Bibles in hotel rooms

[herro]

A few friends and I were trying to figure out why hotel rooms in North America usually have a copy of the Holy Bible in a drawer.
Do any of you know the reason behind that? Seems quite biased to me...
for those of you who have travelled overseas, do you tend to find religious texts in the hotel drawers also?

 

[Boss Hog]

just in case you get murdered.

 

[Bryce]

something to do your lines off.

 

[Ditto Much]

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgideon.html


Why is there a Bible in every hotel room? --barnes

SDSTAFF Songbird replies:

Many would suspect the Gideon Society has something to do with it.

The Gideons (www.gideons.org), formed in 1899 in Janesville, Wisconsin, are the oldest Christian business and professional men's association in the United States with 130,000 members located in more than 170 countries.
In the early days, most of the Gideons were traveling salesmen who wanted to be effecitve Christian witnesses while on the road. They decided to place a Bible at the reception desk in each hotel they frequented so patrons could borrow it. The Bible also served as a silent witness in these hotels after the Gideons had checked out. Today, the Gideons place more than 45,000,000 bibles annually in prisons, hospitals, military bases and, of course, hotel rooms.

But if you want to know who started the phenomenon of placing Bibles in hotel rooms, the credit goes to the International Bible Society (www.gospelcom.net/ibs/).

Founded in 1809 in New York, the International Bible Society is one of the leading publishers of ethnic scriptures, publishing Bibles in more than 350 languages (the 1810 Bengali translation is still in use in India). The IBS provided Bibles to Civil War soldiers, and, according to communications coordinator Stephanie Nelson, started putting Bibles in hotels in 1823 -- more than 75 years before the Gideons started their ministry.

There is no jealousy or competitive fervor between the groups. Each expresses admiration for the other's work.

You've got to admire both. They just want everyone to curl up with a Good Book.

--SDSTAFF Songbird

 

[PosTMOd]

In case you run out of rollies. The thin paper is not too bad.

 

[Hi i'm God]

Gideon's. Even in cruise ships!

 

[rubytuesday]

Because Jesus loves you, even when you're having dirty hotel sex.

 

[deveator]

The bibles at the Sleep EZzy motel are coin operated

 

[Flashy_McFlash]

In case you run out of rollies. The thin paper is not too bad.

I'd love to say that I'd never done this.

Yes indeedy, I'd love to say that.

 

[acheron]

talk about a holy roller!

 

[MoFo]

something to do your lines off.

Okay, that made me LOL..

 

[man_slut]

something to do your lines off.

They make decent rolling papers as well.

Edit: just noticed someone already stated this.

 

[diablo]

talk about a holy roller!

Haha

 

[kmac]

I'd love to say that I'd never done this.

Yes indeedy, I'd love to say that.

Whatever... there are a bunch of pages at the start that aren't really integral to the plot. Same with the end.

 

[DJAlchemy]

for rockey racoon, duh!

 

[justin surdit]

for rockey racoon, duh!

especially after Daniel was done with him.

 

[basketballjones]

dirty hotel sex.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm dirty hotel sex, the best kind

 

[saskboy]

in Banff and other places out west they also include ciopies of buddhist scriptures

 

[Teflon]

what the fuck is a gideon?

I'm going to catch me one. Call the front desk say I don't have a bible in my room and wait behind the door with the iron.

 

[rubytuesday]

Because Jesus is watching you have dirty hotel sex.

Better.

 

[todiefor]

actually:

in I stayed at a hotel with a friend in Tehran a few years back and there was a bedside copy of the Koran and a prayer mat in the closet so it's definitely not exclusive to Christians.

I've yet to find a copy of Sartre or Kierkegaard in a hotel room though

 

[ravinjunkie]

do you tend to find religious texts in the hotel drawers also?

yes

 

[PosTMOd]

Whatever... there are a bunch of pages at the start that aren't really integral to the plot. Same with the end.

Sure, but it's more fun to find the pages with funny stuff on it.

The only passage I remember smoking:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

And then the next fun step was to find as many "resurrections" as possible and use a black marker to blot out the first three letters.

 

[why not]

I've yet to find a copy of Sartre or Kierkegaard in a hotel room though

it would be fun to start adding secular bibles to hotel room drawers, alongside the bibles.

you know, just to give people the option.