# Index of Forbidden Books: 2012 edition (open spoilers likely) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327 "2006-07-20T13:28:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/1 "2006-07-20T13:28:20Z")
As the geeks among us know, in Robert Heinlein’s\*\* _Future History_ \*\* series, the United States becomes a religious dictatorship in the year 2012. Obviously that’s not far off, and though I doubt things would get nearly that bad that quickly, it occurs to me that, if it were to happen, we’d likely see an institution of censorship on a draconian level. Which makes me wonder: what books published since 1980 are likely to make such a list, and why? My first nominee: [**Towing Jehovah**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156002108/qid=1153401968/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-7425413-0866301?v=glance&s=books) by Thomas Morrow. God dies and falls bodily to Earth. While slowly dying of grief, the archangels tell the Vatican to hire a supertanker to inter the corpse in the Arctic. En route the crew of the supertanker falls prey to anomie and famine and, among other things, eat part of the corpse. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/2 "2006-07-20T13:34:51Z")
How about all of Robert Heinlein’s Future History works, Moon is a harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land and heck everything he wrote after it. 😉 Eventually they would shutdown the internet from open use. Judging by what I have heard some Fundies say, most of Fantasy would go away, starting with Tolkien, Lewis and Harry Potter. Jim ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/3 "2006-07-20T13:53:02Z")
2012, was it? I’m getting old. The Koran is out the window first, along with other religious texts. Most fiction is in trouble: something tells me the Prophet will not like _Bridget Jones’ Diary_. The Library of Congress should get ready to relocate to Hawaii Free State. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/4 "2006-07-20T16:28:48Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Judging by what I have heard some Fundies say, most of Fantasy would go away, starting with Tolkien, Lewis and Harry Potter. > > Jim Uh, CS Lewis was a prominent Christian. They’d like him. His _Chronicles of Narnia_ are just dripping with Christian allegory. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/5 "2006-07-20T16:30:58Z")
Hopefully _Left Behind_ will get banned! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/6 "2006-07-20T16:35:08Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Uh, CS Lewis was a prominent Christian. They’d like him. His _Chronicles of Narnia_ are just dripping with Christian allegory. Yes, but as Christians get more and more fundamentalist, they also get more and more literalist. There will be no more of this “lion Jesus” heresy in the future. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/7 "2006-07-20T16:41:06Z")
DaVinci Code of course. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/8 "2006-07-20T16:46:11Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Uh, CS Lewis was a prominent Christian. They’d like him. His _Chronicles of Narnia_ are just dripping with Christian allegory. Not according to the moron behind [this web site](http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/cslewis.htm). It would be possible for this woman to be stupider, but that would involve either a prefrontal lobotomy or a sledgehammer. And I’m certain if she were in charge of an index of forbidden books–which she’d like to be – Professor Lewis would top her list. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/9 "2006-07-20T16:49:27Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Uh, CS Lewis was a prominent Christian. They’d like him. His _Chronicles of Narnia_ are just dripping with Christian allegory. [Guess again,](http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/fantasy.htm) you [fool of the great Satanic deceiver.](http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/cslewis.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/10 "2006-07-20T16:51:16Z")
> [@ITR champion](#): > > [Guess again,](http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/fantasy.htm) you [fool of the great Satanic deceiver.](http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/cslewis.htm) I beat you on the simulpost! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/11 "2006-07-20T17:17:52Z")
Terry Pratchett’s [_Small Gods,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Gods) for obvious reasons too numerous to list. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/12 "2006-07-20T18:09:00Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Uh, CS Lewis was a prominent Christian. They’d like him. His _Chronicles of Narnia_ are just dripping with Christian allegory. As others have informed you, nope, Fundies are too stupid to understand Lewis’ work is very Pro-Christian. There was a tract against Tolkien and Lewis at least as far back as 1986. One of my friends who turned fundie, showed it to me. :rolleyes: Jim ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/13 "2006-07-20T18:12:02Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > As the geeks among us know, in Robert Heinlein’s\*\* _Future History_ \*\* series, the United States becomes a religious dictatorship in the year 2012. Haven’t read it, what religion did he imagine was behind this? ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/14 "2006-07-20T18:28:18Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > As others have informed you, nope, Fundies are too stupid to understand Lewis’ work is very Pro-Christian. There was a tract against Tolkien and Lewis at least as far back as 1986. One of my friends who turned fundie, showed it to me. :rolleyes: > > Jim I stand corrected. Fundamentalists are even more obstinate than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/15 "2006-07-20T18:31:47Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > Not according to the moron behind [this web site](http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/cslewis.htm). > > It would be possible for this woman to be stupider, but that would involve either a prefrontal lobotomy or a sledgehammer. And I’m certain if she were in charge of an index of forbidden books–which she’d like to be – Professor Lewis would top her list. From this, I’d just love to know why the letter sequence “war” is replaces with “piano covers” and “cia” with “blip.” (As in “global piano coversming” and “offibliplly.”) Three or four steps BEYOND totally off her nut, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/16 "2006-07-20T18:35:37Z")
> [@Hamadryad](#): > > From this, I’d just love to know why the letter sequence “war” is replaces with “piano covers” and “cia” with “blip.” (As in “global piano coversming” and “offibliplly.”) A paranoid attempt to avoid keyword searches by the government? Kind of the same way spam e-mailers put a bunch of gibberish at the far bottom of the e-mail (e.g. gunther blowfish syzygy streetball zephyr coup d’etat rockstar averege kimball) to defeat keyword-based spam filters? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/17 "2006-07-20T18:44:08Z")
The religion of the Prophet, Nehemiah Scudder. It’s heavily based on Christianity, but twisted and distorted almost beyond recognition. The Bible, as we know it, was the head of the list of banned books. At least, if you were high enough up in the heirarchy to know it even existed at all. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/18 "2006-07-20T18:48:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The religion of the Prophet, Nehemiah Scudder. It’s heavily based on Christianity, but twisted and distorted almost beyond recognition. The Bible, as we know it, was the head of the list of banned books. At least, if you were high enough up in the heirarchy to know it even existed at all. Rgr that, was just wondering as many of the above posts hinted it was a Christian dictatorship. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/19 "2006-07-20T18:55:06Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > My first nominee: [**Towing Jehovah**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156002108/qid=1153401968/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-7425413-0866301?v=glance&s=books) by Thomas Morrow. God dies and falls bodily to Earth. While slowly dying of grief, the archangels tell the Vatican to hire a supertanker to inter the corpse in the Arctic. En route the crew of the supertanker falls prey to anomie and famine and, among other things, eat part of the corpse. > > Anybody else? I’d nominate [Only Begotten Daughter](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156002434/qid=1153421511/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4094626-7295008?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) by Morrow as well. Great book, but the scene with Jesus in Hell would send any fundy dictator running for the gasoline and matches. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327/20 "2006-07-20T19:41:45Z")
> [@Operation Ripper](#): > > Rgr that, was just wondering as many of the above posts hinted it was a Christian dictatorship. Well, the idea behind the contributions here appears to be that, lacking a Nehemiah Scudder on the horizon, Xian fundamentalism is going to have to step up to the plate and be the state religion if this is going to come off on schedule. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/index-of-forbidden-books-2012-edition-open-spoilers-likely/365327.md?page=2)