Religion: Sword of the Lord

Forty years ago three drummers knelt in prayer in a bedroom in the Central House in Boscobel, Wis. They were vowed to form an organization for the Lord’s work. They could not think of a name for it, though, until Insurance Man Will D. Knights opened his Bible, read from Judges how the Lord had put a sword in the hand of his mighty warrior, Gideon. Paint Salesman Sam Hill and Shoe Salesman John H. Nicholson agreed that “The Gideons” would be their name.

Last week in the Central House gathered some 200 of the 7,000 commercial travelers who pay Gideon dues ($5), raise money for Gideon’s work—putting Bibles in hotels and institutions. The 40th anniversary “Gideon Roundup” was organized by Gideon Nicholson, spry at 80. Gideon Knights was there too, but feeble at 86. Gideon Hill died three years ago. In their Roundup the Gideons made frequent devotions, lunched and banqueted, deployed to tell Boscobel churches of Gideon projects, present and future.

Gideons use “Bible” as a verb. They have Bibled 95% of U. S. hotel rooms; their banner distribution of 103,000 Bibles in the year ending this summer brought their total Bibling to 1,580,588. Now the Gideons are looking for new fields. They have Bibled Eastern Airlines, the Clipper ships, are working on American and United Airlines. A new Gideon slogan is: “A Bible in Every Schoolroom in the Nation.” Here the going is more chancy. Some States (such as Wisconsin and Washington) expressly forbid Holy Writ in their schools. In others, Gideon Bibling faces restrictions, constitutional or otherwise, against the teaching of religion in schools, or Roman Catholic opposition to Bible teaching by persons other than priests. Proceeding cautiously, Gideons have thus far completely Bibled Minnesota schools, are Bibling great guns in Michigan and Ohio.