Not too long ago, the sight of someone using an electronic device during a worship service might lead an observer to assume that person was not fully engaged. But not anymore. Reading the Bible used to mean reading a book, but increasingly, people are getting the Word on smartphones, iPads and other electronic devices.
So then, what will happen to the printed Bible? The last word has not been written on that, but experts speculate that its unchallenged reign is over.
“The Bible is sort of the flagship of the printed book culture,” said Timothy Beal, author of “The Rise and Fall of the Bible” (Mariner, 2011, $15.95). “The printed word is losing its place as the dominant medium for reading.”
Yes things are changing.
During my a dear friend ordination to the priest hood in the ACNA, I sat a few rows behind a few visiting priest. I was amused at a poitn when they simultaneously raised their Ipads and phones to take a picture of the ordination.
I thinking of an Kindle myself. My reasons is to have different versions because its a distract for me when the reading and the sermon is on one version and I prefer the ESV.
I have an older Ipod touch that I still carry around, and I’ve used it more than once in a service since there is a great daily lectionary app and also a very nice Book of Common Prayer app as well. I also like being able to have several different versions of the Bible handy in electronic format, it makes it easy to check the same verse in different translations.
Will they put charging stations in the pews for those very long sermons?
I have my ESV on my Nook. However, if you are going to be flipping pages back and forth a book is easier to use.
However, there was a time when pundits confidently predicted the end of radio as a popular medium, due to the advent of television…
What Br. Michael said. While it is convenient to have the Bible on my Nook and my smartphone, I find that ebook readers are more suited to linear-type reading, such as a novel.
Is your name written in the Nook of Life?
Now I understand what it means in Exodus 32.19, where “Moses’ anger kindled hot and he threw the tablets out of his hands”.
I like e-books. But I advise people to think in terms of paperback book readers. Emerson is exactly right–e-book readers are best suited to read linearly.
I find that for my uses the critical factor is screen size and that determines the size of the device I want to carry around. Smart phones are too small for serious reading so I prefer my Nookcolor (really a limited tablet). The page size is paperback book size. It also has the advantage of having a large enough screen to show movies (think a portable DVD player).
But it does not replace books for all purposes. It cannot replace coffee table books for example. It’s simply one more tool and option for the reader.
The lectionary app sounds interesting, since most of the time I use web resources at the [url=http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/]Vanderbilt Divinity Library[/url] and the [url=http://www.presbyterianmission.org/devotion/revised-common-lectionary]PC-USA[/url] sites.
I have a nice ESV app on both my phone and iPad (one app purchased for both devices). It works well for quick access, having both bookmarks and a nice, quick book/chapter selector. It also has additional resources like maps, commentary, etc. I also like the [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/]BibleGateway[/url] site and app for the variety of translations readily available.
That said, the app and web versions are quick and searchable, but a real book is satisfying to use in a very different way. Also, platform-specific apps can be a problem; you can’t use an iOS app on an Android phone. First thing you know, you’re stuck dealing with an upgrade cycle for your Bible.