The book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” is being pulled from shelves by its Christian publisher after the boy the book is based on has admitted it’s untrue. The boy, Alex Malarkey, was paralyzed in a car accident when he was just six years old. In addition, he was in a coma for two months, and the book claims Alex visited heaven and angels while in the coma. The publisher, Tyndale House, promoted the book as:
“a supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on Heaven, angels, and hearing the voice of God.”
Alex Malarkey, now a teen, wrote an open letter, published on
Pulpit and Pen, declaring the book to be false. His letter, in full:
“An Open Letter to Lifeway and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven.”
Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short.
I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.
I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.
It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible…not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough.
In Christ,
Alex Malarkey.”
I have to admit, my first thought was “Sure, rake in the bucks, then recant after you have your money.” Then I discovered that Alex hasn’t received one dime from the book sales.
According to his mother, Beth Malarkey, the book deal was in Alex’s father’s name only, not hers or Alex’s. Beth expressed frustration on a blog as far back as last April:
“Alex’s name and identity are being used against his wishes (I have spoken before and posted about it that Alex has tried to publicly speak out against the book), on something that he is opposed to and knows to be in error according to the Bible.”
“How can this be going on??? Great question. … How did it get this far? … another great question.”
Tyndale says it was never in contact with Alex, just his father. And that arrangement just sounds like malarkey. Come on, you guys knew I couldn’t resist.
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