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Exploring the advent of an immersive digital culture

Image generated using OpenAI’s DALL-E

Since the rise of personal computers, humanity’s dependence on and emotional connection to technology continues to break new ground. This entrenched connection empowers people to pursue their social goals at the touch of a finger. Digital communication enables people to make friends with new acquaintances met in online spaces and to form diverse online communities—crossing nearly every type of boundary. Within this complex landscape, many people operate with an unspoken expectation that technological mediation can help them achieve their deep-rooted emotional and social needs.

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Compass Braille: Producing the Bible in Braille

 What we do 

Based in the UK, Compass Braille is a registered charity that began in 1990 by producing the Hindi braille Bible. It now produces Bibles and books in 55 languages for worldwide use. The braille is used by various groups who work among people with visual disability in towns and villages and they distribute the braille to churches, house churches, schools, colleges, training/drop-in centres, libraries, etc. 

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Bible StoryFire: Everybody loves a good story…

Getting started in Bible storytelling has never been easier with access to online training called Bible StoryFire. On Story Café (4/23/24) we learned from Regina Manley, the producer of the series how Bible StoryFire https://biblestoryfire.com is a great resource for beginner storytellers to skilled storyteller discussion leaders alike. This series includes 26 audio lessons and four video models. Read More »Bible StoryFire: Everybody loves a good story…

New Animated ‘Jesus’ Film Coming to Theaters Worldwide in 2025

Jesus Film Project and Premise Entertainment have announced a new animated take on the 1979 Biblical motion picture Jesus, slated for global release in 2025. Utilizing state of the art animation technology, the project combines the talents of entertainment industry veterans and the expertise of archaeologists and theologians to transport audiences back to Jesus’ time.

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Is Artificial Intelligence opening Pandora’s box?

In English the metaphor of Pandora’s box is often used to describe a new technology or a new way of doing things, where we are not always sure what the consequences might be… Many people might describe Artificial Intelligence as opening Pandora’s box. Some people might react with concern or fear, just seeing the negatives of Artificial Intelligence. Others might get so excited about what is possible with Artificial Intelligence that they overlook the negative things that can come along with this tool. So how should we in vernacular media approach the matter of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

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Unlocking Digital Bible Mission to Digital Culture with Digital Tribes and Nations

There is a lot more to someone’s sense of identity than language and location. Last year I met a ten-year-old whose eyes lit up when she realised she could make the Bible her own.

She is a metaverse native and she was reached with digital Bible Mission – a missional approach where Bible and digital cultural engagement go hand in hand.

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Living Water …a different kind of audio Bible

Originally blogged by Peter Brassington on Feb. 13, 2024 HERE

I recently realised that across the different bible apps on my phone I have access to over 30 different audio Bibles, read from different versions, in many different voices, and with or without a backing track, but I didn’t realise until yesterday that I had the entire New Testament sung by award winning Gospel artists to a piano accompaniment.

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International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE)

ICETE & Michael A. Ortiz

Theological Education more Globally Connected

At present, there are nearly 50,000 training programs for church leadership worldwide. Some are formal, while many are less structured. Some are complicated and at times bureaucratically stalled, while others are nimble and ready to shift on a dime. Some are accredited, some are not and desire to be, and some are not and do not care to be. Some are in-person, some are distance models and highly flexible including online formats. Some are local, perhaps regional programs in a single language, while some are global and even extending across various cultures and languages. The array of programs, objectives, modalities, and scopes have expanded beyond our capacity to quantify all of them. 

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The Power of Lament

Lament is loving our neighbors with our tears. 

~Lamma Mansour~ 

Lament as an Offering

As I sat quietly listening to Filipe’s heartbreaking story of the brutal attack that left him paralyzed from the neck down, tears streamed down my cheeks.  The video crew, along with Filipe and his wife, passed around a single role of toilet paper as we each tore a piece to blot away tears.  Our small crew borrowed an office on the outskirts of Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi to record powerful stories of transformation and healing from trauma that many in the camp had been experiencing.

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Culture Meets Scripture

Culture Meets Scripture – Eight week course

  • How can we live in a way that honours God while still respecting our culture?
  • How do we use Scripture to evaluate cultural practices and discern what to do?
  • When cultural practices and values clash with obedience to God, what do we do?
  • When pressures from family/community require us to behave in ways that do not align with Scripture or participate in certain ceremonies we feel uncomfortable with, what choices do we make?
  • How can we make choices that align with Scripture—especially when the costs are great and when cultural beliefs are powerfully ingrained? Can we do this while still being culturally relevant?

Starting in February 2024, the 8-week Culture meets Scripture training programme aims to equip participants with a way of thinking and a tool for digging deeper into cultural practices and ways of living, aligning them with Scripture so that we can make choices that honour God.

The online interactions will happen via the EMDC platform  – to register for the class please sign up via EMDC here.

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Making a scripture video in your own language may be easier than you think

This article will introduce you to the things you need to think about before you start. It will also provide you with links to people and organisations who can help you in different ways.

First thing to think about:

Should we make our own video or should we use a video that someone else has made?

Before you start to answer these questions, make sure you can involve as many people from the community as possible. This article by Michelle Petersen should help.  https://scripture-engagement.org/content/participatory-methods-scripture-engagement/

This is true for all decisions you all will make, not just video.

It is actually not as difficult as you might think to make your own video. Think about your young people. Are they filming themselves doing something clever and sending it to their friends? Quite probably. Are they experts in video? Probably not.

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Bible Engagement Workshop

  • by EMDC

 

The Bible Engagement Workshop is a free online virtual learning hub by SGM Canada where participants are equipped to receive, reflect, remember, and respond to the Bible. The Bible Engagement Workshop takes the form of video blogs using PowerPoint presentations that are ±13 minutes long.

Because everyone is unique, people engage with the Bible in different ways. So, the workshops teach a variety of Bible engagement approaches suited to visual, auditory, reading/writing, or kinesthetics learners. In addition to teaching Scripture engagement practices, the workshops provide instruction on the principles and paradigms of Bible engagement.

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Practically Speaking – Artificial intelligence

On April 11, 2019 the ERLC (Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission) of the Southern Baptist Convention released its “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles” The statement’s preamble began with these words:

As followers of Christ, we are called to engage the world around us with the unchanging gospel message of hope and reconciliation. Tools like technology are able to aid us in this pursuit. We know they can also be designed and used in ways that dishonor God and devalue our fellow image-bearers. Evangelical Christians hold fast to the inerrant and infallible Word of God, which states that every human being is made in God’s image and thus has infinite value and worth in the eyes of their Creator. This message dictates how we view God, ourselves, and the tools that God has given us the ability to create.

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