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Another Day in Hong Kong

I saw another side of Hong Kong today. The south side of the island is full of beaches, markets, and resorts. There are high rises but there are also homes more akin to those in NZ with bigger sections and houses. It was teeming with people at Stanley. I met a sad burnt out artist. He had given up art because he was fed up with people not being interested in artists and quality and buying stuff of the shelf. His name was Vincent. I brought a painting and chatted to him. He got out a photo album and showed me his paintings and awards he had won. I encouraged him and told him that artists should paint whether anyone appreciated it or bought them. It was nice moment.

Saw a Baptist Church where there was a full on healing time on. The church was in the middle of the market. Interesting.

So, Hong Kong is not all high risers. The south side is more akin to something a Kiwi would recognise. Ate a Korean bbq dinner. You cook your own dinner on a bbq in the centre of the table. Excellent.

I also went into a Dymocks, yes there are Dymocks in Hong Kong. I saw a book, Philip Pullman's, the Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. Had a quick flick through. His idea is that Mary gave birth to twins not just Jesus i.e. Jesus and a brother, Christ. Christ follows Jesus around. He is the one who tempts Jesus. He betrays him. When Jesus dies and is buried, they fake his resurrection using the twin brother! I thought, what next? Such absolute rot! I looked around the shop and this was the only book I could see on Jesus. I thought of all the great books in the world that could be in this shop and wondered, why this one?

Us Christians have to rethink our approach to selling our literature. We create our own separate shops in our parallel universe and leave the bookshops of the world to such rot. I suggest this. We Christians decide on the books that should be in the bookshops of the world, and instead of buying them at Manna or whatever other Christian bookshop we normally use, we should go to the local bookshop and order them. We could target these shops and go in in droves ordering them. This would force them to bring in the books that should be there like those of Strobel, Wright, Stott etc. This would lead to them stocking more than the books of loons like Pullman!!!What we have done is abdicated the bookshops of the world preferring isolation and separation. It is a road to disaster.

So, go to your local bookshop and order 'What's God Up To On Planet Earth' from Castle and Affirm Publishing and they will order them in. Then the lost may find it, read it, and get saved. If not this book, let's get all the great Christian books back on the shelves of Whitcoulls, Dymocks, Paper Plus, Borders and whatever other book shops are in your area. Spread the word at church... I think it is a plan.

Back to Hong Kong. I have nothing else to say... amen.

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