Throwing away objectionable books?

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The other day my boss got a donation of a bunch of used books that she would have just given to Goodwill if none of the employees took them. I found one that was horribly anti-Catholic, to the point of dishonesty. Others had material that portrayed Catholics as “nominal Christians”, and one was about OSAS.

Now, I’ve been wondering whether it was right of me to take those objectionable books and chuck them. I skimmed through them, making sure they had shreds of the truth. One had a label on the cover that said, “Warning: this book contains material that satan and religious institutions don’t want you to know!”. (Is that just the author big-talking?)

I threw them away not because I don’t agree, but because they’re wrong. I believe there’s a difference between having a differing opinion and tell lies, half-truths, and attacking straw men. But do you guys think I’m still in a state of grace?
 
You did the right thing, Jack.
If you’d passed the books on they could have caused spiritual harm to others.
You can accept that God allowed *you *to see these books as a grace so you could remove them and protect others souls from harm and untruth.
 
Why chuck them when you can take them along to your next camping trip and use them as fire starters?
 
You did the right thing. You had the offer to take them and you destroyed them. There is a big difference in a good protestant expressing their values and beliefs and quite another where the writer uses lies and half truths against the Church. Good on you.
 
Thanks guys. I asked thia because I didn’t want to think I was being a medieval book-burner. I don’t want to squelch free speech or free thought, but I suppose you can draw the line on those when it comes to falsehoods.
 
Yup, you done good. Now just don’t get so fired up that you start stealing other peoples’ books and burning them!
 
It’s not really a question of whether or not the books are “correct” in your opinion. Humans are fallible, and our best defense against fallibility is the plurality of opinions we have. That’s why censorship is discouraged and everyone is given the chance to speak their mind.

If I came into possession of some holy books, I’d give them to someone who’s interested in them, in spite of my atheism. To do otherwise is to make myself the arbiter of truth. Even though I’m “pretty sure” Christianity has nothing of substance to it, it is not my place to discard entire ideologies.
 
Oreoracle said:
It’s not really a question of whether or not the books are “correct” in your opinion. Humans are fallible, and our best defense against fallibility is the plurality of opinions we have. That’s why censorship is discouraged and everyone is given the chance to speak their mind.

If I came into possession of some holy books, I’d give them to someone who’s interested in them, in spite of my atheism. To do otherwise is to make myself the arbiter of truth. Even though I’m “pretty sure” Christianity has nothing of substance to it, it is not my place to discard entire ideologies.
Click to expand...
I can understand not wanting to censor ideas that differ from my own. But, considering the material in question, there were egregious factual errors; that Pope John XXIII started a crusade in the 1400s (he wasn’t pope until 1958), or that Hitler was a “devout Catholic” (the author gives no evidence for that claim; in fact, recent discoveries have proven just the opposite).

Like I said, people are entitled to their own opinions. But it doesn’t seem too logical or fair to garble facts and use them as a basis to bash the Catholic Church.
 
JackVk said : "my boss got … used books that she would have just given to Goodwill, if none of the employees took them."

So, one of the Employees took some of the Books.
The way you set it up, you are perfectly welcome to take some of the Books.
If that is so, then you DID take some Books that interested you (in one way or another).

I don’t think I would have done it … but, I am Pleased that you made the World a “safer” place for Catholics.
Many things in Life Live-and-Die in the GRAY Area**:**
The Greater Good.
(And, the Ends justify the Means.)

So many people use those adages as Put-downs.
And, in some situations it IS inappropriate.
But, you will never know how you feel about doing a GRAY thing until you Try it.
THEN, you will know how you feel … the next Day … the next Month.

This is how a Spiritual Person needs to experiment.
Different people can do things, that another person should NOT do.
GRAY is Confusing … but, it is Real … and it is there for you to find God’s Will in your Life.
A sage once said : I learn how to Live my Life, one Mistake at a Time.

Well, I make several Mistakes each Day … but it doesn’t seem that I am learning Fast enough.
That is the Problem with trying to be a Good follower of Christ.
I wish Jesus could hand me a Book that tells me how He would like me to be and act.
But, I know that it would defeat the Purpose of trying to be a Devout Catholic.
A pity.
 
Thank you for protecting impressionable minds from such anti-Catholic garbage. :tiphat:
 
JackVk said:
The other day my boss got a donation of a bunch of used books that she would have just given to Goodwill if none of the employees took them. I found one that was horribly anti-Catholic, to the point of dishonesty. Others had material that portrayed Catholics as “nominal Christians”, and one was about OSAS.

Now, I’ve been wondering whether it was right of me to take those objectionable books and chuck them. I skimmed through them, making sure they had shreds of the truth. One had a label on the cover that said, “Warning: this book contains material that satan and religious institutions don’t want you to know!”. (Is that just the author big-talking?)

I threw them away not because I don’t agree, but because they’re wrong. I believe there’s a difference between having a differing opinion and tell lies, half-truths, and attacking straw men. But do you guys think I’m still in a state of grace?
Click to expand...
You did the right. Only in the past several years have I thrown out books with objectionable material. Better to throw them out than expose others to such material. I usually remove a cover or badly scratch the cover to discourage resale.

Best,
Ed
 
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