According to Media Encoder, after two and a half centuries of being the repository of the sum of Western knowledge, the Encyclopedia Britannica will cease to be printed. From now on, to get the information that you so desperately need to complete your English essay, you’ll have to use this crazy thing called “the Internet.”
Maybe you’re thinking what I thought when I read this headline, “How did they hold off this long?”
But then, my next thought was,
“What if the Bible was forced to go digital?”
(To be honest, I don’t think I’ve opened a paper Bible in over eight months, and that sort of scares me.)
What if because of economics, politics, or whatever the Bible could no longer be printed?
Right now, such a move sounds absolutely impossible. Too many traditionalists, too many technophobes, would never let the Bible go out of print. And yet, there is this sense that paper, in general, is under attack.
Could the Bible ever become a digital only resource?
What would we lose in the transition from paper to pixels?
What would we gain?
ThatGuyKC says
Honestly, I’m not really surprised by the Encyclopedia Britannica news. I found myself thinking, “they still make those?”.
I don’t think the Bible could ever become a digital only resource because it’s different than an encyclopedia, novel or textbook. It’s not just information, it’s a story and there is power in holding it in your hands.
That being said I’m a big fan of YouVersion and rarely use my paper Bible.
I think a danger of a digital only Bible is version control and ensuring accuracy and the authority of Scripture is maintained.
However, I think a huge gain is distribution. No more smuggling bibles in to China. All they have to do is download an app.
Phil Schneider says
I agree. My only bit of surprise was in that this hadn’t happened years ago.
I’m not sure if the emotional “power” of holding the Bible in your hands still exists for the up-and-coming generations. I do, however, share your concerns about the digital version being “compromised” in its accuracy and authority.
And you’re certainly right about smuggling.
Eric J says
You guys should watch tnt’s explanation of why they ceased publishing the print version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gAhYKnrKRQU#t=1233s
The TL;DR is that it was only 1% of their revenue’s.
Phil Schneider says
One of the articles I read said the same. I can’t believe they let it go that long with such the print edition being such a small portion of their income.
Adam Shields says
I think that many people view the print version as the credibility that makes the web version. I don’t doubt that once the print version is gone their other revenues will take a hit among some.
Phil Schneider says
That certainly makes sense.
Phil Schneider says
I promised my wife that I’d express her concerns with a digital only Bible:
“What about when I pass away, and our grandchildren look through my Bible. I want them to see the verses that I highlighted, the notes I wrote in the margins, the prayers I wrote, and the promises I claimed.”
I think that it’s a great point. My dad has inherited some Bibles like this, and it was a real blessing to him.
Of course, I guess you could leave your YouVersion account info in your will.
Eric J says
Or you could leave public youversion notes and highlights 😉
Phil Schneider says
True. Very true.
Adam Shields says
I am not sure digital only is all that big of a deal. The biggest problem is one of scale. Primarily reading on a screen the size of an iphone vs one the size of an ipad. The iphone size tends to get you to focus on the individual verses more than the flow of the text.
That is really not much different from reading a large paperback sized bible and one of those micro New Testaments.
I think we are losing all kids of minutia in the switch to digital books. But we are gaining a lot as well. Will you pass on your twitter feed to your kids? Will that tell them more than some diaries would? What about your blog or facebook account. Yes we are losing some content, but we are gaining a lot more in the amount of content.
The question is probably one primarily of quality.
Phil Schneider says
That’s a great point about the size of the screen and the flow of the text. I, personally, love how Eugene Peterson tried to do away with it in “The Message,” but I’m not a big fan of his actual translation.
You’re certainly right about how we’ll still have quite a bit of content to leave our kids—maybe even more than our parents and grandparents leave us—but I still think seeing notes and prayer requests written in a long-past relative’s hand is a big deal. Of course, I’m a history grad student, and I love reading old and dusty books.
PS—I love your blog.
Adam Shields says
Thanks
Adam shields says
Thought you might like this post about size of screen and how much we remember
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/andrewsullivan/rApM/~3/cBTrrjbdajQ/e-book-amnesia.html
Phil Schneider says
I’ve actually experienced that myself when I’ve used Kindle books for my grad school researched. I failed to highlight that *crucial* piece of evidence and then couldn’t find it again.