THE SOUL YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN
BURN
BAD
BOOKS
WHY BURN BAD BOOKS?
Poison is bad for you, and shouldn't be left lying around.
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, insists that nothing compares to the value of your eternal soul (Mk 8:36), so it's better to destroy something of only relative value—like a book—if it leads one to sin (Mt 5:29).
That's why...
SAINTS BURN BAD BOOKS
"And God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles. ... And this became known to all the Jews and the Gentiles that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many of them that believed, came confessing and declaring their deeds. And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all; and counting the price of them, they found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God, and was confirmed."
– Acts 19:11, 17–20
"A single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery.... Should a work of this description ever fall into your hands, cast it at once into the fire, that it never more may be seen.”
– St. Alphonsus Liguori
COUNCILS BURN BAD BOOKS
"Some printers have the boldness to print and sell to the public, in different parts of the world, books containing errors opposed to the Faith, as well as pernicious views contrary to the Christian religion.... As it is Our desire to provide a suitable remedy for this danger.... the printed books should be seized and publicly burnt." – Council of Lateran V
"The number of suspected and pernicious books, wherein an impure doctrine is contained and disseminated far and wide, has in these days increased beyond measure. ... This Council commands and enjoins, for the doing away with this kind of irreverence and contempt... that all profaners and violators of the word of God, be restrained by the bishops by the penalties of law, and others of their own appointment." – Council of Trent
"When and wherever heresies sprung up, the popes of Rome and the ecumenical councils, as well as the particular synods of Africa, Asia, and Europe, condemned, conjointly with the false doctrines, the books and writings containing them. The latter were ordered to be destroyed by fire.... Popes as well as councils, bishops no less than synods, considered it then, as always, their most sacred duty to safeguard the purity of faith and to protect the souls of the faithful by condemning and forbidding any dangerous book." – Catholic Encyclopedia: Censorship of Books
What are you waiting for?
GET SOME MATCHES
POPES BURN BAD BOOKS
"We cannot neglect our duty in the face of evil books.... It is necessary to fight bitterly, as the situation requires, and to eradicate with all our strength the deadly destruction caused by such books. The substance of the error will never be removed unless the criminal elements of wickedness burn in the fire and perish."
– Pope Clement XIII
"The Church has always taken action to destroy the plague of bad books. This was true even in apostolic times, for we read that the Apostles themselves burned a large number of books.... If it is necessary to avoid the company of evildoers because their words encourage impiety and their speech acts like a cancer, what desolation the plague of their books can cause!"
– Pope Gregory XVI
"For the good of religion and the salvation of souls.... strive to remove this deadly pestilence of books and magazines from the faithful."
– Pope Pius IX
READ GOOD BOOKS
Weapon of righteousness
Tool for evangelization
Declaration of faith
Collectible
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