Do you bring your Bible to church?

[evangelist6589]

Oh and I think the OP would laugh at me when I do my personal Bible study at home. Laptop at the ready, Kindle in hand, iPad on my lap and notebook on the table. Then I'm ready to go. In addition to the regular reading that I do for my quiet time, I'm also going through Wiersbe's book on 1 Peter and so that is on my Kindle and I have been using my iPad as my Bible so that I can hop and skip easily. If there is a particular passage or verse I want to highlight, I'll grab my regular Bible as well to highlight it because I love running into highlights and notes as I later read through the Scriptures. So I'm a mess when I study!

Oh no mam I would not. Computer reference libraries are an excellent way to do Biblical exegesis.

 

[Zaac]

No offense, Zaac, but these are all personal perceptions that don't have any real validity outside of your own set of standards. What you feel isn't what I feel, and vice versa. I've got no problem with what form the Word is in that the teacher or pastor studied, as long as he studied.

No offense taken. But you are absolutely corretc. They are personal perceptions. I'm an observant person and I mean little,bitty details. And often times I will forsee something that others haven't anticipated because I do tend to be more conservative with God's word and the way things are done than a lot of others.

And I'm just saying, and it may not be evident right now, just like it may not have been evident during the last election cycle how evangelicals supporting a Mormon was going to affect the evangelical witness, but it will have a negative impact if the church moves away from the physical bringing of a Bible of paper to church.

I cannot tell you how many churches I have gone too and how few of the kids are carrying Bibles because it's gonna be shown on the screen anyhow.

But like you said, it's a personal perception.

 

[evangelist6589]

Another silly topic that is an electronic waste of my time having to moderate

Then I apologize. My rantings perhaps may be best kept to myself. Thank you for correcting me.

 

[saturneptune]

Folks that criticize the medium of God's Word one brings to church are goofy or got dropped on their head at birth. What difference does it make, as long as it is the Word of God. One of the ways I read the Bible is listen to CDs in the car on occasion.

Now, when we get someone other than our pastor such as a fill in from the Association or the local Bible college that thinks we are a hermeneutics class instead of a local congregation, I bring my Sudoku puzzle book.

 

[evangelist6589]

I don't think it's much of a problem for the older generation. We're gonna bring our Bibles even if you say to not bring them. If I'm going to God's house, I'm bringing a Bible. :laugh:

I think it's the younger generation with which we need to be careful.



Definitely. But there needs to be a balance or we're going to make a generation of very lazy Christians. I think it's already evident in the way the average Baptist Church does witnessing. Everybody wants to invite folks to church and let the pastor do the witnessing instead of doing it themselves. We need to be carful of this "we'll conveniently do it all for you" attitude.

They can HEAR the word by the pastor opening his Bible and reading it to them. :laugh:

It is indeed sad. Thats why I have ben taught the Way of the Master and learned that I ned to go out witnessing. Besides many preach "easy-beievism." For example yesterday someone gave a excellent testimony and called people to salvation. However not once did he use the law, did he mention hell, did he elaborate on sin, the holiness of God, judgment, the second coming of Christ. It was as if the testimony alone and the saying of a prayer is all that is needed when the people whom prayed the prayer had no idea what sin was!

 

[Amy.G]

Matt 7
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.


Evang, why don't you spend your time improving yourself and stop criticizing others?

 

[Zaac]

Matt 7
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.


Evang, why don't you spend your time improving yourself and stop criticizing others?

Now doesn't that make you guilty of criticizing him? I'm just saying. Don't beat me! :laugh:

 

[Amy.G]

Now doesn't that make you guilty of criticizing him? I'm just saying. Don't beat me! :laugh:

No, just stating a fact. Who is he to judge what other churches do? And in such a broad brush fashion?

 

[Zaac]

No, just stating a fact.

Didn't he also state facts that he observed?

Who is he to judge what other churches do? And in such a broad brush fashion?

If he is righteously judging, he has it on God's authority to do so. I guess I'm a little confused here about why it's okay for you to judge what he did, but you don't think it's appropriate for him to judge what they did or are doing?

 

[preacher4truth]

Didn't he also state facts that he observed?



If he is righteously judging, he has it on God's authority to do so. I guess I'm a little confused here about why it's okay for you to judge what he did, but you don't think it's appropriate for him to judge what they did or are doing?

Ummmm? Pot, Kettle? Which is EXACTLY what I called you on in another thread, yet you justified yourself. :wavey:

Come on bro, get off your high horse and own up, it will do your soul good. You've pointed the finger and condemned in the same manner oft on the BB.

Edited to clarify: I don't see Amy doing what she is accused of here by Zaac, but I do and have called Zaac on it in other threads, yet he's justified the behavior he practices yet condemns in others, yet I count him as a brother.

 

[Amy.G]

Didn't he also state facts that he observed?

What "facts"? From the OP:

I am seeing a sad trend in that many no longer bring their Bibles to church but rely on phones and iPad's. The problem with this is that many will be texting, checking FB, watching movies, and the like while listening to a sermon.

Watching movies?? Really? "Many"? I've never seen that and others have said the same.
What "trend"? Did he cite a recent survey? He has no "facts", only accusations, which he frequently posts in his OP's.

If he is righteously judging, he has it on God's authority to do so.

There is nothing righteous about pointing out so called faults of others with no proof.

I guess I'm a little confused here about why it's okay for you to judge what he did, but you don't think it's appropriate for him to judge what they did or are doing?

It's not wrong to judge, especially when you can see the critical spirit right here in black and white. He has no proof there's a "trend" in people not taking their Bibles to church, only his warped opinion.

And Zaac, you are one of the most judgmental people on this board, so maybe you should be silent.

 

[Alive in Christ]

I will always bring my old fashiond bible with me to church. There is no other option as far as I am concerned.

However, the op is so far out of reality it is redicuous. An electronic bible is still a bible.

 

[JonC]

I remember when I’d get aggravated because my parents had trouble with the VCR, DVD, or computer. I thought that technology had left them behind. Now I know better – technology didn’t leave them behind, they just didn’t care to keep up.

I can’t keep up with digital bibles in church. Today’s my birthday, and believe me I’m feeling older. I prefer old fashioned bibles, and in general books (although I also have a kindle). But it’s a preference. Otherwise we’d have to find scrolls to study the OT. :smilewinkgrin:

 

[evangelist6589]

What "facts"? From the OP:


Watching movies?? Really? "Many"? I've never seen that and others have said the same.
What "trend"? Did he cite a recent survey? He has no "facts", only accusations, which he frequently posts in his OP's.



There is nothing righteous about pointing out so called faults of others with no proof.



It's not wrong to judge, especially when you can see the critical spirit right here in black and white. He has no proof there's a "trend" in people not taking their Bibles to church, only his warped opinion.

And Zaac, you are one of the most judgmental people on this board, so maybe you should be silent.

Other than the Erwin Lutzer Sermon(s) that I heard I also have this article.

http://www.challies.com/christian-living/dont-take-your-ipod-to-church

I have witnessed recently what I consider a disturbing trend—Christians coming to church armed not with a Bible but with an iPod or an iPhone or another hand held device. With many versions of the Bible available in electronic formats and with the widespread popularity of MP3 players, cell phones and other digital devices, I guess it just makes sense to some people to bring Scripture in that electronic format. Pragmatists that we are, I believe many Christians have done this without thinking at all about the implications.

I want to encourage you not to bring an electronic Bible to church. I want to encourage you today to bring to church a Bible—an old fashioned kind of Bible, with ink printed on paper and slapped between two covers made of cardboard or leather or pleather. I also want to encourage you not to get into the habit of doing your daily Bible reading using an electronic device. I think we stand to lose far more than we gain.

http://www.challies.com/articles/dont-take-your-ipod-to-church-part-15

What use is memorizing Scripture if we can access our favorite translation faster than we begin to recite it. Why expend effort in getting the Bible into our hearts and minds if we already have it in our pockets?

I don’t think I even need to tell you how today’s generation differs in regard to past generations when it comes to their level of knowledge of history, language, Scipture and just about everything else. We may know how to do more, but we do not necessarily know more.

http://www.challies.com/articles/dont-take-your-ipod-to-church-part-2

So let’s look today at why reading the Bible on an iPod is not the same as reading it in print. I want to look at just two points: linearity and distraction. I’ll grant that there is much more than could be said and that my thinking in this area is undoubtedly underdeveloped. I am thinking these things through as I write them. So take this for what it is.

There is a kind of linearity in a book that is not present in most other media. This is one of the greatest advantages of books and undoubtedly one of the reasons God had Scripture committed to books (and before that scrolls and before that memory). In a book, we read from beginning to end, progressing from introduction to conclusion, from thesis to the proving of that thesis, from explanation to application. We know this is the case with a book—a book amplifies this sense, this skill, of following and grasping a linear argument. This has been one of the most common arguments against using television as a learning medium; though it can display facts, it does so in a non-linear way. The worldview wrapped up in television is one that is non-logical, non-linear. The same is true of electronic media.[/QUOTE]

Reading the Bible in electronic format makes it easy to chase down cross-references, to read notes related to the content, to find word definitions and so on. But all of this is at the cost of the natural, God-given flow of the text. As we use our iPods in place of our Bibles, we begin to understand Scripture as we do Wikipedia, a text suited more to browsing than deep study. We begin to feel the Bible is interactive, that it is more for skimming, for following trails from A to B to Z than for deep study or analysis. This is all wrapped up in the very worldview of the electronic device.

Tim has hit the nail right on the head on this topic!

 

[evangelist6589]

I will always bring my old fashiond bible with me to church. There is no other option as far as I am concerned.

However, the op is so far out of reality it is redicuous. An electronic bible is still a bible.

Not really!! Read these articles by Tim Challies.

http://www.challies.com/articles/dont-take-your-ipod-to-church-part-2

 

[Amy.G]

Today’s my birthday,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! :wavey:

 

[JonC]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! :wavey:

Thanks. I celebrated with a doctors apt :laugh:

 

[Amy.G]

Thanks. I celebrated with a doctors apt :laugh:

Yeah, that's what us old folks do! HA! Now go eat some cake before your next cholesterol test!

 

[Don]

Tim has hit the nail right on the head on this topic!

Um...no, he hasn't. What he's identified is a personal preference that he's passing off as "more godly."

Imagine, if you would, the uproar from the priests when someone said, "let's mass-produce bibles so that everyone can have one and learn to read it for themselves." The priests were the first ones to condemn such a thing; the "commoner" could never grasp the rich depth of the scriptures that only someone with years of study and training could provide them. Why, if they have their own bibles, then they'll be paging through them instead of giving their full, undivided attention to those of us who have sacrificed our entire lives to ensure they get the correct, true meaning of God's Word.

Although I gave it somewhat of a facetious tone, I'm not really being facetious. Those of you who have studied the history of our Bible, please feel free to correct me--but I don't think I'm off too much. At some point, a man used the gifts and talents God gave him to make bibles freely available to everyone who wanted one. Now men are using their God-given gifts and talents to further expand upon that.

Chew on that for a while. See how it tastes.

 

[JonC]

U

Although I gave it somewhat of a facetious tone, I'm not really being facetious. Those of you who have studied the history of our Bible, please feel free to correct me--but I don't think I'm off too much. At some point, a man used the gifts and talents God gave him to make bibles freely available to everyone who wanted one. Now men are using their God-given gifts and talents to further expand upon that.

I don’t know about availability. Digital formats are certainly more convenient. Perhaps it does present itself as a better option for the digital age.