MP3 Bibles for the Troops

There are many different ways to bring the Bible to the world. One way is the written word, but as our own experience shows, MP3s can be an excellent way to spread the gospel. One church in Missouri is sending MP3 bibles to the troops as a way to encourage and minister to them.

A BibleStick is a digital audio player, the size of a stick of chewing gum, that is pre-loaded with a dramatized recording of the entire New Testament.

“It costs $25 to put one BibleStick into the hands of one of our soldiers,” said John Mehrens, minister of the Granby church. “People in our church started using BibleSticks years ago.”

The church learned about audio Bible technology through Faith Comes By Hearing, a ministry which sprang from a volunteer Bible-listening campaign in New Mexico and has its headquarters in Albuquerque.

Firm puts Bible References on Gun Sights

I love the Bible. I study it, use in everyday discussions, have t-shirts embossed with verses, hang them on my wall, and more. I believe it is God's word, and His primary method of revelation after Jesus and the Holy Spirit themselves. But I don't think it is necessarily appropriate everywhere. For example, I have to wonder about one firm's decision to emboss references on gun sights used by members of the US Military in Afghanistan.

For years, the company acknowledged, it has put small scriptural references near the model numbers on some products, a practice started by its founder, who was a Christian.

The references, like JN8:12 and 2COR4:6, referring to passages in the Gospel of John and in Second Corinthians, had not been widely noticed or debated until an ABC News report this week. Scopes with biblical references were also sold to the Australian, New Zealand and British militaries.

I do not doubt the good intentions of those who originally started this practice. But there are times when we need to think more deeply about what we do - especially when working in a Muslim country whose memories of the Crusades are all too fresh.