While there are countless mobile Bible apps as well as many print study Bibles available today, Tyndale House Publishers, one of the largest independent Christian publishing companies in the world, has released a new line of Bibles that seeks to blend the two concepts.

Last month, the publishing house unveiled its Filament Bible Collection, which claims on its website to be “Bible Reading Reimagined.”

“It’s the future of Bibles: Learn more without carrying more,” the collection’s webpage states.

While many study Bibles have analysis on the Scripture included in the margins of Bible pages, the new Filament Bible Collection compiles all Scripture-related notes, passage reflections, interactive maps and videos related to each page of the Bible on the Filament mobile app for users to reference as they read along in their print Bible.

In the last month, the app has been used by 9,000 people.

When readers scan the page number of the passage they are reading or studying into the app, they are given the option to read an easy-to-understand summary of the passage and any additional contextual information as well as devotional essays, maps and summary videos related to the passage.

The app contains a total of over 1,200 devotions written by various curated Christian authors.

“We bring in that digital app to provide that supplementary information that really helps you engage and understand what you are reading in that print Bible. There are print Bibles that do this — study Bibles and that sort of thing. But what happens is that you try to fit all that stuff on a page and you end up with a huge book and in some cases, the Scripture text itself is squeezed off the page almost because there is so much distracting yours from it. We are able to take all that and put it in the app.”

Williams said that the app allows users to bring in the analysis and extra content of a study Bible when they want and not worry about having to haul around a giant book.

“It allows you to have that portable Bible you can take anywhere and allows you to study on your own, at lunch, on a train or whatever,” he said. “Or if you are at a small group or talking to someone about the Bible and there are questions that come up, you have access to tools that help you answer those questions.”

The idea for the Filament Bible was first hatched in 2016. The first Filament Bible was published in October 2018. But last month, Tyndale announced the launch of the Filament Bible Collection, giving users an option of four different Bibles in New Living Translation or King James Version that are compatible with its now expanded mobile app.

“We updated the app and take it from being an experiment and into something that we are really hoping to see spread and be a part of something that [changes] the way people think about how they interact with their Bibles,” Williams said.”

Source : Christian Post