Buddhism books: throw, recycle, donate, pass on, burn?

Aspzan said:

I don't think being an auto mechanic is a "false way" though?

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I suppose that Depends on what you're getting out of it, right?
What your motivation is... If your motivation is to seek spiritual enlightenment through a complete understanding of internal combustion, then viola! "False way" Achieved.

If you're just trying to make your daily life better, then probably not an issue.

Same with Buddhism.

Petros2015 said:

I guess I'll be getting everyone gasoline for Christmas?

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Let me start stocking up so I can sell it to you!

parousia70 said:

Right... so if you want to be an auto mechanic, sorry, it's incompatible with christianity because of all the non christian books you have to read to learn how to fix cars...

Or a Cardiologist, or a software developer, or a appliance repair specialist, or....

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What about the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

parousia70 said:

If you're just trying to make your daily life better, then probably not an issue.

Same with Buddhism.

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To be honest I don't really have a solid answer to that. If it truly benefits someone and doesn't impact their Christianity then how can I have a problem?

GreekOrthodox said:

What about the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

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EXACTLY

Neshemah said:

A year ago I would never have thought I'd ask a question like this! But in clearing out my book shelf I am faced with issues about passing on the Buddhist philosophy, or the worship of other idols. What are we Christian's supposed to do with these things?
I mean ... book burning? No way! But really - if Jesus is the Way then why would I pass on books about any other "way"? Yet it feels disrespectful to dispose of these books. I threw out a couple of Buddha statues from my garden though ... so what would you do and what do you think? What does the bible say?
Some guidance here would be helpful.

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Hello, thanks for letting me comment on your post.

Our conscience is our guide to everything we do. If we do anything, and we have a check in our conscience, we are not to be doing it. For example if we have a problem eating food sacrificed to idols and we see others doing it, so we do it, we did wrong. 1 Cor 10:5-29

I think you understand that principle, or you would not be asking the question. So weigh what I and others are saying and compare it to what your conscience is telling you.

Having said that, I agree, burning would be a bad idea. Book burning is bad. Christians did a lot of book burning, including of the Bible in the past. I don't think that is the way to go.

My suggestion: Give them away on Craig's list, to someone who is searching for the truth, as you were when you purchased them. This would give you an opportunity to talk about how you found Jesus to them. Plus it would be an act of giving and sharing. Remember God meets us, on our own road to Damascus.

Let me know what action you finally take or about your struggle .

God bless
JP

Reading this thread alongside of the news of Notre-Dame has been an emotional tear for me. I have books of pretty much every religion as I have a bachelors in religious studies. I have found some spiritual value in all of them, or at least something that has made me go "hmmm..." That has included the Tao de Ching, books by the Dalai Llama, the Qu'ran, books on Zen, Jewish thought, or books closer to home such as Luther's Bondage of the Will, Thomas Merton, etc. Yet to see that some recommend burning something is disheartening. I'm sure there are those who probably cheered when they saw the spire of Notre-Dame fall. And just now I came across this from an Orthodox priest, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick conclusion on Notre-Dame:

Aspzan said:

To be honest I don't really have a solid answer to that. If it truly benefits someone and doesn't impact their Christianity then how can I have a problem?

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That's pretty much where I'm at.

I hear a lot of the same push back from Christians about Yoga, for example. But I don't subscribe to the fear mongering.

To me it's exactly like saying Christians shouldn't take part in Crossfit, or Barre Class, or Things like "Soul Cycle" (or motorcycle mechanics) since those things aren't Bible-based.

parousia70 said:

That's pretty much where I'm at.

I hear a lot of the same push back from Christians about Yoga, for example. But I don't subscribe to the fear mongering.

To me it's exactly like saying Christians shouldn't take part in Crossfit, or Barre Class, or Things like "Soul Cycle" (or motorcycle mechanics) since those things aren't Bible-based.

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I will have to say in honesty I am still very weary about things like yoga because of their spiritual background. I do think - as my signature says - we should try to do all to the glory of God. With some things it's difficult to do them to God's glory. Also, crossfit for example I don't think has a "spiritual" origin?

Neshemah said:

A year ago I would never have thought I'd ask a question like this! But in clearing out my book shelf I am faced with issues about passing on the Buddhist philosophy, or the worship of other idols. What are we Christian's supposed to do with these things?
I mean ... book burning? No way! But really - if Jesus is the Way then why would I pass on books about any other "way"? Yet it feels disrespectful to dispose of these books. I threw out a couple of Buddha statues from my garden though ... so what would you do and what do you think? What does the bible say?
Some guidance here would be helpful.

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Anything that could come between you and Jesus Christ is not worth having around ,but if your faith is strong enough to know who you are through Christ and your personal relationship you have with Jesus our rock, then let The Holy Spirit guide you so that your Mind can be filled with Godly Wisdom.

GreekOrthodox said:

Reading this thread alongside of the news of Notre-Dame has been an emotional tear for me. I have books of pretty much every religion as I have a bachelors in religious studies. I have found some spiritual value in all of them, or at least something that has made me go "hmmm..." That has included the Tao de Ching, books by the Dalai Llama, the Qu'ran, books on Zen, Jewish thought, or books closer to home such as Luther's Bondage of the Will, Thomas Merton, etc.

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But unless you need to, unless there is a legitimate reason to take the risk of reading those books, why take in the poison for a couple of drops of truth, when Christians have THE truth? I've been surprised at how many on this thread have stated that we can turn to Buddhism for the truth it has in it and don't seem to care at all about the risk to one's soul. The only way that makes sense is if you don't believe in the exclusive claims of Christianity.

Notre-Dame de Paris is not "our" church in the sense that we are not Roman Catholics, and it is a Roman Catholic church. But I am very much a believer in the idea of St. Justin Martyr which he called the σπερματικός λόγος, the "Logos in seed form."

In that teaching, St. Justin says that, wherever we see the truth of Who God is, even outside the boundaries of the Church, we can affirm that. And so even with the disagreements I have with the Roman Catholic Church, I think that we can see something very clearly of Who God is in that building.
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The idea expressed here, that even outside of Christ we can somehow see the truth of Christ and affirm it, is nothing more then relativism. Buddhism has some truth in it. God uses that. That doesn't mean that we "affirm" Buddhism for that. God can bring good out of all things (Romans 8:28). Why turn to these other religions when we have the truth?

For the record, I was a religious studies minor and before my divorce, I had a large collection of books from other religions that I kept for apologetics purposes.

Neshemah said:

A year ago I would never have thought I'd ask a question like this! But in clearing out my book shelf I am faced with issues about passing on the Buddhist philosophy, or the worship of other idols. What are we Christian's supposed to do with these things?
I mean ... book burning? No way! But really - if Jesus is the Way then why would I pass on books about any other "way"? Yet it feels disrespectful to dispose of these books. I threw out a couple of Buddha statues from my garden though ... so what would you do and what do you think? What does the bible say?
Some guidance here would be helpful.

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I had a somewhat similar problem (which I delayed by just boxing up those books), though not about religion, but more about philosophy/mythology/histories of religion, etc.

For some books a person could write clear and brief corrective notes into the margins early in the books to counteract some claims in the books in an effective way -- showing their errors -- and thus make them into tracts for what is true. Repurpose them. A book about human flaws as mere psychology stuff would be especially fun to correct. heh heh.


Hey, a buddha statue could make ok landfill, like when the dog digs a hole in the ground, and it seems like you can't rake up enough dirt to fill the hole back up.

Neshemah said:

A year ago I would never have thought I'd ask a question like this! But in clearing out my book shelf I am faced with issues about passing on the Buddhist philosophy, or the worship of other idols. What are we Christian's supposed to do with these things?
I mean ... book burning? No way! But really - if Jesus is the Way then why would I pass on books about any other "way"? Yet it feels disrespectful to dispose of these books. I threw out a couple of Buddha statues from my garden though ... so what would you do and what do you think? What does the bible say?
Some guidance here would be helpful.

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Is there a counter-cult ministry near you that may profit by such books in its research library?

Making a big deal over nothing and self-inflicting a fear of "burning in hell" over nothing.

Aspzan said:

I will have to say in honesty I am still very weary about things like yoga because of their spiritual background. I do think - as my signature says - we should try to do all to the glory of God. With some things it's difficult to do them to God's glory.

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The Christian Yoga Myth - YogaFaith

Also, crossfit for example I don't think has a "spiritual" origin?

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How CrossFit Acts Like a Religion

My point being... it's all in the intent.
A car is a handy thing, it can even take you and your family to Church if that is your intent.
If your intent is to plow into a crowd and mow people down, well, then that same car is an instrument of Evil, isn't it?

Same with Yoga, or Buddhism, or Crossfit, or Auto mechanics, it's "godliness" (or lack thereof) rests squarely on the shoulders of the individual practitioner.

GreekOrthodox said:

Reading this thread alongside of the news of Notre-Dame has been an emotional tear for me. I have books of pretty much every religion as I have a bachelors in religious studies. I have found some spiritual value in all of them, or at least something that has made me go "hmmm..." That has included the Tao de Ching, books by the Dalai Llama, the Qu'ran, books on Zen, Jewish thought, or books closer to home such as Luther's Bondage of the Will, Thomas Merton, etc. Yet to see that some recommend burning something is disheartening. I'm sure there are those who probably cheered when they saw the spire of Notre-Dame fall. And just now I came across this from an Orthodox priest, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick conclusion on Notre-Dame:

And in what is created to God's glory, God Himself chooses to dwell and to make Himself known.

So, yes, it is a spiritual loss when a church burns, especially a church that speaks so eloquently of the love and majesty of God.​

It is true of course that for many of us, Notre-Dame de Paris is not "our" church in the sense that we are not Roman Catholics, and it is a Roman Catholic church. But I am very much a believer in the idea of St. Justin Martyr which he called the σπερματικός λόγος, the "Logos in seed form."

In that teaching, St. Justin says that, wherever we see the truth of Who God is, even outside the boundaries of the Church, we can affirm that. And so even with the disagreements I have with the Roman Catholic Church, I think that we can see something very clearly of Who God is in that building.

And so while it is not Christianity nor Christ that went up in flames in Paris on April 15, a voice speaking of our Lord was certainly muted, at least for a while. And that certainly is a loss.​

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I think that Christians in general would actually be much improved by learning more about other religions and beliefs vs. their own (often false) assumptions of these other religions and beliefs. If a book on Buddhism or any other topic is of such a great risk of stealing people away from God, then wouldn't it actually be an indication that God isn't really all that powerful?

bekkilyn said:

I think that Christians in general would actually be much improved by learning more about other religions and beliefs vs. their own (often false) assumptions of these other religions and beliefs.

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Definitely agree here. I had a lot of very confused ideas about orthodox (small 'o') Christianity before I looked into it, and I grew up in a nominally Christian country.

And as someone who (now) venerates icons, kisses crosses, does prostrations, and so on, I do find it irritating to hear that these practices are idolatry, etc. Or to hear, in response to an explanation of why we do not consider them idolatrous, "I know idolatry when I see it." It is probably irritating for Buddhists to hear that they "worship nothing," or worship Buddha, or pray to elephants, or some such thing.

And, frankly, I would not really like to see an "icon-burning" or a "prayerbook-burning" by Christians who think that kissing an icon is worshipping it, or that praying a prayer from a prayerbook means you are worshipping the book, etc.

So, I do not think it is terrible for a book to exist that lays out what the teachings of a religion actually are.

There are various uses for the books that can be considered worthy, even from a Christian perspective. Giving them to Christian clergy is one. Donating them to a Buddhist organization, along with a book or two about Christian thought, might be another.

If you get into book-burning, it is hard to see where it will end.

When I left the Roman church I had a considerable number of volumes in my library. There were some I gave away to my pastor others I did throw away and others still I kept. The primary source stuff and others I kept. For example I have a pre Pious X Latin breviary and a copy of the Liber Usuralis that are next impossible to find. There are others but I kept these volumes for historical value and the fact that many are primary source materials that assist in discussions where these materials are helpful. Think of the good you can do because you are familiar with Buddhist sources. You might be able to be able to help someone who is considering buddhism.

Before I became a Christian I read The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. It wasn't particularly preachy. It was about becoming mindful, or living in the present, which is a very Christian idea in a way and relatively benign spriitually. The book offered practical advice and exercises on becoming mindful . On the other hand I've seen other buddhist books teaching about meditation, receiving mystical visions,etc, which is occult to us. . I'd recycle those books just like Id burn a Ouija board. Just my humble opinion, but I've dabbled in new age religion.

I'm certainly glad that the Early Christians didn't go around burning and wrecking everything influenced by Roman Paganism. So much history and art would have been lost.