Friday, December 12, 2008

Bible Software Reviews are complete!

It's finally done. After the initial release of my software reviews back in April, I have finally finished my roundup. Seven more reviews have been added to the original 13. In addition, I have linked to another 15 software packages with a short blurb and explanation on why each one wasn't included in my review (most of them fell outside of my specific inclusion criteria).

You can find the launch pad for the reviews here: Bible Software Review. A summary of the final scores are below (scale=1-5).

Now its time to go reintroduce myself to my family...

(Click on the product name to jump to an in-depth review of that product)

1.WORDsearch 8............4.0
2.The Word 3..............3.8
2.SwordSearcher 5.........3.8
4.Bible Explorer 4........3.7
5.PocketBible.............3.5
5.Logos 3.................3.5
7.e-Sword.................3.2
7.QuickVerse 2008.........3.2
9.Pradis 6................3.0
10.PC Study Bible.........2.8
11.Theophilos 3...........2.7
11.La Parola..............2.7
13.BibleSpeak 4.0.........2.5
14.Alkitab Bible Study....2.3
15.The SWORD Project......2.2

16.Bible Pro 12...........2.0
16.SwordBible.............2.0
18.Bible Analyzer.........1.8
19.Online Bible...........1.6

20.Lightning Study Bible..1.3


Saturday, December 6, 2008

Abortion is NOT a human right


Dear Friends,

On December 10th, pro-abortion groups will present petitions asking the United Nation's General Assembly to make abortion a universally recognized human right. The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute created an alternate petition drive that calls for government to interpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting human life from the moment of conception to natural death. They need at least 100,000 signatures by December 10th, the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Please go to the Website and sign the petition:

http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.95/default.asp

If you know anyone that would be interested in doing the same please email them a link to this blog entry.

Thanks.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

SwordBible 5.3 Reviewed

They're falling left and right. With this review I have only four more to go and I'll be done. Yeah, right.

SwordBible 5.3 has been added to my Bible Software Review. Click on the product name to see the in-depth review.

SwordBible............2.0

BibleSpeak on the Review page

Bible Software that talks. What will they think of next? :)

BibleSpeak 4.0 has been added to my Bible Software Review. Click on the product name to see the in-depth review.

BibleSpeak............2.3

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

PC Study Bible reviewed

The next package that I have added to my Bible Software Review page is Biblesoft's PC Study Bible. Below is their score; click on the product name to see the in-depth review.

PC Study Bible............2.8

Friday, August 22, 2008

PocketBible reviewed

I received tremendous feedback for my review of 13 different Bible software packages. I thought I had pretty much hit them all. Little did I know! Over the course of the next month or two I was informed of at least a half dozen more Bible software products available for download or purchase. So I have made a commitment to add them to my list of reviews.

My original plan was to review the next six products and then release them all at once, just like I did with the first 13. But since it took me literally 3 months just to get the first one done, I felt that would not be fair or feasible. So, I will release them as I get each of them done.

The first one of the this 2nd batch is PocketBible for Windows, by Laridian Electronic Publishing. You can find the score below; click on the product name to see the in-depth review. You can also see my Bible Software Review page to see how it stacks up against the other Bible software products reviewed.

PocketBible............3.5

Hopefully I'll have the next one up in a couple weeks or so. God bless.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Whoa

Some of you may be familiar with the Extreme Prophetic web site, run by our favorite extreme prophet, Patricia King. Peruse through the web site for a bit, then watch this hilarious You Tube video. Make sure you watch to the end.



Jerry

Saturday, May 31, 2008

How to Waste Your Theological Education

Derek Brown lists 45 things you can do to Waste Your Theological Education. But after reading this list I would suggest that most of them apply to all Christians, not just those who are involved in formal theological training. The list is very convicting; I would encourage you to read it.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Bible Software 1/3 Off

Family Christian Stores have a coupon for 33% off any item, including sales items. The coupon can be used online, or at a physical store. Since they carry Logos, WORDSearch, Bible Explorer, PC Study Bible, and Quick Verse, this may be your chance to pick up one of those products at a solid discount.

This is a Memorial Day special and can only be used on 5/26/2008.

Here is the coupon: 33% Off Coupon


Jerry

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Bible Software Review

It's done. Finally. Six months after I started, five months longer than I thought it would take, a full review on every single Bible software package available, with a couple noted exceptions.

I have been a fan of Bible software for many years. The right software can enhance your study, improve your teaching, and give you access to a library that would cost more than most of us could afford if we had to purchase the printed equivalents.

I thought it would be fun, and hopefully useful, to review all the available Bible software packages on the market, and provide information and opinion on which ones I thought were the best. While it was fun, it definitely was more work than I expected. So, at the very least I hope it is useful to someone.

Listed below are all the packages with their final overall score, on a scale of 1-5. For a detailed overview of individual scores in six different categories, an explanation of my review criteria, and why some products were skipped, please visit my Bible Software Review page.

(Click on the product name to jump to an in-depth review of that product)

1.WORDsearch 8............4.0
2.The Word 3..............3.8
2.SwordSearcher 5.........3.8
4.Bible Explorer 4........3.7
5.Logos 3.................3.5
6.e-Sword.................3.2
6.QuickVerse 2008.........3.2
8.Pradis 6................3.0
9.Theophilos 3............2.7
10.The SWORD Project......2.2
11.Bible Pro 12...........2.0
12.Online Bible...........1.6
13.Lightning Study Bible..1.3

I've learned you always make someone angry when you do software reviews, so whether you agree or disagree with my conclusions, please feel free to leave comments or send me an email.

Thanks!

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Light Keeper

I have a big post coming soon, something I have been working on for months. In the meantime, here is a poem recently written by my 12-year old daughter, Morgan. I thought it was pretty awesome.


The Light Keeper
Morgan Foster

I sit in the dark
There are no lights
I wander aimlessly
Stumbling around
Wherever I go, I gain no ground
Everything is black
No direction to go
I look around, but find no home
Off in the distance I see a light
I travel closer
The light gets bright
That is were I want to be
I know that is my home
I travel to this place
It is right
The light shines in my heart
No matter where I go there is no dark
I go back with a light to the dark place
And show the others the shining face
The Light Keeper will never leave me
When I am troubled he helps me
He gives me a path to travel
I work hard and I know
The Keeper Of The Light is strong, so
I keep on working
Shining my light
Awaiting the return of The Light Keeper


Monday, February 18, 2008

In reference to my previous post on the sick voyeuristic bent of our culture, I have two books on my reading list on this subject that may interest you as well:

Life: The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality by Neal Gabler

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

Our society is sick


I grabbed this picture from an AP News story on the recent shootings at Northern Illinois University. I blurred the face of the victim in the photograph, not only because it was bloody, but simply out of respect for their privacy.

No such qualms for everyone else in the picture. As you can plainly see the three persons in front are all happily taking pictures of the victim with a cell phone or portable device of some sort.

I know much of what I do on this blog is ask questions, but good grief, for what awful reason would you be standing there snapping photos of the dead and wounded as they are loaded into emergency vehicles? Pictures for your college scrapbook? Something to reminisce about with the guys at your 20-year reunion? Recollections about "the good ole' days" with your grandkids? Perhaps it's just a way to inject some form of excitement into your mundane life?

I may not know the exact reasons, but I do know at the bottom of it is a sick enslavement to the voyeuristic video culture. I understand we all have "train wreck" mentality to some extent - we all take a look at the car crash as we drive by. But should I really want a permanent memo of someone else's suffering for my own gratification later? The inability to not video everything, no matter how disrespectful or grotesque, is a form of insanity, pure and simple.

I feel like I should type more, but words fail me.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Our churches are weak

Where are the voices Christendom when we need them? What do we do when those who form our society's view of Christ no longer speak a true or correct gospel? You'll notice one of the themes of this blog is frustration with a church that waters down the gospel. I have come across a number of recent examples that have put knots in my stomach. I'll let the quotes speak for themselves.

I have a book on my desk called The Writings of the New Testament by Luke Timothy Johnson. Johnson is a professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University. Johnson said recently,
"I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good. We appeal explicitly to the weight of our own experience and the experience thousands of others have witnessed to, which tells us that to claim our own sexual orientation is in fact to accept the way in which God has created us." First Things, Jan 2008.
He is appealing to the weight of his own experience over the timeless revelation of the admitted commands of Scripture. The way Johnson gets around this is to claim that Paul's writings on homosexuality and feminism was right for his time and his culture, but we have progress since then. One problem (among many) with that line of thinking, is just how do we ascertain which of Paul's commands, and on a bigger scale, the whole of Scripture, no longer have meaning for us today?

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Pastor Rick Warren, probably the most well-known protestant leader after the Rev. Billy Graham, was a guest last week on Sean Hannity's America on Fox News. Here is a chance very few people get, to share the gospel with millions of unbelievers. But here is his gospel.
"What it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ is to say, 'I give as much of myself as I understand, to as much of Jesus Christ as I understand, at that moment, and keep growing in it.'"
Huh? Sorry, I don't even know what that means! Now, I understand it is easy to criticize, I'm not the one on the hot seat being interviewed on Fox news. But, I think there are some basic Biblical concepts of what it means to be a follower of Christ that should be on the tongue of each pastor, nay, each of us. Peter tells us, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

Warren on Hannity

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A full critique of the Emerging Church movement is well outside the scope of this blog. Besides, many others have done it much better than myself. But suffice to say that much of the Emergent theology is hesitant to make claims about traditional views of the cross, hell, and atonement, choosing to concentrate more on the mystical, the social justice, and the cultural aspects of our faith. Brian McLaren is one of the pioneers of the Emergent movement. He had this to say on the dangers of the traditional theology of hell.
"[If the traditional view of hell is true,] God can’t forgive unless he punishes someone in place of the person he’s going to forgive. God doesn’t say to you, forgive your wife and then go kick the dog to vent your anger. God asks you to actually forgive. And there’s a certain sense that a common understanding of the atonement presents a God who is incapable of forgiving unless he kicks somebody else."
McLaren equates the substitutionary nature of Christ's death, the atonement, to kicking your dog to vent your anger. Wow.

McLaren on Hell

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Joel Osteen, is one of our current culture's most well known and prolific prosperity teachers. His two books, Your Best Life Now and Becoming a Better You have been runaway bestsellers. But his teaching can be relegated to the simple principle, "What can Christ do for me?". I don't actually have a quote from Osteen, like I do the other leaders highlighted in my post today, (do a Google search, you'll find plenty) but I do want to reference a post from A Little Leaven. It compares Joel's teachings with those who are being persecuted for the faith, such as Pastor Zaur Balaev, who was aressted in Azerbaijan for conducting an illegal service and sentenced to two years in prison. The blog ends with a great statement: "We thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for men like Pastor Zaur Balaev for their bravery and willingness to forego their 'best lives now' so that they can share the true Biblical gospel in countries where being a Christian guarantees persecution, suffering and even martyrdom." Amen.

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In the "Good-grief-is-there-any-line-we-won't-cross-to-be-culturally-relevant" department, is (ironically named) Relevant Church's recent challenge based on the fact that we're not having enough sex. Yup, you heard it right. Christ came to earth so that we could have sex more often. Here is the promotional website: The 30 Day Sex Challenge.

Hey, I'm all for a healthy sex life inside the boundaries of marriage. But is it too much to ask that we exhibit some tact and respect on the subject? Just because our culture has thrown off all restraint when it comes to the subject does not mean we need to follow suit. It is our job to be counter-cultural, not in bed with it, obvious pun notwithstanding.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Here is a video clip of the opening song in a recent "church service" at Buckhead Church in Georgia.



Now, if you're not familiar with the song, it's called Ladies and Gentleman, by the group Saliva. The band isn't Christian. They're not even remotely spiritual. The song doesn't have any lyrics that talk about seeking truth, or offer anything of value to think about. The actual video for the song itself consists of two bikini-clad women in a boxing match who do drugs between rounds. So, what does this have to do with church? Well, I'm sure there is some high theological bridge here that I'm missing, some obvious link to a culture soaked in nihilism that would make our church fathers proud. I've sat here for some time thinking about it, but it's not coming to me. Maybe you can help?

I'm becoming more and more alarmed at what is happening in America in the name of Jesus and under the auspices of His church. What is the price we pay to make the gospel "relevant?" A couple web sites counting that cost is A Little Leaven and CampOnThis.

Tim Tebow's testimony

As a rule, I hate all college teams from Florida - University of Miami, Florida State, and University of Florida. They have all struck me as arrogant and too full of themselves. So I watched with glee as Michigan laid down some smack on Florida in the Capital One bowl on January 1.

It is a good thing I didn't know the following about Tim Tebow (Quarterback for Florida) before I watched the game. I would have had a harder time rooting against him. The following clip is long, but you don't have to watch all of it to see what I'm talking about. What a class guy.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Cool Zip Code Map

I know all my fans have been wondering where I have been the last two months. But I assure both of you, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I have some very interesting news items that I plan to pontificate on in the near future. But in the meantime, I came across this really cool zip code map. "A cool zip code map?" you say. Yes, 'tis so.

Go to: Zipdecode

Click on the map and start typing a zip code. You can hit the backspace key to undo digits. Cool, heh? Sure, the fun lasts only slightly longer than a stick of Juicy Fruit, but I thought it was cool enough to pass along.

Later!