Hotel Rooms and Toxic Waste (Bibles, BoM, etc)

[Fromper]

However it got there, it is the property of the hotel. I just rent the room. I don't dispose of the things I don't like in it. If I threw out every piece of useless ugliness in hotel rooms, I suspect the damages charged to my credit card would begin to add up. So throwing it away or defacing it is out.

The books are donated by the Gideons, and I've heard several reports that they're always very happy to replace them, because they want people to take them. If they think people are taking them to actually read and convert, they're very happy.

Stickers -- I like the idea of representing an opposing view point and maybe it will trigger someone to think for a moment. Maybe the viewer might look up a fact or two.

About the only benefit I can see is the off chance that someone really on the fence finds it. Even the, it's just as likely to make them think "atheists are jerks". I've talked to people who stayed Christian longer than they otherwise would have because they didn't want to "be like the atheists".

In addition, any believer that sees this will feel attacked and won't actually reexamine their beliefs. This will also add fuel to the fire about Christianity being "under attack".

I think the best approach is to leave your own reading materials to counter the Bible. That way, you come off as a reasonable person presenting a different viewpoint, instead of just an immature jerk vandalizing the book that's there.

So just for kicks, I did a quick Google search and found the FAQ on the Gideons International page about the Bibles in hotel rooms. It doesn't say if they mind people "stealing" them. So I emailed them at the address on that FAQ page:

I know that your organization is responsible for placing most of the Bibles found in hotel rooms, and I had a question about that. Are those intended just for people to read while they're staying in that hotel room, or do you expect them to be taken by hotel patrons, and you replace them regularly? I wouldn't want to steal the Bible from a hotel if you only intend for it to be read there, but if you don't mind people taking them, I know someone who would like to "steal" one from their hotel.

Needless to say, I used my "backup" email address that I use for spam collection, rather than my real email addy for everyday use. I don't want to be on their mailing list.