No Bible in the room

[Fox Mike]

Today my wife and I checked into a Holiday Inn Express for a one night stay. I was looking for the TV channel listing and after opening every drawer I realized that there was also no Bible anywhere either. Seems that they have been removed because they were offensive to Buddhist and Muslims. So, knowing that, if you travel and want to read a Bible, bring your own.

 

[caryc]

Would you have felt better if there was a Bible and a Quran?

 

[eveled]

Makes me wonder how long “In God we trust”. Will be on our money.

 

[gunzo]

"Seems that they have been removed"

Speculation or solid info????

Info I need to further judge Holiday Inn.

 

[Bob Wright]

As to having a Bible in a motel room, I do take my own, and there's a story behind that.

Around 1991 or so, I bought a Bible void of any references, notes, or comments. I bought it solely for the purpose of reading through the Bible front to back, as I had never done that before, and I didn't want any distracting notes. Well, I did that and put it aside.

Then one day I had to go out of town on a business trip. Since the Bible wasn't an expensive one, I took it along. That night in my motel room, I recorded where I was and the date. From then on, whenever I, or we, traveled, I packed this Bible and recorded where we were and the date each night. I was to fill up all the front papers and back end papers with places and dates. That Bible is now retired, as I am, and I can count thirty six states that Bible have recorded.

In addition to that Bible, I have a Gideon New Testament given to me May 11, 1949. So that just passed its seventieth birthday with me. Also have the New Testament given to me upon landing at Inchon, Korea in 1958.

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

I tend to take some prophecy with a grain of salt, especially from many theologians who seem to have little grasp on Scripture except as regarding their speculation. But one such scholar I heard several years ago made the statement that "....when the Church is removed from the world, the United States will no longer exist as a great nation."

Not really Bible prophecy, but sure seems true. And, as our former President so readily announced, "America is no longer a Christian nation."

Bob Wright

 

[Snake45]

Did you ask at the desk if one were available? I'll bet they would have been able to provide you with one if you'd asked.

 

[Snake45]

...upon landing at Inchon, Korea in 1958.

Bob Wright

I'm guessing that Inchon wasn't particularly a hotbed of action in 1958? :?

 

[blackhawknj]

A woman in my church reads from her on-line one even when she is the liturgist. I have a small one from 1945 presented to a relative for her confirmation with a note it was the same edition given to so many servicemen.
Seems to me it wouldn't take up that much space in luggage.

 

[Bob Wright]

...upon landing at Inchon, Korea in 1958.

Bob Wright

I'm guessing that Inchon wasn't particularly a hotbed of action in 1958? :?

No, I arrived long after the Cease Fire had been in effect. Our mission there was to patrol the DeMilitarized Zone (the DMZ) and be the first line of resistance should that cease fire be violated.

But Inchon Harbor was very shallow, and we did climb down the cargo nets into the LCM that landed us ashore.

Bob Wright

 

[Fox Mike]

Would you have felt better if there was a Bible and a Quran?

That wouldn't have been a problem for me. Any Muslim that rented the room could have read the Quran just as I would have read the Bible. Just, I guess, if an atheist had rented the room he/she need not read either.

 

[Fox Mike]

"Seems that they have been removed"

Speculation or solid info????

Info I need to further judge Holiday Inn.

Solid info. Google is your friend.

 

[Skoopski]

Holiday Inn's parent company leaves it up to the individual owner of that franchise to determine whether or not they want to put Bibles in the hotel rooms.

 

[Dave P.]

Not to drift the thread much but when did putting a bible in
hotel rooms become popular? Anybody know where
or how it was started?
I know....I could google it......
Dave

 

[Cholo]

But one such scholar I heard several years ago made the statement that "....when the Church is removed from the world, the United States will no longer exist as a great nation."

Those are my beliefs as well. I'll take it a step further and say that when God is removed from the United States of America, the inevitable end will soon come.

Sometimes a Meme can say it in fewer words than I can:

 

[WAYNO]

Bibles being removed from motel rooms...

https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hotel-bibles-20161204-story.html

Not to drift the thread much but when did putting a bible in
hotel rooms become popular? Anybody know where
or how it was started?
I know....I could google it......
Dave

Gideons International...

Gideons International is an evangelical Christian association founded in 1899 in Wisconsin. ... The Gideons began distributing free Bibles, the endeavor for which it is chiefly known, in 1908, when the first Bibles were placed in the rooms of the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana.

 

[Number9]

...Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's Bible...

 

[Colonialgirl]

But one such scholar I heard several years ago made the statement that "....when the Church is removed from the world, the United States will no longer exist as a great nation."

Those are my beliefs as well. I'll take it a step further and say that when God is removed from the United States of America, the inevitable end will soon come.

Sometimes a Meme can say it in fewer words than I can:

LOOK at Abortion up to and including the moment of birth.

 

[ronto]

A private company does not have to provide you with religious material. If you want to read the Bible on your trip, bring your own.

 

[graygun]

No bible in the heart and mind is what's more to be considered.

 

[caryc]

A private company does not have to provide you with religious material. If you want to read the Bible on your trip, bring your own.

I think the whole point of the OP was that things are not as he is used to seeing them. The point being that the Gideon Society placing bibles in hotel/ motel rooms is no longer the norm. No one here is demanding that Bibles be placed in the rooms.

 

[loaded round]

Bob, no old testament to complete your Bible?

As to having a Bible in a motel room, I do take my own, and there's a story behind that.

Around 1991 or so, I bought a Bible void of any references, notes, or comments. I bought it solely for the purpose of reading through the Bible front to back, as I had never done that before, and I didn't want any distracting notes. Well, I did that and put it aside.

Then one day I had to go out of town on a business trip. Since the Bible wasn't an expensive one, I took it along. That night in my motel room, I recorded where I was and the date. From then on, whenever I, or we, traveled, I packed this Bible and recorded where we were and the date each night. I was to fill up all the front papers and back end papers with places and dates. That Bible is now retired, as I am, and I can count thirty six states that Bible have recorded.

In addition to that Bible, I have a Gideon New Testament given to me May 11, 1949. So that just passed its seventieth birthday with me. Also have the New Testament given to me upon landing at Inchon, Korea in 1958.

Bob Wright

 

[WAYNO]

A private company does not have to provide you with religious material. If you want to read the Bible on your trip, bring your own.

I guess I see this from a different point of view. In the old days, The Gideons could provide a Bible. And the motel could allow it to be placed in a drawer in the motel room. Neither had to do so. And the way things are going, neither will be allowed to.

Now, my Rights and desires are trumped by others Rights and desires.

My Wife worked in a classroom for many years. The trend was, cultural diversity was required to be taught. So all the beliefs, holidays, and traditions of other cultures were taught to the children, and even celebrated, but nothing Christian was allowed to be touched in any way.

Diversity sensitivity is now a one way street. I must be sensitive, and I am, but it is not politically correct to expect the same sensitivity from other cultures.

 

[32magfan]

I have been blessed to serve in the ministry of Gideons International for the last ten years. I speak at area churches to let them know about the people we are reaching with God’s Word here in the U.S. and in over 200 countries, territories and holdings around the world. Where it is allowed, we distribute to schools and universities, medical offices and hospitals, police, fire departments and the Armed Forces. I have also done a distribution at a County Fair in Tennessee. Gideons have placed or distributed over 2 Billion Bibles and New Testaments since 1908.

As it was stated before, some hotel chains place the decision about allowing Bibles to be placed in the owner’s hands. Like most businesses, they listen to their customers. If you like having a Bible in your room, tell them you appreciate it being there or would like to see one in your room if it is not there.

I have a New Testament with a forward page by FDR that was printed in 1941 by the U.S. Printing Office. My how times have changed...

Have a Blessed Day,

32Magfan (Todd)

Disclaimer: I am not an official spokesperson for Gideons International, here on this Forum or in the media. I am willing to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

 

[caryc]

A private company does not have to provide you with religious material. If you want to read the Bible on your trip, bring your own.

I guess I see this from a different point of view. In the old days, The Gideons could provide a Bible. And the motel could allow it to be placed in a drawer in the motel room. Neither had to do so. And the way things are going, neither will be allowed to.

Now, my Rights and desires are trumped by others Rights and desires.

My Wife worked in a classroom for many years. The trend was, cultural diversity was required to be taught. So all the beliefs, holidays, and traditions of other cultures were taught to the children, and even celebrated, but nothing Christian was allowed to be touched in any way.

Diversity sensitivity is now a one way street. I must be sensitive, and I am, but it is not politically correct to expect the same sensitivity from other cultures.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there.

 

[Bob Wright]

Bob, no old testament to complete your Bible?

Are you asking if I read/have the Old Testament? Yes, if you re-read my post I did say I "bought a Bible." When I refer to the Bible, I mean both Old and New Testaments. I've mentioned here before that I give an award to children at my church who can recite from memory all sixty six books of the Bible, this the King James Version. I do have other Bibles, a Schofield Reference Bible and a Hammond Study Bible.

I keep two good reference Bibles on hand as there have been times I've been called upon to teach the Sunday School lesson in my class and I try to write and prepare a lesson in advance just for such cases. Unlike the Southern Baptist Churches, we do not have a standard curriculum of lesson books, so each teacher either writes his own, or uses a series from outside sources.


Bob Wright

 

[CGDustDevil]

I have been blessed to serve in the ministry of Gideons International for the last ten years. I speak at area churches to let them know about the people we are reaching with God’s Word here in the U.S. and in over 200 countries, territories and holdings around the world. Where it is allowed, we distribute to schools and universities, medical offices and hospitals, police, fire departments and the Armed Forces. I have also done a distribution at a County Fair in Tennessee. Gideons have placed or distributed over 2 Billion Bibles and New Testaments since 1908.

As it was stated before, some hotel chains place the decision about allowing Bibles to be placed in the owner’s hands. Like most businesses, they listen to their customers. If you like having a Bible in your room, tell them you appreciate it being there or would like to see one in your room if it is not there.

I have a New Testament with a forward page by FDR that was printed in 1941 by the U.S. Printing Office. My how times have changed...

Have a Blessed Day,

32Magfan (Todd)

Disclaimer: I am not an official spokesperson for Gideons International, here on this Forum or in the media. I am willing to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

Todd,

Thank you for what you do!

As I recall from my youth, there used to be a modest ceremony when a hotel was first built and opened. A representative of the Gideons would evidently be in attendance, and would bestow upon the owner or qualified representative a Bible. There would then be, as part of the ceremony, a distribution of Bibles sufficient for each room and some extras besides. I recall this from my years on Mount Desert Island as a child up in Maine. We had relatives on the Island, and I seem to recall hearing some talk about one of our relatives having to '... wait for the Gideons to arrive ...' in order to dedicate a new establishment so they could go to work. Seems to me the Gideon folks were coming from down in Portland.

Do you know anything about that custom, and do you know if it's still practiced today? I haven't been in a motel/hotel for some years now since retiring, but I'm pretty sure most hotels I visited before retirement did indeed have Gideon Bibles in the room.

Thank you!
Regards, Pete

 

[32magfan]

CGDustdevil,

I am not familiar with the hotel opening custom you remembered but I am sure if the Gideons camp in an area was aware of a new location where Bibles could be placed they would be eager to accommodate them. The wives of the Gideons, officially known as the “Auxiliary”, place Testaments in medical and Doctor’s offices. Whenever a new office was built or a new Doctor came to town, they would visit and leave a Bible in the waiting room plus hand out Testaments to the staff who wanted one. My mother has one of these she received in 1994 at the Kentucky Veteran’s Center where she worked at the time.

The Gideons try to replace hotel / motel Bibles every 7 years. Some people take them and keep them at the end of their stay. That is why we leave extras for the staff to replace any that come up missing. The used Bibles in Tennessee go to one of the camps near Pikeville and go to the State Penitentiary to be given to the inmates for their use (hopefully).

Another interesting note: The International Headquarters for the Gideons is in Nashville, TN not too far away from the Grand Ole Opry.

Thanks,

32Magfan

 

[Snake45]

But one such scholar I heard several years ago made the statement that "....when the Church is removed from the world, the United States will no longer exist as a great nation."

Those are my beliefs as well. I'll take it a step further and say that when God is removed from the United States of America, the inevitable end will soon come.

Sometimes a Meme can say it in fewer words than I can:

I thought the last word of that one was going to be "MANDATORY." :evil:

 

[Fox Mike]

I have been blessed to serve in the ministry of Gideons International for the last ten years. I speak at area churches to let them know about the people we are reaching with God’s Word here in the U.S. and in over 200 countries, territories and holdings around the world. Where it is allowed, we distribute to schools and universities, medical offices and hospitals, police, fire departments and the Armed Forces. I have also done a distribution at a County Fair in Tennessee. Gideons have placed or distributed over 2 Billion Bibles and New Testaments since 1908.

As it was stated before, some hotel chains place the decision about allowing Bibles to be placed in the owner’s hands. Like most businesses, they listen to their customers. If you like having a Bible in your room, tell them you appreciate it being there or would like to see one in your room if it is not there.

I have a New Testament with a forward page by FDR that was printed in 1941 by the U.S. Printing Office. My how times have changed...

Have a Blessed Day,

32Magfan (Todd)

Disclaimer: I am not an official spokesperson for Gideons International, here on this Forum or in the media. I am willing to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

I too thank you for what you do. What I was pointing out in my opening post was a simple thing. Many hotel/motel chains no longer have a Bible in the room so if you wish one then bring your own.