National UK newspaper The Guardian has a 3,000 word article on the Boy-Back-From-Heaven scandal that discern.org has been covering. This section is particularly noteworthy:
Jan Long Harris, a publisher with Tyndale House, was Beth Malarkey’s primary correspondent. She offered to correct inaccuracies in consultation with Kevin, “since our contract is with him”. According to the emails newly obtained by the Guardian, Harris acknowledged that Beth had presented larger issued [sic] with the book, writing: “I realize that your concern about what you feel are inaccuracies is not the only issue you have with the book, but it is the issue that could be most easily addressed.”
Beth replied: “Revisions are not what will restore what has been stolen from my son, who continues to suffer.” She asked if Tyndale House could break its contract with Kevin Malarkey.
Harris, evidently exasperated, replied:
Even if we could make a case for breaking our contract, the book could (and probably would) be back in print with another publisher within a few weeks. So I don’t think that would achieve your goal.
‘If we don’t then someone else will’ does not seem to be a worthy reason for a supposedly Christian organization to publish a book containing known ‘inaccuracies’.
Harris continued to explain Tyndale’s position:
Also, I’m sure you can understand that we can’t break a contract with an author just because someone else – even if the someone else is the author’s spouse – makes accusations about him. We have to give the author, in this case Kevin, a chance to respond.
The question of breaking a contract should not have arisen, as Tyndale should never have agreed to publish the book.
Tyndale House says that it is ‘substantially owned’ by a foundation whose mission is ‘to spread the Good News of Christ around the world’. One wonders how publishing fabrications and false doctrine assists in spreading the Good News of the One who is Truth (John 14:6).
Photo credit: Liane Metzler.
I don’t support the book or the theology it suggests. And I find it to be a huge black eye to the Christian community that a UK newspaper is fanning the flames of this in their country where only 2% of the population is evangelical. The UK would be best described as a humanist/atheistic culture, certainly not as a Christian culture. So Tyndale needs to take note that their publishing the book has run totally counter to their expressed mission.
Let me rephrase, ‘So I need to sin because if I don’t someone else will.” Does Tyndale not fear God?
Right, why pass up the golden opportunity to deceive for unjust gain and let that opportunity slip on over to the next corrupt salesman, when they can claim it all for themselves! Great ‘Christian’ ethics there people.