Bye bye to the hard copy Bible?

What you need to know:

IPad preaching is a growing trend and the traditional hard copy bibles seem to be endangered, writes Brian Mutebi.

The priest wrote down his sermon and carried his Bible along to the pulpit. The Christians, on the pews had their Bibles and notebooks close by, ready for Sunday service. That was then. Today, technology has turned that into a fairy tale. The men and women who deliver sermons in the places of worship increasingly find convenience in using gadgets like iPads, the kindle anmong others. The Christians too carry, in their pockets, e-Bibles to places of worship as opposed to the conventional Bible; call it the hard copy Bible. Is technology causing a radical shift in the conventional way of doing things?

Evelyn Acho, 30, a Software Engineer, says technology should be embraced.
“It is convenient to carry my e-Bible (on my phone) to church than the conventional Bible,” she says. “Besides,” she adds, “It has the same content as does the conventional Bible.”

Portability vis-a-vis time
Acho argues that it is easier navigating the ‘soft copy’ Bible than the physical book. “Even if someone is not used to reading the Bible, they can easily find a particular verse on their phones through a swipe away. With a conventional Bible, however, if one is not an expert, by the time they find the scripture the priest mentioned, s/he will have moved on to another subject.”

However, Lawrence Walube, a member of Makerere Full Gospel Church says the use of phones for Bible reading or study is only ideal in “crisis times”. For instance while one is in a car and needs reference to the Bible otherwise under normal circumstances one ought to use the conventional hard copy Bible. “I know one can make notes on their phone. It might be easy but not secure for they can lose it to a virus or anything but when you mark or write notes in your conventional Bible with ink, that is indelible, it will stay for generations that’s why they are called ‘hard copies’.”

Distractive
Emmanuel Biibi, a banker with Standard Chartered Bank, says the use of phones and tablets for Bible reading in church can be distractive. “You can put your phone in silent mode but will you stop a Whatsapp message from popping up?” he wonders. “That’s why you see people facebooking or tweeting in church instead of listening to the sermon.”

Style up
However, the Rev Ben Mugarura, the former chaplain of St Francis Chapel, Makerere University, sounds liberal. “They might be tweeting something important to someone far away about what is happening in church at that time,” he argues.

Rev Mugarura says there are two categories of people who go to church today – the young generation, to whom reading the e-Bible is equivalent to flipping that big book unlike the older people. Many of them, Mugarura argues, simply do not appreciate technology.
“They should understand that that technology has given the young people tools to use for the good of the gospel,” he says.

Flip the pages
Pastor Danstan Kagwiisa of World Restoration Centre Church, however, differs “There is a comfort you feel when you flip the Bible pages unlike swiping your gadget screen.” Kagwiisa claims that the use of a phone or tablet instead of a conventional Bible depicts some level of laziness and can be an excuse to conceal someone’s Christian identity. “I’m not saying that you carry your Bible to show off but some people use soft copy Bibles because they do not want to be identified as Christians.”

What if it freezes...
Kagwiisa further notes hiccups one might face while using a smart Bible. “What if the pages freeze?” he wonders. Indeed as Andrew Mutebi experienced this. “I was disappointed when the App on my phone failed to open at the time the pastor said we open our Bibles.” Smart phones are also characterised by low battery span with a possibility of the battery completely running out in the middle of the sermon. Mutebi says that the conventional Bible is user-friendly.

“There are headings and subsections in my conventional NIV Bible which makes it easier to read and understand unlike the NIV App on my phone,” he says. Is the hard copy Bible endangered species?

IPad preaching...

1. Thou shall turn off notifications.The worst thing is the preacher’s iPad ringing in the middle of prayer. 2. Thou shall turn off auto-lock.Five minutes into the message your iPad blacks out.
3. Thou shall lower the brightness or else your face will light up like you are telling scary stories.
4. Thou shall use a PDF reader app for notes.It is editable.
5. Thou shall still carry a Bible.There is something powerful about a preacher holding a physical bible. It shows the audience that your authority comes from God, not Steve Jobs.
6. Thou shalt make sure the iPad is fully charged. and away from liquids.