Porn found at online Christian bookstore

Pornography and occult books have been found available through Heritage Christian Bookstore's online ordering system, and the problem – again – has been traced by WND to the wholesalers from whom retailers obtain their book search software and some products.

WND earlier reported on similar troubles at another unrelated Christian bookstore, also coincidentally named Heritage, and tracked the problem to standard computer software provided by Amazon.com to retailers wishing to offer products through their sites.

TRENDING: High-school track coach fired after going scorched earth on decision to force masks on teen athletes

The newest case involves Heritage Christian Bookstore in St. Catharines, Ontario, and is similar to cases profiled by Paul Proctor in a column on NewsWithViews.

Harold Maier, the store owner, said he wasn't aware of the possibility of locating pornography through his company's website until alerted by WND. He said now he's working with his service provider on a solution to the problem.

"I'm glad you made us aware of it, so we can filter out some of those things. Of course it concerns me," he told WND after a snapshot of his website revealed some X-rated products.

Screenshot of Christian bookstore website revealing X-rated material

RELATED: SOPA opponents may go nuclear

He said his company, which has been operating for nearly 10 years, has a safety net for such glitches, in that every order that is placed online comes to him for eventually processing. "I see every single order that comes across," he said. "It (such pornography) would never get ordered through our doors."

He said he strives to live up to his company's vision station: "To be the best biblically based, non-denominational book store in the Niagara Region and in Canada."

His service provider is Book Manager, a company from Kelowna, British Columbia, which like Amazon provides – for a fee – software that retailers wishing to provide products to consumers can use.

Carley Bortolin manages the database for Book Manager, and told WND that there was no glitch in the programming that allowed a search of a Christian bookstore site to produce Playboy magazine.

"There is no glitch right now. All of our bookstores are aware that this information is shared. It's not just a Christian database. That's why [the porn products] will show," she said.

However, she said her company had had enough complaints that she was working on a method to filter offensive materials from searches through Christian bookstores.

"It happens to be the Christians who do want these things taken out," she said. "We understand why they would want that."

However, she said there is nothing her company will not re-sell if there is a demand. "Everything that comes from our publishers, I do not edit anything," she said.

Proctor noted that Bud Press, director of the Christian Research Service, also has expressed concern over the content of some Christian websites.

He raised concerns about Cokesbury, a retail division of The United Methodist Publishing House, which makes available instructions for planning "the perfect same-sex ceremony."

"Many of you who read my column regularly and have followed our ongoing efforts this past year to warn Christians about what is being offered by many so-called 'Christian Bookstores' are aware of the ignorance, apathy, arrogance, attacks, evasiveness and obstinacy we have encountered along the way. Some of the stores have even closed up shop as a result of the warnings that have gone out from here and elsewhere, while others work to purge their sites – at times, not out of any real conviction or admission of compromise – but just to spare themselves the continuing complaints of customers, which I think is unfortunate," Proctor wrote.

Book Manager officials say their company, set up in 1986 by a chain of bookstores, sells virtually anything from its publishers, and is making the changes to its system to filter material for Christian bookstore content as an appeasement to its customers.

Its secular bent was evident in the fact that it advertised, on its front page, atheist Christopher Hitchens' "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."

It offers services to both "general" and "Christian" bookstores. "With the creation of BookManager's WebStore service, you now can have your own website for your customers to view stock, and order those items online," the company said.

WND reported just a week earlier that an 8-year-old's search on Amazon.ca turned up pornography while she was hunting for a science video.

WND also previously has reported Amazon.com's special software features allow others to set up retail services. But it then produced the X-rated "Playboy: X Mates, Vol. 1 – BMX/Wakeboards," and an adult 4-pack of "classics" titled "Debbie Does Dallas," "Deep Throat," "Behind the Green Door," and "The Devil in Miss Jones" when visitors to a Christian bookstore site hunted for products.

WND also revealed earlier another instance of Amazon's advocacy for the homosexual lifestyle choice when its Unbox feature, which allows customers to download entertainment programming, promoted the "Gay and Lesbian" genre.

Related special offers:

"The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom"

"Help! Mom! There are Liberals Under My Bed"

Will your child be the next to have sex with teacher?

Sex abuse, brainwashing exposed on campus!

On the 'sin' of sending kids to public school

Why homeschooling? New resource gives reasons parent education trumps all other options

Previous stories:

8-year-old's Amazon search turns up porn

X-rated Christian store's troubles traced to Amazon

'Christian' bookstore features X-rated flicks

Let the porn flow, says public library

Court shocker: 10 months for kiddie porn producer

New Amazon feature promotes 'gay' shows

Amazon suggests 'Brokeback' for kids

Google hosts 'boy love' site

Child-sex book canceled after WND report

New book promotes sex with children

Bush labeled 'a--hole' in new Google bomb

Amazon sells 'deadly' pedophile magazine

WalMart.com drops pedophile book

Amazon defends sale of pedophile book

Amazon.com accused of aiding molesters

Amazon offers pedophile handbook

Pedophile advocate featured at university

'Nothing new' in book condoning child sex

Google map says Taiwan part of China

Google goes ballistic after getting Googled

Christian Exodus banned from Google ads

Google blocks ad for anti-Clinton book

Google still runs anti-DeLay ads

Google money engine for Democrats only

Google censoring conservative ads?

Google: Big Media has higher quality

Google censoring search results in China

Google bars 'hate' sites' ads, but runs porn ads

Google bans Christian ad

Google 'miserable failure': It's Bush