The Australian Bible Society is a bible society in name only. It’s a fraudulent organization that offers lip service to the Christian faith, placarding Christianity with statements hardly giving the impression they care about the integrity of the Bible or the Christian faith at all.
In Part 1, we introduced you to Greg Clarke, president of the Bible Society:
Dangers of Australian Bible Society (Part 1).
In this article, Part 2, we begin to introduce you to the major problems with the Bible Society and their monopoly in the Christian bookstores and Christian media. We start with Koorong and at the end of this piece, we will have full articles reporting the bible society’s acquisition of this organization.
To start, it is worth reading what the Bible Society says about themselves:
Early in the life of Australia, passionate community leaders like Lady Macquarie created the Bible Society. They knew it wasn’t just government that could build a nation. It would need people of hope, people who live light.
Today, we’re Australia’s longest-living organisation. Over the last 200 years, the Bible has done Australia a lot of good. And there’s a lot more good it will do yet. So we’re creating new ways to advocate for the Bible, to promote it, and offer people new ways to engage with it.
Source: Bible Society, https://www.biblesociety.org.au/our-work/, Accessed 20/08/2017.
If the Bible Society thinks they represent Christianity today, Christians should treat them the same way ancient Israel treated the Phillistines. Consider who is part of the ‘Bible Society’ group:
The Bible Society group at the bottom of their website.
WHY IT’S SO WRONG AT KOORONG
If it’s popular – it must be Christian….
Many faithful Christian shops and bookstores have fallen prey to the growing problem of the Koorong ‘juggernaut’, originally founded by the Baptist Booth family. While it may have started as a faithful Christian endeavor, it no longer displays that faithfulness, troubling many who see it now mainly selling anti-Christian material such as Sarah Young’s ‘Jesus Calling’, John Crowder’s ‘The New Mystics’, Joseph Prince’s ‘Destined to Reign’, William Paul Young’s ‘The Shack’ or Brian Houston’s ‘Live Love Lead’.
Koorong: ‘Am I my brothers keeper?’….
When God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9.) Koorong’s attitude is no different to the murderous Cain. Who cares if people go to hell because they are sold unbiblical products? They got their money. Business as usual. In a similar way, God’s rebuke could be directed towards Koorong: “What have you [been doing]? Listen! Your [sisters and brothers] blood cries out to me from the ground.”
Who cares if the authors are heretics – if it’s popular and in high demand, Koorong will sell it. Even worse, Koorong will set up ‘shrines’ (displays) to these ‘gods of pop-evangelicalism’ to mislead the unsuspecting into thinking that what they are about to purchase and read is Christian. All the while, Godly books about our Lord are becoming more and more unknown, books, bibles and histories glorifying the great and glorious work God completed on Calvary.
Theology? They’ll check out the back for you….
Koorong shops are designed in such a way where buyers have to endeavor to discover just where the bible, reformed theology or church history section is, (try looking in the corners of the shop – you might find a row or two). It’s as if Koorong has to remind themselves they are a CHRISTIAN bookstore and as an afterthought put in an actual ‘solid’ Christian material section.
Rather like supermarkets where you have to bypass various adverts and confectionary to get solid healthy food, Koorong often has their customers bypass dubious advertisements and unhealthy products only to find ‘rancid milk and meat’ on their shelves. Effort and research is actually required by the customer to see if what they are buying is biblical reading or heretical. (Furthermore, even Koorong workers have informed us that they too do not like what they sell on their shelves, some disagreeing strongly with the content on display.)
The Bible Society Does Nothing….
You would think that now the Bible Society owns Koorong things would have changed? From our experience (and talking to Koorong customers), it is actually getting worse. Sarah Young and William Paul Young are more popular than ever – clearly on display near the counters, in their best-sellers section. Clearly, Koorong doesn’t listen to Christian customers – they only listen to what makes them money.
The Bible Society has already a LOT to answer for. If they are all about the bible, why are they not cleaning out all the heretical, damnable, irresponsible rubbish that is displayed as solid Christian ‘product’ and focusing on literature that builds and edifies the body of Christ?
In one breath, the Bible Society are encouraging Christians to promote and read the bible. In their next breath, they are encouraging people to pervert it and put it down for good. Because of this, the Bible Society and Koorong are in a self-defeating partnership, both pointless to exist.
Something to think about.
Koorong reports,
Bible Society Australia Group
Koorong is now part of the Bible Society Australia family
As a Koorong customer, you’ll still be able to get the same great Christian resources, but your purchases and any voluntary extra donations will also help Bible Society to translate, distribute and engage people with the Bible. That’s the core of Bible Society work, and there’s a major global need for it, as you can see here from their range of international and domestic programmes.
Source: Bible Society Australia Group, Koorong, https://www.koorong.com/info/about-koorong/bible-society-australia-group.jsp, (Accessed 20/08/2017.) [Archived]
The Bible Society reports,
Bible Society Australia partners with Koorong in match made in heaven
Partnership signals exciting growth and improved access to God’s word.
Christians across the nation are set to celebrate following the launch of a partnership which will increase access to God’s word worldwide and, through this, transform lives.
Bible Society Australia – whose core cross denominational mission is to translate, distribute and engage people with the Bible – has acquired leading Christian retailer Koorong in a deal that will make both organisations, and the Christian community, stronger.
Chairman of Bible Society Australia, Richard Grellman, said the partnership will allow Bible Society to deliver even more services towards a shared mission to enhance access to the word of God for a world that desperately needs it.
CEO of Bible Society Australia, Greg Clarke said “Bible Society and Koorong share a common goal and we believe that by coming together, we have the potential to transform hundreds of thousands of lives. It’s a match made in heaven and will ensure that both organisations are positioned positively for growth and can thrive for years to come,” Dr Clarke said.
“We will now be able to share our important Bible work with, and garner support from, Koorong customers. What’s more, those who shop at Koorong can now know that their purchases will fund even more Bible mission projects here and around the world,” he said.
Managing Director of Koorong, Paul Bootes, will continue to lead operations and said it will be business as usual for Koorong with all current staff to be retained.
“Over 40 years ago my father and mother started selling Bibles and Christian books in our garage near Marsfield. Today, thanks to the support of our customers we have 300 dedicated employees, a thriving online business and 15 stores nationwide,” Mr Bootes said.
“We’re thrilled with the new partnership as it allows us to both share the important resources that mean so much to our fellow Christians and support vital missions around the world,” he said.
Clarke said the partnership will help support the overwhelming need for more literacy and translation efforts, such as the Society’s new appeal for its mission work in Zambia.
“In the past three years, Bible Society Australia has established more than 100 international programmes but there are a huge number of deserving projects that still go unfunded each year. In China, demand for Bibles outstrips supply and more than 54 million people there are still illiterate. In Pakistan, women have one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, and in Zambia, the need for support is at a critical level.
“We look forward to expanding our mission efforts alongside our loyal Koorong customers and seek the continued prayers and vital contributions of our valued supporters,” he said.
Greg Clarke and Paul Bootes speak about the announcement, here:
Source: Bible Society Australia partners with Koorong in match made in heaven, BibleSociety, http://www-archive.biblesociety.org.au/news/bible-society-australia-partners-with-koorong-in-match-made-in-heaven, Published 17/08/2015. (Accessed 07/01/2017.) [Cached] [Archive]
Koorong reports,
Bible Society Australia Partners With Koorong
PARTNERSHIP SIGNALS EXCITING GROWTH AND IMPROVED ACCESS TO GOD’S WORD
An exciting change has happened in the world of Koorong.
Bible Society Australia – a charity whose important cross denominational mission is to translate, distribute and engage people with the Bible – has acquired Koorong in a union that we believe will make us and the Christian community, stronger. Both Bible Society Australia and the Koorong Leadership Team have sensed the hand of God in this move as we have worked together over the last few months to get to this announcement day.
Paul Bootes will continue to lead Koorong operations – carrying on the great ministry of Koorong that was begun by his parents 40 years ago when they started selling books and Bibles from their garage. Rest assured that it will be business as usual at our stores and at Koorong.com. We will continue with our mission to serve the body of Christ with the supply of Bibles, Christian books, and other excellent resources.
This is great news for our customers too, who will now know that their purchases are going to help provide access to the Bible around the world and that Koorong will be in the capable hands of the oldest continuous organisation in Australia.
Source: Bible Society Australia Partners With Koorong, Koorong, https://www.koorong.com/info/about-koorong/bible-society-autralia-partners-with-koorong.html, Accessed 20/08/2017. [Archive] [Cached]
The Bible Society reports,
Koorong joins the Bible Society family
In July 2015, Bible Society Australia acquired leading Christian retailer Koorong in a deal that will aid Bible distribution across the country and support Bible Society’s core mission work around the world.
Koorong is a company that began over 40 years ago, and provides a wide range of Christian resources, at great prices, to help people in their walk with Jesus Christ. Koorong has a thriving online business and 15 stores across Australia. From the beginning, Koorong has remained committed to spreading God’s word and building up the body of Christ by providing an extensive range of Christian books, Bibles, music, DVDs, gifts and more.
In the second half of 2015, Koorong sold 158,728 Bibles and New Testaments, increasing the overall reach of Bible Society’s Bible distribution in 2015 to 316,183.
Since becoming a part of the Bible Society Australia family, Koorong’s profits go to the support of Bible Society Australia as it undertakes Bible translation, Bible distribution and Bible engagement both here in Australia and around the world. Koorong customers are still able to get great Christian resources, but now their purchases and any voluntary extra donations will also help Bible mission too.
“Bible Society and Koorong share a common goal and we believe that by coming together, we have the potential to transform hundreds of thousands of lives… We will now be able to share our important Bible work with, and garner support from, Koorong customers. What’s more, those who shop at Koorong can now know that their purchases will fund even more Bible mission projects here and around the world.”
– CEO of Bible Society Australia, Greg Clarke.
“We’re thrilled with the new partnership as it allows us to both share the important resources that mean so much to our fellow Christians and support vital missions around the world.”
– CEO of Koorong, Paul Bootes.
“The partnership will allow Bible Society to deliver even more services towards a shared mission to enhance access to the word of God for a world that desperately needs it.”
– Chairman of Bible Society Australia, Richard Grellman.
Source: Koorong joins the Bible Society family, Bible Society, https://www.biblesociety.org.au/2015/domestic/koorong.html, Accessed 20/08/2017. [Cached]
Categories: Evangelical Industrial Complex (EIC)