Because our work [with The Discerning Reader] brings us within the orbit of todays' Christian retailing world, we've taken unusual notice of the pending marketing blitz surrounding the release of Mel Gibson's THE PASSION on home video and DVD. We've received offers from virtually every distributor and vendor on the planet to sell it -- and a host of "Passion-related" paraphernalia (books, CDs, T-Shirts, Jewelry) -- at exceptional prices, with substantial margins. (Just check out the latest offerings from Christian Book Distributors, LifeWay Stores, Family Stores or The Parable Group — to name a few.)

Any good business person in America would see this as an outstanding opportunity to capitalize on the latest "wind of excitement" blowing upon the broad road that constitutes today's Christian culture. It's money in the bank for Christian retailers. And they know it. After all, that is what Christian retailing is ultimately about these days: MAKING MONEY.

Christian retailing is NOT about doing the work of the Kingdom of God -- despite its protestations to the contrary. Mind you, there are some very notable exceptions -- like IVP, NavPress, and Brazos, publishers we count on for consistently great books. Christian retailing is driven by the same capitalist impulse that animates Wall Street: at the end of the day, the accountants will declare us righteous or not, by imputing to us the virtue wrought by "the bottom line."

Is it any wonder, then, that they all jump on the same band-wagon to exploit the latest craze? After all, such crazes are always a safe bet -- virtually certain to maximize profit: the holy of holies in today's business world.

Now don't get me wrong. Love thinks no evil. I am confident that the true followers of Jesus working in the world of Christian retail believe they are promoting the Gospel. And perhaps, in some sense, they are -- God can certainly use Gibson's well-crafted film to stir an interest in his saving grace. (But then, as the book of Numbers tells us, God can use a dumb ass to speak to people, can't he?) But we would strongly suggest that they are being led astray by the monied-interests of corporate America -- the ones who own the biggest chunk of the industry -- that have always used "God and Country" to make a buck.

So we've no passion for The Passion. Not that its sale wouldn't help our own financial needs . . . it would -- substantially. But the hype over private distribution -- along with the books, CDS, T-Shirts, jewelry et al. ad nauseum -- reminds us too much of the moneychangers in the temple. It just stinks of "filthy lucre" -- as the old King James Bible called it.

Christians should be discerning here, and have the maturity to see this for what it is: exploitation. Like many like-minded Christians, our purpose at The DR [our book ministry] is to make disciples for the kingdom of God -- that is why we (somewhat reluctantly) got into this "business"; that is the only reason we sell books. If we could give them away -- which we sometimes do anyway -- we would. (In our estimation, the "business" is a necessary evil these days . . .)

Christ's kingdom is "countercultural" in nature. It does not think like Wall Street -- always monitoring the bottom line, always concerned for OUR interests. Christians are the ones who "think different" -- they see something far more profound in this than the exchanging of goods and services or the return on investment. But when we think and act like the world, by imitating their fixation on such things, we deny our Lord and Master.

The money is going to burn, along with the quarterly financial statements. But the kingdom of God will endure forever. We're passionate about that. rob schlapfer

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Paul, to the Ephesians — or, quite possibly, the Laodiceans.) PS — And for those who insist that it is about "good stewardship" . . . please read The Parable of the Ten Talents more carefully in Matthew 25.

I had several very good experiences with DR, but this past February I placed a large order and only received a few of the books. I have sent several emails over the past months and more than one paper letter. I have been nothing but patient and kind, but I have not received any reply at all. I wasn't even "demanding" my books; I just wanted a reply.

I am very disappointed because of the lack of any responce from DR. They seem to have been very frustrated by people they though were not treating them in a Christ-like way. But, I bent over backwards to be patient, and I got no reply at all. And now they are out of business... so I assume I can kiss my money/books goodbye. (And I'm still bummed because I would have really liked those books.) I would be impressed if DR still did the right thing about all this. (They still have that option!)

It also bothers me that the DR-related sites now quote Ghandi as saying that he likes Christ but doesn't like Christians. It is hard for that not to come off sounding self-righteous.

Oh well, at least I know now not to waste more time writing emails and letters. (Although a little time spent praying for some healing wouldn't be a waste.)
--Nate Archer ( DarthNate at hotmail dot com ) on 10/11/2005; 2:59:31 PM

Last year (2004) I sent in over $300 to the Discerning Reader for a large book order and only received part of it. About $80 of books were not sent. I have gone around and around with rob and I think her name is denise in over 20 emails asking for my money back. At that time, their web pages gave the impression that all books I ordered were in stock. This was not true! They sell stuff they do not have while giving the impression the stuff is in stock.


I have sent rob several emails asking for my money back. He has my money for books he did not send. He is not ignorant of what he is doing to me and to many other people (search the web, I bet the ratio of people who post on the web with similar problems I have had vs. those who take their lumps silently is one in five or greater).


Rob is a liar and a theif. If you send him money, good luck!
--Lance ( lancellf at yahoo dot com ) on 5/19/2005; 7:01:20 PM

Well...I don't know what's been going on or what IS going on. All I know is that I've greatly benefited from DR and Antithesis & Rob's work. My last order to DR was missing 2 books and I've sent 3 or 4 emails without response. Googling for help unearthed some DR complaints but I have trouble taking them too seriously because of my own experience. It appears that perhaps with the re-launch of Antithesis there might be some delay on other things so I certainly choose to wait and give DR the benefit of the doubt. Sheesh, why ignore ALL the good that's been done over perhaps a few mistakes! Maureen
--Maureen ( maureencharron at statcan dot ca ) on 3/16/2005; 8:55:27 AM

You know, knowing the Church's propensity for slander and mispresentation, I kinda wonder about the quotes above. I don't know any of these people, nor do I know Rob Schapfler, so I can't make a judgment about the veracity of their statements, but I'm a bit skeptical.
--Jon Sligh ( jsligh at bju dot edu ) on 1/15/2005; 10:35:36 AM

You know, knowing the Church's propensity for slander and mispresentation, I kinda wonder about the quotes above. I don't know any of these people, nor do I know Rob Schapfler, so I can't make a judgment about the veracity of their statements, but I'm a bit skeptical.
--Jon Sligh ( jsligh at bju dot edu ) on 1/15/2005; 10:34:44 AM

As I said in my article:

"Christians should be discerning here, and have the maturity to see this for what it is: exploitation."

So well put. Only the non-discerning will be exploited by my company. The discerning will choose to buy their books from a reputable dealer, like Christianbooks.com.
--Rob Schlapfer ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/3/2004; 5:39:54 AM

When you visit my site, Discerning Reader, read discerningly, because all there is there are stock photos, bible-quoting, and material I stole from other websites.
When you Read Discerningly, you will see that I don't provide my patrons with any means to contact me by phone or post. All form submissions are carefully screened and ignored when I chose to ignore them.
But I will certainly call you and verbally abuse you as I see fit.
--Rob Schlapfer ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/3/2004; 4:51:26 AM

And if you believe any of this article, come try to buy books from my site. I will gladly take your money today and not deliver anything to you for weeks or maybe ever.

I am in business to screw you. I just use the name ministry to hide my real motives.
--Rob Schlapfer ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/2/2004; 2:59:08 AM

Paul and Rob reflect on the GAY science at antithesis.com
--Paul ( PaulKlee at antithesis dot com ) on 12/2/2004; 2:14:49 AM

Check out our site.

Our website is not about Christ, it's about us, me and Rob.

We don't have a life, so we think up ways to screw real chritians.
--Paul ( PaulKlee at antithesis dot org ) on 12/2/2004; 2:11:43 AM

And besides, I am NOT a christian, I am a CAPRICORN!!!!!
--Rob Schlapfer ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/2/2004; 1:22:48 AM

You're right, I am vile and abusive - and I don't give a shit about any of my customers.

I pass myself off as a Christian just to make money of you poor suckers.
--Rob Schlapfer ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/2/2004; 1:17:49 AM

Rob sucks
--Rob ( robschlapfer at mac dot com ) on 12/2/2004; 1:15:30 AM

I will no longer buy books at Rob Schapfler's Discerning Reader site. I waited 10 weeks for a book I ordered and sent 5 email queries. When I finally filed a complaint with the BBB, Rob phoned me at home to rant and rail at me, telling me that I was a terrible person and a horrible Christian. When I tried to politely reply, he bullyingly shouted so loudly that I could not be heard. Then he said, "Go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself." I hung up. I find it abhorrent that he would present himself to his patrons as a Christian. It is ironic that a man who tells others that they are bad Christians would himself be so vile and abusive.
--Sue Conley ( Sconley50 at aol dot com ) on 11/20/2004; 1:38:49 AM

I have been in christian retailing and sold my store. There is to much hype put on the stuff to sell. My concern was to tell people ITS ALL ABOUT JESUS. But bussiness got in the way, and it was time to leave. I agree with what you are saying and its about time someone tell the truth. By the way I did not see the movie. I read the story in the Bible and it is good.Type your comment here
--Chris Young ( chrissy1034 at aol dot com ) on 9/17/2004; 6:23:50 AM

I think you are right and wrong - really everything that matters is about the heart right? I can't imagine making any choices regarding furthering my spiritual knowledge (in a book sense) worrying about who is doing what for what reason - worrying about wall street. If the heart of God is behind someones' work then I will get something out of it - simple as that. It is a shame that the reader before me wouldn't go see the Passion because of the hype around it. Although not perfect, it has had an impact on people today - Christian or not - and that is what really counts. I did not go see it because of the hype but because I wanted to check it out. Should we really be making our decisions based on fear of a concept? I think God will direct us the right way even if we are on the wrong "path" because our hearts are for Him and He wants what is best for us.
--Laura Spencer ( 5spencers at adelphia dot net ) on 9/15/2004; 4:31:28 PM

While my tendency is to agree with you concerning the marketing frenzy with such things as WWJD, The Prayer of Jabez, Purpose-Driven LIfe and a plethora of other (sometimes good) resources, I think it is important to remember the words of Christ to His disciples, "Anyone who is not against us is for us (Mark 9:40)." Let's consider the way God has used these tools independently of the marketing crap. I don't have to buy a Purpose-Driven Life prayer journal to know that this book is impacting the Kingdom. I don't hold it against this great ministry just because they don't hold a biblical view of our fellow laborers in the Gospel. Please don't hold these guys out as an example of the bad.
--Jeremiah ( youngadultlife at yahoo dot com ) on 9/9/2004; 11:35:56 PM

You're right.
--bill ( billbean at indychurch dot org ) on 9/9/2004; 12:02:00 PM

Excellent article...finally someone has put into words why I have not seen the passion. As a pastor it has seemed ludicrous to not see a movie about our Lord. But there was just something that got stuck in my craw...and this article nailed it. Thank you.
--Eric Blauer ( www dot gzyouthchurch at aol dot com ) on 9/9/2004; 11:16:04 AM