Yesterday’s post about burning the Quran reminded me of something from my early days.
My first job was as a library page (this was before I realized that it was archivists who got all the girls.) I started working at a small branch library towards the end of their book drive, during which they’d taken donations of books to turn around and sell in order to raise money.
Now, this was in the bible belt. Most folks know that the bible is probably the most printed book in the west, perhaps the world. No one really thinks about what happens to all those bibles. Even the Gideons don’t have that many hotel rooms to fill.
As it happens, quite a number of those bibles wind up being donated to library book sales. As in, boxes and boxes of them. Most of them cheap, poor quality bibles of dubious translations: “The Bible Even You can Read,” or “The Bible in Plain English Just Like Jesus Spoke!”
What to do with all these bibles? No one would buy them. Everyone already had a couple of copies at home, and how many do you need? That’s why everyone was donating them to us.
This was back in the days before recycling came to little towns in the south. So my first job in the library field was to play look-out while the librarian heaved arm-loads of bibles into the dumpster. There I was, a nervous sixteen year old watching for anybody to come around the corner while a small southern lady tossed grocery bags full of God’s word into the trash. Also, lots of Harlequin romance novels, but those wouldn’t have gotten us into trouble if we’d been caught.
Perhaps I should have taken this as a sign of things to come.
I like that story…But just wondering, is it illegal to burn Bibles in the US? I heard from it friend you have to pay a fine for that sort of stuff.
Well, there are some laws against burning stuff, mainly for air pollution or fire hazard reasons. There are no laws to prevent you from burning any book you own, including bibles.
I bet if you had been caught tossing those bibles, all hell would have broken lose. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a lynching party was formed to rid your town of the terrible bible destroyers.
Mark the Pilgrim, I haven’t ever heard of a laws that would allow for a fine but it also wouldn’t surprise me if some communities or even states have these types of laws on their books. There are some really weird laws in many states that aren’t enforced unless it saves the politicians from embarrassment.
Hee hee. I’ve got a pic on my blog of my own bible pulled apart and tossed into recycling.
http://1minionsopinion.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/what-to-do-with-used-bibles/
It was a long time coming but I’d hung onto the thing more for memories of people I’d known when I was younger than for what was actually in it.
I’ve also got a friend who works as a maintenance guy for several apartment buildings. One of his duties is cleaning out what’s left behind after evictions and quick moves and he cheerfully shared with me the story of the day he got to toss a whole box of the darn things out. He knew I’d get a kick out of that.
The really nice thin strong paper in older pricey Bibles makes them a good resource of origami paper. A single volume can keep you folding for an extended period. However the thought of a world covered with drifts of paper swans and flowers is just as problematic as drifts of old Bibles. I’ve often wondered if a busker or street performer set up shop removing Bible pages and folding them into angels or other religious symbols for the tourists would be welcomed or thrown under a bus.
Should have filled the bags with bibles up to the 2/3 or 3/4 point, and then put the Harlequin Romances on top. No problems.
I’m surprised that churches that supported missions didn’t buy the cheap bibles to ship over seas so that they could efficiently and inexpensively destroy other people’s cultures.
“and how many do you need”?
While we’re on the subject (this will surprise no one I’m sure, ha) I counted the other day, I have something like 32 bibles in every translation you have ever heard of and some you probably haven’t, old and new, hardcover, softcover, you name it, I’ve likely got it. Ever heard of the Goodspeed NT (liberal translation), how about the Knox, or the Beck’s? The Lamsa Aramaic? My fav NT is the Weymouth translation of 1903. I also like the old standards, ie The New Oxford Annotated Bible RSV with the Apocrypha.
Ok, ok you can come by and borrow one, I said borrow not ‘burn’. ha. All the best UF.
This burning issue (bad pun intended) is in need of some serious brainstorming. Here are random thoughts from a creaky 74 year old guy.
1. IMO our species is headed for extinction soon if we don’t begin to man up and take on the religious nutcases that are promoting the calamity.
2. Most people appear to be stunningly oblivious to the slow moving train wreck that is playing out right before their eyes.
3. Playing nice by “respecting the belief” of others won’t cut it. Belief is bullshit and we all know it.
If we have knowledge we don’t need faith.
4. We need to start getting in people’s faces. Sure, it will piss a lot of ignorant people off, but it might actually wake some from their stupor.
5. We should all be outraged that only one person in Congress has the balls to admit he does not believe in the supernatural. Religion forces people to become hypocrites. It should make everyone here really, really angry that we are unable to elect good people to office who admit they do not believe in supernatural beings. THINK about that dammit! In order to win an election in this country a candidate is forced to claim some sort of supernatural belief.
6. I can imagine ripping the page from the OT that instructs parents to kill their sons, (Exodus 21:15,17) reading it aloud, then throwing the page in the fire. There are hundreds of similar verses of unspeakable cruelty that could be read aloud, ripped up and thrown in the fire. For example,
“Blessed be he that shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock”. Psalms 137 Verse 9.
7. Similar ridiculous passages can be found in the Koran and the Book of Mormon.
8. Remember; we have 6 Supreme Court Justices (along with a VP) that really, really believe that little cracker and sip of wine are literally; not figuratively….literally… the flesh and blood of a long dead religious zealot. Supreme Court Justices! We have several members of the House and Senate that believe…really believe…that Joseph Smith actually dug up a golden book along with some magic reading stones (conveniently buried with the book) from which he was able to translate the Book of Mormon. Thye also believe they have a living prophet in SLC that receives revelations directly from god and then hands them down to the church membership. These men and women make and interpret our laws. I’m reminded of the Seinfeld segment where Robert, the perpetual loser, has finally found this stunningly beautiful girlfriend. Then Ray discovers that she eats flies. He grabs Robert by the collar and says, LISTEN TO ME!! SHE EATS FLIES!!
9. This is serious stuff guys! We need to get the word out.
THESE PEOPLE EAT FLIES, DAMMIT!
There are a lot of intelligent people here. Talking among ourselves is fun but not so effective. How can we begin to convince the population that religion is pretty but she eats flies?
O.K. I’m safely in my bomb shelter with my tinfoil hat in place. Have at me.
Charlie
You, sir, WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+1000 intrewebs to Charlie
O.K. I’m old and illiterate. What are intrewebs?
You win the whole internet.
“religion is pretty but she eats flies”
So true, and Christ Himself said the same, that is it is a deathly, burdensome thing this ‘religion’ (a powerless external behavior modification system/institution void of power to effect inward transformation). Good thing religion’s not the true offer, is not Who He is. All the best.
I’d like it if all religious people switched to John’s version. Inane and meaningless, but easy to ignore and not likely to try and create a theocracy.
Charlie, you are so sadly mistaken.
By which I mean, that in your point #8 above, your refer to “Seinfeld,” when you clearly meant “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Of course, as far as your theological thinking goes, you are 100% CORRECT, lol.
You are absolutely right! How embarassing. Thank you for the correction.
And to top that, in my haste to reply, I misspelled embarrassing.
Does misspelled have one “s” or two?
Charlie, the matrix has you.
Of course, there was the North Carolina church that was going to burn non-King James versions of the bible (and other satanic material) last year. It seems they didn’t get god’s note about that being a bad thing to do. It rained and they ended up just tearing things up and throwing them in the trash.