The Immediate Bible

New software brings the Scripture to life in seconds

by Quentin Wagenfield

Morris Proctor, a pastor at Las Cassas Church in Tennessee, had amassed a substantial collection of print books over two decades of ministry. Then, about five years ago, a friend gave Proctor some software—the Logos Library System.

"I love print books, and I really was not that familiar with computers, so I just set it on the shelf," he says.

But soon he decided to see what the program could do. A friend loaned him a computer and loaded the software. He spent five hours a night for two weeks just reading the manual and practicing with the software.

"When I realized what I could do, it was amazing. I'm a good student and previously spent 35 hours a week in sermon preparation. With Logos, even as a novice, I cut my sermon preparation time in half," he says.

Proctor began training his pastor friends on Logos. And then, with the help of Logos Research, he developed a two-day training seminar called Camp Logos. Now he conducts these seminars across the country using a 50-laptop computer lab.

Even researchers are impressed by the possibilities of the latest Bible software. "Programmers have designed new search engines for the personal computer that far outstrip anything that could be done with a hard-copy English or original language concordance," says Ralph W. Klein, dean and professor of Old Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. "[Users can look] for specific verbs or noun forms or even phrases or clauses, lexically or grammatically. These entries can be sought in the original languages or in multiple English and European translations, with texts displayed interleaved by verse or in parallel by passage. All this can be accomplished in seconds or tenths of seconds, and the customized results can be printed out on a high-quality laser printer."

Bible software libraries come in cd-rom and DVD form (disks), and/or they can be accessed via the Web. Travelers can even upload Bibles and study material on handheld computers.

Hermeneutika Bible Software. BibleWorks 4.0, a $299, two-cd-rom program from Hermeneutika, is designed to help serious scholars study, interpret, and research the Bible. Its core is the original Greek and Hebrew texts, but the software also contains 100 Bibles and biblical reference works in 19 modern languages. Mark Rice, Hermeneutika director, says, "Printed copies of the BibleWorks Bibles and works would cost at least $2,000."

Competency in Greek or Hebrew is not required to use the program—you can study modern Bible translations in parallel with the original languages. In fact, Professor Klein urges potential users not to be daunted. "I find BibleWorks to be very user-friendly," he says.

A sophisticated search engine allows users to construct complex (or simple) queries by meaning, word usage, and other parameters. Search results yield detailed information and statistics, garnering praise from users like John Cornette, pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Pennsville, New Jersey. "I cannot imagine a program better than BibleWorks," he says.

The program runs on Microsoft Windows 3.1 through 2000, Windows NT, and some Macs.

Logos Research Systems. The Logos Library System (lls) lets you build your own electronic Bible reference library volume by volume. Users can cross-reference their cd-rom volumes with the lls Viewer, which, according to Logos's director of marketing Dan Pritchett, is the most powerful search-and-display program available for electronic reference books (e-books). You can download the software and updates for free, so all you pay for are the e-books. Topic, word, and verse indices are included.

"Although many electronic books are available from Logos, many other e-book publishers make books compatible with the lls," Pritchett says. "More than 2,000 books are available for lls use."

Logos offers a standard version of their Bible Reference Series for $64.

The Lockman Foundation. This nonprofit organization translates, publishes, and distributes highly readable and accurate Bibles, true to the original texts. The New American Standard Bible (nasb), the New American Standard (NAS) Exhaustive Concordance, and The Amplified New Testament, along with other translations, indices, dictionaries, and study aids, make up the NAS Electronic Bible Library.

"The Library substantially expands Bible study and research by providing, at a very reasonable price, a well-rounded assortment of biblical study and reference tools that are easily and quickly accessible through the Logos Library System (lls)," says Pike Lambeth, vice president of operations.

The Electronic Bible Library cd-rom includes lls software and is available from American Bible Sales for $39. A Spanish version is available.

Ages Software. "Making the words of the wise available to all inexpensively"—that's the goal of Ages Software. Their $89 flagship collection, The Master Christian Library, version 8, contains more than 500 writings on two cd-roms. There are eight Bibles, eight reference works, and maps, plus 12 commentary collections, including works from John Calvin, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. An even more impressive collection of 1,000 different works, The Ultimate Christian Library, is available on dvd. Materials come with a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Tate Giersorf, president of Ages Software, points out that the company's products work on practically all computer platforms. "Most popular programs don't provide anything for Mac users—ours run on all their systems."

King James and New International Version (NIV) Bibles with a five-line display are available for $69. A spoken-word King James version with an eight-line display can be purchased for $109. All versions have devotional verses and bookmark capability. You can purchase additional books on domino-like book cards that clip in the back of the BookMan. A new product, the BookMan Writer, allows BookMan titles to be downloaded from the Internet onto a computer and then onto handheld e-Bookman devices ($129 to $229).

SLSoftware. SLSoftware provides Bibles for handheld devices that use Windows CE. CEBible, version 2.1, offers 18 different translations, a fast and accurate search engine, a feature for creating sermon outlines, and an outline of major Bible characters and events, says SLSoftware owner Lloyd Shelby.

Users can download CEBible with the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, or New King James Version for $45. It can be ordered on flexible disk for $45, plus postage and handling. A CD-ROM version with the NIV and all public domain translations costs $93.

Laridian Electronic Publishing. Laridian produces MyBible for Palm OS handhelds and PocketBible for Windows CE and Pocket pc devices. President Craig Rairdin, who created Parson's QuickVerse, which is available from FindEx, brings the same carefully programmed, user-friendly features to the handheld market. MyBible sells for $29. The Pocket Bible reader sells for $10, and the Bibles and commentaries that go with it range from $9 to $29.

Cokesbury. Cokesbury offers extensive software libraries that can be accessed online. Jody Booher, business manager for electronic products and e-commerce, says his company's products differ from others on the market because they include research and commentary that is contemporary.

"Our advantage is that we're not only a software producer; our publishing side generates new content—preaching material, commentary material, or Bible study material—and we can include that in our software products," Booher says.

"We're moving from the CD-ROM market to the online market, and iPreach and iTeach are the first ventures into that market," he says.

These libraries, which contain commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and other reference works from a number of publishers, are available anytime online with a subscription. The value of the printed materials in the iPreach library is more than $3,000; materials in the iTeach library are valued at more than $1,100. New materials are added yearly. The subscription price to access iPreach is $240 per year; the subscription for iTeach is $96.

Quentin Wagenfield (wagen@ia.net) is a freelance writer living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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