Using Phones in Church

Romanos said:

I have used my phone to pull up the Bible and to bookmark verses that have been mentioned. Although I'll admit that I have slipped up and sent a text or a quick email off as I'm not sure when I'll remember to do so after church.

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Honestly, does that really count as "slipping up"?

I've been known to have a look at email when notices are being read, or during a song I dislike to the point I won't take part in it. If I'm meeting a friend on Sunday afternoon and my phone buzzes in my pocket then at the next appropriate moment I'll take a look at it to see if it's anything I need to know about.

Truth be told I've endured a few sermons that really shouldn't have been preached at all. I've been in a church situation where during an "open mic" time the same guy would stand up frequently and present a mini-sermon that usually boiled down to his pet rant of the month. At times like that I wished there had been a phone signal so I could have checked my email rather than enduring that guy's rambling.

On a more spiritual front, I like having my own Bible on my phone so I can read the verses presented and compare versions, write notes on a tablet, highlight verses that are pertinent and also look at the context. It's great to have the verses being used on the screen but being able to read the context is often useful. Like I mentioned further up the thread, a verse like Job 22:28 can be taken to mean one thing but when considered in context it doesn't mean anything like that.

Lämmchen said:

How does checking email/facebook mean slipping up? Well, isn't it rude if someone is talking? Doesn't it just smack someone in the face saying you don't care to pay attention?

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It would depend on the context.

If you're talking to someone in person and cut your attention away to check email I'd agree that's rude. If someone is reading a notice about a women's retreat the notice isn't relevant to me, so if I needed to send a text I'd do so with a clear conscience - I don't see any rudeness in me (as a man) not paying rapt attention to a notice about a women's retreat.

On one occasion since I've been a Christian I walked out during a sermon. I use the word "sermon" loosely, after about 15 minutes it was clear the speaker had nothing to say that wasn't a thinly veiled political rant (as it happened I agreed with her political stance but don't believe partisan politics has any place in the pulpit). Had I stayed I'd have had no problem at all with using my phone to do something more interesting simply on the basis that the speaker was showing me a total lack of courtesy by expecting me to listen to her political rant, and since her political viewpoints presented as a monologue are of no interest I wouldn't see a problem with doing something else. In many ways using my phone to check Facebook or emails or whatever could have been seen as more polite than getting up and walking out.