So here's a neurotic and odd question for you:
In the midst of relocating the majority our books upstairs, I have come to discover that we have an inordinate amount of copies of the bible for 2 people...they were gifts, keepsakes, etc. I can see keeping one that is a family heirloom... as sentimental. But here is the thing: would any of you find it creepy or wrong to give away a bunch of bibles? I'm not about to throw them out or anything (I could not bring myself to throw out ANY book quite honestly), and I'm definitely not on an evangelism quest....but so help me I feel guilty at putting them in the box of "to go" books.
I mean really...how many can a person need? Even if I were in a mood to want to sit down and read it...you only would need one. Some would argue that that would be one too many.
Would it be proper to give them to a church? Why am I even feeling guilty about this in the first place?
It's just an odd situation to be in. I'm just trying to purge books while I move them about the house. Admittedly I haven't had the heart to toss much more than a small box of books, made up mostly of misguided gifts and used store grabs from over the years. Both J and I are horrid at purging. It's harder than I thought....the extra things will likely go to the Salvation Army thrift shop...which kind of makes the whole bible giveaway thing a bit more fitting. Or not...it's just odd. Giving away books is tough. And, really, it's just a book.
So, um...Free bible anyone? I've got a few cookbooks, a Danielle Steele novel and some outdated software training manuals I could throw in to sweeten the deal...?
The fact that this even bothers me bothers me.
It's just all around wierd...
9 comments:
How many Bibles does a person need? Well, if you're like me, one for every translation would be nice... :)
There's always Bible Gateway for Pete...
I've got,erm, ten or so, across six or seven translations: KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, Living, The Word and a couple others, I think. My main bible is that brown one that Briercrest was selling for five bucks way back when.
"free your mind and the rest will follow"
:)
if they mean something to you, keep 'em. even i, heathen devil that i am, have one or two that were gifts on my bookshelves. I don't think you need to feel bad about donating them though. they're just books.
ummmm books - yummy. i know what you mean about purging. Very difficult. i have a similar book problem...
I have two I actually use: one when I want to read something, and my grandmother's concordance Bible when I want to look something up. (I have two similar divisions of Shakespeare.) The rest are too strongly imprinted with memories of their former owners for me to get rid of, even though I never use them, and anyway they're too close to falling apart to give away.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
If you really want to give some of them away, the Salvation Army is your best bet. Don't put them in a box with a bunch of other books, though, and don't just put them in a donation collection box somewhere. Physically take them to the Salvation Army and tell them you are donating bibles.
They will make good use of them.
OK,I think I will find the Salvation Army for the few I want to get rid of. I don't have 6 copies of any book, so and I'm trying to declutter. I think this will be the proper solution...I want to go make a donation for the holidays, so I'll go in in person and do this at the same time...
Churches in poorer parts of town might be glad to have them to give to their parishoners.
I'm not even a church-goer, and for years I kept a bible someone gave me. But in the end it, too, had to go. There was no more room in the inn...
(Life has been a constant exercise in decluttering).
Think of it as something someone else will find useful, and treasure. It's no use gathering dust, unread.
Odd that you should even bring this up! I was at a second-hand bookstore just the other day and noticed they had an entire Bible section.
I used to be fanatical about the books I bought. They HAD to be the hard-cover versions.
Smash cut to several moves later and I decided that I wasn't going to schlep these things around any longer, so I took 'em all to the local library and donated 'em. The kind folks at the library gave me a blank receipt and told me to estimate the value for tax purposes. :) Do you think $87,000 for one box of books about dragons and elves (elfs?) and the like is too much?
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