Posted on 12/09/2015 10:40:38 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The Freedom from Religion Foundation, America's largest association of atheists and agnostics, began a campaign Monday to rid all hotel rooms of Bibles distributed by The Gideons International and replaced with copies of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species."
The Gideons International is well known worldwide for their work with hotels but according to their website, they predominantly share Scriptures in schools and colleges, prisons and jails, hospitals, and medical offices. The group is also an association of Christian business and professional men and their wives dedicated to telling people about Jesus through sharing personally and by providing Bibles and New Testaments.
In a release Monday, however, the FFRF charged that Gideons International was "exploiting hotels and motels to proselytize a captive audience," and informed the American Hotel and Motel Association that they wanted the Bibles removed.
The FFRF also sent letters to a number of companies, including Wyndham Worldwide, Intercontinental Hotel Groups (Holiday Inn), Choice Hotels International (Quality Inn), Hilton Worldwide, G6 Hospitality (Motel 6), Marriott International, Best Western, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Radisson, Carlson, Country Inn) and Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Sheraton).
"Those who must read the Bible every day will surely take precautions to travel with their own copies. The rest of us deserve a break from mindless evangelizing when we are on vacation," wrote FFRF's Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor on behalf of the organization's 23,000 nonreligious members.
"Many of your guests are freethinkers -- atheists, agnostics, skeptics or 'nones' -- who are deeply offended to be charged high fees only to be proselytized in the privacy of their own bedrooms. Not only that, the Bible calls for killing nonbelievers, apostates, gays, 'stubborn sons' and women who transgress biblical double standards," they added.
The organization said Gansevoort Hotel Groups provides them with a friendlier environment because that company only provides Bibles upon request. A number of boutique hotels also do not offer Bibles as standard practice.
The U.K.'s Travelodge removed copies of the Bible from its hotel rooms in 2007 to make guests who don't subscribe to Christianity more comfortable.
"Travelodge made the decision to move copies of the Bible from its hotel rooms and place them at reception for customers to borrow in 2007. This decision was based on customer research and the fact that we live in a multicultural society," said a statement from Travelodge to TheBlaze. "Therefore in order not to discriminate against any religion, customers who would like a Bible can pick a copy from any one of Travelodge's 500 hotel reception desks across the country, whilst staying at the hotel."
The FFRF said the 15 companies they contacted about the removal of the Bibles are responsible for more than 33,000 hotels in the U.S. and more than 4.1 million rooms internationally.
So build bible free hotels, if they’re in big demand somebody will make a mint. (But I wouldn’t invest in them)
But the anti God crowd would not be.
Man, they are as scared of a Bible as Muslims are pigs.
I have yet to have one of those Bibles leap from the drawer and attack me in my sleep.
Hint to atheists: they do not burn or bite. If you don’t believe, they will not bother you, especially if you leave them alone.
Let the Bibles stay, and Darwin’s works as well. Let’s see how many liberals contribute to the cost of printing and distributing Darwin’s book.........
Freedom of choice - the American way.
I’ll promise you one will be read, and one won’t. Fair enough.
Why replace the bibles with Darwin’s book? Just add the both of them and people can have the choice to read what they want.
I know when I’m seeking solace and help and hope I go grab the old Origin of Species and it perks me up like no other book!
Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the psalms, they do nothing for me /s
I understand very little about evolution, how it occurs, etc., to make an educated statement. Could be. I dont know.
Doesn’t affect my religion an the joy and peace reading the bible can give.
So buy Darwin’s book and leave them in hotel rooms! I’d be happy to peruse a copy.
In Utah, they have both, “Book of Mormon”, and, “The Bible” in every Hotel / Motel room.
The latter is bad science fiction. I'd rather read Battlefield Earth.
Odd that the atheists don’t recognize that they are “exploiting public schools and colleges and motels to proselytize a captive audience”
I’m surprised these pukes haven’t demanded Ted Cruz change his name, for “cruz” means “cross” in Spanish.
If you don’t believe in something, WHY ARE YOU OFFENDED BY IT!?! ?????
Does the FFRF propse to purchase the Darwin books? Or do they expect the Gideons to foot the bill?
If a bible can prostelitize a captive audience, maybe a gun will show up and shoot it. The world must look like a My Little Toaster movie to liberals.
So why don’t they buy the books that they want in hotel rooms and send them to every hotel in the country. The hotels can then do with them whatever they want.
Oh wait, that would require that they spend their own money. Never mind.
So the gays don't like being told buggery is a sin, but they're OK with being told they're an epic evolutionary failure?
When I stay in a hotel,I always have an atheist-free room.
To the left, Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech mean freedom from ever having to suffer contact with any religion or speech that they don't like.
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