Phil Gons has some excellent information regarding a newly released site: OpenLibrary.org. It is an offshoot of the already mentioned Internet Archive. In addition to providing a whole host of open-domain books in full text (just over 1 million at time of writing), they have the ambitious goal of dedicating a page for every book ever written!
Check out Phil Gons’s post for the details, as well as a list of other sites that provide free books. It is very much worth a bookmark. As is everything Phil graces us with, like this little gem.
- Image via Wikipedia
Now don’t get me wrong, I still think everyone should be using Firefox as their default web-browser. But I’m a realist, and sometimes you just need Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE). And if you’re going to use Microsoft, then you should really definitely immediately download IE8, released today at noon.
There are a whole host of reasons to do this—security, speed, eye-candy, convenience, lots of new features—but the most important reason is to support Microsoft in their new not-evil policies. For the first time ever Internet Explorer will be standards-compliant by default. This is good news for browsers, programmers, and Microsoft; it will truly change the web be ensuring that every web page is viewable regardless of Operating System or Browser.
So if you’re running Windows, download today. You’ll be glad you did, and you will be doing something good for all of us!
In the interest of full-disclosure, I should mention that viewing this site in IE7 results in a couple of formatting problems (with 3rd-party widgets and things), but IE8 displays everything perfectly. This is because IE8 is now standards-compliant! Thanks Microsoft!
Update: The links to the ebook in question have been (preemptively) removed pending licensing discussions. See here. Perhaps I will have time in the future to provide a Tischendorf version, which is in the open domain.
Having Googled long and hard for a free, accented, open-source, Unicode eBook of the Greek New Testament, and to no avail, I decided to make one myself.
Getting the Book
You can download the NA26/UBS4 Greek New Testament eBook in the following formats (right-click and “Save File As”): Kindle, Palm, mobi, and xhtml. Follow the instructions for your device. The Kindle version is the best, so use that if your device supports it. You can convert eBook files using the free application Calibre.
iPhone and iPod Touch users can use the free application Stanza with this guide to get everything set up (it’s easy).
If you need another format for your reader, try Stanza’s Desktop Reader to convert one format to another.
I will post about new releases and improvements on this site, so if you like what you see you may want to subscribe. There are a couple of improvements I would like to make–like sub-chapters and a better Table of Contents–but that will have to wait for another time. Stay tuned!
Licensing
The source text is for this eBook came from the MorphGNT with UBS4 (ver. 5.08) by CCAT and James Tauber, as produced by the Work Viewer web-app created by the Open Scriptures project. It is the same Greek text you will find on the much more robust Resurgence Greek Project and was originally derived from NA26.
This eBook is distributed and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, as allowed and required by the use of MorphGNT.
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From the Logos blog:
The Göttingen Septuagint (a.k.a. Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum. Auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis Editum) is the most important edition of the Greek translation of the Old Testament ever published. At present it spans 24 print volumes and nearly 7,000 pages, setting the bar high for text-critical studies.
For optimal use in Logos Bible Software, these 24 print volumes will be split into 65 digital resources. This means you’ll be able to view the Greek text right alongside of the apparatus, and in several cases multiple Greek translations with multiple apparatuses. By linking them all together, they will stay in sync as you scroll or jump from passage to passage.
Logos is making this resource available for $299.95 for a limited time. Get it here.
You can find a short but concise introduction to this edition of the LXX here. If you would like to learn more about the relevance of the Septuagint for Old and New Testament studies, Karen Jobes’s Invitation to the Septuagint is an excellent resource.
It is my privilege to announce a new journal: Ecclesia Reformada. Anybody with an interest in cutting-edge Reformed scholarship and its relvance to pastoral ministry should consider a subscription. From their site:
Ecclesia Reformanda is a new journal for pastors, theological students, and scholars, that seeks to serve the Church in its ongoing reformation according to God’s Word. The editorial board believes that historic Reformed theology offers the best expression of the theology of Scripture, and so the journal is confessionally Reformed. However, a genuinely Reformed theology is always looking for God to shed new light on his Church from his Word. It is therefore always reforming.
Ecclesia Reformanda is distinctively Reformed, with a contemporary cutting edge. It presents some of the best in British Reformed thinking and writing to serve the Church, her teachers, and her Lord.
The articles in the first edition look both interesting and timely:
The journal covers all of the theological subdisciplines, and early issues will include articles on intertextuality in Romans 2, poetry in James, the place of children in the new covenant according to Jeremiah 32, Jim Jordan’s hermeneutics, Herman Bavinck’s theological method, and John Owen’s doctrine of justification. Future editions will contain articles on ethics, public theology, and pastoral counselling.
I was particularly encouraged by the editorial, which emphasizes that the purpose of the journal is to serve God’s church—a welcome focus in the current scholarly climate:
All true theology is Church theology, conducted by the community of God’s people, to serve the community of God’s people, in the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God in Christ. This is not to despise academic theology, but simply to locate it properly in the service of the Church. Ecclesia Reformanda therefore exists to serve the Church, primarily by serving pastors, theological students, and those who train them. Although the journal will seek to advance theological knowledge, and so contribute to academic theology, the primary goal is to equip pastors and teachers in the Church to discharge their ministries more fruitfully and faithfully. Our intention is thus unashamedly pastoral.
My friend and colleague Ros Clarke is on the board of editors. Her work is extraordinary, and so I expect the journal will follow suite. You can check out her blog here or her site dedicated to academic work here.
Feb 162009
Digitalization is the way of the future, and with the recent deal between authors and Google books, that future may in fact be bright for all parties.
In the course of my dissertation work I often have to track down primary sources, and when those sources are particularly rare it becomes difficult. Or it used to be difficult. Now I Google it.
Exhibit A: This morning I needed to track down some homilies of Hebrews by Chrysostom. Being a dedicated Greek Geek, I wanted the “original,” which means I need Patrologia Graeca volume 63. Where am I going to get it? Google Books of course–they have the entire series digitalized and downloadable for your convenience. This is what sites like Google Books and archive.org are made for—primary sources in the open domain.
Image view of v63 of Patrologia Graeca
Here are some screenshots for you. The first is the standard scan, downloadable as a pdf. The second is Google’s attempt at a little OCR, which obviously is struggling with both the Greek and the Latin. This is to be expected. I did a little natural language processing way-back-when; a lot of OCR software will “guess” the letters based not only on shape, but on the software’s (limited) understanding of the language, which for Greek and Hebrews is probably NULL. Still, I was impressed, and this is a harbinger of great things to come.
OCR view of v63 of Patrologia Graeca
So what primary sources have you been trying to track down? How do you use research tools like these? Post in the comments!
If you frequently search the Westminster Library then you may be interested in this post. I have created a command for Firefox‘s Ubiquity that allows you to search the Westminster Library Catalog without ever leaving your web page. You can even highlight text on any web page and automatically search the library catalog using that text.
The ubiquity notification bar appears on pages with Ubiquity commands
If you know all about Ubiquity, and already have it installed, then simply add the wtslibrary command by clicking “Subscribe” in the drop down notice on this page. Once you’ve subscribed to the command, activate Ubiquity and type in “wtslibrary”, then your search. To highlight and search, just select text on any web page (try it now on the word bavinck), activate ubiquity, and then type “wtslibrary” and return. So easy (and you may also be interested in this post)!
New to Ubiquity? I have a full introduction available, complete with instructions for installing my Westminster Bookstore Ubiquity command.
If you’re not ready to jump into the wonderful world of Ubiquity, try my simpler Firefox Search Plugin.
How does the wtslibrary command work?
You can subscribe to the “wtsbooks” command by browsing to this page with Ubiquity installed and clicking “Subscribe” when the notification window drops down.
To use the command, activate Ubiquity (your shortcut key) and start typing “wtslibrary”. Then type in your search and press “enter”. You can also select text on a web page (why not try it be selecting the following: bavinck), activate Ubiquity, type “wtslibrary,” and the text you selected will be automatically entered as your search.
Future prospects
For future updates to this command, bookmark this page or subscribe to my site. I hope to add more functionality in the future, like search previews (type “amazon” into Ubiquity to see what I mean) and other goodies. If you have suggestions or questions, please post them in the comments!
As a follow-up to my Westminster Bookstore Search Plugin I have created a similar plugin for the Westminster Seminary Library, which works in both Firefox and IE7. So now you can search Westminster Seminary’s library right from your browser, and since the site natively supports Zotero, this makes research all that much easier.
Add the Westminster Library to your search bar
The same instructions for installing the Westminster Bookstore plugin apply here as well. In brief, while viewing this post (here) just click on the search engine toolbar in your browser and select “Add the Westminster Library.” Still confused? Just check the picture to the right. This plugin works in Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, and several other popular browsers. The plugin is also available directly from the Westminster Library site.
Consider this the official page of this little plugin. Updates will be posted here, so you may want to bookmark this post. Please post any comments, suggestions, or problems in the comments section and I will respond as soon as possible.
If you want to make this search feature even more powerful, follow this guide. There is also a Ubiquity command available.
As a side note, the plugin supports advanced boolean syntax. Typing “stott romans” into your search will return all results with both “stott” and “romans” that occur in any field. By contrast, “a:(stott) romans” will search for any books whose author is “stott” and also have the word “romans” in any other field. Similar results will occur with t:(“title”) or s:(“subject”). For more syntax suggestions, just search the Westminster Library Catalog and pay attention to how it formats your queries.
Update: This plugin is now official. In addition to accessing it here, it is now available from the Westminster Library Catalog.
Jan 152009
Who needs Google when you’ve got the Westminster Bookstore, right? Well now you can add that famed repository of Reformed Christian resources right into your Browser search bar.
It's now easier than ever to search your favorite Reformed bookstore!
How? Easy. If you are viewing this page (and my guess is you are), just click on the search engine toolbar in your browser and select “Add the Westminster Bookstore.” Still confused? Just check the picture to the right. This plugin works in Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, and several other popular browsers.
Consider this the official page of this little plugin. Updates will be posted here, so you may want to bookmark this post. Please post any comments, suggestions, or problems in the comments section and I will respond as soon as possible.
If you like what you see, you may be interested in my ubquity command for the Westminster Bookstore.
This blog exists to promote and describe tools and technologies that might be of interest to Christians. If you are interested in such things, why not subscribe to my blog.
