Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category

Podcasting Technology and the Audio Bible

Saturday, July 12th, 2008
audio equipment
Susan Slobac asked:


The audio Bible has made a wonderful addition to a number of different digital technologies including podcasting. This new application of digital audio technology to the Word of God is becoming ever popular on the internet. The audio bible online is fast becoming an integral part of the online Bible listening community who wants a readily available device for listening to the word of God, for participating in audio Bible studies, and for hearing audio Sermons. The King James audio Bible is just one of many versions of the Bible available in audio format. The audio Bible, mp3-player compatible, allows you to download the New Testament onto your mp3 player, allowing you to bring your Bible study with you wherever you go. As you commute to work or work out at the gym, you can take those otherwise wasted moments and devote them to listening to God’s Word. Podcasts offer another means by which listeners can gain access to the audio version of the Bible. Podcasting technology brings the Bible to you via the Internet so that it can be downloaded onto your home personal computer or onto your mp3 player.

The term “podcast” refers to the combining of the two words iPod with broadcast. Podcasts can be listened to on any type of mp3 player, not just the iPod version player. A podcast is a digital media file that is sent out over the Internet in web syndication feeds that can then be subscribed to and downloaded onto your personal computer or an mp3 device. Podcasting offers an easy means of home computer users to create their own “radio shows,” which are then distributed over the Internet for people all over the world to listen to. Podcasting has also been used to distribute audio tours of historical tourist attractions, online educational lessons, and more.

Creating podcasts involves different types of digital technology. The first step is to record the content of the podcast, in this case the presentation of Bible verses, using digital equipment and saving it as an mp3 audio file. These audio files are then distributed out to the world over the Internet. The audio files, or feeds, are listed on a host website and show all of the different episodes that are available for you to listen to.

Because the creation of audio files are possible on computers, the actual production of audio Bibles is made much simpler through the use of this wonderful digital equipment. Computers are lightweight and highly transportable, which makes recording the Bible in the myriad of languages necessary in order for listeners around the world to understand what is being said much easier. No longer do Native language speakers have to be flown into a studio to record their pieces; instead, they can use computers in their home countries, and then send their audio files to the audio Bible sources, where they are compiled into the professional finished product available online. Podcasting technology brings the audio Bible in hundreds of different languages spoken worldwide to people who might not otherwise have a chance to be exposed to the life-enhancing message contained in the Bible, God’s Word.



Pauline

Outreach Efforts Using Audio Bible Study Programs

Friday, July 4th, 2008
audio equipment
Susan Slobac asked:


You may not even realize it but there are audio Bible Study programs going on all over the world. Audio Bible study is one way that scholars and students are making use of the audio Bible. Audio Bible Study brings the Word of God to people who cannot read, the majority of the world’s population at present. The Bible on audio CD allows missionaries and local pastors to share the treasures of the Bible to all who would like to hear about them. The audio Bible on CD is also being used worldwide as an aid to literacy.

One of the first steps a missionary or pastor might take is to begin an audio Bible listening group. The Word of God is presented in a language familiar to native speakers, and it begins to work on the hearts of the listeners.

This often leads to the building of new churches. People then come to the churches to listen to the audio Bible and continue after with discussions of what they have heard, in order to build their faith.

Listening to the Bible also helps new believers to memorize passages from it. Those living in a predominantly oral culture respond to dramatic readings of the Bible, and audio Bibles are available in dramatized versions, with sound effects, music and staged readings.

Some places in the world do not have the luxury of reliable power. This might put a damper on hearing the audio Bible, because without a power source electronic equipment will not run. However, improvements have been made in this area with the application of recent scientific digital technological advances. There are now solar-powered CD players that will play the audio Bible CD without the need for any local energy at all, allowing the audio Bible to reach into indigenous areas that might otherwise have not been blessed with God’s Word.

If you are learning how to read, it helps speed the process by listening to what you are trying to read being spoken as you attempt to read it. The audio Bible is used in this manner to help improve literacy skills of people all around the world. Over half the world’s population cannot read, so audio Bibles are being used as one method of sharing God’s Word, and are also used to help improve reading skills.

Illiteracy is even a problem in the United States, where many do no reading at all after graduating from high school or college. This can hamper spiritual growth, if a congregation is simply not reading the Bible. One way to overcome that obstacle is an audio Bible program that allows listeners to listen to the entire New Testament in forty days while spending only 28 minutes a day at this endeavor. Because the audio Bible also comes in an MP3 player format, it can go with you to the gym or on your commute, so that in spare moments you can catch up on your Bible study.



Steve