Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Global Christianity and the Rise of the Cellphone

Posted by timothy on from the 9-billion-names-of-god dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Alan Jacobs writes in the Atlantic about Every Tribe Every Nation, an organization whose mission is to produce and disseminate Bibles in readable mobile-ready texts for hundreds of languages including Norsk, Potawatomie, Bahasa Indonesia, and Hawai'i Pidgin as the old missionary impulse is being turned towards some extremely difficult technical challenges. The Bible is a large, complicated text containing three quarters of a million words and the typesetting is quite complex because of the wide range of literature types found in scripture and the need for several types of note. 'For all the issues that are still to be solved, ETEN is trying to do things that the world's biggest tech companies haven't cracked yet, such as rendering minority languages correctly on mobile devices,' says Mark Howe. 'There's a unity among Bible translators and publishers that stands in stark contrast to the fractured, fratricidal smartphone industry.' But once these technical challenges are met, it won't be only Bibles only that people can get on their mobile devices, but whole new textual worlds."

7 of 559 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Leading the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Like many slashdotters, you're completely dismissing the amount of benifical influence on Western civilization brought about by pornography.

  2. Re:Leading the way by Barsteward · · Score: 4, Funny

    At least Porn is a reality......

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  3. Sample Text by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Crowd: OMG 4000 dudes 7 loaves 2 fish
    Jesus: Lotsa food now LOL
    Crowd: WTFBBQ!

    1. Re:Sample Text by thisnamestoolong · · Score: 5, Funny

      FMAI (Fisherman's Association of Israel): WTF PIRACY

      --
      To the haters: You can't win. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
  4. Re:3/4 million words. tl;dr by Ihmhi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's find out. I hereby present The Holy Book of the Church of Brevity. Here are its contents:

    Don't be a douchebag.

    Love,
    God

    --
    Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
  5. Re:Leading the way by ArcherB · · Score: 4, Funny

    At least Porn is a reality......

    I used to be a pizza delivery driver, and let me tell you porn is NOT reality!

    --
    There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
  6. Re:3/4 million words. tl;dr by Darinbob · · Score: 4, Funny

    Be excellent to each other!