Today I visited a man in hospital to give him communion. It is likely this will be the last time he ever partakes of the Lord’s supper. His body is slowly shutting down and he could hardly speak. I spent time with him reading the scriptures and preparing him for a good death.
As I was leaving to visit the man I almost forgot to grab my Bible. I had my iPad and therefore my electronic Bibles but I did not have an actual Bible with me. It occurred to me at that moment how inappropriate it would be to stand before someone with the cup and the bread and then whip out the iPad and start reading the Bible. I suppose if that is all I had with me then it would have had to do. However, it felt to me as if it using an e-reader to read the Bible to the dying was in some way cheapening what I was doing in that room at that moment. It’s as if the Holy in Holy Scriptures would have been lost. Maybe I am being sentimental, maybe I am listening to my conscience.
I wrote a few weeks ago about the rise of e-books and electronic devices in class room and church. Today I was once again I was reminded of the importance (for me at least) of the Bible as a book. Electronic Bibles may be convenient and they might be a great new way to engage the scriptures, nevertheless, in my mind at least the Bible should feel like something. In the same way the physical aspects of the Lord’s Supper represent the theological meaning I also wonder if the Bible as book, with pages and leather bound covers, represent the presence of God in written form. Does the book itself remind us that God is with us?
I continually wrestle with how much I am allowing electronic media and devises rule my life. I wouldn’t say I am addicted but I could easily say I am distracted. But am I fighting a losing battle? Is this the same battle they fought with the advent of the printing press and the telephone or even TV? Should we embrace new technologies and the way they are shaping our lives or should we stand fast against the tide of new technologies?
I finish with this quote about new technologies,
“The new technology will change the way we understand truth; it will change the way we use language; it will erode our memories and our relationships; it will take the soul out of language and turn it into a mere “image” a deceitful apparition of true understanding. In short, this new technology is not merely a useful invention; it is something that threatens the very fabric of our society.”
Is this a quote about blogs? About the internet or Facebook? No. It is Plato, written in the fourth century BC about the shift from an oral culture to a written culture! [As quoted by Ben Myers]
In my tradition (and being from a more conservative area of the country at the time) I remember the first time I ever preached… in… JEANS…. oh, the horror! I thought I couldn’t have the anointing without the suit and tie!
But… I still love a Bible in my hands… I’m not gonna lie.
I think there is a definite value to the Bible as a printed book, if only for a better understanding of the order of the individual books and the layout. It somehow seems easier to completely forget about certain books (98% of the Old Testament that is rarely looked at by most) if you don’t see them. I think the book also adds a sense of continuity that ties the individual books together.
On the other hand, we do not feel like we are loosing something by not reading scroll form or in the original languages either. Something I think about too though, is the fact that for a long time the individual books of the Bible were detached to some extent from each other because of the technology of the day.
I think God is in the Bible, but it is not in the printed, leather bound pages.
I agree with you Mark! The Bible is a sacred text and we should treat it as such, and I agree that maybe the digitizing of the Sacred Text has cheapened it a bit…. though I suppose a few decades from now if not a century people will laugh as such notions given that books will be artifacts by then.
I was really curious about this quote. I followed your link and you are actually quoting from Myers’ article, not from Plato. Myers’ article is worth looking at for his reflections on Plato’s “Phaedrus” where he discusses the transition from an oral culture to a written one. I confess to loving printed texts and especially the Bible, but I also love the advantages of new technologies.
Hi Terry. I heard Ben give the talk at a conference in Queensland. he is a very smart chap and nice as well! His blog is well worth the read. As for books, well electronic books don’t impress your friends as easily!