Chris wakes up, turns on his laptop, downloads the e-verse of the day, then hits a Christian website to read a daily devotional. Later, while visiting his grandmother in the hospital, he wants to encourage her but can’t think of the right passage. So he pulls out his Palm Pilot, enters “suffering” and quickly finds relevant Scripture. At home that evening, he begins to study of the book of Daniel. With the click of a mouse, Chris pulls up 10 translations, along with commentaries, a lexicon and concordance. 

Few will argue that online Bible study is convenient. Devices such as Palm Bibles and interactive DVDs make Scripture more accessible than ever. But what are the long-term implications? Is the technological revolution as important to Christianity as Guttenberg?

In the same way that the invention of movable type and the printing press radically increased accessibility to the text of God's Word, the latest tools enhance a person's ability to sort and categorize the text, as well as provide easy access to commentary. If the printing press increased accessibility to the text of the Bible, will technology increase accessibility to the meaning of the Bible? If so, will the impact on culture be comparable?

A nationwide survey conducted by The Barna Group in April indicates that while 56 percent of adults attend church services in a typical month, a much larger percentage is exposed to religious information and experiences through various forms of media. According to Barna, one out of every six adults now spends some time visiting faith-oriented websites during a typical month.

“In today's information age, is there any information more important than the eternal Word of God?” asks Dan Pritchett, director of marketing for Logos Bible Software. “News feeds, search engines and real-time stock quotes will all fade to ‘digital dust’ — only the Bible will stand forever. There's no higher use of your computer than Bible study.”

Among youth leaders, says Mikal Keefer, senior editor of Youth Ministry Church Resources at Group Publishing, “technology is serving Bible study both well and poorly. It's never been easier for youth leaders to get information and programming—literally thousands of web sites provide material to spice up a lesson or explain a theological concept. Unfortunately, while some sites are great, content on other sites is actually untrue."