Last year at this time my congregation secretly took a collection to present to me for Clergy Appreciation Month (yes, October. Don't forget your pastor!). There was enough money for me to finally get a smart-phone; replete with day timer, contact database, and best of all, an electronic Bible (of which, I now have several translations). When I heard about this new text-messaging edition, I was very interested in seeing if there'd be any benefit.

After unsuccessfully trying to sync the thing, I contacted the Australian Bible Society's director. He informed me that it really doesn't work between cellphones, but from PC to cell. That was disappointing, but I discovered that this Bible is really nothing to get all excited about anyway. The text-speak Bible ( "SMS Bible") is just the Contemporary English Version (CEV) published by the American Bible Society about a decade ago. What's different is that its words have been abbreviated, though not very well. Even so, when communicating quickly by computer we all know how shorthand is often employed and why this concept seems attractive.

The Contemporary English Version was originally marketed to the uneducated, so it's a real lowered-bar translation that wouldn't be used for serious study. The SMS Bible is word-for-word faithful to the Contemporary English Version, but if it will move a new generation to casually Scripture-swap where they wouldn't have otherwise, then maybe this isn't so bad a concept. One primary Scripture of import came out just fine as far as I can tell (though it looks and sounds weird); "In da Bginnin waz da 1 who is called da Word. da Word waz wit God & waz truly God. da Word became a human being & lived here wit us." This is essentially correct as far as the passage in John 1:1,14 goes, so who would object terribly?

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

Light On The Corner

Montrose

Because "the word of our God stands forever" the Bible is already alive and well in the 21st century. Regardless of the media used to publish it, at this very moment, Scripture is comforting, correcting and encouraging millions of people. It is leading them to fulfillment in life through following our only Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mobile phone text messaging is a wonderful and inventive way to bring the universally needed words of God's grace and truth to tech-savvy and often distracted 21st century people like most of us.

The Bible Society people acknowledge that the SMS Bible is "a tool" to "assist and encourage engagement with the Word of God." It's not meant to replace the Bible as otherwise translated. It should instead whet our appetites to spend thoughtful time reading Scripture, much like a brief text message makes us anticipate the company of a dearly loved friend.

PASTOR JON BARTA

Valley Baptist Church

Burbank

Interestingly enough, the Armenian Church celebrates the 1,600th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian alphabet this month. Pontiffs and exhibits have been featured in stories in the Glendale News-Press.

The entire reason and purpose of inventing an Armenian alphabet was to translate the Holy Scriptures into words that would be understandable to a people.

The Church took a leading role in transmitting the faith to its congregation.

Text-speak Bibles are an attempt at popularizing the sacred. From the several Bible verses I have seen in text-speak, it seems this is an issue of spelling, rather than translation. I'm more concerned with the sacredness of the text being lost than I am with the message.

Many people, with impure approaches, have extrapolated misconstrued messages even from the most beautiful, articulate and concise translations. But in terms of sacredness, is it really necessary to flash the content of scripture on cell phone screens?

Although we say that God is everywhere, arguably there are certain spaces that are more sacred than others to celebrate, worship or even communicate.

A simple church, the open skies, or a majestic sunset will always inspire the soul to spirituality much better than, say, an outhouse or the city dump.

Most everything we do has been reduced to the mundane. Holy Scripture should lift us from our routine to the exceptional so that God becomes for us that special entity that consumes and renews us.

FR. VAZKEN MOVSESIAN

Armenian Church

Youth Ministries

Here is an old story about a believer being asked something about the King James Version of the Bible:

The guy supposedly said, "If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus Christ, then it's good enough for me!" (I kind of hope such a story is not a true account!)

With all the translations of the Bible down through the ages, I tend to feel, "What's wrong with one more?"

I must admit that the "purist" in me grimaces a little at some of the spellings of words in Text-Speak, but I have to believe that the Holy Spirit of God will find a way to spread his Holy Word.

Those of us who wince at the idea of phonetic spellings should keep in mind that the original Hebrew of the Bible was "original" only as written down oral tradition, which itself had been around for close to a thousand years before somebody thought it best to write things down.

So "new" translations have been part of the Judeo-Christian Tradition from the beginning. If something is lost in Text-Speak, so has something been lost in earlier translations of Holy Writ -- and, I might add, something has been gained as well.

As an example, look at the King James Version and appreciate the beautiful English language of the 17th Century. But the Revised Standard Version of 1952 seems more up to date, seems closer to the way we English-speakers in America talk today.

By reading the Revised Standard Version, something is gained and something is lost. The same will hold true, I believe, for the new Text-Speak.

THE REV. C.L. "SKIP" LINDEMAN

Congregational Church of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

Over the centuries, religion has adapted itself to an ever-changing world.

The book of Deuteronomy records early versions of the Torah as being written on stone.

Over time the Torah was hand-written in various ways and passed on from generation to generation. With the advent of the Guttenberg press in 1436, printed material brought religious writings to the masses enabling all to gain a deeper understanding of spirituality.

It is incumbent upon religious leaders to take their message, adapt it properly and bring it to the people. One hundred years ago, adaptation meant utilizing radio waves to spread the word of God. Fifty years ago the challenge was the medium of television.

Just a few years ago, we were blessed with the most powerful educational tool ever known to man-kind; the Internet. In an instant, information now zips across the globe with the mere click of a mouse. Our objective now is to harness this incredible tool and spread the positive message of religion over the digital lines.

Over the past few months, text messaging has become an incredibly popular mode of communication, especially for the youth. It should therefore be used as well to broadcast religious information.

While adaptation for the purpose of dissemination is a crucial element of religious teachings, caution must be taken not to deviate from or in any way debase the intent of the original message. Yes, we can and must use modern technology in any way possible. But we must insure that it is done in a respectful manner and without compromising the core of our beliefs.

RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN

Chabad Jewish Center