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The iPad in Church?

ChocolateApple

ChocolateApple

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 9, 2010
366
4
New York
I rarely go to church, but when I've gone, I have hesitated to use the Bible on my iPhone because it may look as though I'm texting or emailing.

The iPad however is shaped like a book. Everyone can see the screen and know that you are worshipping with the Holy Bible app :D

I have yet to attend church since getting the iPad, but would feel okay using it there. Would you?
 
I dunno. I'd probably just use a bible and leave the iPad for bible study and the like.
 
I use it occasionally when there isn't a Bible in easy reach. Plus you can read from further away if you make the text larger.
 
0s and 1s said:
No. You'd look like an idiot, IMO.
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I look like an idiot flipping through a Bible, lost, trying to find the book and verse that the Pastor references, truth be told. I would find it easier to do an electronic search and get to the scripture faster.

But the responses are interesting. Keep 'em coming ;)
 
Most here worship Apple and the prophet (profit?) Steve.

This can be done via the iPad (whilst current) and has the advantage that you can stay on your couch on a Sunday morning.

A thought actually - have any of those TV evangelist types started any serious 1-many and many-1 conferencing? You could attend the rapture and use your credit card to give your money to the Lord at the same time.
 
J R R said:
Most here worship Apple and the prophet (profit?) Steve.

This can be done via the iPad (whilst current) and has the advantage that you can stay on your couch on a Sunday morning.

A thought actually - have any of those TV evangelist types started any serious 1-many and many-1 conferencing? You could attend the rapture and use your credit card to give your money to the Lord at the same time.
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I do attend Bedside Baptist, and the iPad is awesome for note-taking during TV sermons.

LOL @ most worshipping Apple and Steve.
 
FYI : there's a free full Bible in the iBook store.

But, don't bother taking it (iPad) to church. You will only stand out like a sore thumb. Take your real Bible. Why bother with the iPad. Maybe in 10 years when it's no big deal. Now, You will just be distracted and draw unwanted attention to yourself. Don't.
 
I took my iPad to Easter Sunday at our church. The pastoral staff descended on me, though I was trying to be inconspicuous on the back row. They are all Mac Heads and were dying to see the iPad. One of the staff members tapped the senior pastor on the shoulder and said, "Shouldn't we start the service?"

During the Easter sermon, the pastor used his iPhone text exchanges with his daughter in a sermon illustration. Then he said, "What I really want is an iPad. There's someone here taking notes on my sermon using an iPad. Hold it up, will you?"

A week later my wife bought her iPad. We've taken our iPads to church every Sunday since. We use the You Version of the Bible to read along and Notes to take notes. What I really want is a Bible app that lets you take notes in the same windows as the Scripture display. The members call us the "iPad-ers." Not only do members come up to talk iPad before and after the service, but we were invited to a church staff meeting to answer questions about the iPad and demonstrate its abilities. Two of the staff members bought iPads a week later.

We've been taking our MacBook Pros to church for years. Some of the younger members wondered if I was playing WoW during the sermon. Older members wondered if I was following NFL or NBA game scores. One Sunday the pastor jokingly asked how many in the congregation had their Greek version of the New Testament open. I raised my hand. Everyone laughed knowingly.

I'm an unashamed believer. And I'm an unashamed iPad/Mac user.
 
If you are using your iPad in the right way. i.e to read the Bible, I fail to see how it is anyone else's business. The iPad is a tool for viewing content. In this context the content you're viewing is the Bible, your just using the iPad for what it was made for. The fact that it isn't a single purpose tool like a printed Bible makes no difference.
 
I've been using the iphone as my bible in church for quite a while. Much more convenient than lugging a large heavy book around and flipping through pages attempting to follow the pastor. A quick search or a couple of taps and I'm immediately at any chapter/verse I need.

Plus I have all the different translations available at my fingertips. My wife and I often go to different churches and it comes in handy to always be able to follow the scripture reading word for word no matter which translation is being used.

I'd imagine this would be even better on the iPad because of the easier reading. Maybe if you have one of those Gelasoft skins or something like that on it, it might be a bit too flashy for church but I don't see why not otherwise. Especially if you have it in the Apple case.
 
jessica. said:
I dunno. I'd probably just use a bible and leave the iPad for bible study and the like.
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I would tend to agree with this.

Unless your congregation members and pastoral staff were familiar with the iPad and understood what you are using it for during the sermon, I would leave it at home.

On a different note, I remember when I took my Newton 2100 to a conference with some very high level people. At first my boss was pissed at me -- gave me a few dirty looks from across the room. He had not seen something like the Newton before. Since I was typing on the external keyboard and using the pen, he thought it was some sort of game.

However, during break, when he was able to come over, I showed him what I was doing which was taking notes in text and drawings covering the conference content. He was totally blown away -- especially when after the conference I e-mailed him the content to his computer.

After that, he would always say in a reminding way to be sure to bring my Newton to each conference we had.

I think the key is letting individuals see and understand what you are doing so they don't get the wrong impression which can be easy to do. Having bible apps on an iPad would be very nice. I have some on my iPhone and enjoy using them. The iPad versions would be much more usable IMHO.
 
ChocolateApple said:
I rarely go to church, but when I've gone, I have hesitated to use the Bible on my iPhone because it may look as though I'm texting or emailing.

The iPad however is shaped like a book. Everyone can see the screen and know that you are worshipping with the Holy Bible app :D

I have yet to attend church since getting the iPad, but would feel okay using it there. Would you?
Click to expand...

lightning might strike you or your ipad
 
iPad on Easter Sunday
When I showed my mother-in-law the iPad, the first thing she asked was if she could recite her Easter bible reading with it. She's a church officer at Messiah Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA, and she knew the pastors there would appreciate the moment.
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I play bass with for our churches "Rock Mass" and use the iPad as a music reader. I scan all the music to my Mac, then sync via Goodreader.
 
I haven't brought physical Bible in years... I've been using the application from Youversion called "Bible" on all my devices, iPhone 2G/3G, Nexus One, and now iPad
 
zedsdead said:
I play bass with for our churches "Rock Mass" and use the iPad as a music reader. I scan all the music to my Mac, then sync via Goodreader.
Click to expand...

Right but do you sit in a pew and read the bible from it? The guy is claiming he would look stupid searching through a bible for whatever passage is being read. I mean really? You mean before the iPad this was just all totally impossible?
 
Find a leather looking folio case (gold lettering on the front a plus) and you'll be OK.
 
barefeats said:
What I really want is a Bible app that lets you take notes in the same windows as the Scripture display.
Click to expand...


BibleXpress will let you make footnotes on each verse you are looking at. In addition you can make Folders, Notes and Bookmarks on the scriptures. As a backup feature you can email all your Folders, Notes and Bookmarks to yourself to restore if you have re-install the app or on another iPad if you like.

The Program comes with alot of translation that you can switch rather quickly through a wheel selection.

A Bit pricey $29.99 but I found it to be most helpful for what I needed. Since the ipad is such a draw as others have noted, I complied folders dealing different aspect fo Christianity with verses and notes associated with those topics.

Hopes this helps.
 
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