One of the wonderful things about technology is that it can make the old new again. Parts of the oldest Christian Bible, probably written in the fourth century, will be available online. According to PC World, readers will even be able to see the texture of the parchment.
While the debate about online ownership of print material rages and the US government gets involved in Google’s attempt to digitize recently published books, successful attempts to reclaim ancient tomes for readers has a tremendous value. These books are not longer subject to copyright laws.
Modern scanning technology is so sophisticated that the Dead Sea scrolls, the Bhagavad Gītā, and versions of the oldest copies of the Koran will probably be available on the Internet soon. These are written documents that the world has never been able to see before. Soon they will be available to be viewed by millions of people.
One of the knocks against the Internet is that it has ruined the value of the written world as its quickly destroys the newspaper and magazine industries. Newspaper and magazines are, in the scheme of things, fairly modern versions of the printed word. Documents that are much older are in the process of digital resurrection.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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