The Bible is the most stolen book in the world!

Maybe so katran and other examples may have been of benefit. How about "People that blow smoke in your face while criticising you for not exercising enough!" lol. The Bible should be a book that's provided for free in most instances anyway if you ask me. This would certainly be a rapid-fire way to cure the theft problem. I wonder how many of these thefts are from hotel room drawers too?

Well, I guess if you have to steal something, the Bible is the best thing, lol. I wonder though....maybe the Bible is the most stolen book because there are also more copies of it than any other book? But yes, that is kind of contradictory that someone would steal a Bible. You did not flat out say that religious people are the only hypocrites, but you implied it by only giving religious examples (i.e. people that are drunk all week and still go to church on Sunday). It just bothers me when people hold churchgoers to some superhuman standard of living and if they make ONE mistake suddenly their whole religion is questioned. It seems very unfair to me. If you did not mean to specifically target religious people, perhaps you should have included some non-religious examples just so people don't get the wrong idea.

Hi prasieitem. So in a sense, the Bible also provides a "get out of jail free card" for anyone that steals one? lol. The comments this Pastor made are very clever! Persians making rugs centuries ago would always leave an imperfection in every one of them because they believed that only God could be perfect. We as human beings are flawed and always will be. It's only through the seeking of our own truths that we stand any chance of betterment. The challenge is in finding the path that we have an affinity with. My own beliefs are what they are and that's that really. I believe wholeheartedly in God, I just choose not to do so as dictated by any organized religion or publication. My beliefs also have me respecting each and every path another wishes to choose and as long as that path is not taken at the expense of another, then it's tolerance all the way from my end.

If you so choose to believe in this path, then yes this is very true. A person that believes differently yet still follows a spiritual path of substance is no less righteous or undeserving!

Amen to this, I couldn't have said it better. I love the comment that pastor made! I will never figure out how the idea formed that only perfect people go to church, it's crazy. No one is perfect except Jesus. Thanks for your time.

You have some interesting phrases throughout your response hiddenwing! It IS tiring to try and position ourselves as people that point out the hypocricies in others and personally it's not something I try to do at all. "Do not judge lest ye be judged" has been mentioned a few times throughout this dicussion and it's a valid statement for sure. Who are we to criticise or judge another when we too are flawed? I don't necessarily see it as being ignorant either. It's being tolerant of differences and putting our focus on ourselves instead, Charity begins at home, yes?

A person who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw the soda can! haha Shame on so many levels! I,uh... get u wrong! It happens! Seriously, some religion sort of scared me out! I don't even have the audacity to talk about them! They kill kind people...Oh my gosh! I was scaring now! I am afraid of that if they happened to find what I write. What if I will be killed? Oh my gosh! Bless me!

Many blessings coming your way right this minute hiddenwing! lol. Anyways, your God given free will allows you to question and to have an opinion, so don't be ashamed or afraid of using it! No, people in glass houses should never throw stones (or soda cans for that matter) and neither should we condemn another for speaking their mind if their opinions are not harmful!

Hi sharra. You've shared a number of the very reasons why I opted to go my own way rather than follow an organized religion path. The education aspect is especially telling too. Those that are incapable of thinking freely for themselves are easily manipulated and we see this time and time again with violent acts around the world for example. The strong have always preyed on the weak, but this takes it to another level entirely.

It's funny that you're saying these things about shampoos and soaps etc because I was thinking this morning about those trolleys you see the Maids wheeling around the hotels when they're cleaning rooms. They're all stocked up with replacement toiletries, but I wonder if they have a compartment with a heap of replacement Bibles as well? in many ways, the Bible is the ideal thing to steal and arguably guilt free too! You can stuff it into your suitcase or down the front of your pants and then when you've managed to get it back home, you can cleanse yourself of that very sin with what's inside!

Yes well now that I have finished being serious. I will say that the bible is the easiest book to steal, although I have no idea why anyone would want to steal it. After all every hotel and motel has a bible in the room. I have never understood why. Maybe it is some missionary idea to convert all those heathen guests that stay there. I mean people pinch all those free soaps, shampoos, even the towels, so why not the bible? Its their just lying around.

Well I did put the word "fact" in quotation marks, yes? A previous response mentioned that a member of their family runs a book store and the Bible is definitely one of the most stolen books, but I do agree that a majority of these "thefts" would come about from Bibles being taken from hotel rooms. You'll get no argument from me that no one's perfect either. Anyone that thinks they are is nothing short of delusional! Other points you've shared here are very interesting and certainly valid in my opinion. I agree that some people would look at faith as some sort of an insurance policy, which is kind of pointless really because if they're not pure of heart and mind with their intentions on this front, are they even assured of cashing in on this policy you think? I wouldn't think so! Most of all i agree with your last statement. If we were to look within rather than spend our time being judegmental, humanity would collectively benefit.

The more rules and regulations added to something, the less ability a person has to think and act freely. A line then get's crossed where an individual is more controlled by something rather than being in control of themselves. So many rules weaken the essence of free will! Unfortunately many organized religions seem to have crossed that line in my opinion and commercialization has also tainted their foundations in many instances.

Thank you yes I did over look that when I wrote my response. I am sure plenty are stolen form stores being that it is the most reprinted book in history. Yes spiritual growth happens when we look in ourselves not in finding wrong in others. This is what has happened to most of the worlds religions. They are so busy telling you that you should beware of these people or those people, or those people are sinners and such. It has become a religion of judgment instead of forgiveness, equality, justice and compassion.

As good a aplace to ste4al one as any you'd think! It's interesting that the Bible eventually found its way back to you too. I like what you said in your last line there. Do not judge lest ye be judged! We should be able to exercise our God given free will without fear of reprisals for it. Faith to me is mostly a personal journey and we should respect others for their own choices and be respected in return.

Life experience hammered this home for me some years back thankfully. It was one of the most important realisations I think I've ever made!

Amen to faith being a private journey!! I am glad to hear someone say that!!

You'd think they'd be freely available wouldn't you, but it appears not! They definitely SHOULD be free and if they were, then maybe this would reverse this trend quick smart. I do know that many faiths hand out free Bibles, so most of these thefts must be from bookstores and hotels etc. I never considered hidden currency notes though! I agree wholeheartedly with your "believe what you believe and don't enforce the same on others" philsophy as it's one I adhere to myself. Hypocrisy is as old as mankind itself unfortunately and will always be present. All we can do is ensure that we as individuals do all we can to avoid it internally AND externally as best we can.

He does? I wondered what he was using to prop up his bed for all those years!

*snickers*

Hours of entertainment, yes? lol.

You'd think that this would be the reason in most cases, yes. I've seen some pretty expensive Bibles before too!

It's the dirty habit for sure! (Or is that HABITS?) So you've stolen SIX dictionaries? Very impressive! Bountiful resources at hand to ensure that "kleptomania" is not just defined, but typed with the correct spelling as well. Not bad at all! lol. I have the Bible in full on my phone of all places! I have a copy of the Koran and some Hindu writing's in book form here though. Not a dictionary in sight either.

No it isn't thank goodness I think I'd go half crazed if that were the case. It's very impressive though and in an e-book format with search functions and everything.

Interesting. Is your mobile Bible written in text speak? "In da beginnin God cr8td da erf"

I agree totally that the Bible should be provided for free to anyone that wants one. It seems like such a contradiction to be stealing a book that contains the words "Thou shakt not steal" inside! I have no idea if the people who steal them are selling them or keeping them either. It's probably a mixture of both.

Great response Andy! The people who were taking the guy in the military's Bible all the time should be ashamed of themselves. It's one thing to steal things for personal gain, but to do so to antagonise another like this is on another negative level entirely. I agree with you that we cannot expect to change another by being accusatory and why should we even try? We can focus in on ourselves and our own faithful journey in life and by default, other's will also benefit anyway. Being judgemental only defies the very words Christians have chosen to live by! Hypocrisy is as old as people themselves and will always be present in others. The best we can do is try our hardest to not be hypocrites ourselves. Do as I do, not as I say!

A real example of this phenomenon! I appreciate you sharing this mrsctb7, because it certainly helps back up my discussion title even further! To steal a Bible for personal use is one thing, but to do so for financial gain is terrible. Karma will eventually catch up with people like the ones you've described and yes, prison will provide them with all the time in the world to think on the hypocrisy of their ways. I bet many of them wouldn't think about it at all though, they'd just be upset they got caught and would try to figure out how to do it better next time.

I have to admit that many organized religious structures confuse the heck out of me too! I spent a considerable amount of time soul searching and studying many of them and in the end, made the decision that faith was a personal journey and no structured approach was going to be the right fit for me. I've never regretted this life choice and never will. I have a relationship with God and it's unfettered and free. As it SHOULD be!

I'm somewhat the same Dawn. As long as no one is trying to be forceful with their beliefs, or critical of my own, then I'm happy to live and let live.

I too am a big believer in karma and I'm a firm believer in "live and let live" too. I wonder if stealing a Bible and then using it personally kind of cancels out some of that bad karma for stealing though? And how was that disjointed? ARe you sure you weren't just smoking a joint instead?

And, now that I go back and look at this response, it looks and sounds a little disjointed. Sorry.

It just sounded kind of jerky when I re-read it yesterday. *Shrugs*

Heya zuke! Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen you! It's funny that you've just mentioned this, because in an earlier reply I wondered how many 0of these stolen Bibles cam from hotel room drawers. Now I know! Personally I lean more towards the quote attributed to Ghandiji and that's: "An eye for an eye leads to a blind world", so we're a tad different on that level. I too find it morally reprehensible to be stealing a Bible of all things though. It's one heck of a contradiction.

Hi eileen. This discussion is based on some references I found online that said that out of all the book stolen throughout the world, the Bible is taken the most! I then considered it to be ironic that "Thou shalt not steal" is contained within the Bible, yet so many are stolen! Is this question for myown personal fun and a laugh? In some ways, I guess it is yes, but it's still more about the irony and hypocrisy behind such an act. Am I making a mockery of the Holy Book itself? No, of course not. Once again, I'm pointing out the irony and hypocrisy behind stealing a Bible. Is organized religion not helping to convene people and trying to instil right conduct etc? Yes, in many instances it is, but in many other instances it has also become an openly interpretive and commercialized entity that arguably restricts our God given free will. Daring to think outside the boundaries of what is written and then getting judged or condemned is a consistent reality that I've witnessed myself on multiple occasions. Am I a learned man? I'm not sure, but I do feel like I have considerable life experience and an involvement in organized religion is one of those experiences. It's these experiences that led me to self discovery that's not limited by an organized religion's rules and regulations. This is my God given right to be this way! This discussion is not a case of belittling a hypocrite and forgoing their right to salvation at all either. This is a case of stating that someone who steals a Bible, or says one thing yet does another is indeed a hypocrite, pure and simple. Much the same as someone blowing smoke in your face whilst telling you how important it is to be healthy would be a hypocrite too. It just so happened that my discussion was in a religious context due to the stolen Bibles reference I found.

Hi eileen. I guess if things like this and life in general WEREN'T difficult, we'd never truly appreciate them for what they are when we do achieve them. "Fisher of men" enters into it as well I guess, but it all comes down to an individual's own belief's for these to apply to them. I admire your own conviction and strength in your faith.

James, I have come to realize that our God made millions of shapes and curves. But as far as I have seen, only the starfish and the swordfish have straight lines in their features. Or probably the trunk of a tree, too. And our leg bones. Everything else have curlicues and curvatures. My own personal theory is that the way to the bull's eye isn't exactly a straight path. It is long and winding. I have to aim carefully. I have only one shot. I enjoyed the conversation with you, little brother. You will always be in my prayers.

I picked this one sin clutterbug because it complimented the "fact" that I found. Yes, we ARE all sinners in one way or another and following a Christian path is most certainly not the ONLY way for us to gain forgiveness. I'd much rather not get further into this angle either if possible as this is not what this discussion is about! This is about those that rarely practice what they preach and how we choose to deal with them if at all!

This is a logical statement weebler and it most definitely stacks up. It's the most printed book on the planet, most widely distributed; and even the hotel room drawers in many countries have a Bible in them, so the opportunities for taking one are high! I'm a lot like you it seems because I too have chosen not to follow an organised religious path. I'm also very tolerant of another's choices as long as they never try to force them on me or criticise me for my own beliefs. As for Christians acknowledging the Old Testament, it's all part of the Bible and words of God I guess and even though there would be parts that may not be of concern, there are many that are. When I was a practicing Christian, an absolutem ajority of my focus was on the New Testament and the Old was only referred to on occasion. Good and bad exist in all walks of life too, but at least it helps create balance I suppose. I'm yet to see a pothead use pages to roll a fattie either, but there's a few more years in me yet!