GoBible Gives New Meaning to the Term 'Pocket Testament'
by John Clemens
November 10, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Surveys have estimated that only 39 percent of Christians read the Bible in other locations outside the church. Now a "new media" consumer product has been introduced that will make it easier for Christians to hear the Scriptures -- even when they're too busy to read. 
The GoBibleÔ , a device that will fit into the palm of a hand, a shirt pocket, or purse, is preloaded with 75 hours of audio of the entire Bible. The hand-held device features an interactive screen that allows the listener to scroll through the Old and New Testament and search by the book, chapter, or verse.
GoBible is the brain child of Andrew Block, president and CEO of GoBible, LLC. "For the first time," says Block, "the user will be able to go into the audio version of the Bible at the verse level because most other [electronic] versions of the Bible have been only to the chapter level."
The New King James Version on GoBible is narrated by Stephen Johnston, who has been narrating and producing television, radio and audio Bible products since 1981. In the past two decades, more than 100 million cassettes, CDs, and DVDs of his narrations and productions have been sold around the world. Johnston recently won the National Silver Microphone award for his narration and production of the Civil War documentary Shiloh.
The King James Version is narrated by Alexander Scourby (1913-1985), who is best known for his precise, mellifluous voice featured on some of the most beloved literary works for countless Christians over the years.
A Seed Planted
Block originally got the idea to produce the GoBible after watching his 75-year-old father using an I-pod.
"You know, there is one book that people do read over and over again and that's the Bible," he says. "And I thought if you could provide the same kind of easy-to-use and searchable way for the Bible, like you do through a music catalog is for something like an I-pod, then why not the Holy Bible," said Block.
Block also thought of the concern that many Christians have when they are called on to pronounce difficult names and places from the Scriptures. "For people who have trouble with some of the names of the Bible -- especially in the Old Testament -- they'll be able to hear the narrator say those words over and over again because they hit the repeat button and go back to the word in question; so over time, they'll be able to pick up on those names, too," he explains.
In the past many Christians who enjoyed listening to the Bible either lost or discovered one of their tapes or CDs had been damaged by using the audio over and over again. Block says that can't happen with the GoBible. "We basically took all the hours of the Bible and condensed the Scriptures into a small, permanent product that allows the user to easily carry it around rather than [having to carry around] something that was bulky and easily lost," he shares.
And Block says the GoBible is not intended to replace the time Christians should spend in God's Word. "We don't necessarily see this as a replacement for people reading the Bible," he says, "but we see it more as a supplement for people who don't always have the time to read the Bible and be able to experience His Word."
Users Like It
According to Block, many Christians who already have used the GoBible say they enjoy the portability. "They tell us they can use it [while] walking the dog, or rocking in a chair on their front porch outside, or driving their car to work, or cleaning the house, or on an airplane ... just about any place you can imagine," says Block.
Christian radio broadcaster Diana Kay of Dallas was one of the first people to try the GoBible. She shares that she found the topic index feature very helpful.
"I enjoyed 200 of the most popular stories of the Bible and used the topic index to find the Scriptures that focused on subjects like Christ's love, doubt, despair, courage, mercy, and salvation," Kay says. "I see this as another step for completing The Great Commission."
In addition to the topic index, the GoBible also allows the listener to go right to certain stories in the Bible -- such as the Beginning, Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Jesus presented to the temple, crossing the Jordan, the fall of Jericho, and the calling of the first disciples.
A listener selecting "Special Features" from GoBible's main menu will also have an opportunity to select the "Bible-in-a-Year" option. Block sees that as an advantage for believers who find that the busy-ness of their day sometimes makes it difficult to sit down and read the Word.
"We have a program on the GoBible that allows someone to listen to 12 to 15 minutes of different chapters every day, so by the end of a year they'll be able to have listened to the entire Bible," says Block. Creators of the GoBible say Christians will now be able to schedule the Word of God even on the busiest of days.
John Clemens, an occasional contributor to AgapePress, is a veteran Christian journalist who live in Texas. GoBible is available is available for purchase online at Gobible.com.
