The need to print bibles

It is a valid question to ask: Why is there a need to continue printing bibles when the availability of digital format is growing daily?

The simple answer is the value of the Word of God is enhanced by the value of the printed page. When we relegate God’s word to an app on our mobile device it becomes as common as a game app or a social media app. When we hold the printed page in our hand we are holding the one thing that has had the greatest impact on the world, more than most any other device.

From the time of the Gutenberg press, the bible has been on the cutting edge of change in the world. While the estimates claim that the entire planet will have a mobile device by the year 2024, there are very good reasons to continue to print and distribute bibles. Here are just a few:

• Books are valuable giving texture and feeling to holding the word of God
• Books stand the test of time, do not need to be charged, and can operate in any environment regardless of temperatures
• Books hold your attention far better than a mobile device because it is so easy to flip over to a social media site and lose track of what you are reading.
• Books don’t lend themselves to being cut and pasted so the reader is paying more attention to the content rather than the next great post or tweet.
• Books can be shared easier than the tablet or phone. It is believed that approximately seven people are touched by the printed word rather than the one or two by the digital counterpart.
• Mobile devices are great resources for study and have their place but preaching done from the printed page is more accurate with scripture. Neh 8:5  And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
• The printed page can also be distributed much more inexpensively to a larger number of people because mobile devices must first be bought and distributed before the app can even be loaded
• Digital MP3 players limit the ability of the hearer to quickly access a chapter or verse unless more expensive players which index the text are used but this raises the overall cost of the project
• The word of God was first written down and shared, something that is lost in a digital world

There are valid reasons for using digital tools but we should never forsake the printing of scripture for the convenience of technology.