u/Alternative_Use9689

Get rid of bible or keep it?

So I have this big "family bible" my dad gave me when I moved out the house almost 6 years ago.

I'm working on declutering and downsizing my place, and can't decide what to do with this Bible.

A little back story: My dad is still alive and literally less than a month after moving out ≈6 year ago, my parents split up. Since then, my dad and I haven't really talked because he just wants to talk about how he is 100% in the right and my mom is 100% in the wrong (they were both kind of in the wrong).

Additionally, several things have come up since the split such as:

through ancestry, I found out I have a half sister, which means my dad cheated on my mom at least once 3 years into the marriage(there is some evidence of more affairs), my dad has only dated seemingly financially vulnerable women since the divorce, him being in his early 60s and his girlfriends being in their mid-late 20s, and there have been things he has done as well that have/had made the divorce process harder for them both.

To add on to all of this, my dad is a pastor (licensed and has practiced in the past, going as far as to own his own church for a bit, but I don't think he has done anything recently).

I personally consider myself agnostic, but am open to the idea of Christianity and have read the Bible in its entirety several times, and the new testament even more so.

One part of me thinks, "this bible was intended for me, and I am open to reading it more", "If something were to happen to my dad, this would be one of the only things I have from him", "it is a detailed bible and it would be a shame to get rid of it"

The other part of me thinks, "the primary emotions I get from this Bible are negatively charged, as it is a Bible from my father, who I do not get along with nor has acted very christian-like, if I want to read the Bible again one day, there are online versions or other versions I can get that will serve the same purpose"

TL;DR:

Should I keep a "family bible" gifted to me by my dad even though my dad and I no longer talk, I am more of an agnostic, the actions of my dad have never been "christian-like", and I primarily feel negative emotions towards this bible in particular due to my dad's actions? OR should I keep it for the sake of it being a gift and me not opposed to the idea of reading the Bible again (third option: return the bible to my dad, but that would be kind of hard as he lives several states away and this bible is like 10-15 pounds)

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u/Alternative_Use9689 — 6 days ago