BrunleaBooks - The HOLY BIBLE - The Bible on Your PDA

The BIBLE on a PDA ... Yours?

by David Murray

As a lay preacher for more than fortyfive years I have worked my way through many Bibles, usually allowing sentimentality to push me into keeping them far beyond their fully usable lives - the extreme case being the Bible which, as I was holding it in my hand in the pulpit, proceeded to disintegrate in front of the congregation. 3 Bibles

Nowadays the wear and tear is less, not due to a reduction in study and preaching, but because much of the stress is taken by a combination of desktop and handheld computers.

Look for a moment at the three Bibles in the picture on the left. In the centre is my newest copy of the King James "Authorised" Version (AV). On its left is a rather worn copy of the New International Version (NIV), and on its right my reference copy of the English Standard Version (ESV). Between them they take up quite some space, but in my studies each has its important role.

Growing up in the fifties there was no NIV or ESV. The AV is what I learned (including long passages by memory) at home, in Sunday School and at my local junior and secondary schools. The phraseology of the 1611 translators is wired into my brain. Bibles +++

Now, however, the NIV is the most widely used translation in churches where I preach so I need to study and quote from that so as not to confuse the congregation. In any case it communicates more effectively to a less biblically-literate 21st century readership.

The ESV I fnd very helpful in that whilst retaining much of the dignity of expression of the traditional translations it is based on recent advanced studies of the ancient texts and cultures, and Bibles+T5

sometimes helps to throw light on a previously obscure verse or give a slightly different slant on a familiar passage. (Incidentally, I have never found any difference between the various translations in any way to cast doubt on the core teachings of historic Christianity).

What has this to do with my PDA - my Personal Digital Assistant, or handheld computer? Palm T5

Look at the photo, above right - two Bibles, a large notebook and a concordance on my desk; and then look at the third, on the left, showing three Bibles and (contrasting sharply in size) a PalmOne Tungsten T5 handheld computer - which is what I used until recently when I switched to a PalmOne Treo phone which combines PDA and cellphone, thus cutting down the number of items to carry around.

What is the point? Simply this, that my T5 holds all three of those Bibles ... and a lot more! (And so, incidentally, does the new Treo 650 although this has a smaller screen which takes some getting used to). It even includes concordance facilities and, if I wanted it to, could carry Bible dictionaries and commentaries. Beyond that it keeps my notes together in one place; I don't lose them any more.

I can study and outline a sermon with no difficulty using only what is on my Palm. And when I'm not studying, but simply reading, and an interesting thought leaps from the page I can note it against the verse concerned so that it is not lost in the mists of my fuzzy grey cells. What is more, I can then transfer these to my main computer back at home for access when working at my desk. Split Screen

Searching for a word or phrase either in a whole Bible or in a selected section can be done at the touch of a few buttons. As shown opposite the screen can be split to show two translations simultaneously. By the way, that picture of the screen is at full size, but I've still not managed to take a photograph that does justice to the real life clarity of the typeface when resized to fit neatly on this page. As an alternative to a second translation it can show lexical data from Strong's concordance below the text of a verse. You can even have an English translation in the top half of the screen and (assuming it means something to you) the Greek below it.

But why should I want to do all this on such a small device? Why not use the desktop computer? Of course, when I'm at my desk that's what I do. And I haven't given up on pen, paper and big fat notebook either! But in the past three months I've travelled at least 30,000 miles on planes plus long hours on trains. I can't take my desktop computer with me, and even a laptop and its kit adds to the baggage weight and clutter. In these days of increased security checks and baggage restrictions, keeping everything to a minimum when travelling becomes a fine art. In any case, I never could manipulate three Bibles and a concordance on an airline seat table, even in business class on an Airbus or a Boeing jumbo. Strong's

You'll gather from this that I have another existence in parallel with this on-line life, one which could so easily consist of many wasted hours.

The Palm liberates me from many of those constraints on the productive use of my time. In airport lounges and hotel rooms around the globe I have my Bible library, and much of my business, with me ... in my pocket, or in my hand, in my Palm! For other people it's a Smartphone, a Symbian or a Blackberry or some other similar handheld device.

Your life pattern may not be just the same as mine, but I suspect that you could very helpfully make better use of time away from your desk and your books, and have often wished you had more of your reference materials with you. Or maybe it's just a question of being able at lunchtime to switch from your normal work in office, school or factory to look again at your Bible reading for the day.

"But surely," I hear you asking, "You don't mean that when you buy a PDA it comes with Bibles already built in." No, it takes an additional, rather wonderful piece of software called the Olive Tree BibleReader - and you can get it here and now, over the internet straight into your computer, assuming of course that you have a handheld on which to use it.

Olive Tree supply a variety of major Bible translations, in English and in several other languages. They also have a wide range of additional study resources, all of which can be studied on the BibleReader. If, for example, like me you're a fan of the sermons of the nineteenth century English baptist preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, you can have a library of his sermon transcripts with you wherever you go. Even Bible commentaries and Bible research dictionaries are provided, at affordable prices.

Enough from me. Take a look at the Olive Tree web site, using the links below. When you download a Bible or other book the BibleReader software comes with it. Some are free; others (for which the copyright owners charge royalties) have to be purchased. If you already have a handheld, explore this exitingly productive use of it. If not, then after the Olive Tree banner below you'll find links to some good sources. Here is a small sample of what you can carry in your pocket. The full list includes more than 300 items.

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Sample selection of Bible translations

Books and commentaries

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