Why use a Physical Bible?
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Jan 22
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 20
The Benefits of using a Physical Bible
The words you read from the Bible are not just more noise in an overwhelming world of constant information. They are invitations into the divine, holy moments calling for a different approach.
Here are some of the benefits of using a physical Bible versus a digital one:
Reading the physical Bible again can help you encounter God in more real ways. You might pause before turning a page, re-read something that didn't make sense, or actually read the footnotes and follow the cross-references. Using a physical Bible SLOWS YOU DOWN. Slowing down is appealing for disciples of Jesus who want to live in-step with the Holy Spirit and not always rushing, ten steps ahead.
If you want to know how to spend time with God with fewer distractions, let's just be honest and call it what it is: Our phones are most often the #1 culprit when it comes to things nagging for our attention. We have this illusion that we must be constantly available to everyone all the time. Using a physical Bible and putting your phone to the side means you don't see notifications that come in and feel the urge to reply right away.
Using a physical Bible will also help you to be more mindful / present in the moment. Mindfulness sounds secular nowadays, but the movement stems from an ancient practice of simply becoming aware. Or, if you like, becoming awake to God's presence in the moment. The Christian definition of mindfulness is not to empty one's mind, but to fix our mind on Jesus and contemplate the ways of God. In that sense, it is more similar to meditation. Reading a physical Bible can be meditative in a way as well.
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12
The Perks of using a Digital Bible / App
To be fair - and for this debate to really land somewhere - we must also consider the opposite side of the coin. There are some serious perks to using a digital Bible app as well.
You usually have your phone with you, so reading the Bible digitally means always carrying the Bible right in your pocket. Let's be honest, a Bible can be a large, heavy, impractical thing to even carry to church, nevermind on public transportation or to work! Reading a digital Bible is good for when you're travelling or jumping from one place to the next. It's convenient.
Another way that the digital Bible is useful is that it saves you time. It's quick to see a different translation or to jump to a different Scripture using a link. Other benefits include being able to share a verse quickly with a loved one, or getting notification reminders to read the Word daily.
My personal favorite use of the digital Bible app - I use YouVersion - is the audio Bible. With this helpful function, you can listen to the Bible like an audiobook or podcast. This brings Bible accessibility to a whole new level. We can listen to God's Word while running errands, doing chores around the house, or even when we're on a walk.
But even with all of these (very real) perks. I still prefer the physical Word. I like feeling the weight of the Bible in my hands, as if the words in there are literally weighty. It causes me to shift into a different gear from autopilot, step into a different lane, and really slow down.
To explain the perks of using a physical Bible even better, let's apply it to a specific age group:
Using a Physical Bible with Kids
If you've been discovering this site - or spent more than two minutes with me in real life - you might know that I'm very intrigued by sensory experiences. I will often point out the light in a room, the music playing faintly in the background, or how beautiful something random like empty dishes on a table appears.
I also bring this perspective to the work I do with the faith formation of kids. My question is always: What do they hear, smell, feel, taste, and see?
Now, let's apply that way of thinking to reading the physical Bible:
You hear the rustling of the pages blowing in the wind or rubbing against each other when you page.
You might smell the book.
You feel the weight of the book in your hands.
You might even absentmindedly lick a finger to turn a page.
You see the text - black on white or cream - a rest for your eyes.
When we talk about God to kids, it can all seem very ethereal... The main mission of parents or people working in Kids Ministry is to make God REAL to the children.
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” - Luke 24:23
Well, it seems simple, but it helps when you make other elements of your lesson tangible and real.
This might sound like saying:
"God inspired people to write this book"
"Now, let's read from God's Big Book"
"Do you have a Bible at home?"
"Can you touch the pages? Hear them rustle?"
I venture into the topic of Kids Ministry naturally - often unprompted, sorry not sorry - but the same principles apply to adults. If not more...
We are constantly receiving a ton of information like a firehose. Most of it is coming at us through screens. So to bring the Bible into that same space means our brains filter it in the same way. As if it holds the same value, coming from the same source, having the same effect on our lives?
I'm sure you can agree that this is not your wish or intention, but unfortunately, that is often what happens when we let the Bible be just another screen we stare at. We might even "doomscroll" through the Bible app, not giving our tired eyes a chance to really rest in the Lord.
Where did the Bible come from?
An interesting story that applies here is the story of the Bible's origins. To summarize it - here are some facts about the Bible:
The Bible as we know it is a collection of 66 books.
There are other books that are not included in our Bible "canon" (collection).
The books in the Bible are not organized chronologically (they overlap often).
All the Bible books together tell God's Big Story - you can literally see the same story replay over thousands of years.
For the longest time, ordinary people like you and me would not have our own Bible. We would have to go church or temple and hear it read to us in a language we barely understood.
Martin Luther's translation and then the Printing Press are 2 big reasons why you can even have your own Bible.
God didn't write the Bible, people did - but they were inspired by God's Holy Spirit in what they wrote.
'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Does the Bible have any authority?
At the core of this conversation is a simple truth: The Bible is just a book. It might be the best-selling book ever that survived multiple attempts to wipe it out. It might move your heart and connect you with God. It might be seen as religious, live on bedside tables, and be present at the most important moments in our lives, like weddings and funerals. But it's just a book... words on pages bound together...
For many of us, the Bible has a somewhat negative connotation. You might have grown up in the very strict and religious church or lived in a household where it was used to instill fear. Maybe you simply do not have a good relationship with books because of personality, school, or reading ability.
I firmly believe that God wants to invite us to revisit the physical Bible with new eyes. It is a place of encounter, a meeting place, a love letter. God is inviting this generation in this time to consider the physical Bible once more, to lean on Him who leads us to quiet waters and peaceful streams. He is asking us to put our screens down and lift our eyes to see Him - all around us and, yes, in the Bible too.
“Every day I go to these words and I ask them,
“Have you seen Him whom my soul loves?”
And the words take me by the hand and lead me beyond the words
to Him who is the word.”
- E. Stanley Jones
For some of us, our issue is not so much with READING the Book but with actually getting breakthrough in making sense of what it says. If that's you, I want to invite you to complete the free printable worksheet linked at the end of this post. At the very end there are some practical ideas for how to infuse new LIFE into your Bible Study times with the Lord.
Is it better to use a physical Bible than the app?
In my perspective, the benefits of using a physical Bible far outweigh the alternative, but -as this post mentioned- it might be a decision dependent on other factors like personality, relationship with books, and growing up in the church.
Ultimately, WHERE you read the Bible does not matter AS LONG AS you're reading it.
Reading the physical Bible again can help you:
encounter God in more real ways
spend time with God with fewer distractions
be more mindful / present in the moment
& all the other reasons given in this post.
But don't take my word for it, discern for yourself. Below you will find a free printable worksheet that you can use to prayerfully decide if a physical Bible is the way to go.
P.S.If you enjoyed this article and would like to stay in touch, I want to invite you to join my newsletter by leaving your email below.
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