Bible Apps to replace Printed Bibles?

[1611mac]

If this has been discussed before let me know please...

What is everyone's thinking about your main Bible being on your mobile device?  

For some this is heresy.  We are trained to carry our (printed) Bible, mark our Bible, etc. etc.  Some say reading off a cell phone or tablet is just not right.  But wow... when you can have a complete Bible study system on your mobile device (phone/tablet) and indeed ALL you devices and sync them all.  Having complete commentary sets and so many Bible study aids the "Mobile Bible" (study system) has so many advantages.  

What about you?  
- Do you think you could ever NOT carry a printed Bible?  
- Could you ever get to the point where your "go to" Bible with your notes is ONLY on your device(s)?
- Is there something wrong with not carrying a standard printed Bible but having so much more info available on your device? (Bible AND complete study tool library)
- PASTORS: If someone uses Bible apps ONLY in church would you suggest to them they also bring a standard printed Bible?

[DaveW]

My only real issue is that phones do a lot more than Bible. I see people on occssion busy on their phones - apparently more busy that changing chapters.

[Disciple.Luke]

25 minutes ago, 1611mac said:

If this has been discussed before let me know please...

What is everyone's thinking about your main Bible being on your mobile device?  

For some this is heresy.  We are trained to carry our (printed) Bible, mark our Bible, etc. etc.  Some say reading off a cell phone or tablet is just not right.  But wow... when you can have a complete Bible study system on your mobile device (phone/tablet) and indeed ALL you devices and sync them all.  Having complete commentary sets and so many Bible study aids the "Mobile Bible" (study system) has so many advantages.  

What about you?  
- Do you think you could ever NOT carry a printed Bible?  
- Could you ever get to the point where your "go to" Bible with your notes is ONLY on your device(s)?
- Is there something wrong with not carrying a standard printed Bible but having so much more info available on your device? (Bible AND complete study tool library)
- PASTORS: If someone uses Bible apps ONLY in church would you suggest to them they also bring a standard printed Bible?

I always carry a printed Bible, but I do take my IPad as well because I can look at several commentaries with ease.

I don't think people should use Bible apps instead of the real thing. Half the Christians I see have a hard enough time trying to find 1 John in their own bibles, and using a bible app is just more of a crutch. In a way it's seems about "lazy" instead of learning where the different books are in a hard copy.

[1611mac]

2 minutes ago, Disciple.Luke said:

I always carry a printed Bible, but I do take my IPad as well because I can look at several commentaries with ease.

I don't think people should use Bible apps instead of the real thing. Half the Christians I see have a hard enough time trying to find 1 John in their own bibles, and using a bible app is just more of a crutch. In a way it's seems about "lazy" instead of learning where the different books are in a hard copy.

Hi.. I'm not challenging here... but spurring conversation... If you are using a Bible app only does it matter that you can quickly navigate through a printed Bible?  If you don't know the Books of the Bible nor their order does it matter whether you are in an App or Printed Bible?  Both show lack of care and study.

[Jim_Alaska]

I am not against these devices, I think the technology can be a big benefit if properly used. For me "properly used" would be for studying or possibly witnessing, as in soul winning. They can be a big help in comparing Scripture, as well as cross referencing and you can, at the same time, input your study right on the device.

Using a printed Bible in church encourages others to bring and use theirs. One of the first things I remember doing as a new Christian is learning where the books of the Bible are. In this respect I think that this is a needful endeavor, much like memorizing bible verses. You get familiar with not only the book or verse, but also where it is located. Is the book in the front, between the front and the middle, in the middle, between the middle and the end?

I can still remember memorizing verses and becoming very familiar with where the verse was located on the page. I actually had a picture of it in my mind which helped a lot in finding both book and verse.

For instance, I use my computer almost exclusively for study and sermon preparation. This is not like carrying your device to church with you. But my Sword Searcher program as a definite step up from only having a printed Bible for study purposes.

[Disciple.Luke]

18 minutes ago, 1611mac said:

Hi.. I'm not challenging here... but spurring conversation... If you are using a Bible app only does it matter that you can quickly navigate through a printed Bible?  If you don't know the Books of the Bible nor their order does it matter whether you are in an App or Printed Bible?  Both show lack of care and study.

I wasn't challenging you, brother. I apologize if I came off that way. I was just my opinion.

[No Nicolaitans]

I use all of them...printed, phone app (MySword), and a computer program (TheWord).

I still prefer my actual printed Bible though.

There's just something that invokes an awe and reverence in me about being able to hold, read, and study an actual bible. Men gave their lives to produce a printed bible, and we enjoy the privilege of owning one today because of their efforts and sacrifices.

To be fair though, I also see the current explosion of computerized bibles as a natural progression. I know just a little about coding, so I can't imagine the work that must go into producing a bible program or app...and many are free to use! Those who produce these programs may not have given their lives, but they've certainly given a tremendous amount to give us God's word technologically.

Still...I'm an old fogy...and prefer a printed bible. LOL! 

[...]

1 hour ago, Disciple.Luke said:

Half the Christians I see have a hard enough time trying to find 1 John in their own bibles, and using a bible app is just more of a crutch. In a way it's seems about "lazy" instead of learning where the different books are in a hard copy.

 

1 hour ago, Jim_Alaska said:

Using a printed Bible in church encourages others to bring and use theirs. One of the first things I remember doing as a new Christian is learning where the books of the Bible are. In this respect I think that this is a needful endeavor, much like memorizing bible verses. You get familiar with not only the book or verse, but also where it is located. Is the book in the front, between the front and the middle, in the middle, between the middle and the end?

I am something of a bibliophile, (with Luddite-like tendencies) so I will never welcome electronic devices as anything even close to primary use.  A large number of studies show that there is something about physically doing things with tangible, non electronic devices, that allows for better retention of information and skill.  From personal experience, I find this to be true.

Knowing where stories are located in a physical Bible allow for a linear mnemonic timeline, of sorts, to be visualized in one's mind.  The subject of mnemonics can be a series of threads in and of itself, but the general idea behind it is that our brains work much more efficiently, in regard to memory, when visuals are used.  You probably can't remember your shopping list from last month, but you can probably mentally walk through every room of the home in which you grew up and account for nearly every item within.  Since there are actual physical locations that you read and touch and write upon, within the pages of physical books, they are much more mnemonically conducive than electronic devices.  While you can create mnemonic systems with electronic devices, physical books create a much stronger mnemonic connection because of the actual physical locations of the information.

Even things like the physical dimensions of a physical book can prime one's mind for the task to come.  When you sit down with a physical copy of a thick book, like the Bible or an old copy of Robinson Caruso, your brain knows to expect a lot of information and that it is going to be a certain amount of linear time before it is completed.  With an electronic book, your brain does not prepare in the same manner and does not process the informations in the same way.  There is no real backward or forward in an electronic reader; it's only a concept.  Additionally, you can hold a device that is displaying "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," and it is no different to your brain than if that same device were displaying the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Writing and typing are handled by the brain in the same way.  When you write something out by hand, with a physical writing utensil on paper, the brain remembers it much better and processes the information more efficiently than when you type using a keyboard or a typewriter and even better than physically writing with an electronic drawing pad.  This is another reason why video games are so dangerous and destructive to the human mind, but I digress.

If they stop printing physical Bibles, then I will either make my own press or I will hand write and bind my own.  Although I use one on my Mac, from which I to copy and paste into forums &c., I will never, in my life, rely upon an electronic Bible.  Unless I die in an unexpected way, I intend on dying while holding a physical copy of the King James Bible.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2017 by Brother Stafford

[1611mac]

2 hours ago, Disciple.Luke said:

I wasn't challenging you, brother. I apologize if I came off that way. I was just my opinion.

No not at all.. I wanted to make sure you didn't think I was "challenging" you....  :)

[Ukulelemike]

I have a Bible app on my phone and tablet, so I can literally read the Bible ANYWHERE. And I do. As I get older I find myself spending time in...certain places. So instead of sitting on Facebook, I can read a couple chapters of the Bible. But my 'primary' Bible is still a book in my hand.

[1611mac]

Still not getting to the "core" of this I think though it may have been touched on....   As Bro. Stafford and and others say.. we LOVE our printed Bibles.  I have a special feeling at reading the notes I made as I was learning so much so many years ago. Something to touch and smell and feel....

But, in reality...  Is "ink on paper" with a leather cover any more "spiritual" than "pixels on a screen?"  I know that probably sounds blasphemous to some... but isn't everything that's true of a printed bible also true of a "pixel bible" (Bible app)? ie: They are both in print (one ink, one electronic) the Word of God?

Would the apostle Paul, or John, etc refused to use such a tool had it been available?  Would they be saying that our modern day Bibles just aren't the same as the handwritten OT scrolls and parchments of their day?

Just wondering.....

Edited March 15, 2017 by 1611mac

[1Timothy115]

7 hours ago, 1611mac said:

What about you?  
- Do you think you could ever NOT carry a printed Bible?  Always will until my hands won't grasp it.
- Could you ever get to the point where your "go to" Bible with your notes is ONLY on your device(s)? Nope.
- Is there something wrong with not carrying a standard printed Bible but having so much more info available on your device? (Bible AND complete study tool library) Nope...purely preference for others but, for me my preference is my printed Bible.
- PASTORS: If someone uses Bible apps ONLY in church would you suggest to them they also bring a standard printed Bible?

You should have made a poll out of this. It would be interesting to see the result especially with a few demographics thrown in.

[...]

1 hour ago, Ukulelemike said:

I have a Bible app on my phone and tablet, so I can literally read the Bible ANYWHERE.

I have a pocket Bible (OT & NT) in my coat pocket, so I can literally read the Bible ANYWHERE.

14 minutes ago, 1611mac said:

But, in reality...  Is "ink on paper" with a leather cover any more "spiritual" than "pixels on a screen?"  I know that probably sounds blasphemous to some... but isn't everything that's true of a printed bible also true of a "pixel bible" (Bible app)? ie: They are both in print (one ink, one electronic) the Word of God?

Neither one is more the word of God than the other and neither is "more spiritual" than the other.  As I said in my previous post, it is about how the brain responds to the differences in medium.  That aspect is not subjective; it is objective.  If it is a matter of convenience, in the casual sense, I am opposed to it.  It is my opinion that nothing that has to do with the word of God should be adjusted or manipulated for our convenience.  It is still the word of God and should be treated with respect and reverence.

[No Nicolaitans]

11 minutes ago, 1611mac said:

Still not getting to the "core" of this...

Would the apostle Paul, or John, etc refused to use such a tool had it been available?  Would they be saying that our modern day Bibles just aren't the same as the handwritten OT scrolls and parchments of their day?

Just wondering.....

I can't say for sure what they would think, but my gut says they would be accepting of it...if used correctly. I think the main thrust of it is this...we are to study God's word. I don't think it matters what is "containing" his word...as long as it IS his word.

7 hours ago, 1611mac said:

What about you?  

- Do you think you could ever NOT carry a printed Bible?  

Personally, no.

- Could you ever get to the point where your "go to" Bible with your notes is ONLY on your device(s)?

Personally, no. I much prefer a book...plus...my eyes get blurry after looking at a screen for very long. Ha! 

- Is there something wrong with not carrying a standard printed Bible but having so much more info available on your device? (Bible AND complete study tool library)

Personally, no...not at all.
 

 

[...]

Another reason I am a printed Bible kind of person is that if one is reading a Bible app, no one else knows what you're reading.  If you are reading a physical Bible, others know what you are reading.  Many conversations have arisen from strangers seeing me reading my Bible (and other books) while waiting for appointments.