Should public hospital authorities be prevented from placing Gideon Bibles by patients' bedsides?
This question is taken from an online poll conducted by Tony Abbott, the Minister for Health and Ageing - Liberal Party Australia. There seems to be a move in Australia to remove Bibles from hospitals. Here is an excerpt from an email I received earlier today:
Dear friends,
This request is endorsed by Rick Sewell, Anglican Chalpain at Cumberland Hospital, and the Anglican Western Sydney Regional leadership.
Tony Abbot has put out a survey regarding whether Bibles should continue to be allowed to be placed in hospitals.
Please take a moment to go to the site and vote NO (if you agree that Bibles should still be available in Hospitals).
The Hon Tony Abbott MP is the Minister for Health and Ageing ~ Liberal Party of Australia
Please click on the link provided and vote "No" to help allow Bibles in Australian hospitals.
Please don't let them take the Bible out of our hospitals!!! We have enough trouble sharing the Gospel in this country we need the Word of God!
Thanks and may God bless you!
Tony Abbott's online Poll:
Should public hospital authorities be prevented from placing Gideon Bibles by patients' bedsides?
Poll Link: Vote "No" here.
I am a little shocked at this. I didn't think Australia had come to the point where the placing of Bibles at bedsides has become something people want to stop. I don't know the history of this debate, I only know that I am concerned that people in government are considering preventing hospital authorities from leaving Bibles by hospital beds. It makes me wonder, what will be banned next?
Your votes and prayers are appreciated.
This question is taken from an online poll conducted by Tony Abbott, the Minister for Health and Ageing - Liberal Party Australia. There seems to be a move in Australia to remove Bibles from hospitals. Here is an excerpt from an email I received earlier today:
Dear friends,
This request is endorsed by Rick Sewell, Anglican Chalpain at Cumberland Hospital, and the Anglican Western Sydney Regional leadership.
Tony Abbot has put out a survey regarding whether Bibles should continue to be allowed to be placed in hospitals.
Please take a moment to go to the site and vote NO (if you agree that Bibles should still be available in Hospitals).
The Hon Tony Abbott MP is the Minister for Health and Ageing ~ Liberal Party of Australia
Please click on the link provided and vote "No" to help allow Bibles in Australian hospitals.
Please don't let them take the Bible out of our hospitals!!! We have enough trouble sharing the Gospel in this country we need the Word of God!
Thanks and may God bless you!
Tony Abbott's online Poll:
Should public hospital authorities be prevented from placing Gideon Bibles by patients' bedsides?
Poll Link: Vote "No" here.
I am a little shocked at this. I didn't think Australia had come to the point where the placing of Bibles at bedsides has become something people want to stop. I don't know the history of this debate, I only know that I am concerned that people in government are considering preventing hospital authorities from leaving Bibles by hospital beds. It makes me wonder, what will be banned next?
Your votes and prayers are appreciated.
posted by missmellifluous at 12:26 pm
10 Comments:
Hopefully this won't turn out like the Democrats' survey, where they ignored the result because too many people voted...
It is pretty sad when our pollies ignore the results of surveys becauese the majority of opinions were against them. It's called selective surveying.
The vote certainly is on the move: 73% have voted "no" now and I have also received numerous emails.
Do you know how all this began? I can't seem to figure it out. All I know is that there was a similar move in the UK recently.
I found this article on it:
Leicester hospitals: Bibles are here to stay
University of Leicester NHS Trust has backed down from plans to remove Bibles from the bedsides of patients. Officials initally planned to remove the Bibles over concerns that they would offend ethnic minorities, and could help spread MRSA.
Ian Mair, an executive director of Gideons International -who provide Bibles widely in hotels, hospitals and prisons -said that they were ‘delighted with the latest decision’. The initial plans, he said, were both ‘sad’ and ‘ridiculous’. Since the organisation had heard of the move on grounds of MRSA, they had commissioned a microbiologist and surgeon to assess the risk to patients of infection. ‘Doctors told us to claim an MRSA risk is nonsense – and it is ridiculous to think having Bibles in lockers discriminates against other religions,’ said Mr Mair. The local Church of England diocese had encouraged officials to vote against a ban, and questioned the right of the NHS trust to remove Bibles when Gideons International had been putting Bibles in hospitals and other institutions for over a century.
Pauline Tagg, hospital director of nursing, had complained earlier that they are neither disposable nor have a wipeable cover. The proposal has angered Christians and Muslims, while other leaders of religious faiths were bemused that a bedside Bible would cause offence.
The Trust chairman, Philip Hammersley, said at a board meeting, ‘I can confirm that Gideons Bibles will remain in patient bedside lockers. In addition, information will also be placed in all lockers advising patients that other religious texts are available on request.’ A spokesman for the NHS trust refused to say who originally recommended the move. (Telegraph 2005; 3 June, bbc.co.uk 2005; 3, 9 June)
The Gideons used to regularly hand out New Testaments to the 5th grade students in the public schools here in Canada. They still do, but now a child has to receive permission from his parent to get one.
They aren't handing out as many as they used to, and now there's rumblings about if the Gideons can hand out NT's, why can't Muslims hand out the Koran.
We get handed a Gideons as we enter uni at the beginning of every session. I really like it. It's the perfect size Bible for reading on the train or taking to class. People always have the choice of taking one or not, just as people have the choice of reading the Bible in the hospital or not.
I would not be opposed to Muslims handing out the Koran. The Bible has a ring of truth to it that the Koran does not. The Bible can stand on its own without us having to ban other religious books. Perhaps if people actually read the Koran they would see how ungracious it is in comparison to the Word of God. It is really so different.
Of course, the Koran isn't supposed to be translated - would they really want to hand out copies in Arabic?
Miss M. You have been on my heart lately and I was wondering if I can email you. I think you can find my email on my blog.
I didn't know the Koran was not meant to be translated. I read some of it in English at uni. It was not a pleasant read. Do you think Muslims would refrain from handing it out because it should be in Arabic?
I heard an ex Muslim speaking the other day and he said that Muslims believe all people are Muslim but those of us who don't live it are just lost. So they aim to convert. I don't think this is going to be very successful if it is done through an Arabic text. However, this man also said that only a very small percentage of Muslims, leaders and lay people, have ever read the Koran. It seems not to have as much importance as the Bible does for Christians. Often when preaching Muslims will say, "[person's name]says..." rather than "the Koran says..." Perhaps Muslims do not see that it is important to be familiar with the Koran or to convert people using the Koran whereas salvation is revealed through God's Word for Christians, thus, the Bible is of central importance because it reveals Christ to us.
Well, it's up to 79% now - around 34,500 people have voted.
81%...
...& rightly so.
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