CREEDE HINSHAW: Are you more ‘app’ to read the Bible?
OPINION: One survey says half of Americans who read the Bible do it online
By Creede Hinshaw
How do you read your Bible? Fewer people are reading an old-fashioned book with gilt-edged, leather-bound pages. The Pew Research Center reports that 74 percent of Americans own smart phones and the American Bible Society reports that 50 percent of Americans read their Bibles online.
It used to be that part of a pastor’s responsibilities included recommending which translation/version of the Bible to read. Now the pastor is also tasked – I believe – with being conversant over which Bible app or apps to recommend on a church member’s smart phone. The breadth and scope of selection is staggering and much of it is free.
You can get an app for almost any translation of the Bible. Probably the most widely offered app is the King James Version (KJV), but dozens of other Bible translations are available, too. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible appears to be the only version, thanks to their copyright laws, that a reader has to purchase. An interested reader will have to pay at least $9.99 to download an NRSV app. Cheapskate that I am, when I want to read this translation I use my dog-eared Bible.
The number and creativity of Bible apps appears endless. One app promises 90 translations. Some apps have audio versions. One audio version (for 99 cents) promises that the voice sounds “American” and excludes background music or sound effects on the app.
There is a Deaf Bible offering scriptures in various sign language from the Deaf Bible Society. The Gideon Bible app provides the Bible in over 1000 languages.
Some Bible apps promise a veritable theology library. One app offers 450-plus virtual tours, 2,300-plus photos, 7,500 articles and 650-plus works of art. Others offer daily readings and devotional material. There are dozens of children’s apps with Bibles, stories and games. Various apps will install Bible verse wallpaper and forward you a daily verse.
On the weird side is a Bible Slots game, a combination of gambling and Bible reading. The user can collect free coins every day and hit huge daily jackpots of fake money. One reviewer wrote, “Prior to this app reading the Bible never was that much fun.” Bizarre.
There are Bible apps for Mormons, Muslims and Jews. I suspect the same is true for Hindus and Buddhists and probably more than a few humanist apps. I do not feel qualified to review any of these.
Not all apps are created equal. One app had mostly bad reviews: “Had to tap and hit too often … app keeps freezing … screen turned black after a few seconds and then quit.” I never have those problems with my “old fashioned” Bible.
Sadly, when I studied a list of the top free apps, the most popular Bible app came in at a lowly No. 153, right behind a casino app and a zombie app and 150 spots behind Instagram.
Next week: the Bible app on my phone and how I use it.
Email columnist Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].
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