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"The Word is sacred. The book that contains the Word is important, but it is not, in and of itself, sacred. It is just a vessel. To deliberately destroy a Bible in the manner described is certainly sinful, and as such will be frowned upon by God. Those who would do such a thing are as dead to Him, unless and until they seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ. They are showing themselves to be idolators, who have no understanding and thus are mistaken in assuming that a Bible, a collection of pieces of paper, is something that can actually BE desecrated. It's an act of futility, done by those who worship idols and therefore have no conceptual framework other than idolatry to guide them."

That would be a good summary of the views of SOME evangelical Protestants. It is not one that would be held by all of them. And it is certainly a view that would be rejected by confessional Protestants as also the worlds 1.1 billion Catholics and the 250+ million or so Orthodox Christians. The concept of places and objects being holy or sacred is so biblical that I would be here all night typing if I tried to enumerate all of them. A causal glance at the Old Testament should produce more than enough quotes. But I would refer to the burning bush and Moses bare feet again. Was he committing idolatry? Was the ground God? So while I respect your opinion, I must also vigorously disagree with you.

"But I would refer to the burning bush and Moses bare feet again. Was he committing idolatry? Was the ground God?"

Moses was in the presence of God, manifest through the burning bush. If Moses or anyone else were to have returned to that spot, after the fact, and had begun to worship the bush itself, that would be idolatry.

On the other hand, merely citing the vast numbers of people who hold to what so many of us on this side believe is a false belief does nothing but solidify our resolve to hold our position.

It's still just paper. God's Word is eternal ~ you can, as it were "hold it in your heart".

Try doing that with a book ~ ain't gonna' fit.

jecIIny - Remember that God looks at the heart of a person and their innermost motives.

If I found an old Bible and many pages were missing or torn and it was beyond repair, then it would be OK to dispose of it.

If I, in an act of aggression towards Christianity, tore up a Bible and disposed of it in the parking lot of the local Baptist Church, then my that is different matter all together.

My futile act would be viewed by God and I will answer for actions.