So me and mrs jjimm were in the cabin of a ferry to England, and the only reading material was a Gideon’s Bible. I started perusing it, and wanted to keep it, since we don’t have a bible at home. She was adamant that removing it from the cabin would be theft (I left it in the end). Since these bibles are donated anyway, what’s the score?
Also, how do they get there? Do individual Gideons go and stay in every room in a hotel, or do they turn up at the hotel with a pile of bibles and say “please put these in your rooms”?
I’ve got no idea how they get into the rooms, but as I understand it, the Gideons put bibles in rooms in the hope that bored people will start reading them, take them home, and become Christian.
Since they they say, “The demand for Scriptures in these areas far exceeds our supplies that we are able to purchase through our donations,” and they sell individual bibles if you want, they’d probably rather you didn’t take them.
But, if you want a bible enough to steal one, I doubt Gideons would get too mad about it.
I don’t know abuot their method of placing the bibles. Couldn’t find it on their website.
Don’t some places give away bibles for free? I’m thinking the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints has some project like that (the same people who run the glurgy “Family: isn’t it about… time?” commercials).
I was offered a free bible by a military chaplin. I accepted, being a polite little atheist, and got a pocket-sized New Testament. Feh. For me it’s Old or nuthin’.
In elementary school (yes, public, but who cares about church and state?), the Gideons used to show up periodically and give us little cheapo plastic-bound bibles. I figure, since they’re so happy to give the little buggers away, there’s no harm in taking them.
I am, in fact, the proud owner of a very nice bible, courtesy Super 8 motel. It wasn’t red hot or nailed down, so I figure it was intended to be stolen.
I’d say go ahead and take it. They need not know that you weren’t going to turn Christian. Probably does their little hearts good to think they’re bringing light to the heathen. Who are we to disabuse them?
Even though the Gideons may not mind you taking the book, it’s supposed to be there for the use of people staying in the room, so it’s technically stealing.
Still, it’s getting a copy of the Bible into more hands, and I’m sure the Gideons will replace it (there must be a lot of ripped-off hotel room bibles), so this is a cut above cheating on your ethics exam.
But is it stealing? If, as has been said, that the Gideons intend for them to be taken, then it’s not stealing. Sort of like putting something out by the curb for anyone to take.
But. What if they intend the Bibles to be taken only by specific people? Once I put a futon frame out by the curb after calling the Salvation Army to pick it up. I think I put a label on it saying that it was intended for the Salvation Army. A couple of guys came by in a truck and took it, and then later I got a call from the Salvation Army saying they were sending a truck over. The guys who took the futon frame stole it. Not that it mattered much to me, as I just wanted to get rid of it; but I intended it to go to charity so that they could sell it and help support their organization. In effect, these men were stealing from a charity.
So what about the Bibles? I think the Gideons intend for the Bibles to be available to whomever rents the room. If you take a Bible, then you deprive the next person. Also, the Gideons have to replace it at some point, which costs them money that could be used elsewhere. On the other hand, if a person needs a Bible (not just “wants”) then I think they would be happy to supply the need. They’re in the business of getting the Word out to those who need to hear it. So if you’re in need of spiritual guidance and you “hear the call” (or whatever Christians call it), then I think it’s okay to take the Bible. By taking it, you are receiving the help the Gideons intend.
But what about “Thou shalt not steal.”? If you take the book just because you can, or because you don’t feel like going out and buying your own (even though you can afford it), then I think that would be stealing. Of course, having stolen the Bible and gotten to the Commandments, you may feel remorse and repent by Spreading The Word or by making a nice donation to the Gideons.
So what it comes down to is this: How do you feel about taking the Bible? If you feel uncomfortable, then it’s probably “wrong”. If you are “moved” by it or feel a strong spiritual need for it, then it’s probably okay to take it (and you’ll make a donation later).
I’m not a Christian myself; I’m more of a “non-practicing solitary Pagan”. But I do know the difference between right and wrong. In the case of taking a Bible from a hotel room, whether it’s right or wrong depends on your motivations and how you feel about it.
I’d say if it wasn’t specificaly offered to you, with the understanding it was yours to keep, it’s stealing. Bibles are easy enough to obtain, you don’t need to take one that doesn’t belong to you.
Ah, but how about the thought that I never in my life would part with money to buy a bible. Would the Gideons be happier if there was The Word in my possession, or if there wasn’t?
If you stay at a Marriott-owned hotel (the founder is a Mormon), you will get both the Christian Bible AND (as a bonus) the Book of Mormon! Mark Twain called the work “chloroform in print”, and I can vouch for this (it is a tedious jumble of “forsooths” and “it came to pass”, etc.
Interestingly, the last time I was in a Marriott hotel, the previous occupant must have been a fundamentalist Christian-he had underlined many of the passages of the book of mormon, and entered his own commentay! He was quite convinced that it was the work of the Devil!
My advice-don’t go stealing bibles!
Check the inside front cover. There is a little paragraph about who the Gideons are and why they place Bibles. I don’t have one with me right now, so I can’t give an exact quote, but they invite you to take it home if you are interested. It isn’t stealing, that’s why it’s there.
I don’t like religious propaganda. In my opinion, it’s toxic, harmful crap that is responsible for a lot of harm and damage in the world and a lot of mental abuse. I feel a moral obligatin to dispose of it in the nearest suitable receptacle e.g. a bin or a dumpster where it belongs and can’t harm anyone.
I don’t like the gideons placing their propaganda and religion virus paraphernalia in a hotel room I’ve paid for without asking me if that’s okay with me (which it isn’t).
So I always remove the bible and stick it where it belongs.
Do the gideons like this or not? I don’t care what they like or dislike. They don’t care whether I want their crap in my hotel room, so I don’t care what they think about my removing it.
They are trying to achieve one goal by sticking their superstitious religious claptrap in hotel rooms. I am entitled to fight back by trying to eliminate it and dispose of it safely.
I have a contract with the hotel, so I wouldn’t steal from the hotel or trash their property. I don’t have a contract with the gideons, and if they don’t want me sticking their outmoded religion-virus crap in the trash, then they should either not leave it lying around or ask for my permission first.
