Bible Gateway is one of the most popular websites on the Internet today, ranking in the top 1000 websites worldwide. In 2010, Lighthouse Trails posted John Lanagan’s article “Bible Gateway Now Gateway to Heretical Authors – Could Point Millions to Emerging Teachings “ and in 2012 our own article titled “Biblegateway Teaches Readers “Lectio Divina” – a Dangerous Gateway to a New Spiritual Outlook.” Thus, it isn’t a surprise to see that the Zondervan/Harper Collins-owned company is promoting Rick Warren’s New Age-inspired Daniel Plan. For the reasons explained in the two articles, Lighthouse Trails had to remove Bible Gateway from our recommended resources for our readers.
While Bible Gateway is an excellent tool to look up Scriptures, the advertising for “new” spirituality teachers is a regular occurrence. For example, this week’s advertisings include books by Andy Stanley and John Ortberg,
In Lanagan’s 2010 article, he pointed out a statement that Bible Gateway makes about their advertising of books:
Bible Gateway offers this assurance: “Of course, it’s critical that any advertising on Bible Gateway reflects our Christian values and does not conflict with our mission. That means we carefully screen the ads that appear on Bible Gateway, and we don’t use ads in ways that interfere with your ability to read and study Scripture.”1
The statement also says:
[I]f you spot an ad that you consider problematic for any reason, we’re listening. We want the ads to complement the site, offering you relevant and valuable services and offers.
We’re very aware of the trust you place in us when you choose to use Bible Gateway, and we want to protect that trust carefully. We hope and pray that Bible Gateway will continue to be a blessing to you in your spiritual walk.
Unfortunately, even though Lanagan and others have contacted Bible Gateway about these advertisements for contemplative/emerging authors, Bible Gateway continues this marketing practice.
It’s possible that some Christian ministries are tired of Bible Gateway’s promotions of these new spirituality leaders. In 2012, when we last wrote about Bible Gateway, 48,000 websites were linking to Bible Gateway.com. Today, according to Alexa.com (a popular ranking website), only 36, 000 are linking in. While it’s only speculation as to what happened to those 12,000 sites that are no longer linking to it, we would like to think that many of them were Christian ministries and individuals who refuse to join with Bible Gateway’s compromise.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.