Ever seen one of those little bibles in a hotel room?

They're place there by this group called "The Gideons".

Their chosen name is taken from a biblical character who supposedly was sycophantically obedient to "God" (and heard his commands directly). Among his great feats were destroying the altars of other religions.

So, these Gideons are a christian organization dedicated to spreading their belief all over the world, incluiding Mexico (I'll go into more detail of their operations here in my next post).

Now, they claim they used the Gideon story because

"Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads."

Of course, since there is no direct connection to this "God" other than the pastors or the bible, they're pretty much looking for someone that will do anything as long as they cite the name "God" along with those orders.

I took the liberty of going through their FAQ and found these two quite outstanding (comments in yellow):

Is The Gideons International a denomination or a church?

No. The Gideons are an association that works with Protestant/evangelical churches. Our members come from many denominations, live all over the world, and share a desire to see the lost come to Christ.

To be read as: "a desire to impose our nonsensical beliefs over the whole damn world". They also happen to consider as "lost" anyone who doesn't share said belief. According to them no non-christian can be truly happy and successful in life. I'm quite certain I'm an example of the opposite, and I know quite a few others that fit into that description too.

What do Gideons believe?

The Gideons International is a diverse association in that our members come from many Protestant denominations with a common interest in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. All Gideons also hold certain core beliefs:

• The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God.

This point should should be unsurprising, coming from the people who believe themselves to be at the center of the universe. Also, this "inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God" is self contradictory (take the gospels of Luke and Matthew as an example) and written by human beings. I wonder If part of evangelizing a "lost" person is teaching them to doublethink* their way around things like those.

• The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.

And they devote themselves to follow the alleged teachings of someone who lived two thousand years ago, and believed himself to be the son of god. Medicine has long identified this particular type of psychosis. Its called schizophrenia, with some delusions of grandeur.

Members must also:

• Have received Jesus as their personal Savior.
• Endeavor to follow Him in their daily lives.
• Be members in good standing in their Protestant/evangelical churches.
• Have the recommendation of their pastors.

Apparently, these Gideons will not stop until they have managed to convert every last person on the world to christianity. While not quite as bloody as a jihad, the principle behind it is the same. the misguided belief that their belief is unequivocally superior, without proof to sustain such an assumption.

I will follow this post with more about the Gideons activities.

Rêves Doux

*Doublethink is the act of simultaneously and fervently holding two mutually contradictory beliefs. it was used in the novel 1984 by George Orwell