April 19, 2024
Should you have predicted at some point a translation of Scripture including emojis, your day has come.
Later this week Bible Emoji: scripture for millenials will become available on Apple iBooks and while still communicating that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the method will look different for many readers.
The author identified only as an emoji, told The Memo, "Emojis are emotional, and allow people to express feelings in a visual way within the structure of 'normal,' written language. What's made them so successful, is that they're language-agnostic – they allow you to convey an idea to anyone, regardless of what language they speak."
At the site bibleemoji.com, a translator is available to take your favorite Bible passage and use emojis for a modern-day feel. And yes, there is also a Twitter account, @BibleEmoji.
Though the iBook is currently only available for pre-order at $2.99, a free preview of Genesis and Exodus based on the King James Version is available through the Apple store with the description "A great and fun way to share the gospel. Explore all 66 books chronicling the stories of Abraham, Noah, and Jesus like never before!"
The project, explained the author, began with common emojis such as one representing the earth, world, or planet. Soon the list of emojis used grew to 80 and 200 corresponding words. Shorthand such as "&" filling in for "and" as well as "first" becoming "1st" led to a complete translation of the Bible with approximately 10-15% of the characters cut. The author further predicted using a gif/emoji/video hybrid "that allows deeper storytelling."
Yes, there have been critics, says the author, "But it's all worth the goal of making the Bible a little more approachable, to inject some levity, and to get people to look at it, with no particular agenda beyond that."
