Online Libraries

For studying the Old and the New Testimonies in detail, we can use excellent online libraries, from which we can download bibles in several  languages, commentaries to them and a lot of other relevant books.

4 libraries offer many books free of charge and also several, for which one has to pay some money:

• bibleanalyzer
• OliveTree
• e-sword
• theword

4 other libraries offer large collections of books, for  which one has to pay some more money. But they   focus onto professional users.

• logos
• WordsearchBible
• accordancebible
• biblework

From most of those libraries one can download software for installation on the computer and then one can download  bibles in several languages and commentaries, which are hyperlinked and many other relevant books.

As an example I use bibleanalyzer,

which is representative for most of the other libraries.

• In the first column are shown the abbreviations of all chapters in the Old and in the New Testimony.
• In the mid is shown the text  of the bible and above are buttons with abbreviations for several bibles, from which one can choose one.
• On the right side, one can activate one of the many commentaries.

It is  very easy to switch  from one bible translation to another or from one commentary to another.

• Some commentaries are  quite   influenced by the belief of the commentator.
• Others try to be objective. They analyze the text and give additional informations and also hints, if different interpretations are possible.
  • This is very helpful,  to get a deeper understanding, because each translation necessarily must have some shortfalls, because it is impossible to tranlate a  text 1:1 from one language into an other and the meaning of words  is also different in languages and  may have changed over the hundred and thousand of years since they were written.

Why should we study the Old and the New Testimony ?

• for followers of the 3 monotheistc religions, the answer may be  clear;  they want to know more about the  God, in whom  they believe.
• but why should atheists study them ?  They   at least should know  the important basics of the religions, before they make strong statements, that those religions are wrong. Othewise they will only look stupid, if they come into discussions with people, who know the bible.
• for those people, who are interested to find some answers, which are at least acceptable to themselves,   like answers to  questions about the universe and the sense of human life, to which even philosophers and natural  scientists cannot give valid answers, it is a great help, to get a deeper understanding, when they   read the bible  and  use hyperlinked commentaries.
• and then there is the group of people, which is only interested in the historical influence of   religions onto  the cultural, social and political life. Without  understanding  the worldviews of nations, nobody can understand the history, the social and political life of  nations.

And one remark, from a pure point of dealing with informations:

• those libraries are impressive examples, how the knowledge and the wisdom of mankind could get prepared.
  • Using them, one gets a first hand experience, what is possible.
• everybody, who is interested in a topic, can learn relatively easy,  as much as he needs
• to help solve problems of mankind