A Costco store branch in Simi Valley, California is under fire after a local pastor discovered that Bibles had been cataloged in the fiction section of the books aisle.
Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach of Discovery Church, was browsing for a gift for his wife when he came across Bibles labelled as “fiction.” He then took to Twitter, adding the caption, “Costco has Bibles for sale under the genre of fiction…hmmmm.” Members of Kaltenbach’s congregation, as well as a significant number of people worldwide, were outraged.
Costco quickly issued a public apology:
“Costco’s distributor mislabeled a small percentage of the Bibles, however we take responsibility and should have caught the mistake. We are correcting this with them for future distribution.”
The membership-only warehouse club added, “In addition, we are immediately relabeling all mislabeled Bibles. We greatly apologize for this error.”
Here is Kaltenbach’s initial tweet, followed by some extra thoughts on the matter, including his belief that Costco had plainly made a mistake:
Costco has Bibles for sale under the genre of FICTION
Hmmmm…… pic.twitter.com/mLZVogkSfd
— Caleb Kaltenbach (@calebwilds) November 15, 2013
Just so everyone knows: I'm not outraged, angry, or stunned. I thought the label at Costco on the Bible was interesting
— Caleb Kaltenbach (@calebwilds) November 21, 2013
I believe Costco when they said it was an error. Hopefully God uses this topic to spark conversations on faith & His Word. I'm sure He will
— Caleb Kaltenbach (@calebwilds) November 21, 2013
Other Discovery Church members were not so understanding. Member Shellie Dungan said, “I was completely offended. I believe the Bible is real and it shouldn’t be marked fiction.”
Costco was founded in 1976 by James (Jim) Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman ins San Diego, California, and is headquartered in Issaquah, Washington. Costco has a total of 632 locations spanning the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Spain and the United States.
Below are some more Tweets concerning the incident:
Costco apologizes for labeling Bible 'fiction;' What if it had been the Koran? http://t.co/CUqNLiB0IX
— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) November 20, 2013
Bookstore put Bible on Fiction shelf: http://t.co/uZNOoRE6OV Er, yes? So? (I once saw a bookshop shelf labelled "Religion and UFOs")
— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) November 20, 2013
Costco shouldn't have to apologize for putting the Bible in the fiction section…they should for not selling weed where it's legal
— Trey (@treywafer) November 20, 2013
COSTCO Puts Bible in 'Fiction' Category Fox Spins Into Total Freak Out Keep in mind COSTCO is a PROGRESSIVE CO>GET IT http://t.co/2mjxQMFNQf
— Arthur Pedicini (@ArthurA_P) November 20, 2013
Costco labeled the bible as “fiction” on their shelves and the evangelicals are LIVID! hahahaha
— Enraged Asshole (@maulingmueller) November 19, 2013
Because the Bible belongs right next to Harry Potter…http://t.co/RGdokKkG6l
— Alex Sarp (@sarpasaurus) November 18, 2013
Is the Bible Fiction? #Costco thinks so. Costco PO Box 34331 Seattle, WA 98124 Info 1-800-774-2678 — 1-800-220-6000 http://t.co/cOXvGlZNTG
— Mark Merlot (@AverageVoter) November 18, 2013
We need to let Costco know what we think about their labeling of Bibles in their store as "fiction"
http://t.co/pzJGIflnPN
— Wanda McDonald (@wmcdonald2108) November 18, 2013
Image via Facebook.