Concerns About an Emoji Bible

by Todd R. Gunderson

The comedian Tyler Boeh inserts a clever observation in his monologue about returning to communication with emojis after having left the idea several thousand years ago. Ancient hieroglyphs, or a system of writing using pictures, seemed to him to be very similar to emojis. It got me thinking about an advertisement I recently came across.

“The Emoji Bible is here.” The ad described the King James Version of the Bible translated into a word and picture amalgamation like a simple children’s book where clipart stand-ins represent words with certain meanings. Boeh’s reflection about ancient hieroglyphs resembling emojis is funny, but it is not so amusing when cartoony characters and images are used to substitute God’s words and reduce the meaning and clarity of the Holy Bible.

In the research that quickly followed my discovery of the Emoji Bible, I came across a review for it in The Atlantic, an online version of the Washington D.C. magazine, by Emma Green: “This makes it a somewhat rough approximation of the text. ‘There was not a lot of precision in the language,’ said Elizabeth Morrison of the Emoji Bible [Morrison is the head of the manuscripts division at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles]. ‘Especially in Semitic languages like Hebrew, there’s a lot of nuance in individual words.’ There are many different names for God in the Hebrew translation of the Bible, for example; like any translation, the Emoji Bible takes words that might have many meanings and assigns them one [Emoji].”

The paragraph completely expressed my worries about such a text as the Emoji Bible. I find the idea of this Bible extremely unproductive for study and a mockery of God’s Word. The misinterpretations that can be realized is staggering. God’s Word is clear about altering His Word. Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

It cannot go unnoticed the seriousness God places on altering Scripture. I do not speak of translations to other languages and writing to clarify the Scriptures, but I am concerned about those things that foster confusion and misinterpretation of Scripture like this Emoji Bible will certainly do. Undoubtedly, this Bible will find its way into the hands of children. Reading the Emoji Bible may be easy when you know what a particular Scripture says, but unfamiliar Scriptures and the multiple-meaning emojis will promote misinterpretation and muddle. Since so many emojis are ambiguous in their meaning, I cannot imagine the damage it will do in communicating God’s truth. So serious is the matter that God ends His Holy Scriptures this way. Consider these last words found in Revelations 22:18, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.”

I pray that discernment in such things is given to all.

About The Author

Todd R. Gunderson is a teacher, author, and woodworker who lives and works in Cleveland, TN. He has been teaching for 25 years for Bradley County Schools. He earned his teaching degree at Lee University and a Master of Science in Education from Arkansas State University. Todd lives the country life with his wife, Laura, 4 children, 4 cats, and 2 dogs. You can see his books and woodworking projects at ToddRGunderson.com.