People 'More Interested' in Spiritual Matters

With 11 Christian titles on the 'The New York Times' best-sellers lists, some are suggesting that people are more interested in spiritual matters.

[04.15.08] Christians have been encouraged to take heart from the The New York Times best-sellers lists.

With 11 Christian titles on the newspaper's various lists in the April 20 report, it seems that “people are more interested in spiritual things now than ever,” observed Thomas Nelson President and CEO Michael Hyatt in his From Where I sit blog.

The apparent rise in interest in spiritual issues is “good news for Christian publishers and for Christian retailers,” he wrote. “Despite what we hear through the media, we should take heart. This is a moment in time that I believe is very significant and very unique.”

Among the titles making the Times lists Hyatt referenced are Dead Heat by Joel C. Rosenberg, Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie Van Ryn, and Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak, with Mark Tabb and 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey.

Hyatt also referenced the inclusion on the lists of other “spiritual books” that some would not consider evangelical, including Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by former best-selling vampire novelist Anne Rice.

Hyatt's post prompted a response from Rice, who wrote that everywhere she traveled to promote her new book, she found “believers. We are not a post-Christian nation, not by any means and anyone who thinks so is simply out of touch. People care passionately about their faith and how it informs their lives and their every decision.”