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BYOB: Toting your Bible in a digital age
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"Open up your Bible and turn to Matthew's gospel, chapter 5." There was a day, not too long ago, when such an admonition would be accompanied with the cracking of pews as people shifted their weight as they hurried to grab their Bible from off of the seat next to them, or from under the pew that was in front of them.
Those days, for many Christians, are but a memory. In the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's churches made the transition to incorporate technology into their worship services. The leather bound Bible was replaced with the words to the biblical passage being projected on a screen, first by the overhead projector, and later by the computers which were running PowerPoint, Media Shout, or some other form of software.
Although I'm only twenty-seven, I remember the days when we were expected to bring our own bible (BYOB) from home. The Bible of choice often was either KJV, NKJV, or NIV since the majority of Christian bookstores carried only these translations. The pages of the Bible were thin and crumpled noisily with every page turn. A few footnotes or "life application points" may have been found in the margins or footer of the Bible's pages. But, for the most part, one's Bible was fairly simple.
I watched, first as a parishioner and then as a pastor, as technology changed the way that people engaged with the biblical text. Instead of toting a Bible to church, people would listen and look at the text which projected upon a screen, as someone would read the biblical text for the day.
The shift was subtle. No more pews cracking noisily as people fumbled for their Bible at the appointed time. No more crumbling sounds as people thumbed through the thin pages of their well-worn Bible. Instead, heads were cocked at just the right angle to ensure that the text could be seen and observed. A variety of translations were employed, but everyone was now on the same page.
Nowadays, both the printed and projected Word seem antiquated and out-of-step with the advances which have been made in society. Who needs to tote a Bible, in printed form, to church with them week-in-and-week-out? What church needs to spend thousands of dollars on technology to project Scripture passages on a screen for all to see?
We live in a digital age.
We live in a day when thousands of pages of text can comfortably fit into one's pocket unobtrusively.
We live in the time of the
Yet, for someone such as myself, there is something familiar and inviting about having the printed Word in my hand. While my
How do you read the Bible? Do you prefer the familiar feel of well-worn pages beneath your fingertips? Do you like to read the text as it is projected on a screen? Or, do you like the ease and accessibility that stems from the convenience of a Bible app on your phone?
