High-tech devices find roles in faith
By Mike Haynes
Technology
moves faster than a rumor at a church social.
Just 16
months ago, I wrote about a few members of our Sunday school class using
smartphones before the lesson to look up recipes and during class to search the
scriptures. I admitted that I hesitated to use my iPhone or iPad at church
because I felt pretentious flaunting those posh devices.
Boy, has that changed.
I attend a
church where lots of members have good jobs that allow them to own smartphones
or digital tablets. Still, I was leery of showing off by pulling out a fancy
screen.
Fast-forward
to a recent Sunday morning. Fourteen people sat in circled-up chairs of the Couples
in Christ class that Kathy and I attend. Kevin, the teacher, directed us to
Hebrews 11, the Bible chapter that focuses on faith, our topic of the day.
Four of the
men and women opened paper-and-ink Bibles. The other 10 swiped the screens of
smartphones or tablets to navigate to Hebrews 11.
I don’t
have to feel pretentious anymore, at least not in that setting.
Kevin
pointed out a difference for the teacher. He said that while his head is down,
perusing his lesson notes, he used to be able to determine when everybody had
located a Bible verse. It was when the sound of fluttering paper pages ended.
Now, with
so many people silently flicking screens instead of turning pages, he has to
look up to see who’s found the verse and who hasn’t.
For many,
electronic Bible reading has become as common as Angry Birds or Candy Crush.
Now that I’ve gotten used to the interface, I love being able to search for
Philippians 1:6 or for all instances of the name Hezekiah.
Our friend
Tony, though, said he still likes to be able to underline passages and write
marginal notes in his well-worn Bible. Of course, digital versions now allow
you to highlight words and to type notes that stay on your device, but it takes
more time and effort than doing it with a physical pen or pencil.
And the
battery never runs down on a paper Bible.
More substantive
qualms have been expressed about digital scripture. Matthew Barrett of
California Baptist University wrote that pastors should use a traditional Bible
in the pulpit and that church members also lose something with phones or
tablets.
He believes
the Bible is devalued when it’s just one of many apps alongside Pinterest, ESPN
Magazine and an app to make vacation reservations. He argues that some learning
is lost when the preacher says, “Turn in your Bibles to…” and the person in the
pew just types text into a search box. Physically locating John 3:16 among
hundreds of pages forces the reader to understand where that verse is in
relation to the rest of the Bible.
Barrett
quotes John Bombaro: “… digital texts militate
against a big-picture perspective and comprehension of the whole story of the
Bible."
He also says “something is missing in our nonverbal
communication to unbelieving onlookers. When you walk to church, sit down on a
bus, or disciple one another at a coffee shop, a hard copy of the Bible sends a
loud and bold message to the nearest passersby about your identity as a Christ
follower.” If you’re reading the Bible on a Kindle,
you could just as well be reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” as far as an observer
is concerned.
I’ll
continue to use both paper and silicon. I agree with Tony that holding a
printed book still gives a sense of weight and permanence. But the advantages
of digital devices outweigh the negatives. If they put the Bible into more
young minds, they’re a plus.
The Word is
the Word, from papyrus to parchment to printing press to pixels to whatever
platform comes next.
