06596
November 15, 2006

PPC backs away from 9/11 conspiracy book

‘Not up to standards,’ board chair says

by Jason Kane
Religion News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) — the independent publisher for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — is distancing itself from a conspiracy-theory account of Sept. 11 released by one of its imprints earlier this year.
   
     The book, Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11, which claims the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington in an effort to drum up support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was not up to company standards, the PPC board of directors said in a statement.
   
     “The board believes the conspiracy theory is spurious and based on questionable research,” Kenneth Godshall, chair of the PPC board of directors, said Nov. 8.
   
     The book, released in July by Westminster John Knox Press (WJK), a division of PPC, was written by former theology professor David Ray Griffin.
   
     Godshall called the book’s religious content “helpful and timely” but said the controversial theories expressed by the author were unaffiliated with the beliefs of the company.
   
     “David Ray Griffin is a distinguished theologian who has published a number of books with PPC,” Godshall said. “This particular volume is not up to WJK editorial standards and not representative of the PPC publishing program.”
   
     The book’s release touched off outrage among conservatives who warned that the author’s unpopular accusations would become associated with the church itself.
   
     Alan Wisdom, a Presbyterian elder and president of the conservative think tank Institute on Religion and Democracy, praised the board’s decision to question the veracity of Griffin’s account.
   
     “The directors obviously heard the widespread outrage at Griffin’s unsupported theories blaming the Bush administration for the atrocities of that awful day. They must have felt the public embarrassment that this irresponsible book brought upon the entire denomination,” Wisdom said.
  
     “Presbyterians can be grateful that the PPC board took action to distance the Presbyterian Church from the 9/11 conspiracy kooks.”

     The Louisville-based PPC has strong ties to the PC(USA) but receives no funding from the denomination. Although the nine-member board of directors is elected by the church’s General Assembly, publishing decisions are made independently by the editorial staff, said the corporation’s publisher and president, Davis Perkins.