skip to main |
skip to sidebar
beaucoup books
Friends, I have a dilemma. I have too many books. There seems to be some kind of crazy homing device in books that causes them to come to me in unmanageable quantities. .
I like books. A lot. But as much as I would like to have every single wall of my home FILLED with books, floor-to-ceiling, that's just not practical. Now there are some books that I like more than others. (And some that I don't like at all.) I can give some away to friends or donate some of the good books to my church's library. But it's not the good books that I have a problem with. But what do I do about the books I don't like? Books that I feel are misrepresenting truth. Books that I disagree with so much, they sometimes make me angry. I don't believe some of the conclusions or applications that a number of these authors come to, and I don't want to be the one causing anyone else to think that way, so what do I do? For some reason, I have always thought that book burning is evil. It is a thing that I associated with Nazis. But I'm not confiscating anyone else's books here, I'm talking about my own property. Do you think it's bad to burn books? Can you offer any alternative solutions? .
Friends, I have a dilemma. I have too many books. There seems to be some kind of crazy homing device in books that causes them to come to me in unmanageable quantities. 
Posts
41 comments:
1) No such thing as too many books.
2) You should never destroy a book because you disagree with it. Though it's obvious you don't really want to do that. I was simply pointing that out.
3) Try a regular library. I know you seem to not want to subject others to these books, but you should let others make that decision for themselves, exactly as you came to your opinion. You know what I mean?
I agree with Bart.
Last night, I took my young son to a public restroom. On the floor of that men's room, there lay a pornographic magazine. Now, I would not allow my son to view that trash and make a decision for himself, right? As a parent, that would be irresponsible.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword; that's because of its ability to persuade the masses and influence ideas, even when such things cannot be done by force. But ideas have consequences. If I give the purveyors of erroneous (my opinion) ideas a new audience, wouldn't I be guilty of advancing their cause?
The key phrase in your argument is "your opinion," with all due respect. Whether or not you agree with the ideas, you should let other people make up their own minds if these ideas are erroneous. I have owned at one time or another various books that I categorically disagree with for a myriad of reasons. But I would never go out of my way to not let someone else read them. Sure, I'd probably say "don't read that, it's garbage," but I wouldn't find a way to physically make sure the book never lands in their hands.
I'm a firm believer that reading is reading...and quite frankly, the literacy rate of this country is appalling, so every little bit helps.
As for the pornography in the public bathroom example, somehow I doubt your reading material in question is pornography.
Disclaimer: As you, I have a problem with destroying books.
If I feel that there is any possiblity of redeeming value in reading the book - i.e., this is so bad that the stupidity of the position will be evident, I might donate it to the local public library.
Otherwise, I put them in the recycle bin where I feel like the paper could perhaps be used for something of redemptive value, like saving a tree.
Now porn - that on the other hand should be burned promptly to prevent it from falling in to the wrong hands -
I had to start another blog. Hopefully this will lead you back to it. I am most sad that I lost your wonderful comment on the last "Lamb Limbs" post!
oops - that should have been Lame Limbs - it's late, were're still in South Carolina, and I'm sitting outside a Panera dragging signal to post
For the books you just don't like (or like but don't want anymore)...you might consider donating them to a local nursing home. Of if you want more books, you could do http://www.paperbackswap.com (oh wait! you're cleaning out...)
For the books you are uncomfortable passing along, for fear that they would perpetuate some false belief system in someone...I like the recycle bin idea. Or perhaps a recycling of another kind? Do a craft or art project (paper mache?) with the paper or have a paper airplane flying contest..use it to pack a box instead of buying filling. Use them as a doorstop. Use them to press flowers. Cover the book, and then glue pictures onto the pages, making a photo album...cut a rectangular hole through the center pages leaving some intact front and back, glue the cut and back pages together to make a gift box or hiding place...give them to Llama Momma to let her boys use them as building blocks...
I'm just the opposite. I think they would make great kindling, if you have a fireplace. I'm not opposed to hearing other points of view, but for those I think are damaging, I have no reason to keep them or pass them on. Why am I obligated to do so? While I may put them on a shelf and forget about them, the words live on as long as the book is available for someone else to read.
Spaghettipie's idea of recycling them is good, too. :)
TP...or mark them as "info only" and place them all in their own shlkf, place., etc..this is what I did with books that I am given like PDL and Osteen, etc....
Do you not have Charity Shops in the States? I take all unwanted books there for them to sell. I also buy quite a few from them myself.
I do quite like your picture of the bonfire of the vanities though.
I have brought my blog up to date as I just couldn't cope with people thinking I was brave. I had to put the record straight!
Craver-Burn, baby, burn!! Or shred it. Their are so many books out there not worth their weight in paper. I'm not just talking about lame books, but books spewing forth things that are wrong.
Some that I've read, I've stopped half-way and literally hurled them across the room. Paul was for burning :)
Of course, you may want to make sure it's not a library book....
So, how did you get all these terrible books? Just curious.
So, you're comparing these books to porn?
Are we talking EVIL or just opinions you don't agree with? Seriously. Name a few titles. The Book of Satan, I'd burn.
I don't think that books I disagree with are necessarily dangerous. Actually, I think it's much more dangerous to be burning and banning books that some disagree with. If we all went around doing this, there would be nothing left to read, good or bad.
My sources? Most of my bookshelves are stocked with product from three good and kind local publishers. Some books were given to me by friends or even adversaries because of discussion or debate. I have reference books that I disagree with, like the New World (blatantly erroneous) Translation of the Bible, used by Jehovah's Witnesses. I also have an English translation of the Q'uran. Again, for reference.
But there are books that I have, (No, I will not mention any specific title) which are not even worthy to be categorized under other philosophies or religions. They would more appropriately go under: It would be totally stupid to keep these particular books for any reason.
Let me be clear: I AM NOT SAYING HERE THAT WE SHOULD BAN THESE TITLES. (I'm also not saying that we shouldn't.) But if the copy of a disturbing book is my own property, and I give it away, I would only be promoting its author instead of giving someone a deserved kick in the pants.
Spaghettipie, like your creative alternatives to the fire.
Well, if you give them to a library, you aren't forcing others to read it. A person would still have to physically pick the book up and read it.
Unless it forces people to read it, in which case it may be possessed, and burning would be an option.
Here's the thing: Unless it threatens someone's life, I don't think information is dangerous. Even information I don't agree with.
When my husband was a junior in high school, his Sunday School class spent a semester visiting other churches and studying other religions. A synogogue, a mosque, a unitariun church...they tried to cover a wide variety of beliefs. They had great discussions about their visits and to this day, my husband says this was an important and significant time in his faith journey. He learned. He grew. He made important decisions. And he learned to understand people with beliefs that are different from his own.
Information. Differences of opinion. These are healthy things and important to our own growth process!
Just my opinion, of course.
You can definitely pass the books on to me, but I'll probably read them and donate them to the library when I'm done with them, rather than let the noisy boys play with them! ;-)
Thanks for playing along and keeping it light, Bart. I have to stop by and read your interview later today.
Tim Roth plays the chief hitman for Cardinal Richelieu in The Musketeer. He has a line after being told he can't continue to go around killing people. He said, "What if I... must (emphatically) kill someone?" The cardinal said, "If you must, you must."
I don't really think I will be burning the books, but I feel like saying, "What if I absolutely must burn a book?"
Llama Momma, I may eventually have a few books for you anyway.
To what extent do you think those ideas are in synch with Scripture?
Craver,
This is a great discussion.
I have nothing more to offer than what's already suggested. I too would have a problem burning books.
I can easily discard of music that I have a problem with (or have since being born again). Books I've buried in the back hall closet. Some I did get rid of in a dumpster if they were just plain wordly.
I think, however, that an English translation of the Koran is not out of place in a library. It may help people better understand the dangers of that religion. Not unlike the reasons for which you bought the book, I'm sure. I have two sections of the Koran in English here. I'm keeping them for reference as well.
I like your idea of categorizing, however. Because some could go in a dumpster whereas others may be valuable for reference. The book of Mormon for example (or whatever you have) is good for true believers to perhaps study. We have one (my husband's brother was once Mormon and gave him one). We keep it more out of respect for his brother (who no longer believes anything), but also just in case I ever want to check anything about it. I gave away a good book called Kingdom of the Cults which described them all and their problems, but I don't have book anymore, so I could always refer to the Book of Mormon. If I ever want to dispose of it (cuz frankly, my time's too pressed to ever crack open the cover), I'll give it to a library - not for the sake of educating others but for people to see for themselves the heresy.
Your dilemma is an interesting one. I'm running out of shelf space myself. Will be following this thread.
I guess living in a free country, I'm inclined to go with the thought of giving others the choice to decide for themselves. I don't see it so much as promoting heresy as allowing others to see the error for themselves. If they're led by the Spirit, they'll see it.
"To what extent do you think those ideas are in synch with Scripture?"
Great question, Craver, and one I will consider. Offhand, I honestly don't know, and I don't want to just dig up some verses and put them here our of context.
On the flip side, do you think burning books is in synch with scripture?
Would the principles in the parable of the wheat and the tares apply to this issue?
Llama Momma, the example of the Bereans comes to mind, because they were careful about the things men taught.
Also: "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Good question. In that parable, wheat and tares symbolize people, not things. But if I take one of my books out of circulation, it will not harm anyone.
So, uh, if you burn your books today, will you be blog-burning tomorrow? :)
I see what you're saying there at the end, Craver, but I also wonder: will we inadvertantly throw out the good (books) with the bad?
And is it up to us to decide such things? Who gets to decide which books are worth keeping and which should be burned?
Ah, but I'm getting carried away, aren't I? You aren't suggesting we gather up books and burn them en masse. You're simply trying to clear off your shelves! :-)
Pass them my way, my friend!
What to do with books with bad theology. What would we do with cans of bad cat food? What would we do with bottles of tainted medicine? What about books with incorrect science? What about books with incorrect sky diving instructions?
I believe I would prevent them from falling into the hands of people they could harm.
You should never burn a book. Someone put their heart and soul into writing that book, so it doesnt matter if you agree with the words or not.
Find a library that is having a fund raising sale and donate it.
Or give to the Sally Ann.
Or to a restaurant that is decoratiing the interior with bookshelves to create the right ambiance.
Or hollow out the pages and make a hiding place for a key, or your last will and testament.
BTW, I hope the witches hat and the fangs didnt scare you too much, and you didn't stay awake shivering all night.
I'm curious - why do books hold such a sacred position that they ought not be destroyed? It seems strange to me - is it cultural?
How about other types of content? Magazines? Music? Video?
Just wondering.
Craver, maybe you could do combo. . . recycle the ones that you feel strongly shouldn't be read by more people than possible, and give the rest to a library or a second-hand bookshop.
I'm of the school that people should make their own decisions after seeing/reading/listening to something for themselves (I once had a fit when my brother refused to let me listen to George Michael's "What's Jesus to a Child" because I wanted to make the decision for myself, not have it made for me) but I understand your reasons too. And they're your books after all!
every square inch,
I have the same thought. Is it, as Craver pointed out, a throw back to the Nazis? We're not talking about forcing book burning, we are talking about our own personal property. Some ideas are dangerous, and I may not want them in my house, nor would I feel good about passing them on to others. I'm not speaking of ideas that oppose mine. I like to see other viewpoints and find out where others are coming from. I'm thinking in terms of just bad stuff. I don't know that I have anything like that in my house, but if I did, I wouldn't have a problem with using it to start a nice fire in a fireplace (if I had a fireplace!). I LOVE books. I love new thoughts. But I don't think bound pieces of paper and the ideas of people I don't know should hold so much of an honored place that I fear burning them.
At lunch today my buddy asked me, "What if someone wanted to burn a Bible?" I do not regard the paper as sacred, only the words. Anyone could destroy a Bible, but no one could wipe out the Word.
I had a neighbor comment a couple months ago that she had a box of books to take to Deseret Industries (think Salvation Army). I was aghast! I've never thrown out a book. It seems wrong. But apparently I was silently relieved too becuase I know have my first box of books to take to charity as well.
I think there are two topics here. One is burning books and the other is being responsible with the information we are trusted with.
As messengers, witnesses to what we know, will our message be tainted if we allow some destructive (or what we think are destructive) teaching to pass from our hands into another? I think so. If we feel an idea can be very damaging we can make the choice to get rid of it or maybe use it as a teaching tool: do these teachings line up with scripture. Does it look like Jesus? We own this responsibility when these ideas come into our hands.
What if we were thirsty and came upon a glass of water and drank half way before it made us ill, maybe for years. Would we feel a responsibility to make sure that half-full glass is dumped? What if there was a chance it would not make other people sick and they were dying of thirst? (I think there is enough good solid teaching around the U.S. especially to risk dumping the glass.)
Then, there are good books with good teaching from organizations that abuse people... is it more misleading to let these out of our grasp so the fires of abuse can be stoked?
They are your books. You want to torch them, torch them. You have this amazing freedom. I don't think a bonfire in your backyard will lead to mass hysteria or hurt feelings.
Shred them and donate to the art classes of a local school. They can use them for making that plaster stuff that they make so many things with.
Shred them and use them for mulch, most plants,shrubs, and trees love the acidity.
Let's not treat books (or anything else, for that matter) as having some sort of magical intrinsic value. They're merely property, just like anything else you own. There's no particular moral issue that arises with how you dispose of them as your property, beyond the question of stewardship that would apply to anything else you won.
"Book burning" was bad because it was (1) a state-sanctioned and enforced method of thought control, and (2) a violation of personal property. Symbolically it has become a sign closemindedness, etc, I suppose.
I say, chuck 'em in the recycling bin.
(BTW, I too am a book hog. I'd love to get myself a wall of bookshelves, so I could actually have the works of Calvin, Knox, Augustine, et al readily at hand!)
Craver, A most interesting and unique post.
I'm 51+ now and I have a good number of books that I'll never look at again (I imagine). And some years back through the influence of a pastor I got rid of some of the "lesser" books which now I regret.
If a book is in error but is influential, it might be good to have a copy so we can refute it directly ourselves, in helping another.
I must say that one regret that I have which I'm trying to remedy somewhat now, is not having been steeped in classics like Pilgrim's Progress, Augustine's Confessions, etc. At the same time, I want a book to be sound in the faith and I believe books can help us at certain seasons in our lives, that later may not be that helpful for us (of course, as you well know).
There aren't many books like the above mentioned or Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together" which really require a lifetime of reading and working on to grow into, like Scripture which of course as God's Word, is the ultimate that way.
That last comment was weighed, and it did not meet my standards of community and proper socialization. Therefore, it has been dissolved. I would be happy to allow the same opinion if it is expressed in a way that comes across more respectfully.
Again, I do not appreciate "a good fight" the way others do. No bar-room brawls here. It's decency or deletion. Period.
To the person who had their comment deleted: Try kindness and encouragement. It might work for you.
I'm not aware of how the contents of my two deleted posts were "indecent."
Not "indecent," per se. That word normally carries connotations of vulgarity. No, what I meant was to treat each other decently, as in peaceable, gentle, civil. It is possible to disagree in a manner that maintains the other's self esteem.
I enjoy hosting people of different belief systems here, as well as some who adhere to the same basic doctrines. I want to keep them all, and I do that by maintaining an environment that is not argumentative or hostile.
And by the way, thanks for stopping by.
Post a Comment