Gideons International - Popular culture references

An international organization, which began in Wisconsin in 1898, with the aim of spreading the Christian faith by the free distribution of copies of the Bible to public places, including hotel rooms, hospitals, and military bases. It is named after the Biblical judge, Gideon, who led Israel against the Midianites.

Gideons International is an evangelical Christian organization dedicated to distributing copies of the Bible (in either the King James Version or the New King James Version in the United States, but other translations in over 80 languages in more than 180 countries of the world) to those who might not otherwise encounter it, most famously in hotel rooms.

The organization describes its link to the story of Gideon thus:

"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.

In keeping with this symbolism, the symbol of the Gideons is a two handled pitcher and torch, recalling Gideon's victory over the Midianites as described in Judges chapter 7.

In addition to their well-known hotel-room Bibles, the Gideons also distribute Bibles to members of the military of various countries, to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and also to students. A typical Gideon Bible or New Testament will contain:

a short preface; the Bible text itself, without notes, references, or any other reference matter other than chapter and verse headings — this can either be the full Bible (as with most of the ones they put in the hotels), or just the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs (typical in the Bibles which are handed out as gifts rather than left in rooms for temporary use);

Popular culture references

The placement of Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms has made the Gideon Bible a frequent subject for comment in popular culture; it is alluded to among other places in the Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon", the Jethro Tull song "Locomotive Breath", and the Bill Hicks comedy album Rant in E-Minor, in which the legendary comedian speculates how Gideons operate and considers capturing and studying them as hobby.

"Gideon's Bible" is a song by John Cale, from his solo debut album "Vintage Violence" (1970).

More recently, the Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket released a song called "Gideon" the lyrics of which say in part "Religion - Should Appeal To The Hearts Of The Young. The band The Hold Steady mentions a character named Gideon who rips the pages he likes from "the Bible from his bedstand in the motel" (presumably left by Gideons) in their song "Cattle and the Creeping Things".

Also in the 1996 film Mission: Impossible, Ethan Hunt stumbles upon a clue to unraveling who is conspiring against him when he notices that the Bible in his hotel room is a Gideons Bible but stamped from a hotel in a different city.