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tinjaw
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« on: January 05, 2008, 02:21:12 PM » |
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I have openly discussed my Atheism here on DonationCoder. I see this as no different than somebody talking about how they are a Jew, Muslim, or Christian. It is just part of who I am and by telling you this, you can better filter my subjective bias from anything I say. With that addressed up front, I have a serious/legitimate question... What are your recommendations for the "best" digital holy books? And by best, I mean in terms of academic research. I am interested in religious books in the same manner as I am interested in the classics of philosophy. I have a BA in Political Science from University of Chicago, with a focus on political philosophy and international relations (mostly the USSR - Class of '89 and the Cold War loomed). I understand there are many electronic version of holy books, but I have not done the research to find out which ones are best **for the purposes of scholarly study** (i.e. I am not interested in being converted). I would love to have tonnes of footnotes and references available. I would love for a version that contained the texts of all the major religions and would let me compare things like references to the same historical event, compare timelines, etc. If there were footnotes/references to secular texts that cover the same item would be icing on the cake. I understand that getting ASCII versions of these books is easy, but I am willing to pay for software that has features like those I have mentioned above. The whole "Digital Media Experience" TM is what I want. If you would feel uncomfortable posting publicly to this thread, I would keep any personal messages on this matter strictly confidential.--- oops! forgot to add: This doesn't count! |
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« Last Edit: January 05, 2008, 02:54:14 PM by tinjaw »
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CodeTRUCKER
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« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2008, 02:50:31 PM » |
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Online BibleQuite a bit to review and most is gratis.
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« Last Edit: May 12, 2009, 10:22:16 PM by CodeTRUCKER »
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I applaud those that refuse to commit "intellectual suicide."Truth, unlike opinion, tradition, etc. will always be able to stand on its own. Truth is not a static, but a living entity and will perpetually impart life; therefore, any "truth" that does not or can not impart life can not be Truth.I am persuaded the only reason bad men have succeeded is not because good men have done nothing, but that good men did not do enough.
An Open Letter to My Friends
Notice: - Unless stated otherwise, I receive no compensation for anything I post here.
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Darwin
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« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2008, 03:34:42 PM » |
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Cool question, Chaim! I've been tempted to buy specialized software to do this in the past but haven't yet taken the plunge. Like you, I'd like to be able to access more than one text and more than one version of any particular text.
CodeTrucker, thank you for the link - I'll check it out.
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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Deozaan
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« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2008, 04:27:01 PM » |
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Here's an online version of the Bible (KJV) with lots of cross references to other verses, footnotes, Bible Dictionary, Topical Guide, Maps, etc. all linked for easy access/reference. http://scriptures.lds.org/Since the website is provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka LDS/Mormons), it also includes LDS scriptures such as the Book of Mormon. |
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« Last Edit: January 05, 2008, 04:30:52 PM by Deozaan »
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Darwin
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« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2008, 04:44:05 PM » |
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Thanks, Deozaan- I love the KJV. There is a package that's been offered on BitsduJour a couple of times that I didn't jump at either time and sort of regret - SwordSearcher. It only covers the Bible but it looks VERY comprehensive. It was 51% off at Bitsdujour - I didn't jump because I wanted something with texts from other religions, but this does look fabulous nonetheless. |
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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Deozaan
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« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2008, 04:52:31 PM » |
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Darwin, you can also download these resources provided by the LDS church for handheld devices. And I just found out they even provide downloadable MP3s of the scriptures as well as other LDS publications. Some in other languages too. All for free. |
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« Last Edit: January 05, 2008, 06:24:42 PM by Deozaan »
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Darwin
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« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2008, 05:02:38 PM » |
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Interesting, thanks Deozaan. I don't own a handheld device but nice to know!
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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techidave
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« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2008, 06:18:19 PM » |
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Personally I use E-Sword and have for the last 5 years or so. Before that I used the Online Bible but I like E-sword better. It is free and you can get it at http://www.e-sword.net/It is highly customizable and you can download only the Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries that you want. It is also available in other languages and they have a version for the Pocket PC all for free! Hope this helps, Dave P.S. I just love this site for all the helpful software and tips you guys offer. I wish there was more stuff tailored to the K-12 education sector. |
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Grorgy
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« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2008, 06:27:10 PM » |
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Just went on a bit of a search, this site seems to have lots of stuff that could be useful, http://www.sacred-texts.com/about.htmAnd from their site a quote: This site is a freely available archive of electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics. Texts are presented in English translation and, where possible, in the original language.
This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship. Views expressed here are not necessarily endorsed by the hosting organization (sacred-texts.com), our ISP or any sponsoring individuals or organizations. |
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tinjaw
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« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2008, 06:28:23 PM » |
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P.S. I just love this site for all the helpful software and tips you guys offer. I wish there was more stuff tailored to the K-12 education sector.
Welcome to the site techidave! Nice "first post". And I think you have a very good idea there. You should start your own thread. Go ahead. It's easy. We'll wait here. If we are not here when you get back will be in that "other" thread.  |
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tinjaw
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« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2008, 07:13:19 PM » |
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e-Sword looks very similar to SwordSearcher  Are they related? e-Sword  SwordSearcher  A little pious pirating? |
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Darwin
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« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2008, 11:57:27 PM » |
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A little pious pirating?  |
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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yksyks
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« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2008, 04:36:29 AM » |
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Here's a program Theophilos, which I'm using regularly. It's freeware, but you have to pay for some special features and texts, which I never needed. For free you get: - Full version of Theophilos Bible Software. No registration fees, no expiration reminder screens. This is not a so called "Demo" or "Light" version either.
- Full text of King James (Authorized) version of the English Bible (including Old and New testaments) with Christ's words in red
- Complete Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the whole Bible
- Complete Easton's Bible Dictionary
- Preview of multimedia Bible narration with pictures and sound
- Greatest Bible Passages jumplist
... and much more. This all in many languages (both GUI and the Bible texts). Especially useful is a synchronized scrolling of different versions for comparison, and of course searching.  |
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Darwin
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« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2008, 10:05:04 AM » |
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Drat! Now I'm spoiled for choice  The Sword Project is interesting - the number of plugins are impressive. I'm going to have to set up a Favourites folder for all of these suggestions. I'm also going to have to Google for equivalent software to deal with other religious texts like the Koran. Thanks for the link, Grorgy - just noticed it as I was about to hit "post"  |
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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tinjaw
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« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2008, 10:10:44 AM » |
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If they are all based off of the open source code, we should download it and compile it. All the screenshots look like Windows 3.1.
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CWuestefeld
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« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2008, 12:31:54 PM » |
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I've used this online reference many times: http://blueletterbible.org/study/ (and elsewhere on the site). It's probably not the tool you want, but an excellent reference nonetheless. (betcha didn't expect to see a heathen like me here ) |
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Darwin
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« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2008, 01:52:05 PM » |
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(betcha didn't expect to see a heathen like me here ) No, but I bet no one expected Chaim to start the thread or for me to show much interest, either! Anyway, ANOTHER nice find - thanks |
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"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin
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Edvard
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« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2008, 10:50:16 AM » |
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Excellent references, all... Being a Linux user, the Sword project is my only choice for such things and their Java interface is interesting, although not as easy to use. I would love to have tonnes of footnotes and references available. I would love for a version that contained the texts of all the major religions and would let me compare things like references to the same historical event, compare timelines, etc. If there were footnotes/references to secular texts that cover the same item would be icing on the cake. For that, my friend, you'd have to study archaeology. Cross-cultural historical cross-referencing is not a pretty thing to dig into, and those who have find the going very difficult, as the existing historical record is fantastically spotty. I found K.C. Hanson's website to be a nice jumping-off place, as he has links to many other historical archaeology sites and current translations of many ancient records. Being Catholic, his focus is on the ancient mediterranean (Greece/Rome, Egypt, Middle East) so I didn't find much pointing eastward or westward from there. |
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All children left unattended will be given a mocha and a puppy.
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Curt
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« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2008, 11:51:33 AM » |
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I am sorry I didn't notice this thread at it's beginning. With the exception of Theophilus I have used all of the programs so far mentioned, and a lot of others, and it is my firm exprience that when it comes to comparative study there really is but one program: Libronix ~ Logos. No one else comes even close - they are all fine, but Logos is The Reference. And quite an expensive reference, that is. http://www.logos.com/products http://www.logos.com/training http://www.logos.com/prod...s/products/boxed-productsBut you didn't talk about studying "Christendom", but "religions", and this can be a problem, because I expect you will find that any books on other religions are hard to find or to trust. Edit: create your very own books for Libronix: http://www.logos.com/products/details/2095 Edit 2: see "top twenty new features": http://www.logos.com/logos3/top20 |
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« Last Edit: January 07, 2008, 12:10:14 PM by Curt »
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Remember what you said, because in a day or two, I'll have a witty and blistering retort! You'll be devastated THEN!
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yksyks
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« Reply #20 on: January 07, 2008, 12:51:15 PM » |
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Libronix Logos looks quite impressive. But the cheapest version for $150? Ouch! Not very christianly... Gonna stay with free Theophilos. It serves me pretty well for years.
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Curt
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« Reply #21 on: January 07, 2008, 01:06:10 PM » |
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Libronix Logos looks quite impressive. But the cheapest version for $150? Ouch! Not very christianly...   One BIG difference between Logos and everyone else in this part of the bible study buisness is that Logos is offering NEW material, all the others are only able to offer more than 70 years old books because of the laws on copyrights. That makes quite a difference! When it comes to STUDYING the Bible, no-one else can offer a tenth of the features Libronix can offer. |
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« Last Edit: January 07, 2008, 01:11:01 PM by Curt »
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Remember what you said, because in a day or two, I'll have a witty and blistering retort! You'll be devastated THEN!
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Edvard
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« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2008, 01:18:39 PM » |
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Whoa... A little more than you might need, but here it is... Welcome to the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.
That said, I thank everybody for keeping this on the topic and not a religious soapbox... Mine included. |
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All children left unattended will be given a mocha and a puppy.
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rjbull
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« Reply #23 on: January 08, 2008, 03:49:11 AM » |
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Just out of interest, and via TinyApps blog:
Christ On Disk is a freeware application for viewing the King James Version of the Bible. It is a stand-alone application that is able to fit onto and run from a single floppy disk that has been specially formatted.
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tabletguy
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« Reply #24 on: January 09, 2008, 10:43:14 AM » |
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You could also try http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/ There's a similar site for other religions, I believe. There's a lot of poorly reasoned "counter" arguments, but some of it is reasonable. |
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sword.gif
