So Much for David Horowitz

Thomas Nelson Publishers, which is best known for its Bibles and secondarily for Christian literature, also publishes business and political books like Glenn Reynolds's An Army of Davids. So I was intrigued to see this tiny NYT item reporting that Nelson authors will henceforth have to subscribe to the Nicene Creed and Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things." (New King James Version, published by Nelson)

On his blog, Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt writes that the NYT and Publishers Weekly didn't get the story quite right. [Via Nashville Scene blog.] Author contracts aren't going to include doctrinal provisions. But the publisher is clearly narrowing its list of authors for essentially secular books. The Nicene Creed requirement excludes Jews and Mormons, for instance, but the real test is the Philippians verse: It's not exactly a prescription for more books from Michael Savage.

Posted by Virginia Postrel on December 12, 2006