In recent years, digital Bibles have become widespread. People now have Bibles on their computers, cellular phones, and tablet devices. This is a tremendous blessing in so many ways, as it allows us to have a Bible with us at all times. It allows us to carry multiple Bible translations, lexicons, Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and other Bible helps wherever we go in a very portable package. Custom searches make it much easier and quicker to find a particular passage than using a concordance. Over the years, I have personally benefited from Bible programs such as P.C. Study Bible, E-Sword, and BibleWorks. I certainly have no plans to uninstall my current Bible programs from my computer, or otherwise to cease making use of such technology in the near future.
That said, there is still something to be said for regular use of bound physical Bibles with actual paper pages.
Using a paper Bible makes a statement, "I am reading God's word." Computers, cellular phones, and e-tablets are intended for a multitude of purposes. We use them to check e-mail, to make phone calls, to check our bank accounts, to write documents, to see the news, and countless other tasks. When you pull out a physical Bible, you are telling yourself, "I am reading God's word" in a way that turning on an electronic device simply does not do.
Using a paper Bible helps avoid distractions. Modern electronic devices are not designed for focus. They ring, vibrate, and buzz. They have notifications that pop up onscreen. Every time such a distraction arises, our brain has to shift from Bible study mode to assessing the distraction and then back into Bible study mode again. Even if such notifications do not pop up, our mind still perceives those devices as distraction machines. Our subconscious mind may well be contemplating the other things we could be doing with those devices as we stare at them. Undoubtedly, some people who intended to spend time reading the Bible on their devices ended up spending the bulk of that allotted time surfing the Internet, checking social media, or playing games. Even the hyperlinked text in electronic Bibles can be a distraction, as our brains have to make repeated decisions whether or not to click those hyperlinks. When you have a physical Bible, what you see is what you get.
Using a paper Bible provides a visual reminder. When you have a paper Bible that you use regularly, every time you see it, it serves as a reminder. When you see it on your desk, table, or nightstand, you are likely to contemplate spending a few minutes reading it.
Using a paper Bible is a good conversation starter. So many times, we wonder, "How do I talk with other people about spiritual matters?" Simply having a Bible with you - especially an open Bible - will lead people to talk to you about spiritual matters. When I had been a Christian for mere months, people would come to me with Bible questions - simply because they knew me as the guy that brought his Bible to work to read on breaks. I have had Biblical conversations in restaurants and other places that probably never would have happened had I not been reading a physical Bible.
Using a paper Bible produces greater Bible familiarity. If one wants to read the book of Obadiah in a digital Bible, he simply types it in or clicks on it from some kind of menu. After he has found it, he does not necessarily have a sense of where in the Bible Obadiah is located. But when he uses a paper Bible, he cannot help but notice that Obadiah is about two-thirds of the way through the Bible. He cannot help but notice how short it is, and that it is immediately followed by Jonah. If he turns again to Obadiah the following week or so, he will locate it much more quickly. Every time he flips between passages, he builds or reinforces his knowledge of the distance between those passages. Eventually, he will know where within a page opening a certain passage is found - "Oh, John 3:16? That's on the left page, far left column, toward the bottom of the column." It has actually been shown that using a physical paper Bible is better for memory retention.
This is by no means to discourage use of digital Bibles or of the numerous electronic aids available for Bible study in the twenty-first century. But there is still a good case to be made for regularly digging into God's word with black ink on white paper.