Brace Yourself

Okay, I have a confession to make.

I’m not presently reading any Biblical literature. Lately my fascination has been taken over by classical literature and histories. It all started with a post by George on his blog, Exceedingly. In it he mentioned he was reading War & Peace, and because of the interest his post stirred in me, I picked up a nicely bound hardcover at a local used bookstore.

I must admit that I am constantly impressed by George’s reading selections, and I consistently find myself questioning why I never read any classics of literature in school. The only classic that I really read during my high school years was JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which I read because my dad owned a copy, not through school. So, I’ve decided to start reading some classic works by various authors. Now that I’ve graduated from my University, I had to go in and manually apply for a special library card for alumni, as I no longer have a current student account. Hopefully it comes in the mail this week.

Back to War & Peace though. After reading the first few chapters, I realized that I didn’t know much about the Napoleonic Era. So I’ve taken a break from War & Peace, and am now about a third of the way through Chandler’s The Campaigns of Napoleon. It has been incredibly interesting, and I’ve already been doing quick internet searches to supplement information not included in the book. For example, how the events in the early 1800s were linked to the start of World War I in the 1900s, and then how it was tied into World War II… I will likely be reading some general histories of WW2 once I read War & Peace, though I may keep reading some other fictional works instead.

All of this to say that I am really enjoying the classical and historical literature right now. I am still reading the NLT Study Bible in preparation of my review of it, but for the most part, much of my in depth Bible study is related to blog posts by other people. The most recent example was at Lingamish, which was quite fun to read up on:
Chewing on Pearls

 

Life Application Bible Studies

I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a review copy of their Life Application Bible Studies study guide for the book of Acts. The ISBN for this particular guide is 1414325622, and you can visit the website for this guide and the guides for other books of the Bible by clicking on the image to the left. According to the website, you can currently buy guides for John, Acts, Hebrews, and James. They also list upcoming releases for Matthew, Romans, Galatians/Ephesians, Philippians/Colossians, and Revelation. It seems that these are updates to the now decade old Bible Studies which are going out of print. As it appears that there were no Old Testament study guides in the prior series of guides, I’m assuming that this series will be limited to the New Testament.

I was completely unfamiliar with this series of Bible study guides before I saw a few of them being reviewed on other blogs. I was offered a review copy and have used it to satisfy my curiosity, as well as pass it along to our college group who is currently looking for material to use for their Bible studies. This study guide contains the complete Bible text of Acts, as well as the full introduction, features, and study notes of the Life Application Study Bible in the New Living Translation. On a side note, I was glad to see that these guides use the updated 2007 text of the NLT second edition.

The study guide is divided into two major parts. The first part is 81 pages long and contains an exact reproduction of Acts from the Life Application Study Bible. This would be helpful in ensuring that everyone in a class is reading from the exact same translation of the Bible. The second part is 53 pages long and contains the actual study guide materials. The study guide is divided into thirteen lessons, with a time guideline provided for 60 or 90 minute lessons. The back cover states that the lessons are designed “to stimulate thought, discussion, and practical life application.” The study guide is suitable for individual or group use, and has application questions at the end of each lesson “to help you map out your personal action plan.”

Each of the thirteen lessons is well organized and also sub-divided into five major parts, each of which is themed to a different word that starts with the letter “R”. There is also a sixth section at the end of each lesson, but let me briefly illustrate the sub-divisions:

• Reflect on your life - ties to your own life, circumstances, or society
• Read the passage - there are roughly two chapters per lessson
• Realize the principle - focuses on biblical principles for the passage
• Respond to the message - helps you incorporate principles into your life
• Resolve to take action - make an action plan: missions, outreach, etc.

The sixth part is at the end of each lesson and is used for studying other themes from that lesson. Basically it guides the group towards deeper study for that passage that was not covered in depth by the lesson. I went through each lesson and have noted that there is a range of ten to sixteen questions for each lesson, each tied into one of the six parts mentioned above.

Conclusion
The Life Application Bible Studies appear to be excellent for personal and group use. They break down the Biblical text into easily managed chunks, and approach the various themes from multiple angles. I really like how they try to urge the user towards taking action and responding to the text. I think this is where the study guide’s tie to the Life Application Study Bible really shines. I took some time last month to read through the LASB in a bookstore and was not impressed with it as a Bible designed primarily for study. However, I do like the LASB when it is presented in a lesson format as it is here, and I think it makes for an effective lesson in this format. That being said, I would recommend the new NLT Study Bible over the Life Application Study Bible if you are looking for a study Bible in the NLT translation. I have spent quite some time with the NLT Study Bible now, and I will probably publish my review of it in February. Back to the reason for this post; if you are looking for a series to use for personal or group Bible study, then you would be well served by these updated Life Application Bible Studies.

 

NET Bible

My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, and I asked for a copy of the NET Bible. I seldom use this translation because I rarely make use of digital resources during spur of the moment study. Well my copy arrived in the mail a few days back and I love it. It is very well made and has a nice leather cover in a beautiful tan-brown.

What I love most about this NET Bible is that there are three types of notes. If you’re not familiar with them, they are either regular study notes, notes on the translation from Greek or Hebrew, or else notes on textual criticism. I’ve spent just enough time studying Greek that I can follow the majority of the notes in the NT. I have a bit more trouble with the Hebrew, however I still can follow most of the discussion in the OT as well.

Even though I’ve been blessed many times over in the past month with numerous free Bibles, I think I am going to make the NET Bible my primary translation for 2009. I will also be using my ESV, NLT, and TNIV Study Bibles frequently as I make comparisons among them and spend more time with their notes. However I’ve never really spent much time with the NET before so I think it will be a refreshing change from the versions which I used in 2008. I’ll be sure to keep you updated with my impressions.

 

ESV Study Bible Review

I would like to thank Crossway for sending me a review copy of their new ESV Study Bible. There have already been many reviews online by others about this resource, so I will try to add to their thoughts, instead of only repeating what is already widely known. For starters, there is a lot of information in this Bible (over 2750 pages!) making it one of the largest Bibles I’ve ever held. It is available in eight different editions including hardback, Tru-Tone, Bonded Leather, Genuine Leather, and Premium Calfskin. I have several Tru-Tone ESV Bibles and highly recommend picking up one of those editions if you don’t want a hardback. If you want leather, pass over the bonded and genuine leathers and go for the premium calfskin edition. I received the hardback edition and they’ve styled the exterior in a bold orange, black, and white scheme:

Construction, Design, and Page Layout
The first thing I generally do with any Bible is to open it up and check the binding. Fortunately, all of the ESV Study Bibles have a sewn binding, so they should last for decades. I have an original NIV Study Bible from the eighties and my brother-in-law is still using it, over twenty years later and without a single page missing. I have several Study Bibles that I only use for reference because they have a glued binding and I don’t want the pages to fall out after a few years use. There are so many pages in this book that it would have been irresponsible to have simply glued that many pages together; kudos to Crossway for sewing the pages together in all of the editions.

Next, Crossway has been putting out a steady stream of various editions in a single column format, and they continue to do so with the ESV Study Bible. Now this takes up more space than two columns, but I find the result much easier to read. I prefer the single column layout and it works very well in this Bible, which brings me to another point about the text and that is the color. Thankfully, the words of Christ are not in red! I simply despise red letter text in a Bible because it is difficult for me to read and is needlessly distracting. See what I mean? Black text on a white or light background is the easiest color scheme to read for extended periods, and that is why I prefer it in my blog and my Bibles. This is a pet peeve of mine, but I won’t elaborate any further. If you are wondering, the font is a 9-point type which I have not had any trouble reading. Even the study notes are legible in their much smaller font size.

 

Bible Study Magazine

Last month I received a review copy of the new Bible Study Magazine which is being published by Logos. The first issue is for Nov-Dec so it will come out every two months. It is printed on a nice quality paper and has vibrant colors throughout. This isn’t the thin and cheap stuff that they use in Time and Newsweek where the ink comes off on your thumbs. In fact, the quality and design is reminiscent of Relevant Magazine, which has won awards for it’s layout and design.

Let’s talk about what is inside this issue. Josh McDowell is on the cover, and other topics listed there included the Great Isaiah Scroll, choosing a Bible translation, and Greek Word Study. I’m not one to get really worked up over famous folks in the Christian bubble, but these other articles are all right up my alley. So I open up to the first page and there is a massive full page spread advertising the ubiquitous ESV Study Bible, nice. Next comes a letter from the editor page followed by a full page ad for the NLT Study Bible. A later page also has a little blurb about The Green Bible (NRSV). Lets move on to some of the articles.