In da Bginnin God cre8d SMS

It’s the New-Textament

An Australian Christian group has created a version of the Bible in text-speak so church-goers can spread The Word via mobile phone.

The SMS Bible changes the holy book’s famous first line to “In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth.”

Bible Society scripture director George Rodriguez said the project was a way of bringing the book into the 21st Century.

“We’ve been careful to stay true to the Bible,” he said. “We didn’t want to alter its message in any way and we never abbreviated any names.

“The response has been amazing.”

Mr Rodriguez said the SMS Bible had proved particularly popular among young people.

His son Michael spent six weeks translating the Bible’s 31,173 verses into text messages and then designing software to make it compatible to mobile phones.

“The first ever book to be published on a printing press was the Bible and we’re doing the same thing here with text messaging,” George Rodriguez said.

“It’s a logical step. Our aim at the Bible Society is to get the Bible out there among the people and this is a very effective way of doing it.”

The text can be accessed at www.biblesociety.com.au/smsbible.

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