Posted on 09/02/2016 4:22:39 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Good Book has been banished from rooms at a hotel operated by Arizona State University.
The religious cleansing of the Thunderbird Executive Inn took place after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained. It was a story first reported by Billy Hallowell of Deseret News.
“Providing Bibles to Inn guests sends the message that ASU endorses the religious texts,” attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote to the university.
The FFRF is a group of perpetually offended atheists and agnostic whack-a-doodles from Wisconsin. They are very unpleasant and very litigious people.
“State-run colleges have a constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion,” Ziegler wrote. “When a government entity like ASU distributes such material to visitors, it has unconstitutionally entangled itself with a religious message, in this case a Christian message.”
So here’s the back story:
The Thunderbird School of Global Management runs the Thunderbird Executive Inn – and like most hotels across the fruited plain there’s a Gideon Bible on the nightstand inside every hotel room.
According to the FFRF a hotel employee saw one of the Bibles in a room and became offended. They said the presence of the Bible in the room amounts to proselytizing.
“The Gideon Bible and the Gideon’s efforts to proselytize have frequently brought conflict with non-religious persons and persons from minority faiths,” the attorney wrote.
Perhaps someone should inform the FFRF that merely glancing at the Bible does not cause a person to spontaneously convert.
“It sends the message to non-Christian and non-religious guests that the university expects they should read the Bible, and specifically the version of the Bible provided; the Gideon Bible,” the attorney declared.
Sweet Lord Almighty, folks.
Using that lady attorney’s logic, we would be expected to use conditioner on our hair because the hotel provides a bottle in the bathroom.
Flawed logic aside, the university’s hotel complied with the FFRF’s edict to remove the Good Book.
The Bibles are now safely out of public view -- behind the front counter. The books were not burned nor were they tossed in the garbage.
So to all of you Bible-hating folks at the Freedom From Religion Foundation - y'all sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.
Well, maybe just a few.
No problem. Most rooms have a night stand or table. Put all the small amount of books on the table or night stand. And put the bible in the night stand drawer and mark it bible inside. Atheists, that drawer is not to be touched by you.
Then the only thing seen by anyone that offends is the atheist.
Or, remove the bible from certain rooms. People pay for different types of rooms like those with views or close to the pool or beach, or a kitchenette. Or even special services like laundry or dry cleaning. Make them pay for those where the bible was removed. Then their wishes will be full filled and they can be assured they won’t be offended by a book that they are paying to be removed. They got the service they requested.
red
I checked into a hotel and found a Gideon Bible in the night stand. I had to extend my stay by a week because I was forced to read the whole thing.
I was just getting ready to leave when my eye fell upon the telephone directory.
I may never get out of here.
Right. They are not neutral to religion. They are hostile to it. At least toward one religion in particular. How would they react if it were a Koran in the room?
Hahaha...funny
Free Speech/Defenders of the First Amendment like to say the remedy for “bad” speech is not to suppress it but to engage in “good” speech (presumably to counter the bad speech with their better ideas).
This argument postulates a competition in the marketplace of ideas. Although, to be honest, a frequent strategy is to simply drown out the offending argument by the sheer volume of the protestations against it.
The demand to remove the Gideon Bibles more than suppression of free speech. It seeks to destroy the market place for the competition of ideas. In fact, by prohibiting religious ideas/concepts in public forums, the impression is created that they are somehow unfit for the public to hear or read. By this action, the anti-religious perspective is silently endorsed as policy. It is de facto enforcement of atheism under the guise of not offending any group’s sensibilities or sensitivities.
The facility merely is making access to the speech available. It is not endorsing the speech nor is it compelling any guest (or, in this case, the worker) to read it. It does not expend any funds to purchase or maintain the books. Its “endorsement” is on par with its endorsement of the tourist attractions whose pamphlets are on display in the facility lobby or posted in the hotel room.
If tourist attraction “X” has objections to tourist attraction “Y,” does it follow that X has the constitutional right to demand removal of Y’s promotional literature from the facility?
No. The proper counter to the placement of the bibles is placing of tracts concerning other religions or atheist literature at the same locations with no expense to the facility.
Therefore, let no favoritism be shown to the offended party through a court ruling. Instead, let them raise the necessary funds, print the materials, create the necessary volunteer organization(s), and then place their literature in every place where they wish their message to be available. In other words let the marketplace decide.
And let them sustain the effort voluntarily, just as the Gideons have since 1908.
Or, alternatively, let the precious little snowflakes do what every other consumer in the marketplace has long since learned to do: ignore those things that have no appeal to them or are of no interest.
Here’s the power of that Bible sitting in a hotel room (true story):
In a small Indiana town, a small group of local Gideons met on a Saturday morning to share breakfast and pray, prior to visiting local motels and distributing Bibles in them. The Gideon in charge of the distribution went to a local motel, where he knew there weren’t any Bibles in their rooms. The owner, a lady, was there, and she turned down his request to put a Bible in each room. He thanked her and left.
The next Saturday, he was driving into town, saw the motel, and stopped by to see if the owner had reconsidered. Again, she said no. He thanked her and left.
The following Saturday the Gideon was home doing chores. He heard God telling him to go to town. Repeatedly. And with no further instructions than “Go to town,” he stopped doing his chores and drove into town. Doing so, he came upon the motel, and knew that is why he was there. So he presented himself to the owner, once again. And she replied, “You’re pretty persistent, aren’t you? Tell you what: I have 33 rooms here. If you can put a Bible in each one of them, right now, then OK.” He went to the trunk of his car, and found he had exactly 33 Bibles, which he placed in her motel rooms. That was Saturday morning.
Sunday evening a lady checked into the motel, with the help of the desk clerk.
Monday morning the lady approached the desk clerk, carrying something in each hand. She put her pistol on the counter (and had the desk clerk’s full attention). In her other hand she had the newly placed Gideon Bible from the motel room. She told the desk clerk, “You can have the pistol. I’m keeping the Bible. I came here last night to kill myself. But I was drawn to the nightstand in the room, where I found this Bible. I spent the entire night reading this Bible, and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I don’t need the pistol anymore.”
Turns out the lady with the pistol was the sister of the owner of the motel.
God’s Word never returns void.
Monday morning,
Can they prove there is not a God? No?
Perhaps they should then stop acting like fanatics that believe only they know the truth.
It’s simple logic but that doesn’t matter in this modern age.
I try to quell that righteous anger, and replace it with prayer. I’m not always successful in my quelling. God wants us to witness and share, not crush. God bless you and your family.
What I’m pointing out is it’s perfectly fine (AND constitutional) for the hotel to proselytize. If guests don’t like, don’t stay there.
I salute your heritage and your knowledge of the same. Witnessing to the lost and liberals (often one and the same) is a very satisfying endeavor. God bless you and your family. We live in Northern Maine. New England is one huge witness field, where the lost and liberals abound. Our field of fire is significant.
“New England is one huge witness field——”
What on earth does that mean?
.
Well, they are perfectly welcome to pay for copies of Origin of the Species with their own freaking money, and attempt to get them placed in hotels. Good luck with that.
Better to live your life as if there is a God, and there may not be - than to live your life as if there isn’t a God and there surely is.
At my local church, we place bibles in some of the seats and our pastor almost always makes mention that they are there for anyone who doesn't have one. My wife and I contributed to purchase them. Don't know how many have walked off.(hopefully many) Need to ask my pastor if they need more.
I like having a Bible available in any hotel room where I
stay. - I suppose the Muslims could stick one of their
Korans in each drawer with the Bible. - Of course, it won’t
feel like a “safe space” for the Koran. :o)
The last two words, “Monday morning,” were typos on my part. The end of the true story was that on Monday morning the lady who checked in Sunday night checked out, having come to a life saving decision to accept Jesus Christ as her savior, instead of killing herself with her pistol. And the lady was the sister of the owner of the motel. God’s Word never returns void.
If you’d like to know more about The Gideons International, you are invited to check out their website here: https://www2.gideons.org/get-involved
Every week individual Gideons, worldwide, give away more than 1.7 million copies of the Bible or the New Testament, in more than 100 languages in 200 countries. Plus, the Gideons have a free Bible app for cell phones and tablets that translates the Bible into more than 1,100 languages. The Gideons Bible app may be found wherever you find apps for your phone.
New England, originally the most churched portion of America, has become the most unchurched portion of America. Most folks in New England don’t attend a church with any regularity. Nor do they practice the Christian faith in their personal lives. Nor have they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Not all folks, just most folks. Thus, New England is a witness field for those who seek to help others find and accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, to help others accept the grace and mercy offered by Jesus and God.
Anecdotally, as a Gideon, I offer a New Testament to many people every day, and witness to them as the opportunity presents itself. I receive more “no’s” in New England than I do in the South, Midwest or West. Most who say no are polite, but not all.
Powerful!
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? -Psalms 2:1
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