An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Google Glass. This follows this post about the rape crisis in post-apartheid South Africa.  This follows this post about the commercialization of Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Google Glass and Studying the Bible

by Aaron Booth

Google Glass invite

Source: Google

Is there any use for a pair of wearable electronic glasses in church or in your personal Bible study?
As the Internet manager for the United Church of God, I am always looking for ways technology could be used to study the Bible and enhance that learning experience. Earlier this year, Google introduced their optical head-mounted display device called “Glass.” It allows the wearer to take photos and videos, connect to their personal Google+ account and interact with the Internet via voice commands. This week I received an email invitation to become part of Google’s Glass Explorer program.
This got me thinking on how a wearable device like this could be used to study the Bible and what possibilities it could have in a church service or worship setting. Wearable computer devices are not new and have been available but they have not been widely accepted and functionable in daily life. That may change with devices like Google Glass and other wearable Internet connected devices.
Here are three ideas on how something like Google Glass could be used to enhance Bible learning:

1. Scripture recognition

Since Glass has a built in camera it could recognize various word patterns in the real-world and translate that information to its display screen. Imagine being able to scan words in your physical Bible and have it display various other Bible related resources to view. This could be definitions, translations, images, videos, audio and more. Maybe a popular Bible app such as YouVersion could open in the display and connect you to other Bible translations or read the verse to you. This type of application already exists in Glass to help in realtime translation of words from one language to another.

2. Visit Biblical and historical locations

Maybe you can access an interactive video that allows you to walk through Jerusalem and immerse yourself in that location and visit historical landmarks. With the use of augmented reality you can blend a real-world visit to a museum featuring Biblical artifacts with interactive information from the web. Just point your device’s camera toward the displayed QR code and the display screen shows relevant information or plays audio about what you are looking at.

3. Online Bible classroom setting

While taking an online class, a Biblical instructor in Jerusalem can give a personal tour of ancient sites via a live video feed and show the online class what they see and take questions from the class. This can already be done via a Google Hangout.
I believe there are many more day-to-day ease of technology use applications that could be developed which would assist those with mobility limitations or even sight limitations (read the online article from USA TODAY - "Beyond a gadget: Google Glass is a boon to disabled "). I would guess that in the next 5 to 10 years or even less, that wearable Internet devices will be more common and integrated into daily life somehow. Technology like this will become the everyday device for my kids when they are adults - as much as smartphones and tablets are for us today.
This makes me think of scripture in Revelation 11 that talks about how the whole world will see the bodies of the two witnesses:

And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. (Revelation 11:9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
See All... NLT)

With every advance of technology we can see how this future Biblical event will become a reality.
But till that time, I will keep searching (as well as our UCG.org staff) in how to best use technology to fulfill the mission of the United Church of God of preaching the gospel to the whole world.
If you are curious about Google Glass and would like to learn more - here are some online resources.
What Can You Do with Glass?
Glass - What It Does
Glass Support
Glass Quick Start Guide

'YouVersion,' Doubt and Belief

BLOGGERS NOTE: I WILL BE MOVING FROM FACEBOOK TO TWITTER AND BLOGSPOT SOON!



An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about atheists and the bible. This follows this post about negotiations with Iran. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

'YouVersion,' Doubt and Belief


by Amanda Stiver

I recently read an article about atheists using a digital bible called YouVersion to debate against belief in God and religion. One user even explained that she deployed certain passages to prove to Christian friends that what they hear in church isn’t true (Billy Hallowell, “Atheists Are Also Using The Wildly Popular YouVersion Bible App – But For A Very Different Reason,” TheBlaze.com, November 7, 2013).



The thing is, maybe she’s right… almost.



Many interpretations of scripture, as filtered through various denominations of traditional Christianity, aren’t really based in the Bible. Indeed, some of these popularly held doctrines come from far outside the Biblical tradition and many years after the time of Jesus Christ, even after the time of the last of his immediate disciples, the twelve apostles.



I never read that!

Among them is belief in a triune God, which is a product of the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. (for reference Jesus Christ died in 31 A.D. and the apostle John died in 100 A.D.). Another non-Biblical celebration is Christmas, which originated from several threads, but mostly from the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia and the winter solstice observance of Mithraism (a Persian sun-worship cult), and was officially adopted into traditional Christian doctrine sometime in the 300’s A.D.



Finally, the prominent celebration of Easter, the supposed festival of the resurrection of Jesus Christ originated out of the celebrations of the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians who worshipped a goddess named Ishtar with various fertility rites at the spring equinox, and wasn’t officially adopted into the Christian tradition until 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea. Almost 300 years after the death of Jesus Christ!

There are many other examples of “extra-Biblical” observances and beliefs that made their way into the Christian tradition (to learn more please read Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? ). However, it’s important to remember that Jesus Christ and the earliest of His followers kept none of these observances, but instead observed the weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Days as outlined in the Bible.

Suspending disbelief


But, I digress. What does all this have to do with atheists using the YouVersion digital edition of the Bible to condemn it? Answer: If you take the Bible out of context—with either the best or the worst of intentions—you still end up with the wrong conclusions. You have to have some basics in place to truly appreciate, understand, and respect God’s Word:



1 – You have to believe that the Bible is the word of God, not just a bunch of loosely connected stories. If you have trouble believing in God, then you need the intellectual discipline to suspend your disbelief in order to give it the benefit of the doubt. This is standard procedure in literature classes, surely we can give the oldest book in the world just as much respect as The Iliad ?



2 – You have to believe that God means what he says, and not add to or take away from the Bible.



3 – You have to understand that the Bible interprets itself. You can’t pick and choose various scriptures to justify or nullify what you personally intend to believe or not believe.



With these preliminaries in place you need just one final thing, an appeal to God for understanding (in prayer, an earnest, respectful request to God). This takes a humble attitude, admitting to ourselves that there is a greater intellect out there than our own.



Now go enjoy your exploration of the word of God, it is a well of wisdom without measure.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------