Fundie publisher to roll-out "Passion" tie-in [View All]

[villager]

Note this key quote: "Co-author Jerry Jenkins added that, 'I realize that our message is inherently offensive and divisive, especially in this new age of tolerance. Especially since 9/11. I understand how that sounds. But I'm telling you this because I really do believe it.'"

That's what we're up against, folks: Fundie-bots. Item is from today's Publisher's Weekly e-letter. No link, so I repro'd the whole thing:


Passion for 'Passion'? Tyndale Thinks So

The publisher doing the tie-in for Mel Gibson's The Passion says interest in its book has been unquenchable, despite reports that Gibson has attempted to quiet controversy by deleting a scene.

The evangelical publisher Tyndale House says it has printed nearly 200,000 copies and has even entered allocation mode because of interest in its four-color--and frequently graphic--tie-in. "One thing that's unique is that there's an unprecedented amount of churches buying out entire theaters. What we're waiting for is churches buying the book in bulk and giving it away," says Tyndale's marketing and business development executive Dan Balow.

Gibson wrote a foreword for the book describing his hopes that both book and movie "help many more people recognize the power of His love and let Him help them to save their own lives." Those expecting more fireworks may be a little disappointed; he strikes a comparatively low-key note when he writes that "It has unfortunately become part of our modern secular existence to forget. The film, in this sense, is not meant as a historical documentary nor does it claim to assemble all of the facts. But it does enumerate those described in relevant Holy Scripture."

The movie opens in two weeks, and the publisher says that while a NY Times report had a key scene from the Crucifixion deleted, the news has not made its way to the publisher. "We haven't heard anything like that from Icon," Balow says and added, that, in any event, he didn't think it would be relevant to the book. "Unless there's some major flaw and it came from Icon, I couldn't imagine that we'd make any changes at all."

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