Utterly Meaningless

Gideons have always handed out bibles to 5th graders, but the kids don’t have to accept them. The girl didn’t have to get in the line. Suing the school system because the kid felt pressured by her peers to go stand in a line and accept a Bible? That’s what’s stupid!

No. Believe it or not, I was actually a member of the Gideons in a previous life. It was drummed into us that we were NOT to go on school grounds and that it was illegal for us to do so. They could only hand out Bibles on the public sidewalks out front of the schools.

If the Gideons know this, surely the principal does too. The lawsuit is legit.

Really? I remember picking mine up in the lunchroom. Nowadays, around here anyway (GA), they drop them off in the office and the kids who want them, pick them up.

The article didn’t make it clear, or maybe I just missed it, if the Gideons were handing them out or if they just dropped them off. Do you think they shouldn’t be allowed to bring them on school grounds at all?

I see the point about not handing them out (although, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, I can see where others would), but if they just drop them off to be picked up by the ones who want them, what’s wrong with that?

It sounds like the girl felt peer pressure to get one, not pressure from the school or Gideons.

The lawsuit details an instance in which the girl’s class was told by their teacher to pick up their New Testament Bibles in front of the school office. The girl ended up in a line with the entire fifth grade, while two men handed each student a Bible and said, “God bless you.”

Those were Gideons handing them out. They definitely broke Da Rulz.

Duh, I see now! Told ya I might have missed it! 🙂 *blushes*

I’m going to buy a bunch of copies of the Principia Discordia, the bible of my own favorite made up religion, Discordianism, and hand them out at a local school. Then when I get in trouble, I can portray myself as yet another poor, put upon religions minority.

Will copies of tracts from other religious sects be passed out? The Koran? The Torah? Other versions of the Christian Bible?

And will all the children be given class time to read and discuss all of the conflicting myths?

And will they all receive a copy of The God Delusion? With follow-up discussion time?

Will this count on their final exams? On their schools’ standardized tests? Could we please tie the schools’ funding to how many get the answers “right?”

After all, if separation is going to be completely thrown out the window, I want to know my tax dollars are going to the schools that understand what the right answer is and pound that right answer in nice and firmly.

OK, now we’re getting somewhere. . .

Nance

Oh that’s it! I’m marching right into my local town school with 200 copies of Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft.

Wonder how that’ll go over, eh? :rollseyes:

And I’ll be right behind Audrey with Ayn Rand’s “The Virtue of Selfishness.” Gotta keep up the family honor and all that. 😉

When I was in college at the University of Georgia, the Gideons made themselves a nuisance on the public roads cutting through campus. You’d see a Gideon getting in people’s way as they were walking, and several feet farther on, you’d see a trash basket gradually filling with Bibles.

Are Bibles that hard to come by? That a kid who was sincerely interested in reading one couldn’t find one?

Or do Gideons just have nothing better to do with their time — all the poor and hungry are now OK?

Nance

Did anyone else catch the story about the Bible possibly being classified in Hong Kong as Obscence? No really it’s true-here:
abc.ne...08.htm

Word was that if it was decided to be obscene the bible would be only sold in a plain wrapper to those that are 18yrs & only.

Imagine the Gideons passing out the Bible in schools in Hong Kong….hahahaha Strange world!!!!

I agree with Daryl on this. I was a Gideon until I was ordained, and this is completely Against The Rules. Off school property, outside of school hours.

Oddly enough, though, my dad is a Gideon in Canada, and they have no problem going into schools to hand out New Testaments. My guess is that Canadian society probably wouldn’t have much problem having some of the other books mentioned in the comments handed out at school either 🙂