Who are the Gideons?

cousin_borat

Are they just secret Ninja's who place Bibles in your hotel room drawer? Housekeeper, room service, etc etc but I've never laid eyes on any Gideons. Who are these people?

Puck

One of my friends is a Gideon. They're an organisation of men (I think it's only men but I could be wrong) who distribute Bibles for free. My friend will go around to B&Bs and hotels, etc. and ask the owner/manager if they'd like some Bibles. If they don't want any he'll go somewhere else.

PDN

http://www.gideons.org/

Run_to_da_hills

Who remembers this one from the Double White album of the Beatles!

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival

Medina

interesting question....

how do you guys feel about their being a Bible in your hotel room?

And similarly how would you feel if you found a Quran in your hotel room?

PDN

Medina wrote:

interesting question....

how do you guys feel about their being a Bible in your hotel room?

And similarly how would you feel if you found a Quran in your hotel room?

If I stay in a Marriott hotel I find a Book of Mormon in my room. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, nor would a Quran.

Asiaprod

Medina wrote:

interesting question....

how do you guys feel about their being a Bible in your hotel room?

And similarly how would you feel if you found a Quran in your hotel room?

As with PDN, I have stayed in a Marriott hotel with a Book of Mormon in my room. I found it a fascinating read. I have stayed in many other hotels with an assortment of Bibles, again no problem. I have never seen a Quran in a hotel, but would read one if it was there. Why are there no Qurans in hotels? Is it prohibited under Islamic law, is it possibly in case one were to be mistreated or defiled?

Medina

To be honest im not sure....

I don't know of any reason why it should not be in the hotel because as long as there is English in it then the rules are not the same as a pure Arabic Quran.

BrianCalgary

Actually enjoyed having a Book of Mormon in my Hotel room. It gave me an interesting read for the few nights I was there.

robindch

Asiaprod wrote:

I have never seen a Quran in a hotel, but would read one if it was there. Why are there no Qurans in hotels?

You mustn't go to the right hotels most of the hotels I've stayed at in the Middle East have quran's squirrilled away somewhere or other, though as they're printed in Arabic, they may be difficult to read. Most hotel rooms in prominently muslim countries will also also have an arrow, sometimes luminous, on the ceiling pointing to Mecca, and you'll notice that this is never in line with the toilet outlet.

The hotel I'm currently shacked up in Jakarta in caters for both religions and has a Gideons bible, and somebody else's quran in the desk drawer. While the hotel itself is missing floors four and thirteen. Thirteen for the usual western reasons, and four because the chinese word for 'four' sounds like the word for 'death'.

Bizarre.

Schuhart

Medina wrote:

I don't know of any reason why it should not be in the hotel because as long as there is English in it then the rules are not the same as a pure Arabic Quran.

Indeed, given the handling rules for an Arabic Quran, I take it you are really only talking about the possibility of a translation being distributed. Google, as always, is our friend. Search for the phrase ‘Quran in hotel rooms’ finds an article by a Malaysia Muslim who found that even distributing translations seemed to raise sensitivities.

Even if the same rules don’t apply, there still seems a potential disquiet at the prospect of a guest cheerfully browsing his free translation while sitting on the throne.

Could there also be a problem arising not wanting to promote a translation, as this is not truly a ‘Quran’?

On the main point, I’ve generally related to the Bible in the hotel drawer in much the same way as the mint on your pillow. Its part of the scene, but if I wanted a sweet I’d have brought one with me. Much the same for reading material.

robinch wrote:

most of the hotels I've stayed at in the Middle East have quran's squirrilled away somewhere or other, though as they're printed in Arabic, they may be difficult to read.

Just noticed this. Was it a genuine article, as there seem to be pretty clear rules about them being handled?

robindch

> Was it a genuine article,

Er, do you mean was I joking up above? No, I'm not.

Spyral

are they prot bibles or catholic bibles ?

Run_to_da_hills

Spyral wrote:

are they prot bibles or catholic bibles ?

Check the 10 commanments, If the 2nd commandment on graven images is removed its the Catholic Bible!

PDN

Spyral wrote:

are they prot bibles or catholic bibles ?

King James Version or New King James Version. So, yes, you could say they're 'Protestant' Bibles.