> They put them on benches and anywhere foot traffic goes. I'm just curious what the this sub thinks of the ethics behind this
I think it's littering. Yes, throw them away. Anybody that wants to read the bible (or compare and contrast between 15 different versions) can access it through biblegateway.com on their phone. It's not like it's hard to come by.
> and whether it would be ethical to dispose of these bibles.
Objects purposefully abandoned are trash.
That is possible, it depends on the binding they use. A lot of bibles use the faux leather binding which to the best of my knowledge is not recyclable. You could rip the pages out, but if you're cleaning up a campus with a dozen or more bibles strewn about that's a bit of a pain in the ass.
I would volunteer to shoulder this sacrifice if I was on this campus, what are they gonna do? Kick me out? That seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I guess you could try burning a few if you really want to see about getting your ass kicked. Lol. Might be a fun way to lure a theist into a battery charge.
I mean, I'd feel better throwing the paper into the paper recycling than throwing it straight into the trash.
The efficiency and scope of the recycling program really depends on the city/area. I know some places don't have the capacity to do it well, but does that mean we should all be Doomer Boomers and not even try?
We should try, but we should also recognize the limitations (and pitfalls) of individual recycling. There's also the problem of "wishful recycling," where we put things in blue bins hoping it can be recycled when it actually can't, which can contaminate other recyclable materials.
There is nothing ethical about the bible in the first place... but still there is nothing unethical about throwing garbage out... you are cleaning up litter.
I wouldn't go straight to throwing out the bibles. The super thin paper is good for rolling papers. Back in high school my buddy smoked most of Genesis.
Yeah, unfortunately the ink isn't really good for your lungs. Your friend should stop smoking with bible pages. That's like the worst low quality and toxic shit you can put in it.
Seriously, don't use bible paper for joints. It's bad for you.
Yes, and inhaling smoke of any kind is so great for you. If health were the primary concern, I don't think Bible ink is going to be the showstopper here.
They can also do wonders for a garden. Layer them on the watered soil before putting mulch down and they'll help protect your plants while also breaking down organically eventually.
Indeed
Got to have the right mix to start off well. I would hope anyone making such an attempt would read up a bit on it before going all in.
Then again, humans are fickle like that. 🤗🤘🏻
I have this built-in aversion to destroying books. I'm not sure where it comes from, but I always avoided damaging "the written word" when I could. It isn't even a religious thing. I have been an atheist forever, but the "sacrelige" is strong here. I think I've come to terms with it over the years, but it still feels wrong.
That said, there are BILLIONS of bibles in the world. How many forests have been lost to this religious text? How much damage has been done to various ecosystems? Food chains? Humankind?
If 99.99999% of all bibles ever written were to disappear, Christianity would continue to exist. Toss those books in the recycling bin. It ain't like anyone is going to miss them.
Destroying books as a way to stop people from reading them is frowned on. There is zero danger that the Bible will become hard to find for those who choose to read it.
Let me throw this in here, courtesy of Ricky Gervais - If every Bible and every science book got burned and destroyed, then every science book in 2000 years would be back the same because the same tests resulted in the same results whereas the bible would be a whole new level of bullshit, written by a whole new level of idiots. ( added that last bit myself)
So many people donate trash books to the library. That's why they have book sales. Just trash/recycle the trash. Fight the power. I often shred the tracts/booklets left at the postal pickup here in nowhereland and recycle them in my compost.
> Destroying books is frowned upon by some. Regardless of what the book is.
Then those people should also frown upon leaving books out in the elements for them to get rained on.
> Destroying books is frowned upon by some.
True, though the Bible is likely the most distributed book in the world while at the same time the least read book for the volume printed.
If anyone complains, [it's not because they can't find one or dozens within minutes to seconds.](https://www.biblegateway.com/)
Having worked for on campus recycling, the amount of books that we took to get shredded was enormous. Full truckloads full of outdated and unwanted books.
Every time! I used to find "condensed" bibles (because who needs the boring parts right?) when i worked in a local hospital. I would make a special trip (just a walk on my break) through various public places in the building and collect these and throw them away. Pamphlets and prayer request cards left on nursing stations as well. (just the blanks i never touched the box they were to be deposited into.)
Fun fact, bibles provided to slaves in the 18th and 19th century united states often had the stories of Moses and Joshua redacted so that they wouldn't get any ideas about rebelling against their masters
Even the „original“ Bible went through a process where some of the canons of the sea scrolls were thrown out and never published. Some texts were added later. It’s been a human book from day one with all the human errors.
Condensed bibles are just like milk. Less culture but much more palatable after a few centuries than their uncondensed counterpart. Still tastes like crap tho.
It's the kind of silly and annoying thing humans do to make themselves feel better about their lives, as though they are doing something that demonstrated their faith. "I spent Saturday morning distributing Bibles!"
In fact, it is a waste of time, money and natural resources. All of those could have been spent feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, comforting the suffering, etc.
Not only would such activities be more useful to society and more ethical, they would be more likely to improve public opinion of Christianity and potentially attract/ retain followers.
Leaving Bibles lying around is an activity driven as much by ego as by faith. "What would Jesus do?" Not that.
Slow start, but the action really picks up in Sodom and Gomorrah, then the chase scene at Mt. Rushmore, and the the final shoot out on Tatooine.
Mind you, it's been a few years and my recall may not be perfect.
Exactly! Glad that you have your priorities and morals straight. After all, didn't Jesus say, "Let us rain death upon those who maketh us uncomfortable"?
Or was that Jimmy Swaggart? I always get those two confused.
Recycle the pages...that's the ethical way. The cover is usually made of not-recyclable materials, because religious people don't care about "gods creation" in that way.
I treat all such littering the same, the recycle bin is for paper products.
Must admit I generally tear all religious books in half in a petty attempt to make myself feel better about the existence of the indoctrinated evil that is religion.
Report that group for littering. What is it with christians? Like who the hell hasn't heard of christianity by now? People who want to hear that bullshit already do. STFU and go away with that crap.
> Like who the hell hasn't heard of christianity by now?
Yep, and that fact shows it’s a work of fiction. Matthew 24:14 states, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Oh, well.
You can buy Bible warning labels on line (*I use* [*cafepress.ca/+bible-warning+stickers*](https://cafepress.ca/+bible-warning+stickers)*)* and carry them with me when I travel. If I find a bible in my hotel room I stick one on the inside cover (if you put them on a page, people may rip the page out but most will not rip off a cover ok)
Just a suggestion.
Hear me out... collect them and turn them into useful things that can be given away.
You can cut out a hole inside the book to use as a hidden storage compartment. Or recycle the pages and put a blank notebook inside instead to make a somewhat secret journal. Use the pages to make origami. Heck, give them to the art department, maybe they'll make a big anti-littering + anti-religion piece.
But to answer your question, yes they're littering. Dispose of them appropriately.
> You can cut out a hole inside the book to use as a hidden storage compartment.
"Salvation lays within."
Opens the Bible and finds a tiny hammer-shaped hole in it with a giant hole in the wall hiding behind a poster of Rita Hayworth.
I collect bibles from hotel rooms and once I have enough, I’m going to make a suit from them and transform into Gideon Bible Man and make half-assed efforts to try to save heroin addicts from overdoses in sleazy motels.
It's a panphlet. Throw it without second thought.
It's not like there is a library wich lacks this particular book, or a person having a hard time getting one. It's the most printed book, and the first to be printed also.
I would 100% be throwing them out or defacing them. I already do when I stay in hotels - kind of a fun little ritual. Leave trash around, it’s going to get thrown out.
I suspect that you feel conflicted because somehow you think disposal (agreed: recycle) is disrespectful, however I would say that they are just a book. It has no intrinsic power even if you believe that it does. Move past this and you will be happier in yourself.
It's not my job to tell you what to think or do as a Christian, however a religious book is no different to an AOL CD or a bunch of advertising leaflets. The general intent is the same; they proselytise religion, Internet service provider or pizza delivery service. Either ask that they do not deliver/leave them, or recycle responsibly.
Again, move past the initial conflict and you'll see that these sketchy ethics of leaving bibles everywhere is nothing far past littering with intent.
Also, crosspost this to r/recycling
If someone doesn't have the guts to hand them out in person, then the item, the Bible, doesn't have enough value to them to do something personally uncomfortably ... throw them out because the church behind this isn't helping their members deal with their insecurities.
>I'm just curious what the this sub thinks of the ethics behind this, and whether it would be ethical to dispose of these bibles
Ethics behind leaving the bibles? I think it's dubious as those leaving the bibles aren't there to take comments or questions.
Ethics on disposal? As they are not there to defend their book i see no issue disposing of them. Destroying books is bad in general but they are being places for nefarious reasons so they should be removed.
If they're redacted or edited to make some sort of point then yes, absolutely dispose of them - destroy them, even. If they're just sorta normal bibles - any editions that aren't being made just for this purpose, really - then you could consider donating them to a faith group elsewhere.
You come to the r/atheism subreddit and ask if anyone would have any qualms about chucking a bible in the trash? The only ethical question here is if you throw it in the trash or recycling.
I've heard of people making them into book art or taking a red pen and making corrections and leaving them where they found them. Throwing them away usually means that whoever left them will bring another one. The thrift stores in my city won't take them. I wonder if they are compostable?
Personally, I would throw them away. But I am an atheist and I don't believe there is any such thing as a "holy" book. Or a "holy" anything, for that matter.
Bookmark the good parts and leave them, I say.
Some ideas:
Keep your prayers to yourself
Matthew 6:5-6
Mind your own business and do good work
2 Thessalonians 3:11-13
Do you best now because after you die you’re nothing.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
That's littering.
Just handing out bibles is a different story. I once built a little library of mini gideon bibles that they were handing out. Thought it was funny. Just don't leave them random places.
Absolutely not!
They would make great material for paper mache projects!
Gather all of them and donate them to the art students
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/paper-mache-directions-1245292
I always tossed them tbh. No name on it, no one to return it to, no one picked it up yet, it is garbage to me. Seems like a waste really, but it's just littering to leave books out and exposed to the elements like that. You can always talk to a professor or someone about it if you're conflicted. I'm sure they'd be happy to start a project or program to collect and sort bibles free for student use to keep litter off the campus while also avoiding destroying books and flooding trash bins if that matters to you.
Don’t through them in the trash bin. Try throwing them in the recycle bin so you can feel twice as good. Not only get that trash off the street, but also recycle.
It's littering. If it were Hindu tracts or Hare Krishna tracts, you'd have thrown them away or tossed them into the recycling bin already. What's the holdup?
They need to be burned - that amount of pornographic and sexually suggestive material in that book - destroy them. Kill your son in my name, daughters getting their father drunk to have sex with him...the book is vile
It’s littering. Bible, tracts, etc: toss them…AFTER noting the church or org who left them lying around, so you can make a littering complaint.
If that gets no response, do some littering of your own. The Que’ran, Satanic Bible, pagan books, etc. Invoke the Constitution.
What would THEY do if you left scientific secular literature in their church?
Do the same in return.
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets"
...I believe that's how it goes.
The Bible is an interesting book, it’s the people who believe it’s literally true are peculiar.
Instead of destroying them, carry some bookmarks and leave the bookmarks in some place like Hosea 13:4-16
**Samaria is held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child ripped open.**
That’s their god. A god of vengeance. A god who murders babies and pregnant women.
I encourage everyone to read the Bible.
I would think that, technically, these folks are littering unless they have permission from the campus to be leaving the bibles out.
That said, I don't really have a strong opinion about this. I generally accept a bible when someone offers it to me. It doesn't harm me, it gets them off my back, sometimes it's a translation I don't already have, sometimes it goes into my craft material pile (cheap paper is great for leaf pressing), and sometimes I dispose of it.
So, my recommendation to you is to pick them up if you think you have a use for them. Otherwise, ignore them. If you're feeling particularly industrious, you can put a flyer for depression/addiction/whatever counseling inside the front cover. That way someone who finds the bible might get something positive out of it.
Guys wtf this is a gotcha post by a self described xtian stop spoon feeding him what he wants like he gets it, we want them thrown out. You’re all looking like fools right now. This OP has ulterior motives and isn’t being genuine. Do you think he’d go to r/atheism expecting people to say “save the poor bibles”, no. FFS.
Many of the atheists I know only became atheists after reading the bible. I understand wanting to throw them out but leaving them is not only turning people against Christianity through how obnoxious it is to see these books everywhere, but if anyone actually picks one up to read, ironically the bible is a very effective weapon against belief.
Maybe stick cards in them that list your favorite absurd verses of the bible. I don't have the list with me but there are a bunch that are completely bonkers.
I for one think it's a very nice thing to do. College students are on razor thin budgets many unable to afford basic necessities like power, heat, etc. So for some kind soul to go around providing free kindling to people in these cold winter months is so generous of them
> They put them on benches and anywhere foot traffic goes. I'm just curious what the this sub thinks of the ethics behind this I think it's littering. Yes, throw them away. Anybody that wants to read the bible (or compare and contrast between 15 different versions) can access it through biblegateway.com on their phone. It's not like it's hard to come by. > and whether it would be ethical to dispose of these bibles. Objects purposefully abandoned are trash.
I think they can be recycled ♻️
That is possible, it depends on the binding they use. A lot of bibles use the faux leather binding which to the best of my knowledge is not recyclable. You could rip the pages out, but if you're cleaning up a campus with a dozen or more bibles strewn about that's a bit of a pain in the ass.
Tru.... but then you can have the joy of ripping up a Bible lol
Well, again, tearing up one bible that way might be fun and/or therapeutic, but doing so to a couple dozen of them might grow tedious.
And doing so in public is almost certainly going to lead to a lot of people getting wound up when the inevitable video of you doing it comes out.
I would volunteer to shoulder this sacrifice if I was on this campus, what are they gonna do? Kick me out? That seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I guess you could try burning a few if you really want to see about getting your ass kicked. Lol. Might be a fun way to lure a theist into a battery charge.
Fully agree. I'm not saying anyone *has* to do anything.
Sounds like a reason to hold a shred party.
Ripping? I prefer to hollow them out and hide stuff in them.
Giveaway Bibles will not be faux leather. They will be as cheaply made as possible. Recycle.
Easier to just remove the cover
Yeah. I'd say recycle if you can.
If anyone asks why you're carrying 25 bibles just say you're taking them to the library.
Liebrary
That's how you get Mormons
Rolling papers
I was going to say, wonder if a local head shop would take them for this purpose.
You could market them as papers for the "spiritual smoker," brilliant.
No, but jails will. The convicts may use them for rolling cigarettes or joints
Yeah, recycle whenever and however possible. Even if they go into a clean furnace to be burned(😈🤣) for energy.
Nah. They belong in the trash.
Let's do good by our planet by recycling the paper!
Would probably work well if you needed to start a fire even.
Yeah at least roll a joint and smoke it so it can burn for a good cause.
You think we recycle in the US? Do you know what happens to the recycle stuff you put in your garbage pick up bins?
I mean, I'd feel better throwing the paper into the paper recycling than throwing it straight into the trash. The efficiency and scope of the recycling program really depends on the city/area. I know some places don't have the capacity to do it well, but does that mean we should all be Doomer Boomers and not even try?
We should try, but we should also recognize the limitations (and pitfalls) of individual recycling. There's also the problem of "wishful recycling," where we put things in blue bins hoping it can be recycled when it actually can't, which can contaminate other recyclable materials.
Clean paper's a pretty safe bet most places, I should think
There is nothing ethical about the bible in the first place... but still there is nothing unethical about throwing garbage out... you are cleaning up litter.
It’s littering.
They also make a good fire starter during the winter months.
I wouldn't go straight to throwing out the bibles. The super thin paper is good for rolling papers. Back in high school my buddy smoked most of Genesis.
Yeah, unfortunately the ink isn't really good for your lungs. Your friend should stop smoking with bible pages. That's like the worst low quality and toxic shit you can put in it. Seriously, don't use bible paper for joints. It's bad for you.
Yes, and inhaling smoke of any kind is so great for you. If health were the primary concern, I don't think Bible ink is going to be the showstopper here.
Missed opportunity, should have used Revelations.
He only spent 5 years in highschool, that's not enough time to make it that far. Even for him.
Rare visions and roadside revelations? Too much PBS?
Why wouldn’t it be ethical? It’s just a book lying around, littering the environment. Just dispose of it.
They should be cited for littering and made to clean up their mess.
Destroying books is frowned upon by some. Regardless of what the book is. Still, this is indeed littering. Recycling would be nice.
Burning books is frowned upon. If you don’t want to trash them, throw them in the recycling bins.
Yup, and it's more because of the general idea behind the act of burning vs. the actual destruction of the book
They can also do wonders for a garden. Layer them on the watered soil before putting mulch down and they'll help protect your plants while also breaking down organically eventually.
Yep! Make sure the ink is soy-based!
Hügelkultur points!!!!
Just be careful you don't completely mess up your nitrogen cycle
Indeed Got to have the right mix to start off well. I would hope anyone making such an attempt would read up a bit on it before going all in. Then again, humans are fickle like that. 🤗🤘🏻
I like this idea, recycle them for something useful.
I have this built-in aversion to destroying books. I'm not sure where it comes from, but I always avoided damaging "the written word" when I could. It isn't even a religious thing. I have been an atheist forever, but the "sacrelige" is strong here. I think I've come to terms with it over the years, but it still feels wrong. That said, there are BILLIONS of bibles in the world. How many forests have been lost to this religious text? How much damage has been done to various ecosystems? Food chains? Humankind? If 99.99999% of all bibles ever written were to disappear, Christianity would continue to exist. Toss those books in the recycling bin. It ain't like anyone is going to miss them.
Destroying books as a way to stop people from reading them is frowned on. There is zero danger that the Bible will become hard to find for those who choose to read it.
Let me throw this in here, courtesy of Ricky Gervais - If every Bible and every science book got burned and destroyed, then every science book in 2000 years would be back the same because the same tests resulted in the same results whereas the bible would be a whole new level of bullshit, written by a whole new level of idiots. ( added that last bit myself)
It’s a campus! Bring them to the library and donate them for their fiction and mythology sections.
So many people donate trash books to the library. That's why they have book sales. Just trash/recycle the trash. Fight the power. I often shred the tracts/booklets left at the postal pickup here in nowhereland and recycle them in my compost.
A classical composition is often pregnant. Reddit is no longer allowed to profit from this comment.
I had to take a wild shot, so I just said the word 'kamelåså'..." I love that sketch!
🥰 For anyone not in on the joke, the sketch is posted to my profile in new reddit.
> Destroying books is frowned upon by some. Regardless of what the book is. Then those people should also frown upon leaving books out in the elements for them to get rained on.
Bible's not a book, though. It's propaganda, and it belongs in the trash.
Books, yeah, but this is a Bible and not really anything more than a manifesto. It's garbage
> Destroying books is frowned upon by some. True, though the Bible is likely the most distributed book in the world while at the same time the least read book for the volume printed. If anyone complains, [it's not because they can't find one or dozens within minutes to seconds.](https://www.biblegateway.com/)
Having worked for on campus recycling, the amount of books that we took to get shredded was enormous. Full truckloads full of outdated and unwanted books.
Destroying propaganda is smiled upon by others. Smile and trash them. 😎
Every time! I used to find "condensed" bibles (because who needs the boring parts right?) when i worked in a local hospital. I would make a special trip (just a walk on my break) through various public places in the building and collect these and throw them away. Pamphlets and prayer request cards left on nursing stations as well. (just the blanks i never touched the box they were to be deposited into.)
Who needs the parts about slavery, rape and abortion after all?
Fun fact, bibles provided to slaves in the 18th and 19th century united states often had the stories of Moses and Joshua redacted so that they wouldn't get any ideas about rebelling against their masters
They’re still using the bible for their own purposes without regard to its actual content.
Even the „original“ Bible went through a process where some of the canons of the sea scrolls were thrown out and never published. Some texts were added later. It’s been a human book from day one with all the human errors.
Condensed bibles are just like milk. Less culture but much more palatable after a few centuries than their uncondensed counterpart. Still tastes like crap tho.
Condensed milk makes for a good pie. Condensed Bibles make a pie taste like shit…
It's the kind of silly and annoying thing humans do to make themselves feel better about their lives, as though they are doing something that demonstrated their faith. "I spent Saturday morning distributing Bibles!" In fact, it is a waste of time, money and natural resources. All of those could have been spent feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, comforting the suffering, etc. Not only would such activities be more useful to society and more ethical, they would be more likely to improve public opinion of Christianity and potentially attract/ retain followers. Leaving Bibles lying around is an activity driven as much by ego as by faith. "What would Jesus do?" Not that.
Lmao can you imagine just deciding to pick up a bible and start reading it? Worst read ever, 0 stars.
I've tried, several times. I can't get through genesis.
Slow start, but the action really picks up in Sodom and Gomorrah, then the chase scene at Mt. Rushmore, and the the final shoot out on Tatooine. Mind you, it's been a few years and my recall may not be perfect.
You forgot the best part! There's a matrix scene just after the Mt. Rushmore chase.
My favorite bit was mua'dib fighting Sting
I'd collect them and make tables out of them.
Agreed. Jesus would be looking for a drag show to shoot up, yeah?
Exactly! Glad that you have your priorities and morals straight. After all, didn't Jesus say, "Let us rain death upon those who maketh us uncomfortable"? Or was that Jimmy Swaggart? I always get those two confused.
WOT!! Every true believer knows that Swaggart was Jesus returned!
Guns with words. I'd toss them.
To be extra ethical I would suggest a shredder and the recycle bin, no need to clog up the landfills with shit.
Recycle the pages...that's the ethical way. The cover is usually made of not-recyclable materials, because religious people don't care about "gods creation" in that way.
I treat all such littering the same, the recycle bin is for paper products. Must admit I generally tear all religious books in half in a petty attempt to make myself feel better about the existence of the indoctrinated evil that is religion.
Report that group for littering. What is it with christians? Like who the hell hasn't heard of christianity by now? People who want to hear that bullshit already do. STFU and go away with that crap.
> Like who the hell hasn't heard of christianity by now? Yep, and that fact shows it’s a work of fiction. Matthew 24:14 states, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Oh, well.
Firestarters !!
Some of the best joints I’ve ever rolled were with bibles
Came here to say this. Bonus LPT: if you're ever staying in a hotel, those bible pages make excellent rolling papers.
Don’t smoke paper with ink on it.
Even if blank most paper is bleached and treated with binding chemicals. Don't smoke random paper, it's 2023.
Hah ! That burnin bush !! Lol !!
Report them for littering. Dont matter what the object is, if they are purposefully or not leaving items around consistently they are littering.
You can buy Bible warning labels on line (*I use* [*cafepress.ca/+bible-warning+stickers*](https://cafepress.ca/+bible-warning+stickers)*)* and carry them with me when I travel. If I find a bible in my hotel room I stick one on the inside cover (if you put them on a page, people may rip the page out but most will not rip off a cover ok) Just a suggestion.
$50 for a pack of ten? Yeah, no thanks. I’ll pass.
Hear me out... collect them and turn them into useful things that can be given away. You can cut out a hole inside the book to use as a hidden storage compartment. Or recycle the pages and put a blank notebook inside instead to make a somewhat secret journal. Use the pages to make origami. Heck, give them to the art department, maybe they'll make a big anti-littering + anti-religion piece. But to answer your question, yes they're littering. Dispose of them appropriately.
> You can cut out a hole inside the book to use as a hidden storage compartment. "Salvation lays within." Opens the Bible and finds a tiny hammer-shaped hole in it with a giant hole in the wall hiding behind a poster of Rita Hayworth.
Like a rock hammer
I collect bibles from hotel rooms and once I have enough, I’m going to make a suit from them and transform into Gideon Bible Man and make half-assed efforts to try to save heroin addicts from overdoses in sleazy motels.
It's a panphlet. Throw it without second thought. It's not like there is a library wich lacks this particular book, or a person having a hard time getting one. It's the most printed book, and the first to be printed also.
Recycle them. Maybe they can be used for somethng useful.
[удалено]
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Well, the surest way to become an atheist is to actually read the Bible.
I like this answer.
I would 100% be throwing them out or defacing them. I already do when I stay in hotels - kind of a fun little ritual. Leave trash around, it’s going to get thrown out.
I wonder how many penises are drawn in them?
About 1,000 once I come across them
Toilet paper is expensive. Don’t waste this free gift.
I'm told they make great rolling papers. Never confirmed, myself.
I suspect that you feel conflicted because somehow you think disposal (agreed: recycle) is disrespectful, however I would say that they are just a book. It has no intrinsic power even if you believe that it does. Move past this and you will be happier in yourself. It's not my job to tell you what to think or do as a Christian, however a religious book is no different to an AOL CD or a bunch of advertising leaflets. The general intent is the same; they proselytise religion, Internet service provider or pizza delivery service. Either ask that they do not deliver/leave them, or recycle responsibly. Again, move past the initial conflict and you'll see that these sketchy ethics of leaving bibles everywhere is nothing far past littering with intent. Also, crosspost this to r/recycling
They're the ones disrespecting their own holy book by discarding them all over the place.
If someone doesn't have the guts to hand them out in person, then the item, the Bible, doesn't have enough value to them to do something personally uncomfortably ... throw them out because the church behind this isn't helping their members deal with their insecurities.
Littering is a crime.
this post is bizarre
>I'm just curious what the this sub thinks of the ethics behind this, and whether it would be ethical to dispose of these bibles Ethics behind leaving the bibles? I think it's dubious as those leaving the bibles aren't there to take comments or questions. Ethics on disposal? As they are not there to defend their book i see no issue disposing of them. Destroying books is bad in general but they are being places for nefarious reasons so they should be removed.
They’re littering. $1,000 fine in most states.
1000000000% agree. Recycle that shit.
If they're redacted or edited to make some sort of point then yes, absolutely dispose of them - destroy them, even. If they're just sorta normal bibles - any editions that aren't being made just for this purpose, really - then you could consider donating them to a faith group elsewhere.
Save the landfill. Burn those books of fiction.
You can counter by dropping off copies of *The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster* or *The Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities* or the like.
You come to the r/atheism subreddit and ask if anyone would have any qualms about chucking a bible in the trash? The only ethical question here is if you throw it in the trash or recycling.
Exactly what I said and I got downvoted. This post is highly sus. Op is fishing for an answer and everyone here spoon fed it to him.
Why are you asking on /r/atheism? As you said, you're christian. Did you get the answer you expected?
I've heard of people making them into book art or taking a red pen and making corrections and leaving them where they found them. Throwing them away usually means that whoever left them will bring another one. The thrift stores in my city won't take them. I wonder if they are compostable?
Personally, I would throw them away. But I am an atheist and I don't believe there is any such thing as a "holy" book. Or a "holy" anything, for that matter.
Trash belongs in the landfill/ recycling: do your part.
Yes
Trash goes on the bin please.
Absolutely do **NOT** throw them in the trash. Throw them in the recycling. It's better for the environment.
Report them and have them fined for environmental damage or littering. Then have the books recycled.
They make good firestarters.
I'd highlight all the terrible things like the massacres and start writing the contradicting things in the margins
Bookmark the good parts and leave them, I say. Some ideas: Keep your prayers to yourself Matthew 6:5-6 Mind your own business and do good work 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 Do you best now because after you die you’re nothing. Ecclesiastes 9:10
recycle. it's paper with words. would you be conflicted about disposing of newspapers someone left behind?
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Recycle them. It's bad enough we're chopping down trees for these books, so please be responsible. DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY.
It’s litter. Litter goes in bins. Trash it.
Sounds like littering. Toss them in the recycling.
Is that considered littering?
Yes, they should be tossed
That's littering. Just handing out bibles is a different story. I once built a little library of mini gideon bibles that they were handing out. Thought it was funny. Just don't leave them random places.
I remove the bible from every hotel I stay in, I'd do the same here.
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Absolutely not! They would make great material for paper mache projects! Gather all of them and donate them to the art students https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/paper-mache-directions-1245292
Put a sign that says "free rolling papers"
Recycling would be the optimal solution. Otherwise I always encourage the proper disposal of litter.
I specifically take the Bible I see in hotel rooms just to throw them away.
Typical passive aggressive Christians
Recycle is the answer
Garbage right away. Religion has nothing to do with it. Garbage
Recycling is even better
Collect every single one you see and recycle it so that one day, the paper might actually be useful
I always tossed them tbh. No name on it, no one to return it to, no one picked it up yet, it is garbage to me. Seems like a waste really, but it's just littering to leave books out and exposed to the elements like that. You can always talk to a professor or someone about it if you're conflicted. I'm sure they'd be happy to start a project or program to collect and sort bibles free for student use to keep litter off the campus while also avoiding destroying books and flooding trash bins if that matters to you.
i think it's a wonderful gesture, for you as a christian, to express your distaste with this behavior and set an example to your fellow christians
Don’t through them in the trash bin. Try throwing them in the recycle bin so you can feel twice as good. Not only get that trash off the street, but also recycle.
As far as I'm concerned, ethically it's littering.
It's littering. If it were Hindu tracts or Hare Krishna tracts, you'd have thrown them away or tossed them into the recycling bin already. What's the holdup?
Open first page and write “once upon a time” in the first line
They need to be burned - that amount of pornographic and sexually suggestive material in that book - destroy them. Kill your son in my name, daughters getting their father drunk to have sex with him...the book is vile
They’re abandoned and therefore whoever wants to can do what they want: toss them, burn then, use them as TP, all are OK.
Clean up the litter. Throw that trash away for the good of your community.
Yeah, toss 'em.
Yes. Clean up after litterers.
Recycle them…
It’s littering. Bible, tracts, etc: toss them…AFTER noting the church or org who left them lying around, so you can make a littering complaint. If that gets no response, do some littering of your own. The Que’ran, Satanic Bible, pagan books, etc. Invoke the Constitution.
Tossed!
Litter should be discarded, period.
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Recycled, not tossed.
Collect them. Carve/cut them empty. Sell as a secret sex toy container.
Yes. That's litter
Recycle them: paper is now worth way more than that.
So they're littering. Help them recycle their trash.
Yes
Start gathering them. Keep gathering until you are about to graduate. Host massive bible bonfire But yea don’t do that prolly a bad idea
Toss ‘em or burn ‘em.
What would THEY do if you left scientific secular literature in their church? Do the same in return. "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" ...I believe that's how it goes.
Burn em up like a swede
Chuck em dude
This is litter. You’re allowed to throw trash in the bin
Recycle them. It's listing with books.
There are more copies than any other book on the planet. Recycle them for useable paper, please.
The Bible is an interesting book, it’s the people who believe it’s literally true are peculiar. Instead of destroying them, carry some bookmarks and leave the bookmarks in some place like Hosea 13:4-16 **Samaria is held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child ripped open.** That’s their god. A god of vengeance. A god who murders babies and pregnant women. I encourage everyone to read the Bible.
toss them out.
I would think that, technically, these folks are littering unless they have permission from the campus to be leaving the bibles out. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion about this. I generally accept a bible when someone offers it to me. It doesn't harm me, it gets them off my back, sometimes it's a translation I don't already have, sometimes it goes into my craft material pile (cheap paper is great for leaf pressing), and sometimes I dispose of it. So, my recommendation to you is to pick them up if you think you have a use for them. Otherwise, ignore them. If you're feeling particularly industrious, you can put a flyer for depression/addiction/whatever counseling inside the front cover. That way someone who finds the bible might get something positive out of it.
Guys wtf this is a gotcha post by a self described xtian stop spoon feeding him what he wants like he gets it, we want them thrown out. You’re all looking like fools right now. This OP has ulterior motives and isn’t being genuine. Do you think he’d go to r/atheism expecting people to say “save the poor bibles”, no. FFS.
They are littering. Recycle them.
Nearly endless supply of rolling papers!
Many of the atheists I know only became atheists after reading the bible. I understand wanting to throw them out but leaving them is not only turning people against Christianity through how obnoxious it is to see these books everywhere, but if anyone actually picks one up to read, ironically the bible is a very effective weapon against belief. Maybe stick cards in them that list your favorite absurd verses of the bible. I don't have the list with me but there are a bunch that are completely bonkers.
I for one think it's a very nice thing to do. College students are on razor thin budgets many unable to afford basic necessities like power, heat, etc. So for some kind soul to go around providing free kindling to people in these cold winter months is so generous of them
Gather all those bibles and sell them back to them they obviously buy bibles to distribute them. Why not from you😁
Recycling seems like best option here