I am a member of the millennial generation. Since childhood we have grown up close to computers and the revolutionary technologies of the past four decades. This is why the handling and navigation thereof may come more intuitively to us compared to some who were introduced to it at a later stage in life. Millennials, as well as the following generations (Gen Z and Gen Alpha), are what many call “digital natives.”
Interestingly, during the past 15 years there has been a shift within the user experience of personal technology from a more systematic, logical approach to what one could describe as a “magical methodology.” Despite apps and operating systems having become more advanced and sophisticated, engaging with these highly complex programs has actually become easier and much more intuitive and, in turn, increasingly addictive. Just watch with what ease even a toddler can navigate phones and tablets. Software engineers are integrating knowledge of how our brains and psyche work into their programming. Consequently, they design their algorithms and codes in a way that our minds get hacked into a dopamine-filled, fun-oriented experience that flows smoothly and is just easy. We have now reached a point where advanced AI-powered apps and operating systems can even sense and foresee your needs and desires and cater their content and services accordingly. It’s incredible!
Thankfully, Christian software developers exist too, which means a wide variety of spiritual and Bible-related apps, websites, and technologies are available and being developed. As I write these words, I have access to hundreds of Bible translations through Bible websites and my personal Bible software. These offer me access to tens of thousands of fully searchable resources, original languages, commentaries, dictionaries, theological books, and articles. I hold in my hand more information than any physical theological library ever could. It is truly amazing and conducive for digging deeper into Scripture, asking theological questions, and researching texts in their original biblical languages and contexts. Theologians and pastors can attest that these tools are crucial, helpful, practical, and powerful for ministry, research, and teaching purposes.
The Bible holds a competition-less space when it is unfolded in your hands.
With the ongoing explosion of AI-enhanced and powered software, we have entered an era in which the already-fantastic Bible programs’ research abilities are being transformed into an even more personalized experience. Through chatting with these AI-based programs, which have been fed all the above-mentioned content and more, you are able to “talk to the Bible” or “talk to a Bible character” and have research experiences that feel more like studying with a highly knowledgeable teacher and friend, in which the conversation goes back and forth. The AI learns your thoughts and personal context and refines its answers and content to the needs it detects throughout the conversation. It will be able to give you not only clear answers but also practical application pointers and directions that apply specifically to what the AI knows about your life and circumstances.
People of the Book?
Seventh-day Adventists have been called and have paraded ourselves as “people of the Book.” We have our roots in the deepest type of Bible study and will always put great significance on the individual, personal exploration of Scripture. We open our Bibles (ideally) for Sabbath School, for the sermon, for small groups, for family worship, and, most important, for our personal devotions. We love our Bibles! We have themed Bibles, such as the Pathfinder Bible, Evangelism Bible, Archaeology Bible, Elders’ Bible, Ministers’ Bible, the Bible combined with The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, and so on.
I will never forget the time, when I was about 6 years old, that my local Pathfinder director visited my home and handed me my first very own Bible. It was a German Martin Luther Bible with a green hardcover. I treasured it! I remember carrying it to my public school to read during breaks. I even tried to “brag” with it before my secular classmates. Just from a visual standpoint alone, there is something special about a printed, leather-bound, thousand-page-thick, gold-edged Bible that does not compare to any other printed book out there. Yet the trend to digital is an undeniable reality.
So will contemporary and future technologies be able to provide the same blessing as, or a lesser or greater blessing than, an old-fashioned Bible study, in which one uses a physical Bible, maybe some colored pencils, and occasionally a concordance?
I am not here to tell you what to do or how to do it. Technological advances have always impacted human beings and how things are done. With each emerging technological revolution, there will always be a group of people set in their ways of the past, disliking and rejecting the new thing without even considering its potential. Others embrace the change, and for some, the youngest among us, the new technology will be the only one they know. It would be a mistake to dismiss any new technology just because we feel overwhelmed or our comfort level with the “outdated” technology discourages us from trying something new. Let’s not forget that even the machine-printed page was at one point considered new, cutting-edge, modern-day technology. Perhaps there were as many naysayers in the days of Gutenberg as in the days of Zuckerberg. As long as the output is biblically sound, engagement with spiritual content and the Bible through new technology should not be dismissed.
Analog Versus Digital
But back to the question: Is there an advantage to a more analog approach to Bible reading and study? Or are words on a screen and words on paper equal?
If you are an avid reader, you probably already know the answer, even if it’s just a gut feeling. The research is clear: the printed page outshines the digital read in almost every way. Reading from a physical book has proved far superior regarding focus, retention, comprehension, and immersion in the written content. The simple act of holding a book, feeling its weight, and the handling of it in three-dimensional space contributes positively to the brain’s absorption of information. The almost subconscious act of turning a page “creates an ‘index’ in the brain, mapping what we read visually to a particular page.”1 I am sure you have experienced this before, when you may not remember the exact scripture but do remember where on a page it was located.
The most obvious benefit to reading from a physical book, of course, is the lack of distractions versus a tablet or an e-reader, with its intruding vibrations, notifications, sounds, and easily accessible dopamine kicks. Sure, you can temporarily silence them, but your subconscious knows that the plethora of exciting apps is there, running in the background of your device and therefore occupying some anticipatory space in the back of your mind, simply by existing. We are told:
“We must turn away from a thousand topics that invite attention. There are matters that consume time and arouse inquiry, but end in nothing. The highest interests demand the close attention and energy that are so often given to comparatively insignificant things.”2
We should be diligent in doing our best to improve the effectiveness of the Word in our minds and lives.
Absorption Effectiveness
“Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Prov. 4:5-7).
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11).
Let’s be clear: The Word of God is transformative, instructive, and powerful, whether you read it on paper or on a sheet of lit-up glass. The Holy Spirit can utilize any communication device, digital and analog. But when it comes to the daily choices we can make to enhance and improve our Bible-reading experience, we should be diligent in doing our best to improve the effectiveness of the Word in our minds and lives.
Is it possible to ride a bike with a dry, unlubricated chain? Yes. But will the ride go as well as it would on a well-oiled bicycle? Not for too long. Wear and tear will increase, damaging other components. Your ride will get noisy, and it will require greater effort.
Science and experience tell us that printed books make information retention and comprehension more likely. Applying this to Bible reading gives our already-overstimulated brains an advantage in exploring God’s character through His Word. Every little bit counts.
Can you get by and have a blessed experience in the digital Bible reading experience? Certainly! What on the surface may seem like an insignificant difference, however, such as using your physical Bible instead of a digital one, is, in fact, a significant one. Over time this choice will make a more substantial spiritual impact on your life. “We should improve every opportunity of placing ourselves in the channel of blessing.”3 Every small or big change we can make to improve the quality of how God’s Word is absorbed is worth it. We should make an effort to, at the least, spend the most valuable times of our Bible reading—our personal devotions—in a physical Bible.
Give Me the (Printed) Bible
Yes, it’s convenient just to pull out our phones and tablets to read the Bible. And engaging with an AI-powered Bible study tool is worth a try and can be part of our journey. The “magic feel” of today’s and future technology is undeniable and is certainly spilling over into digital Bible apps. Yet there is something more powerful, in my opinion, and that is the psychological effect of holding God’s printed Word in your hand. In the digital world of our devices, everything occupies a more or less equal space, with apps all having the same-size home screen icons and the same amount of power to notify you or get your attention. Yes, adjustments can be made in that realm, but they are limited, and a Bible app will always have to share its space with hundreds of other apps. Reading from a printed Bible, on the other hand, besides all the above-mentioned benefits, communicates to yourself and to others that you are prioritizing the content before you above all else, because there is nothing else. The Bible holds a competition-less space when it is unfolded in your hands. Holding God’s physical Word in your physical hand creates for you a deeper awareness of its value, importance, and holiness. It turns into a treasure, for the longer you use it, mark it up, and make it your own, the more unique and set apart it becomes.
There is a funny meme floating around the Internet that says something along the lines of “Moses downloaded from the cloud onto his tablet long before it was cool.” Of course, it’s just a joke, because the reality is that God gave him physical stone tablets onto which He had written with His own hand. God knows the importance of physical representations of holy information, whether on tablets or memorial stones, in books, or through the most magnificent physical representation of Himself to humanity—Jesus. Knowing the human mind the best, I believe He was onto something!
Whatever your preferred method and means of engaging with the Bible may be, it is my prayer that, as people of the Book living in a world of increased digitization, we don’t forget the unmatched value, blessing, and advantage of holding, opening, and, most important, reading our printed Bibles.
1 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/well-read/202402/the-case-for-paper-books-vs-e-readers
2 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 456.
3 Ellen G. White, The Faith I Live By (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958), p. 334.