KevinPurcell.org

Back in the dark ages of the computing we were told we would have dumb client computers that were connected by a network to a main computer with all the software on it.  People scoffed but while those days are not here, they are getting closer.

Today you can use a office suite online via Google Docs among others. You can edit pictures using services like Photoshop Express and others.  And you can even keep a database of your church’s membership and giving records online.  Want to do your taxes online or manage your checking account?  Want to keep your finances online?  All can be done.

Well, I just found a program that will let you do online bible research.  These have been available for quite some time.  You will find links to the right.  But Christianity.com has a software suite that is more comprehensive.  It has almost all of the major translations, a decent set of reference titles, and some nice articles and spiritual helps.  You can also do bible reading and devotions.  The commentaries are not the best or most up to date, but they are very good.  If you are a pastor then check out the sermon resources like articles, illustrations, and preaching improvement helps.

One of the great features that I have not seen in any of the other online bibles is the ability to add your own notes.  The interface is well done.  It connects to the translation or to a verse no matter which translation you use.  I am tempted to go online with all my note taking as this would make it available no matter which program I used locally.   Of course then it would not be available if I didn’t have Internet access.

What it doesn’t do is allow you to customize the behavior of things like notes.  I would rather have the add note feature always add notes to every version by default.  It wants to add notes to the translation presently viewed by default.  I could not find a way to change it.  There is a drop down "options" menu item on the Bible viewer.  But when you navigate away from the page and then return it doesn’t remember your options.  In fact there are a lot of little things like this that I would love to see improved.

Another glaring weakness is original language study tools.  My first thought was that they are not trying to reach an audience who would want such a thing.  Most Christians don’t want to translate Malachi from Hebrew or study the tenses of a Paul’s letter to Timothy.  But adding a tab for Sermon Helps proves this notion wrong.  Maybe they will add it later.  For now enjoy the Strong’s dictionary and Robertson’s Word Pictures.

Despite its weaknesses, I would have to say that this is really the BEST online bible I have used.  I put a link in my IE toolbar and plan to add it to my links on my site and my church’s site.