• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

"Evolution is only a theory" stickers...

If the Gideons cared about their Bibles, would they abandon them in other people's property?
 
TragicMonkey said:
If the Gideons cared about their Bibles, would they abandon them in other people's property?
Click to expand...

Those Bibles don't constitute abandoned property. They are made available by the Gideons through arrangements with the hotel owners, who request them, and the society periodically consults with the hotels to replace worn, missing or stolen Bibles. My further research indicates, incidentally, that the Gideons do not, in fact, encourage people to take the Bibles.
 
ceo_esq said:
Those Bibles don't constitute abandoned property. They are made available by the Gideons through arrangements with the hotel owners, who request them, and the society periodically consults with the hotels to replace worn, missing or stolen Bibles. My further research indicates, incidentally, that the Gideons do not, in fact, encourage people to take the Bibles.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I'm somewhat surprised they don't encourage people to take them. Surely someone motivated enough by browsing in a hotel room to actually take it with him is a surer chance for a conversion than relying on people getting exposure merely while in the room? Okay, that was an iffy sentence. But you know what I mean. If your purpose was conversion, the guy who actually takes the book away with him is a better bet than what you'd get from having the book in there for the next hundred disinterested hotel customers.
 
ceo_esq said:
Those Bibles don't constitute abandoned property. They are made available by the Gideons through arrangements with the hotel owners, who request them, and the society periodically consults with the hotels to replace worn, missing or stolen Bibles. My further research indicates, incidentally, that the Gideons do not, in fact, encourage people to take the Bibles.
Click to expand...

I thought the frontispiece said you could take it. Hmm, maybe not. I'll have to look at the one I had a friend swipe for me a few years ago when I wanted a copy of the KJV.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Hmm. I'm somewhat surprised they don't encourage people to take them.
Click to expand...

It's due to the resulting expense, perhaps?


TragicMonkey said:
If your purpose was conversion, the guy who actually takes the book away with him is a better bet than what you'd get from having the book in there for the next hundred disinterested hotel customers.
Click to expand...

I don't know that conversions are necessarily a major thrust of the effort; hotel guests in the United States are overwhelmingly Christian. I think they just want to provide some spiritual solace for travelers on the road. Have you ever noticed that the Gideon Bible has an introduction that proposes specific readings to provide comfort for various forms of trouble or need (loneliness, fear, etc.)?
 
Hutch said:
Quinn said:
Also, I'd be hard pressed to think of anyplace where hotel bibles are less read than Vegas.
Click to expand...
True, but you'd be surprised at the amount of prayer I hear at the Blackjack table ("c'mon God, gimme a 10 on that double down...) ;) :D
Click to expand...

I also didn't consider the number of people who suddenly turn to religion after gambling away their house, car, and children's college fund. So upon further thought, I retract my statement.

Maybe the sticker should read: "WARNING: If you've just gambled away your house, car, and children's college fund, the help you need IS NOT contained within this collection of loosely-related short fiction."
 
A friend sent me this in an email a long time ago. I'd love to have it printed on stickers and stuck in every Bible I could get my hands on:

[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times]They recently discovered a smaller scroll hidden in the cylinder of the first scroll of the ancient Biblical scriptures, believed to be the actual "first page" of the Bible. When deciphered, it read:
"Copyright (c) 300 B.C. God. All Rights Reserved First scrawling First-Sunrise-After-Stonehenge-Keystone-Is-Shadowed, 300 B.C.
All beings, places and events depicted in this work are fictional, and any resemblance to actual beings, places and events past, present or future is purely coincidental.
WARNING: Some of the actions performed in this work are dangerous and should only be attempted by professionals familiar with the action in question.
NOTE: Those tiny points of light in the sky when it gets dark are called 'stars'. Some of them do blow up on occasion. In no way should this be construed as a sign that there is, beneath such an explosion, any form of savior responsible for the avalanche of arrogance, zeal, bigotry, humanocentricity and other vile acts which will surely follow the residents of the planet into time eternal until someone sees fit to erase the denizens of the world and let the author start over.
DSBN 0-000000-0000-1
Suggested retail: 1 sheep."[/FONT]
Click to expand...
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times]
[/FONT]
 
Quinn said:
Ah, good call! Germ theory and color theory were my favorites to bring up, for that very reason. ("Do we also need stickers claiming that no one really knows for sure whether yellow and blue make green?") A third one will round them out nicely.
Click to expand...

Add graph theory and you have a good set.

I mean, graphs don't really exist, they are just a theory...
 
Ever heard of Knot Theory?

I want stickers on Boy Scout manuals, just so they don't go thinking that knots are a fact. We must protect our children from being brainwashed by by knotists!

Knotism is a religion, y'know.
 
ceo_esq said:
I doubt it's a good idea to place stickers on anything in a hotel room, or for that matter, on any book except for copies in one's personal library.
Click to expand...
Why not?

If they shove their beliefs in my face, I have a right to shove mine in theirs.
 
Do we also need stickers claiming that no one really knows for sure whether yellow and blue make green?
Click to expand...

But your theory is wrong!
Yellow (#FFFF00) plus Blue (#0000FF) make WHITE (#FFFFFF).
 
hurdygurdy said:
Perfect! It also works for the Coran!

Er... My first post here, cheers from a grateful lurker from Spain
Click to expand...
Welcome to the boards, and I feel honoured that your first post is on my thread. :)

Well, it was my thread... it appears to have been hijacked by dog gawn varmints... ;)
 
Rufo said:
All Bibles used as sources for history/science research should have such a sticker... not that I'd know why people would like to use a Bible for science research... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

They work well if one leg of your desk is about two inches shorter than the others...
 
CFLarsen said:
Why not?

If they shove their beliefs in my face, I have a right to shove mine in theirs.
Click to expand...

It's not exactly "in your face"; it's in the book in the nightstand drawer. But anyhow, I already explained the reasons why you probably are not entitled to do this.

You know, the hotels want to make these Bibles available to guests, as well. It's a collaborative effort with the Gideons, even if most of the initiative comes from the Gideons' side. (Hotels even specifically request Bibles with covers in a color that goes well with the room decor - supposedly many in Las Vegas opt for the gold edition.) I'm sure you're welcome to ask the hotel if you can make your own written material available for guests as well, but that seems to me to be the extent of your entitlement in this situation.
 
Something tells me that a Gold Vegas Bible would be a neat souvenir, especially if you get Wayne Newton or Penn & Teller to sign it with the aforementioned warning labels. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom