Lifeway provides this explanatory comment:
We want you to know that the authors of books marked Read with Discernment may have espoused thoughts, ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with historical evangelical theology.
However, we are making these titles available to our customers (along with the background and additional insight offered here through Read With Discernment) because we believe the books do present content that is relevant and of value to Christians and/or because pastors, seminary students, and other ministry leaders need access to this type of material, strictly for critical study or research to help them understand and develop responses to the diversity of religious thought in today's postmodern world. Our prayer for you is that in whatever you read, you place the material under the magnifying glass of scripture and read with discernment, asking God to reveal His truth to you so that, as Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9-10, "...your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ..." (Holman CSB).
So far, the following authors have received the label: William P. Young (The Shack), Rob Bell (of Velvet Elvis fame), Brian McLaren, and Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz).
A couple of these authors have put things in print that depart so far from the biblical truth that you can only use the label "heretical" to describe them.
On the one hand, you're happy to see Lifeway trying to aid the unsuspecting book purchaser. On the other hand, you're left wondering why a Christian bookstore would carry anything harmful to a person's soul.
What say ye? Is this a good idea? Too much? Too little? Should they put this label on all the non-book stuff they sell?
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