Posted on 07/14/2014 5:51:21 PM PDT by Olog-hai
It was called the wave of the future—the recently tapped U.S. ambassador to Switzerland was sworn in last month with her hand not on a paper Bible, but on top of a Kindle.
Techies called it revolutionary and applauded Suzi Levine for making history. But she wasn’t the only one who went high-tech when she took the oath of office. A county executive from Long Island, N.Y., used the Bible app on an iPad to be sworn in last year and a few months ago a group of firefighters from New Jersey huddled around a Kindle Bible when they took their oath.
But the movement has drawn concern from some in the religious community who are reluctant to accept officials choosing tablets over the printed Bible.
“There is an inherent respect given to the print version of the Bible that doesn’t attach itself to a Kindle or the iPad," Donald Whitney, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Fox News Latino. "Because the Bible is nothing else. It is a holy book to Christians and it is the Word of God. If you have a digital device, it may contain the Bible, but it also contains other things.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at latino.foxnews.com ...
Does the kindle also contain digital versions of the qur’an ? If so, how can one be sure which book the kindle represents when the swearing in ceremony is taking place?
Why would it be? It’s the Holy Scripture regardless of media.
Around 15 years ago, I bought a “Bookman” reader on clearance. I can’t recall the price except it was almost nothing.
It came with a Spanish/English cartridge. I planned on buying a Bible cartridge later. I figured they would eventually get really cheap. I am still waiting and the price has gone up if anything.
Oh well I have a Spanish dictionary for when the country is taken over by illegals.
They just open it to the page. Kind of like “well I know where your hand has been but it’s not there now so it’s OK to use it to be sworn in.” ; )
A Bible used for official and liturgical purposes should be an object consecrated FROM THE START and dedicated to the Word of God, and that alone. It shouldn’t have the ability to interrupt the reader with all sorts of worldly temporal messages. It should be made with beauty, to honor the beauty of the Word within.
That isn’t asking too much.
The left knows what it is doing, first remove the Bible from the building.
A tablet can be anything.
It’s not really whether the electronic Bible is more or less holy. What is really important is if the person taking the oath on the Bible is holy and intends to remain holy. I would bet you would have trouble finding any person who has sworn an oath on a Bible who has actually read the contents of that Bible.
For the record most federal employees including the military to not swear on a Bible. They make their oath or affirmation in front of a magistrate or a court officer or a military officer.
A printed Bible has nothing else besides the Bible, save concordances. A Kindle can have the Bible and Fifty Shades Of Grey on it.
Precisely.
What translation? Protestant or Catholic bible? I read somewhere that some are sworn in on Jefferson’s redacted Bible....yikes!
Something that one day is a bible, but the next is a copy of 50 Shades of Grey works? Um, no.
This is hogwash, and a cheap publicity stunt.
People I know with reverence for the Bible use readers to carry the Word with them electronically -but none would display the cavalier attitude to use it in a symbolic way.
So a new bride carries in her wedding her white iphone with the Bible on it? Ludicrous and irreverent.
“A printed Bible has nothing else besides the Bible”
Agreed, and depending on the Bible you’re using to swear someone in, wouldn’t a paper Bible be cheaper?
I’ve had my Bible app (Bible Study from Olive Tree Bible Software) on Palm PDAs, an iPod Touch, and a 7” Google Nexus tablet.
After all these years, I have about a dozen different versions of the Bible on my devices. So, if I were to swear an oath on my Nexus, you could say I was swearing on a stack of Bibles! :-)
If an electronic tablet can be seen as the equal of a real, printed bible why not just use a computer chip or memory stick?
Like there’s a shortage of Bibles? Or maybe SOME people don’t want to be seen putting their hands on a...gasp...Bible?
Possibly if their hand touches a real Bible, they will burst into flame.
I have no idea if it is on electronic readers or not but years ago I found a used copy of “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance” It contains every single word in the King James Bible and tells which verse and chapter it is in.
It really helps when needing to look up things.
The Word of God is the Word of God no matter what medium is used.
However, a swearing-in ceremony is a formal occasion and a printed version of the Bible should be used. An Ipad is a wonderful tool, but it is essentially a portable computer monitor screen. Using a “video” screen as a “Bible” for a swearing in ceremony is like using photo of a Bible - it is inappropriate to use in such a formal setting. At least that’s the way it looks to me.
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