Spark Bible

Consumer and social

bible study app

SHOW HN2021

347points
253comments
#94of 2,533 in 2021
Top 4%of 2021 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

12 positive, 44 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 22 critical, out of 81 comments about the project. Thread score -0.09.

Idea: 5 for, 12 againstDesign: 1 for, 4 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 3 againstExecution: 1 for, 0 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Polished, easy-to-use interface

    From 3 comments
    • I just gave this a quick try. I really like how easy the interface is to use and navigate. Parts like the bottom panel can be turned off if they get in the way. One big thing…
      Minor49er on HN
    • Congrats on the launch! I installed it and messed around with it a little bit, it's quite polished. However, I honestly find tools like this in kind of a weird place. I don't…
      dvt on HN
    • I really like the UX. Makes navigating the content easy and provides lots of extra value. How is your taxonomy handled ? Could you break it down for us?
      pryelluw on HN
  • Good idea for deeper Bible study

    From 2 comments
    • Hey HN! Spark Bible is a free app I built for iOS & Android. The idea is that many millions of people read the Bible regularly and want it to impact their lives for good.…
      theoblank on HN
    • Possibly not as interesting for you personally but I would guess that this concept would work very well for Qur'an and the Hadith. Potentially even more so since verses often…
      rognjen on HN

Objections

  • Video content curation and vetting concerns

    From 2 comments
    • > By connecting you with video from top Bible teachers, Spark Bible enables you to find answers and to become a smarter, more confident Bible reader. > Solid Bible education is…
      nwsm on HN
    • This is a VERY crowded market. What are you bringing that makes your product unique and valuable? Videos? Is the video content curated? By whom and how? Are you charging the…
      el_don_almighty on HN
  • No offline mode

    From 1 comment
    • I just gave this a quick try. I really like how easy the interface is to use and navigate. Parts like the bottom panel can be turned off if they get in the way. One big thing…
      Minor49er on HN
  • Crowded market

    From 1 comment
    • This is a VERY crowded market. What are you bringing that makes your product unique and valuable? Videos? Is the video content curated? By whom and how? Are you charging the…
      el_don_almighty on HN
  • Limited availability by country

    From 3 comments
    • The iOS app store link takes me to a page that doesn't fully load for some reason? https://imgur.com/a/e78nPvc Other pages load ok in it, and I tried some other links. But maybe…
      jan_Inkepa on HN
    • I am in South Africa and can't find it in our app store listing or install it via your link - the green install button is greyed out.
      tibbydudeza on HN
    • Why is it not available in Israel?
      sharikous on HN

Requests

  • Offline mode

    From 1 comment
    • I just gave this a quick try. I really like how easy the interface is to use and navigate. Parts like the bottom panel can be turned off if they get in the way. One big thing…
      Minor49er on HN
  • Textual commentaries

    From 1 comment
    • I just gave this a quick try. I really like how easy the interface is to use and navigate. Parts like the bottom panel can be turned off if they get in the way. One big thing…
      Minor49er on HN
  • More translations and languages

    From 3 comments
    • Regulat you-version bible app user here: I really like your app as it is not bothering me everytime I accidentally select a verse (instead of scrolling) when using the…
      esel2k on HN
    • Will there be a support of other languages?
      Kelamir on HN
    • What translations do you use?
      gjsman-1000 on HN
  • Apocryphal books

    From 2 comments
    • Inclusion of apocryphal books would be cool—Gospel of Philip/Thomas/Mary Magdalene in particular would be a welcome sight for me.
      aarpmcgee on HN
    • Thanks for pointing those out! I'll add to the todo list. Yes, I definitely plan to add deuterocanonical books at some point, although I think it's low priority for the average…
      theoblank on HN

Questions

  • How is content curated and who decides on interpretations

    From 3 comments
    • My main question for this app is how they are going to deal with the many conflicting interpretations of the Bible. Who decides which interpretation is shown by default or the…
      lalaland1125 on HN
    • Quick question, are the videos curated? Is there a specific source or do they go through some sort of vetting process?
      wilsonfiifi on HN
    • I hadn't thought about it, a pastor and scholar aggregator by passage How do you curate, is this an automated process?
      vmception on HN
  • What is the business model

    From 1 comment
    • What is the business model here? It's a registered LLC that collects tracking data etc... so like, what are your plans for this app?
      nfoz on HN

Alternatives named

  • YouVersion

    From 2 comments
    • Regulat you-version bible app user here: I really like your app as it is not bothering me everytime I accidentally select a verse (instead of scrolling) when using the…
      esel2k on HN
    • Most of the apps in this space that are doing really well (Youversion, Abide, etc.) are geared more towards making the Bible quick and easy. This is great, but I believe people…
      theoblank on HN
  • Logos

    From 1 comment
    • While this could very well change as the app evolves, my current vision is that Spark Bible bridges the gap between a normal Bible app and more academic tools like Logos. I would…
      theoblank on HN
  • Sefaria

    From 2 comments
    • Congrats on launching. I'm not Christian, but this does remind me a bit of the Sefaria project, which aims to bring together a library of Jewish texts for scholarship, and has a…
      thearn4 on HN
    • For people interested in the Hebrew bible, there's an excellent website and app called Sefaria: https://www.sefaria.org/?home
      fortran77 on HN
  • KJV Bible Lite

    From 1 comment
    • I just gave this a quick try. I really like how easy the interface is to use and navigate. Parts like the bottom panel can be turned off if they get in the way. One big thing…
      Minor49er on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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