Some prominent anti-Catholics online have engaged in the cynical practice of identifying my books as "self-published." Never mind that I have six books "officially" published by three different Catholic publishers, with a seventh (100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura) to be published soon by a fourth major Catholic publisher: Catholic Answers, and an eighth (The Quotable Newman) also slated for publication (Sophia Institute Press) in 2012. These were (or will be) published by real live publishers, with real live, breathing editors, managing boards of real people.
Several of my books, for that matter, are also carried in important theological and municipal libraries (including many Protestant ones). None of that matters in these profound anti-Catholic minds. They never miss a chance to describe all of my books as "self-published." Some are, but we know what is intended by these tactics of selective truth.
It's also a highly amusing hyper-irony that these statements are almost always made on "self-published" and non-supervised blogs. Oddly enough, however, these same anti-Catholics have an extremely high opinion of a three-volume work by anti-Catholic comrades William Webster and David T. King:
Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of Our Faith, Volume I: A Biblical Defense of the Reformation Principle of Sola Scriptura
Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of Our Faith, Volume II: An Historical Defense of the Reformation Principle of Sola Scriptura (Webster)
I say "oddly enough" because these were put out by "Christian Resources, Inc." Ever heard of that outfit? I didn't think so. I demonstrated in a a paper over two years ago: Self-Publishing and "Podunk Publishing" Efforts of Some of the Leading Anti-Catholic Authors (King, Webster, White, Svendsen) -- that this "publisher" was run by Webster himself. It's self-publishing, folks. Anyone can print their own book if they like and put it out. It's easy to do today.
When these works are extolled it is rarely if ever mentioned that they are "self-published". Never a word about these volumes being self-published. They're right up there next to the Bible in importance and near-inspired nature. The original page of the publisher, "Christian Resources" -- where I documented that Webster was the director and founder -- is no longer online. But a current "Contact Info." page leads right to Webster's e-mail address. If there is any doubt that this is not a traditional publisher, but a glorified, slickly disguised self-publishing operation, the Book Printing page outlines how anyone can pay to get a book printed:
The price depends on the size of the book. As an example, the price for producing a paperback book, 80 pages in length, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" in size would be approximately $4.50 per book. The customer would be responsible for shipping costs.
If you have interest in having a book printed please contact Bill Webster for an estimate
How Christian and democratic of William: anyone can get a book published at good ol' Christian Resources. Well, anyone but a Catholic, of course . . . Through the marvel of Internet Archive, it was easy enough to establish that Webster runs this outfit:
Christian Resources is a non-profit teaching, apologetics and publishing ministry dealing with issues related to Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Gospel, Church history and the Christian life. The ministry is dedicated to the teaching and proclamation of the Gospel, a biblical and historical defense of the teachings of the Reformation and the discipling of believers in their Christian walk.
The Director and Founder of Christian Resources is William Webster
(home page, scanned on 9 February 2005)
Clicking on the category, "Books" on the same page above, we find the "hit" of this self-publishing juggernaut of Christian truth, the three-volume series I have been mentioning above.
Gotta love those incessant anti-Catholic ethical double standards . . .
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