Books v iPhones

Do they have an app for that?  This is the question that every iPhone user asks themselves throughout the day.  Naturally, after a Christian buys an iPhone he looks for an app for the Bible (after he downloads the Redbox app, but definitely before the Dictionary app).

So why blog about iPhones and apps?  Lately I have noticed more and more people at Veritas substituting their Bibles for their iPhones.  It’s starting to creep me out so I’m using this forum to call people back to books before the iPad takes over and the art of wielding God’s Sword becomes as outdated as the NIV.

Last week I was reading John Calvin’s Institutes and I caught myself taking a moment to thank God for the gift of books.  I love to read works by Calvin, Luther, Edwards, and the like.  Their passion for the gospel is so vivid in their writings that I feel like I know these men even though we’re separated by half a millennium.  Sharing in an author’s passion is a universal emotion that any book lover can testify to.

If you love to read, especially the Bible, then most likely you already know that reading your Bible on a 2×3 inch screen is absurd. 

Christians practice the art of proving Scripture with Scripture.  So much of the New Testament references the Old Testament and learning to flip through Scripture to get the “whole counsel” is best done with an old fashioned handheld Bible.  Before I go any further I should mention that I have an iPhone with a Bible app so I understand the obsession of finding and using the newest and coolest apps.  The Bible app is useful when you need to reference a quick verse and don’t have a Bible anywhere around.  However, the app becomes a vice if it is yet another excuse to keep your Bible on your dresser.  When you want to read God’s Word if you grab your iPhone over your Bible then I have a few things to say…

1)      Practice makes perfect.  The more you practice leaving your Bible unopened on your dresser the better you’ll be at being biblically inept.

2)      Humans retain only 60% of what they read right after they read it.  There are some verses that we’ve all read hundreds of times yet still can’t quote exactly.  It’s not enough to just read.  We need to take notes, highlight verses that the Holy Spirit illuminates, and read verses in context (i.e. practice good hermeneutics).  You wouldn’t expect a college student to pass any classes if he only took notes on his iPhone, what makes remembering Scripture verses any different?

3)      Books have lasted half a millennium for a reason.  They are lightweight, portable, thin as a laptop; plus they come with protective covers, and can be translated into every language.  Oh don’t forget about instant access (no need to boot up) and the absence of viruses and freezing issues.  The pen and paper (scrolls) go back thousands of more years.  The iPhone hit the streets last year.  Don’t be so quick to chuck your Bible!

In short, a Bible app definitely has its pros, but if it becomes just another piece of technology that inoculates us from spending time with God in His Word then it’s as useless as the Dollar Store’s Bible on DVD.  If most of your Bible study comes from your TV screen, iPhone, radio, picture frames,  and Inn and Out cups then you might want to reconsider your methods.