“We did not start out in this world with documents about God. In the Garden of Paradise, in the cool twilight, He visited us personally to talk to us. Pen and paper were not needed … ” (Prof. Jacob van Bruggen, 2013. The relationship and communication between God and the world did not start with writing or books. Long before writing, stories and messages from encounters with the Divine have been passed on from generation to generation. The transmission of sacred memories and traditions took increasingly efficient forms in the course of history as knowledge and technology developed: from stone walls to clay tablets, from animal skins to papyrus scrolls to codices (bound sheets).
The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg (15th century) marked a new era that can be called the "printing revolution". This new technology allowed the dissemination of writings much more cheaply and quickly. The Latin Bible, the Vulgate, was first printed around 1455, initially still equivalent to the wages of an average worker for three years. Through innovation after innovation, now millions of Bibles and books can be printed in months and even weeks on thin paper called "bible-paper".
At the end of the 20th century, with the invention of computers, the internet, mobile phones to various social communication media and big data information, the leaps and bounds of the "digital revolution" are changing the behavior of society and individuals in all lines of life it penetrates. Information of all kinds is spread at lightning speed. In the virtual spaces, advocacy and degradation of values are milling around and fighting fiercely. The boundary between reality and hyperreality is blurring, especially for the younger generations who are often called "digital natives."
On the positive side, with easy and immediate connectivity, access to various sources of information is wide open, which can reveal new awareness about human rights, diversity of identity and culture, and values that favor justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. Their use can foster a civilization of love and support struggles for the survival of a dignified and civilized life on this planet. Even in the early stages of its development, applications that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) have shown their tremendous potential and contribution to the development of science and the development of innovative products.
The ambivalence accelerated by technological sophistication as described above undoubtedly presents a great challenge to the witness and service of God's people in today's world. To what extent do sacred texts born from the womb of history thousands of years ago remain relevant? How does the Divine Word still address, direct and transform human life today? How can churches and ministry institutions surf the opportunities that open up in the vortex of this wave of change? Such questions can be expanded almost indefinitely.
One of the most fundamental narratives in Scripture expands the horizons of faith's understanding of the entry of the Divine into our world. The Gospel of John affirms that the divine Word (Greek: logos) who existed from the beginning became flesh (sarx, "mortal man") and dwelt among us (Jn 1:1, 14). The Greek verb eskenosen is literally related to the image of building tents and camping, like the tabernacle where God temporarily dwells and moves about with His people. This incarnational dimension provides the foundation that encourages the faithful throughout history to take advantage of the new "tents" that open up to the presence of the Word. If the risen Christ commanded that by the power of the Spirit the disciples witness from Jerusalem to the "ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8), then in the digital age there are new "ends" that are non-territorial, with reconfigurations of spatiality and temporality in the niches of virtual encounter.
Since 2012 within the world's Bible institutes, the Bible and its parts in various formats have been presented through a digital library called the Digital Bible Library (DBL):
With the vision of "reaching all generations", Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (LAI) recognizes the diversity and differences in aspirations between the various generations to be addressed by the word of God in the various means of communication and media platforms available, both generations living in remote corners without signals and generations dubbed digital immigrants and digital natives. It is our common desire that all generations have the opportunity to access the Bible and its passages in their heart language, through print and non-print media. May the Divine Word continue to inspire the lives of the faithful, no matter how fierce the whirlwind of changing times, including in this 21st century when a form of digital culture begins to present itself and has an increasingly massive impact on people's lives and the ministry of the church in the challenging bend of civilization.
