Often when Mike Sheppard listens to the stories of the Crucifixion or Mary’s discovery of the empty tomb, he gets so distracted that he almost forgets he’s behind the wheel.
“There are points in the New Testament where you’ll be brought to tears while you’re driving down the road,” said Sheppard, 56, of Winston-Salem, N.C. The Southern Baptist said he’s read the text many times, but listening to “The Word of Promise” audio Bible is what really takes him to the first century.
Christian publishers are catching up with their multimedia-savvy consumers and offering Bibles beyond the traditional book format. Eager listeners like Sheppard can buy the story on tapes, CDs, MP3 downloads, iTunes and in other formats.
Andrew Block, founder and president of audio Bible company GoBible, started his company after noticing that technology wasn’t reaching the faith-based niche.
“I just didn’t see anyone using new technology to bring people of faith content that’s important to them in an easy and affordable manner,” Block said.
GoBible’s device looks like it’s cut out for Gen-Y listeners, with an iPod-like screen and buttons made in the image of the popular portable music device. The entire Old and New Testaments are available, with more than 70 hours of 31,000 verses individually marked so listeners can scroll through.
A study conducted by the company in the spring of 2007 showed its listeners landed all over the demographic map — from tech-savvy youngsters to gray-bearded Methuselahs.
Similarly the makers of the celebrated audio recording “Inspired by … The Bible Experience” were pleasantly surprised that people of all ages are buying their New and Old Testament audio Bibles.
“The concern was that this would just be a trendy thing — that people would purchase it because of the star power — but then not really get engaged in the Bible. But just the opposite has been happening,” said Paul Caminiti, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan, which produced “The Bible Experience.”
Block said some users have reported that they use the GoBible device to listen along while they’re reading and help with some of the trickier name pronunciations.
“We never created GoBible to replace the reading of the Word,” Block said. “Rather, we see it as a supplement. It’s for people who don’t always have the time.”
Listening to the Bible on audio can bring new meaning into the text for some. “When you listen to it, the readers bring from their experience,” Sheppard said. “Sometimes the voices bring out a nuance that may bring insight that you hadn’t thought of before.”
Pointing to the Bible’s history as an oral text, Caminiti said, “The Bible was really written to be listened to.” (RNS)
Share with others: