By Gavin Aleogho
Change in life is inevitable. As believers, I believe we shouldn’t be afraid of change. We must learn to embrace change as it comes and use it to our advantage. One of the fears of most believers and church leaders in particular is, “if worldliness is not being introduced into the Church of Christ with the way many are abandoning their hard-copy (bound) Bible for digital (soft) Bible which comes as applications in computer, Smart phones and mobile devices?”
I
understand their concern but I must quickly state just like my Pastor, Emmanuel
Ekoja once said in his response to such a question. He tends to say that, if
you insist that we abandon e-Bible (soft copy Bible), if you say it's sinful,
worldly or carnality as, some suppose. If you say the print Bible is what God
approves, then you must remember that the Bible was first in parchment and
scrolls. That means if we really want to go back to the foundation, then we
have to go back and start using scrolls and parchment Scriptures. Although, he strongly
advises that Christians should go to church with hard-copy Bible.
God wrote
the Ten Commandment on stones, other parts of the Scriptures were written on
scrolls and parchments. The earlier Christians from the days of the Apostles
never had the Scripture bounded, which is known today as the Bible. But that
didn’t make them more or less a Christian than the generations that strictly
uses hard-copy Bible.
Why I am saying
this is because, whether you accept it or not, the e-Bible (Bible in mobile
devices, computers, smart phones etc.) has come to stay. As a matter of fact,
the usage is fast on the increase because of its numerous benefits which you
can’t just overlook. Fighting it won’t stop its increase and usage. Besides, what
do you think 20 years from now will look like concerning this issue?
I
personally realize that, the e-Bible has brought studying of the Scripture to
my finger tip. This is because of its numerous features like Bible
commentaries, numerous versions of the Bible, the Bible dictionary, Greek and
Hebrew dictionaries, Bible concordance, interlinear Bible, Topical guide, Cross
reference guide, maps, devotionals etc, all in one device and at a go! Unlike
before, when, if I needed to study the Bible, I had to be at home where my
hard-copy Scriptural study materials were available. But now, I can study
my Bible when I am on transit, work and anywhere I find myself.
But the
question is, “Should I abandon my bounded Bible because I now have numerous
translations in my mobile devices”? My answer is NO, and my reason is,
just because there are many advantages in using the e-Bible; it also comes with
some disadvantages too, especially when we are often tempted to use other of
the device’s features during Church Services. This disadvantage is held by the
advocates of hard-copy Bibles. Honestly, this temptation is less or non with the
hard-copy Bible usage.
Like Pastor
Ekoja, I personally advise bringing and using the hard-copy Bible in
church. Not just in Church only; I also believe that the hard-copy Bibles
and Scriptural Study materials are still very much relevant in our personal
study time.
I tend to
hold the opinion that carrying the hard-copy Bible shows your level of
commitment, seriousness and dedication to your faith, especially in such a time
when many so called Christians are ashamed of carrying their Bible in the public,
so as not to be tagged religious and zealous.
