British hotel replaces bedside Bible with Kindle , Now when you try to tear out your favorite psalm, it’s going to cost a lot more than a guilty conscience

A hotel in Newcastle, England, has removed all the Gideons Bibles from its rooms and replaced them with Amazon Kindles.

But guests will still be able to get their fix of the holy text (or ignore it while looking for more interesting stuff in the drawers), as each Kindle has been preloaded with an electronic version of the scriptures.

The Hotel Indigo, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, made the move to reflect the local history — the hotel is located near the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle Upon Tyne, the largest independent library outside London.

“In the 18th century, Newcastle was one of the largest print centers in Britain,” said Adam Munday, general manager of Hotel Indigo Newcastle. “We wanted to reflect this literary history in a very contemporary way so are offering guests the use of cutting-edge Kindles pre-loaded with the Bible.”

Gideons International, which distributed 84 million Bibles around the world last year, supports the move. “Anything to put the Bible in people’s hands is a good thing,” Gideons spokesman Ken Stephens told CNN.com.

“It is a fascinating idea, and I’m sure somehow, some way, its time will come for us. But right now just the paper version is the best for what we do.”

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