I recently read in the NYT of YouVersion. As the Times writes, "For millions of readers around the world, a wildly successful free Bible app, YouVersion, is changing how, where and when they read the Bible." It goes on to say "YouVersion, with over 600 Bible translations in more than 400 languages, is by far the church’s biggest success. The app is nondenominational, including versions embraced by Catholics, Russian Orthodox and Messianic Jews. This month, the app reached 100 million downloads, placing it in the company of technology start-ups like Instagram and Dropbox."
What interests me in this news is not so much the app itself - as you would expect, I cannot summon up the strength to download it - as in my and other people's reaction to the news. My instinctive reaction is to shudder at the prospect. But why should that be? After all, the publication of the Gutenberg Bible more than 500 years ago is generally considered to have been a 'good thing", so why should I look askance at its modern-day equivalent?
I think it has something to do with the fact that I, like so many people of the Old World in matters religious and otherwise, am essentially of a pessimistic cast of mind. Without being fully aware of it, we tend to frown upon anything 'new'. Americans, on the other hand, despite the chastening experiences of Vietnam and Iraq, remain an optimistic people.
What interests me in this news is not so much the app itself - as you would expect, I cannot summon up the strength to download it - as in my and other people's reaction to the news. My instinctive reaction is to shudder at the prospect. But why should that be? After all, the publication of the Gutenberg Bible more than 500 years ago is generally considered to have been a 'good thing", so why should I look askance at its modern-day equivalent?
I think it has something to do with the fact that I, like so many people of the Old World in matters religious and otherwise, am essentially of a pessimistic cast of mind. Without being fully aware of it, we tend to frown upon anything 'new'. Americans, on the other hand, despite the chastening experiences of Vietnam and Iraq, remain an optimistic people.
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