500+ Christian Books Donated To Wilson County School Libraries Following Recent Book Challenge Controversy
Image Credit: crossstrengthministries.com
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Amidst all of the discourse surrounding explicit materials available in Wilson County School libraries, Pastor David Ashley and his wife Holly Ashley hope to make a positive impact by donating over 500 Christian books.
The approximately $7,300 book donation is being made through the Ashley’s Christian-based Cross Strength Ministries, via the “Faith into Action” Wilson County Schools Book Drive.
“We decided to put our faith into action,” the Mt. Juliet couple wrote in the description for the book drive.
Each public high school in Wilson County has now received the same 102 “gospel-centered” books. The schools will each decide for themselves which of the books will be placed on library shelves.
According to Wilson County Schools Public Information Officer Bart Barker, these donated books have not been shelved yet because “the quantity of a donation such as this takes some time while making sure policy guidelines are met.”
Some of the donated books include:
• The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
• What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality? A Short Book on Biblical Sexuality by Owen Strachan
• The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
• Strong and Courageous by Tom Ascol
• Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper
• How Jesus Cares by Sinclair Ferguson
• Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy
As a domestic and sexual assault advocate, speaker, published researcher, and author, Holly Ashley runs Redemption. Restoration. Recovery. “A Christ-centered, biblically based, non-profit organization,” and a subsidiary of Cross Strength Ministries.
In a detailed article regarding a recent Wilson County school board meeting, Holly shared her thoughts on the board’s decision to keep Identical, a fictional story of pedophilic incest amongst other things, in school libraries but add it to the “high school mature reading list.”
“It has been proven repeatedly that childhood trauma […] can last throughout a person’s lifetime,” Holly writes. “These childhood traumatic experiences are even worse when the child is offered little to no protection or the events are minimized or normalized.”
Holly also argues against School Board Vice Chair Carrie Pfieffer’s idea, that reading obscene materials can “help these children feel less alone.”
“Pfieffer was referring to the latest contested book, ‘Identical,’ detailing a child’s incestual molestation by her father while her sister watched,” writes Holly.
A former victim of childhood molestation, gang rape, and abuse, Holly affirms that “feeling alone” was never the issue.
“What these children and their future counterparts lack in their healing is protection,” Holly writes. “A feeling of safety and security by the supposed adults in the room.
She also points out studies showing that even if a child has not personally experienced abuse, reading explicit material like this can still be detrimental and result in increased odds for becoming a victim or perpetrator of such behavior.
“Elections for the WilCo School Board are coming up – choose wisely. […] It could cost your child his or her future altogether,” Holly concludes.
Read Holly’s full article here.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
Excellent article detailing the true agenda of the Wilson County Board of Education. No other news source is willing to expose the pornographic books being kept in school libraries. Or the fact that some board members have publicly stated they have no problem lying to parents.
The donated Christian books is a nice way to respond. These books are written by sound orthodox Christians.
Exactly right on all points.
Thank you for the excellent article which speaks the truth.
I’m opposed to porn and political books in schools, BUT religious books open up a can of worms. Think it thru – what happens when a Muslim or cult religions want to donate books? How does the school say “No”.
Give them to the churches or youth groups of to people to teach their kids at home.
I, for one, don’t want kids taught Islamic Jihad.
I’ve attended several Wilson County Schoolboard meetings to see how the 7 board members vote on these pornographic books. Why is the room cleared of students as passages from questioned books are read aloud if these books are appropriate? Isn’t the “Mature Reader List” for those over 18? Or what young person couldn’t go online giving themselves access to books on this list? No one wants to “ban” these books – buy them on Amazon or at a bookstore if you’d like. Just don’t use my taxpayer money to pollute the psyches of our young people. Reread Holly’s article to review data regarding the harm caused by pornographic consumption.
Retaining such books certainly demeans the word “Excellence” in our boards’ stated goals.
A positive counter-balance to sexually explicit materials in school libraries. Thanks for covering the story.