lord’.