Why Would You Want Me to "Change the Way I Look at the Bible"?

Change the way you look at the Bible is one of a couple marketing slogans we use on our site and in our advertising. It has turned out to be one of those interesting phrases that ends up meaning more than you think it means the longer you think about it.

Most people — regardless what they think about the Bible — are pretty sure they don't want to change the way they think about it. I thought it might be helpful to give you a few different ways to think about this exhortation.

The Literal Meaning

Literally, Laridian^® has always asked its customers to consider putting away the paper Bible they may have carried for years and replace it with an electronic one. These days our phones are always with us, and many of us spend most of our working days in front of a computer. However, we seldom carry our Bibles with us except to go to church. Laridian Bible software on your phone, PDA, or desktop PC is the perfect way to have the Bible with you wherever you go. So as long as you're willing to change the way you look at the Bible, you can benefit from using our software.

The Metaphorical Meaning: For Non-Bible-Readers

In addition to its literal meaning, our slogan is also an invitation for skeptics and those who are indifferent about the Bible to reconsider its potential value. By offering a very convenient way to read and study the Bible using technology virtually everyone has with them, we make it easier to take the plunge into what is admitedly a daunting book. Perhaps by committing to read through the Bible in a year or just the New Testament in three months, they will discover that the Bible is, in fact, a relevant document, worthy of their attention. But only if they are willing to change the way they look at the Bible.

The Challenge to Christians

Many of us consider the Bible to be the very Word of God. Many of the rest consider it to contain at least the very words of God. Yet relatively few devote themselves to study it. While most of us consider it to be our only standard for our faith and practice, we often contradict that belief by our lack of knowledge of what it says. Our beliefs aren't matching our practice. And they won't, unless we're willing to change the way we look at the Bible.

The Cult of the Bible

On the negative side, there are some who have turned the Bible itself into God. They may consider a particular translation to be the only "inspired" Bible. They may have rules about their leather-bound Bible — never setting it on the floor, or never putting another book on top of it. They may treat it as a collection of pithy sayings, pulling one verse out of its context and using it as a weapon against those who believe differently, or as a lever to coerce a new believer to act a particular way. By removing the text of the Bible from its physical manifestation as a large book, by making it easy to compare the translations of many translators with each other, and by placing commentaries and other reference books side-by-side with the Bible text, we hope to help Christians put the Bible in its proper place in their lives, to help them understand it, and to help them apply it — thereby changing the way they look at the Bible.

Conclusion

Whether you're changing your entire perspective on scripture for the better, or whether you're simply reading it off a screen instead of a printed page, our goal is to help you read, comprehend, and apply the Bible. For some that's a big change, for others it's very little change. Regardless, it's for the better.