What is the Proper Way to Dispose of ....

[RealLifeMama]

Old Bibles?
We have five or six or so that have the covers missing, pages missing, and are not really usable.
I am not sure what to do with them.
I did not know if I am supposed to burn them like I would a flag, or throw them in the trash. They can't really be donated in the shape they are in, but it just seems wrong to throw them away.
I hate that we did not take better care of them, but three were the children's Bibles and they got messed up, and then two paperbacks that are 20 years old or so.

[Rea T]

I don't really think there is a proper way, but will agree that it does feel 'wrong' to throw them away because of so many years being taught to never, ever, ever put a Bible on the floor, or disrespect it in any way, or all the other rules that some churches make up about how to treat a Bible. But really, I think that makes it a bit of an idol and it's the words you hide in your heart from it that are important. So in other words, I wouldn't stress about throwing them away.

(Now, sentimental reasons are an entirely different thing...I would probably have difficulty throwing away a Bible that had meaning to me for some reason, like the one some friends gave me years ago.)

[lizzyd]

Return them to the earth - burn them. That's what we do in my faith tradition.

[Little Forest]

Is it possible to put in a paper recycling bin?

Otherwise FWIW traditionally, holy things have been disposed of by burning and burying the ashes. So it is not disrepectful to return things to the earth that way even though when we think of burning nowadays it has connotations negative intent.
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[RealLifeMama]

Is it possible to put in a paper recycling bin?

Otherwise FWIW traditionally, holy things have been disposed of by burning and burying the ashes. So it is not disrepectful to return things to the earth that way even though when we think of burning nowadays it has connotations negative intent.
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:yes
We always burn our flags to retire them, so I thought maybe the Bibles should be burned, also.

[Sundance]

:popcorn

I have a few that we need to remove from our shelves, too.

I always thought you weren't supposed to burn Bibles....interesting!!

[OneLove]

Yep we burn them :-)

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[JoannaV]

:think I might actually use them for some heavy underlining and so on, with the sections that were still usable. And then recycle haha.

[gentlemommy]

I'd recycle them too.

[MiriamRose]

Burning is the traditional and proper way to dispose of holy things, including Bibles, then bury the ashes.

[mummy2boys]

Burning is the traditional and proper way to dispose of holy things, including Bibles, then bury the ashes.

See....I never knew that

[Cherish]

Upcycle! :) Art projects, jewelry, picture frames, etc. It's not a terrible thing to cut out verses and re-use them for other things. :) Valentines cards? :)

[Six Little Feet]

Recycle or reuse would be what I would do.

[Quiteria]

I thought about taping pages to the wall by my sink to read/memorize while doing dishes.

[houseforjoy]

i would probably try and upcycle. decoupage pages onto picture frames, make bookmarks with them, or make christmas presents with them

http://www.homeschoolspot.com/showthread.php?t=30377

http://pinterest.com/dthead/crafts-using-old-books/

http://friendship.about.com/od/Gift-Giving/tp/How-To-Reuse-Old-Books-For-Homemade-Gifts.htm

just google old book crafts and lots of ideas come up

[Little Forest]

:yes
We always burn our flags to retire them, so I thought maybe the Bibles should be burned, also.

Interesting, I didn't know flag disposal protocol.
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[Soliloquy]

I don't consider the book itself to be holy but I agree it feels weird to throw it out.

I like the craft ideas. Cutting out favorite verses and using them to make something of beauty.

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