Threads from Henry's Web

Tag: Bible Study Tools

  • Bible Study Tool: The NeXt Bible

    One key question for computer savvy, or at least computer-involved Bible students is the type of Bible study software to purchase. Many can get along well with e-Sword, which I’ve reviewed before. (Be sure to read into the comments for some corrections.)

    Now there’s a new, free resource from Bible.org, the producers of the NET Bible. One of the key features of the NET Bible is the extensive and generally excellent notes provided for the translation. You will rarely be left unaware of major translation issues if you carefully read the notes. Much of what can normally only be accomplished by reading a passage in numerous versions is handled by the NET Bible notes.

    But now there’s more–we have the NeXt Bible. This is not as complete as e-Sword, but some of the resources that do exist are even better. What attracts me to it is that it’s available anywhere that I have an internet connection. For example, this morning I’m working at someone else’s office for a couple of hours, and none of these computers have any Bible study software on them. I can’t do as much as I could with my Logos software, but I can get a substantial amount of information, and it’s readily available.

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  • Biblical Criticism Resources

    Since I’m talking so much about critical theories in my discussion of Genesis 1-11 (now on chapter 6), I wanted to call some attention to material I have already posted concerning Biblical criticism. The best starting point for this information is the following pamphlet from the Participatory Study Series:

    That pamphlet provides answers to some of the basic questions that many lay people have about Biblical criticism. I sometimes criticize conservative scholars for ignoring critical study and methodology, although many do take it into account, such as the authors of the New International Commentary on the New Testament, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, or the Apollos Old Testament series. Liberal scholars and teachers, on the other hand, often seem to simply assume critical results without giving people the chance to evaluate the methods and any assumptions behind them.

    To help lay people understand better what is being said when people present conclusions from critical scholarship, and do so very likely with excessive confidence, I wrote a series of entries over on my Threads blog. Some time I’ll gather them together and make them more accessible, but in the meantime, here’s a list.

    While it is not part of the criticism series, I have continued discussion of Isaiah 24-27 here on this blog, and intend to continue working slowly through that section of Isaiah.

    The main point here is, as always, to evaluate claims for yourself, and not simply accept what others feed you.

  • Participatory Study Series on Basic Bible Study

    Since most of the existing pamphlets in the Participatory Study Series were released before I started this blog, I’d like to go back through previous releases and let you know what is available.

    For those who are not aware, these pamphlets are available free on the web. I provide a PDF, and HTML and either an Open Document Text (see OpenOffice.org) or Microsoft Word format file. While I hold the copyright to these pamphlets, the purpose is to prevent others from modifying them and using them without attribution. You may freely print as many copies as you wish. There is space provided to add your own contact information, so you can take the Word file, for example, add in your church’s name, phone number, and web site, and use these pamphlets in your outreach program. They will print on almost any inkjet printer, or if you are willing to work grayscale, on any laser printer.

    Today I want to feature two pamphlets:

    The first of these two pamphlets outlines very briefly an approach to Bible study, what I call the participatory study method. The basic definition of participatory Bible study is a form of study that gets people involved and does not depend on a teacher to dispense all of the information. I intend to go much further. Participatory Bible study, as I use it, means that we get involved in, participate in, the story of God’s saving activity in the world. The story is not just about Abraham, Elijah, Jesus, or Paul. The story is about us. It’s about how we continue to add to the story of salvation through God’s actions in our lives, but only if we share them.

    That’s why the final item, last but not least, is sharing. As we learn and apply the Bible we will gain much by sharing. Sharing makes us formulate our ideas in such a way that we someone else can understand them, it provides accountability as someone else can point out serious errors, it provides a balance, as we see how others have understood the same passage, and it provides us with an impetus to new study as others ask us questions or present us with situations we may not have considered.

    The method presented in this pamphlet, and expanded online at Participatory Study Method is designed to get you involved in the story.

    The other featured pamphlet, The Authority of the Bible is a simple, basic statement about why we should put any form of trust in the Bible. This will not teach advanced views of Biblical inspiration, but it does provide a starting point.

    You can use these two pamphlets to help get a good Bible study group started. Combined with a good, basic study edition, such as The Learning Bible (CEV), and you can run a basic Bible study that is constructive and will help in your spiritual growth and that of your group.

  • BibleAndReference.com: Study Tools and Links

    I’m adding this resource from Christianity Today to my Bible Study Resources links. It provides Bible search in a number of versions (via Bible Gateway, and I tend to use Bible Gateway directly), and also a number of other resources and links to resources.

    One of the great things about the internet and Bible study is that many new resources are available free of charge. I will be expanding the study resources links selection on this site as I continue to post new Bible studies.

  • e-Sword Bible Software

    Sometimes I like to recommend various Bible study tools, and this is especially fun when the tools themselves are free and of good quality. Free software is often worth precisely the price you pay for it, but in the case of e-Sword, you will be pleasantly surprised. (Note: For other Bible study tools see my page Bible Study Tools, and the Participatory Study Series pamphlet Bible Study Tools.)

    As might be expected, e-Sword does not come with a wide variety of current tools and Bible versions. Many of these require licenses from the copyright holders, and it simply would not be practical to provide them. Some licensed material is available for download with a key to be purchased from the publisher. On the other hand, some fairly current materials are available, such as the CEV and Good News Bible provided by the American Bible Society. There is a good selection of materials related to the KJV, and quite a number of notes from older authors (Wesley, Scofield, Matthew Henry’s commentary, and so forth).

    In the area of Biblical Languages, the BDB definitions are available for the Hebrew scriptures, along with an unpointed Hebrew text. There are several older Greek texts available, including Westcott and Hort, the Majority Text, the Textus Receptus, and a few others. The Greek lexicons available are Strong’s and Thayer’s definitions. These do not constitute a very good set of tools for the serious student of the Bible in its original languages. It does provide an opportunity for reading and for some reference work. Again, this software and all of these modules are free, and in that context they are better than might be expected.

    I find the screen busy and a bit hard to maintain, but the benefit to the arrangement is that it keeps the majority of your tools available at all times. I normally work with a smaller selection in my preferred Bible software (Logos Bible Software), and only open other references when I actually need them. It is possible to work the screen on e-Sword into a much better configuration; it’s probably just my personal quirks that make me feel uncomfortable with it.

    Notes are easily available, and can be edited. Various reference works and Bibles are linked. Original language Bible texts are linked via the Strong’s numbers. I expect this system in a free piece of software, but I am not fond of the Strong’s numbers. If you are, this will be a feature.

    Having now stated my complaints let me simply say that all other features of the software seem outstanding. The available resources are surprisingly diverse. They can be found easily on the e-Sword web site, and can be downloaded and installed using good, trouble free installation scripts. There are no lengthy files of instructions; the job is done for you.

    I have also found the software stable. I am running it under Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home.

    For further information on choosing Bible software, see an article I wrote for Religious Product News, Choosing Bible Software