Should we get rid of books by disgraced authors?

Christians have always loved books. When Paul was in prison facing the cold winter he asked Timothy to bring him a coat and ‘my scrolls, especially the parchments’ (2 Tim. 4:13).

Despite the prevalence of e-readers, many Christians have bookcases groaning under the weight of their collection. At Moorlands College we have a three-storey library with over 40,000 physical books along with a vast range of e-books and journals.

Difficult decisions

But there are some difficult decisions to make about some titles that we have acquired. Over these past few years some prolific authors have grievously fallen, their reputation damaged perhaps beyond repair. Among evangelicals there are significant names. Bill Hybels’ books on leadership, Mark Driscoll’s books on marriage and faith, and Ravi Zacharias’ extensive works on apologetics are all now tainted titles. Should we pull them? Publishers have dropped the titles and no longer print many of them, but where do they fit in our libraries?