On your morning walk, the first 10 chapters of Romans come loud and clear through your iPod headphones. At the office, you open an e-mail testimonial from a well-known gospel singer. Before bed, you sign on to an online community, where friends you’ve made across the country share the good news of how the Bible has transformed their lives. You post your own words of hope and a favorite Bible verse before signing off.
The new rituals of a 21st-century Christian life? Every one of these moments is a meeting with Scripture. Yet not one of them involves turning a single page.
Inspiration Download
When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1439, the technology changed the world. A flood of Bibles subsequently appeared, unleashing a message of hope to a wider audience than had ever been possible in the days of manuscripts.
The modern age had an analogous explosion of information that is changing the world in its wake. It's a very good sign that the Bible is involved in every aspect of it. New ministry programs ensure that Scripture is available across media and the gamut of new technical gadgets and wonders — everywhere that a new generation is looking for answers.
Outreach is happening through nearly every new device. Take the cell phone, which is now in 85% of U.S. households. The American Bible Society recently tested sending out 10 days of Proverbs as text messages — short written messages sent from one cell phone to another — which is the preferred means of communication for the under-35 set. Another program is making the entire Bible available to any phone that can reach the Internet. By visiting the website ABSbibles.com, “people can read the Bible's messages of inspiration, strength, courage and hope on their cell phones wherever they are,” says John Cruz, vice president of Bibles.com.
Tomorrow’s Words and Sounds
Music devices bow to the winds of change, as anyone who remembers the 8-track or the humble record player can attest. Today the most common format is the MP3, a digital file that can be played on computers and portable devices. The American Bible Society has just launched a Scripture listening program on MP3, titled 40 for God. In just 40 days, a listener can download these spoken files, also known as podcasts, for free and listen to the entire New Testament.
Even Gutenberg’s printed book may be due for a shake-up. The American Bible Society has just released the Contemporary English Version Bible for the new Sony eReader and the Amazon Kindle. These new gadgets have the portability and heft of a small book but replace paper pages with a computer screen. Each device can hold about 200 books at a time — and can even allow readers to take unlimited notes in the digital margins.
For some, this makes them a shoo-in for Bible study. Jason Hart, a tech-savvy Bible reader, is quickly falling in love with his Kindle. It makes searching his notes easier and lets him bring the Bible into the rest of his digital life. “I took a screen shot of a passage in 2 Peter that I’ve been memorizing,” he says. “Now it’s my screen saver, so I can memorize it.”
The dawn of these technologies is full of possibilities. One person hungry to see them arrive is Scott Wennermark, a digital ministry expert working with the Bible Society. “We’re trying to find ways to be relevant and intersect, to reach more people with the life-changing message of the Bible,” he says. “In a digital format, the world becomes your audience.”
