There has been a major shift over the past several since the introduction of the Iphone and Android smartphones. From there we’ve been introduced to tablets and wearable technology that many use in their everyday lives.
Information is more available now than it has ever been before. Â With the click of the button or search of the phone, you can find the answers to just about anything that you can think of. Â You can connect with just about anyone through various social media outlets.
Social media has become a billion-dollar industry bringing people together in ways we would of never imagined.
- Years ago you would find pastors and laymen preaching against the wiles of social media, warning their congregations to stay away from them. Today it has become a tool of outreach for the church to keep up with members and possible visitors, with the preaching on it shifting to that of a sermon on gluttony (social media is OK, but don’t overindulge in it).
The face of the church media is nothing like it used to be.
- The media department of old (pastor or secretary creating the church bulletins or flyers with cheesy graphics) has been replaced with the media department of new (audio, video, online streaming, print media professionally designed, church apps, websites).
The church has become seemingly adaptable to this digital age and continues to progress as technology is allowing it.
- Where we once preached against the wiles of television, we are embracing it now as a form of outreach in the church. Â Where we once preached against the internet, we are embracing it as a tool of communication with our congregations.
With every other facet of the church being continuously updated as technology allows, this brings up a couple of questions regarding the Bible:
- Â “Is it wrong using it as your primary Bible?”
- Â “Is it OK for a Pastor to use it during a sermon?”
- “Is it OK to use when going soulwinning?”
We want to hear from you! What do you think?
Leave us a comment in the section below to let us know what your thoughts are!
God was the first one to put the Bible on a tablet & it was a touch screen because He used His finger to do it. 🙂
There are pros & cons to both a printed Bible & a digital Bible. Both will continue to serve a purpose and neither needs to replace the other. Books may not be selling as much, but they aren’t going anywhere.
When it comes to if and when you use one or the other it is a preferential issue and no one should be saying one or the other is wrong. The preaching against media of old wasn’t Bible preaching and that is why it no longer stands today.
The only kind of Bible that I will ever trust is a printed King James Bible. I have seen far too many examples of companies or hackers that change the text of things in digital formats. I am open to the idea of using digital Bibles for the purpose of quick searching study aids, but I would still need to compare what is on the screen with what is in my printed book.
Publishers also are changing the Kings James Bibles. Be very careful where you buy your KJB. Many of the publishing companies make changes without saying anything about the changes.
http://www.biblebelievers.com/believers-org/counterfeit-kjv.html this site will list a few of the changes found.
Yes! It is, But it is NOT the pure Word of God. The WORD OF GOD must be pure.
The issue here is the PURITY of GOD’s WORD.
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in the furnace of the earth, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6
You can’t say that your digital bible is pure because it just one of the application in your tablet. You use your tablet for entertainment, social media, lust, and then your gonna use it as a Bible? Would God be pleased with it? Your tablet is a symbol of social media and you are going to replace your Bible with it? That is APOSTACY! A departure from the faith of the pure Words of God. YES! I know that a tablet can be used for God’s glory, but it is not GOD’s GLORY.
Moses’ tablet only contains the pure Word of God. The early Christians’ scrolls only contains the pure Word of God. Our leather Bible only contains the pure Word of God. Does your tablet contain only the pure Word of God? If it is, then it is what a Bible should be. But if it is not, then it not what God wants His WORDS to be.
God wants His Word to be PURE! If your digital Bible(tablet) is pure, I’ll say AMEN to that.
If if is not purely a BIBLE, then you are one of the fulfillment of the LAST DAYS.
So are the maps in the back of your bible pure?
It’s not the paper or the screen that show the words of God, that is pure. It’s the very Words of God that are pure. The bible forbids us from changing the words of God. Never what it is written on. If that were the case we still should be using what that God chose to write on….Stone.
I do not understand what others things on a computer or tablet have to do with whether or not the words of God are pure. If that were the case just by touching the Bible we put sin in contact with the physical Bible. But that never changes the pure words inside of it.
” You use your tablet for entertainment, social media, lust, and then your gonna use it as a Bible? ”
What does any of these thing have to do with respect to the words of God being pure
.
I do agree that one should not use your computers or tablets for “sinful” purposes,
We all are sinners! Our sin does not change what God has said. His words are pure!
Be it on stone, papyrus, animal skins, paper, glass, wood, buildings, trees, etc, etc.
Our battle is that man is CHANGING Gods Word every time some new translation or so called bible comes out. We must stand for Gods Word daily, and as an English speaking man, that’s the King James Bible. One that is not altered by money hungry publisher of today.
Agree
I again see what you’re arguing here…however it’s a fallible argument. You use your eyes to watch movies that are impure, you view websites and billboards with impurity on them….yet you also use them to read the Bible…
The purity of the Word of God doesn’t depend on the paper on which it is printed, but rather on the Holiness of the Author. The Bible says the Word of the Lord will not return void….no matter what form it is in.
To say it must be printed on paper to be pure would be to say that when a Christian quotes the Scripture it is impure because it is being issued from an impure human. Paper is used to print pornography, obscene literature, and other heinous things, yet it is also used for Bibles….
I am failing to understand what the difference is here…
The Word of God is the Word of God. If you make it anything more or less than that you have added or taken away from that which you are trying to defend and your position has become weaker. Everything else is preference, and either way that’s OK.
Agree with johnrei
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All Scripture is given by inspiration….the word script is here. It requires a pen and paper. Electronic devices can make mistakes but the written word once engraved cannot be changed without it being obvious. Gods’ word has always been in written form and in book form so to change that you are changing the presentation of the Bible. Its why a Preacher should always use the old black book.
Poor Moses, guess he was lost without his “old black book”. I
love my “old black book” which by the way is worn burgundy leather.
Man has attempted many times to change the words of God, in written form and in oral form,
Gods Words are still pure, despite the will of man of the devils attempts.
God has preserved His word throughout history, for us today on many different materials as history records. The medium on which God Words are recorded is not important. Recording them correctly however is vital.
Printing on paper was a modern invention at one time.
Besides did God put chapter and verse divisions in His written word? If not why do we? Are His words still pure? Even if man inserts chapter and verse.
I see where you’re coming from here. However, I disagree strongly with what you are stating. I have a Bible I recently bought (OLD KING JAMES 1611), which I have gone through and circled the many typos and errors I have found. I am a professional writer and editor, and seeing misspelled words gets my dander up…
To the issue at hand:
Having your Bible on your iPad, iPhone, or other electronic device is not only alright, but may actually prove much more beneficial for Christians today. As we are out and about we ALL carry our cell phone or PDA everywhere we go. Our Bible may not be attached to our hip this way. With the use of electronic Bibles we can more easily integrate Scripture into our daily lives. We can listen to the Bible as we drive, work, or do other daily tasks all from the same device that we use to plan our day with.
For a pastor, the ability to use an electronic Bible enables him to bring the audience into his sermon. Multimedia programs now allow iPads and other devices to connect via Wi-Fi and the pastor can place his notes or illustrations on a monitor for all to see. Some churches have gone as far as developing applications for Android and Apple devices that allow the members to follow the pastor’s notes live during the service, making for a much more engaging sermon.
The problem you bring up here is not the fallibility of an electronic device, but rather the humanity of mankind. If an electronic device makes a mistake, it is because a human put the wrong information into it. This is equally true of a printed copy of God’s Word. If the copy has misprints, poor translation issues, etc…it is because a human put the wrong information into it.
This kind of stupidity makes me want to poke myself in the eye with a stick!
I think the real question brought up here has nothing to do with what form the Bible is presented in. I think the real question is what we are personally comfortable accepting in terms of advancement. At one time, the piano was not considered to be an instrument for use in church. Now it is perhaps the MOST accepted instrument. Some churches will not allow a digital piano, yet show no recognition to the fact that at one time a stringed piano was the most advanced instrument of its time.
A digital Bible is no less the Word of God than a Scripture verse in a tract or on a wall hanging. If you want to guarantee the purity of the Word, then you should study Greek and Hebrew, pluck a goose, make your own ink from all natural ingredients and without the use of chemicals, and hand write each verse. Otherwise you’re placing your faith in someone else’s translation work.
So there you have it… digital or printed…the Word of God is the Word of God… Whether you’re willing to accept that as fact or not depends entirely on you. However, before you argue that it is not, you should first consider that ALL printed works are here because of advances in technology that were once looked upon as unsafe, ungodly, or questionable. No doubt Gutenberg faced the same opposition in his day from the established church when he printed the first Bible to be distributed to the people.
People who only prefer to use the paperback Bible should go back to CLAY TABLETS and SKINS of animals.
I agree with Joshua…
Matt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (KJV)-
I am not against audio Bibles and of course it’s still the Word of God. However, I don’t think they belong in church for a number of reasons:
1- tablets are kind of like weed; it’s a gateway drug. We are fighting against distractions, and tablets just give people an excuse to have their cell phones on and ready to ring; kills the invitation.
2- It takes away from soul winning. In my opinion, it says something to your neighbors and everyone else that sees you on Sunday morning carrying your Bibles.
( People are watching)
3- It gives people a chance to look at other distractions rather than hear and see what they came for in the first place which is God.
The KJV is the KJV, whether printed on pages, or displayed on a digital screen. Why are we having this silly discussion? Such questions is what makes Fundamentalists look like idiots to the world. Get a grip!
I haven’t read the comments above. I think we need both! The convenience of digital helps keep the word in front of you now frequently and has flexible highlights, note taking, and other features. I, however, will never let go of my precious paper copies. With the uncertainty of the future, I feel it’s important to hold on to the precious word in all its forms. A preacher once told me that theJews of old ceremoniously buried worn out scriptures in a special stone box. This was how they were found, re-read, and stirred the heart of the king to repentance in the old testament story. I feel we all may need that hidden treasure some day.