Posted on March 9, 2015

Connecting the Bible with New Technologies for the Future

Posted on March 9, 2015 by .BIBLE Registry Categories: Online Presence

We live in an unprecedented time in history being reshaped by rapidly changing development of new technologies. This is the first generation that’s lived in a world that’s always had the Internet, and that kind of constant connectivity has only begun to influence the way people around the world engage the Bible.

According to Webster, the word “technology” was first used in 1859. But, historically, it can be said that technology has been a part of human history since the beginning, as people applied their knowledge to develop tools, machines, materials, and processes to improve the way things are done.

For the Bible itself, the first technology applied to Scriptures beyond oral tradition was that of writing onto papyrus, then written on scrolls, and then imprinted onto paper by the printing press, and then elegantly presented in a bounded book volume in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

As personal computing became mainstream in the 1980s, Bible software made it possible to read and search the Bible on computer screens. That quickly grew by integrating libraries of Bible study resources for more extensive research and study.

Now with the Internet, mobile devices, and social media, there are new developments for current technologies to help people to engage the Bible like never before. And there’s a place to connect with people that are developing the future of Bible technologies.

BibleTechOn April 30th to May 2nd in Seattle, Washington, BibleTech will be hosting a very unique gathering of leading Bible study technologists from around the world, including developers, designers, publishers, linguists, educators, database experts, and hobbyists. The event is sponsored by Faithlife, aka Logos Bible Software.

Please do seriously consider coming to BibleTech and “Explore the Intersection of Scripture and Technology.” Word has it that attendance has already set a new record! A wide range of topics are being presented, including:

  • Meaningful Engagement through Mobile Technology - Chris Sharpe (Subsplash)
  • Why Bible Typography Matters - Mark Ward (byfaithweunderstand.com)
  • 4 Revolutions: How technology is accelerating the fulfillment of the great commission - Troy Carl (Faith Comes by Hearing)
  • A Semi-Automatic Approach to Transliterating Biblical Hebrew - Benjamin Thomas (Miklal Software)
  • Is a radical shift coming to Scripture engagement? - Kent Shaffer (OpenChurch.com)
  • Quality and Consistency in Text Alignment - James Covington (Miklal Software)
  • Building a Better Bible Study Experience with EPUB - Matthew Jonas (Olive Tree)
  • Are You Ready to Innovate with New gTLD Domain Names? - DJ Chuang (BibleTLD.org)
  • Limits to the “Digital Library” Metaphor of Bible Software - Stephen Smith (Bible Gateway)
  • BibleGrapeVine: A Website for Dynamic Linguistic Exploration of the Bible - Andi Wu (Chinese Standard Bible)
  • Battling Biblical Blindness: Solving the Problem of Biblical Illiteracy - LaRosa Johnson (urban-scholar.com)
  • Cross Interlinear: A New Way to Compare Texts - Jeff Jackson
  • Solving the Locations in E-text Problem - David Trotz Jr. (Olive Tree)
  • Localizing Bible Data - Rick Brannan (Faithlife)
  • The Power of Face-to-Face Relationships: How Mobile Tech Makes Relationships Foundational Again - Gabe Cooper (brushfireinteractive.com)
  • Putting a Face on Facebook in Logos 6 - Tom Philpot (Faithlife)
  • Visualizing Textual Data - Drayton Benner (Miklal Software)
  • Tag All the Things | Tagging Named Entities for Fun and Profit - Peter Venable

Did you catch all that, especially the one about .BIBLE domain names, one of the many new gTLDs (generic top level domains)? Yes, BibleTLD.org will be there at BibleTech. The session presented by DJ Chuang will give an insider look at the innovations and opportunities for increasing Bible engagement, and new gTLD domain names are one of the newest technological innovations of our time. [plus, get a 30% discount on BibleTech registration by adding a comment here—it’s yours for the asking]

Whether you’re a developer, technologist, or a follow of Christ simply enthusiastic about the Bible, you’ll want to be there at BibleTech. If your passion is the Bible and technology, this conference is for you! It will feature both high- and low-tech sessions, offering something for the interested layperson, hobby technologies, and technical programer.