An excellent and humble blog post from Bob Kauflin over the issue of spiritual gifts (he
has a list of excellent resources as well). If for no other reason, just watch as he makes the main thing the main thing in a conversation where everything but the main thing often becomes the main thing.
And speaking of gifts and Bob Kauflin, grace-centered props on the excellent new CD, Valley of Vision.
“Only Jesus!”
… So here I was with three cut up ESVs. One is now lost, two remain and no successful blank bible. I needed a bible with a more comfortable binding and maybe even the option of adding more pages this time.
I made several calls to binding experts around town but none of them responded in confidence that a 2,100 page bible could be rebound without pages falling out and
other future problems.
The future of the “Karalee’s/Jonathan Edwards’ Blank Bible” was looking doubtful. But maybe I was overlooking the simple solutions?
I could use a 3-hole binding system, but three-hole binders can get very big, bulky and awkward and the rings are always in the way of notetaking. The goal here is compact. And I don’t think the bible paper would last long with such a simple binding.
After one week of deliberation I decided to pursue one very common solution for my next attempt: Spiral binding. This was not a new option to me. Being someone who enjoys reading at the gym while doing cardio, I have cut bindings off and spiral bound several books so they lay flat (‘Industrious’ some would say. ‘Nerdy’ others would say).
So I took another cut ESV and had blank pages made. Then I inserted the blank pages. Here was my strategy …
Gen-Lev = 1 blank page between each page
Josh-Job = 1 blank page between each page
Ps-SS = 1 blank page between each page
Isa 40-66 = 1 blank page between each page
Jer-Eze = 1 blank page between each page
Matt-Acts = 1 blank page between each page
Rom = 2 blank pages between each page
1 Cor – 2 Cor = 1 blank page between each page
Gal – Eph = 2 blank pages between each page
Phil – Rev = 1 blank page between each page
Each OT book has at least 2 pages at the beginning of the book.
Then back to the office supply store. It took me about 90 minutes to spiral binding punch my Blank Bible (not to be confused with comb binding). Although I searched online and found some 3” spiral binding coils, they were expensive and required a bulk purchase. So I decided to stick with the 1-1/4” coils, the largest common size. This split the growing bible into three volumes (a perfect separation into Gen-Job, Pss-Mal, Matt-Rev). I now appreciate the three-volume format more than at the time.
It was simple to punch and coil the volumes. The final dimensions: 3” thick weighing 3 lbs. 13 oz (I used this ESV bible in all attempts – excellent paper for a project like this).
Here is a picture of my first successful “Blank Bible.”
The spiral coils handle very well with the thin bible paper, and they allow the bible great freedom in movement. In general, the bible is very comfy. Taking notes in this bible is graceful, as opposed to the last attempted Blank Bible and even 3-ring bound bibles. I can completely open the bible, giving me full use of each blank page. Because the binding is removable, I can add/replace/subtract pages in the future. Overall, this bible is a good fit for me.
Speaking of note taking (which is really what this bible is all about), I use a special Pigma Micron 005 pen. They come in several colors, are not expensive and available at most art and scrapbook stores.
So this is the story of my Blank Bible. I’m not done, though. In the future I want to try a 3” binding coil to see how the bible feels as a single volume. And I am working with a local university claiming they can bind the bible using an old sewing technique. I’m not sold yet, but it seems to me that even with all these options I will probably return to my 3-volume coil bound bible.
Your turn. What would Edwards say? (Besides the fact that I used a lot of very nice, clean paper). Let me know below. How can the Blank Bible be improved? Why would this fit or not fit your needs? Any ideas or suggestions?
“Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.
Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards decline along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God.
Before the Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, ‘What is God like?’ and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is, and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.”
– A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (HarperCollins: San Francisco), 1961, p. 4.
This marks an exciting time in the study of Jonathan Edwards. The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University is preparing Edwards’ famous “blank Bible” for print (see video here). It will be very useful because the
thoughts of Edwards will be organized exegetically. Though these volumes will be quite expensive they should also be quite valuable for the preacher of God’s Word.
(BTW, the Edwards Yale edition of his works very expensive. However, they are common in large university libraries. Here in Omaha I frequent a library with the entire set to date and many of the volumes published in the past 8 years have only been checked out once or twice!)
Anyone who spends much time in Edwards has a great respect for his ability to draw themes out of texts and cross-reference the same theme in the rest of Scripture. Every time I study Edwards I come away with a web of connections I otherwise would have never found.
I don’t have to tell you that I am no Edwards (and no Spurgeon either, while I’m thinking of it), but I do have my own blank Bible. Next week I will show you how to make a blank Bible similar to Edwards. It’s the best way to keep those Biblical insights close to the biblical texts they originate.
Have a great weekend!
For me packing my library of books is the most delicate and time-consuming task in moving. Certainly it’s a pain in the neck (literally) to move their weight. But for an organization nut like myself the aches can be compounded.
Thankfully the process has been eased by using Booxter
, a cheap program for my Mac OS X. I just connect my webcam (in my case a Sony digital video recorder with streaming Firewire) and the camera automatically scans the ISBN bar off the back of each book. Once the ISBN is entered, Booxter does its work, collecting a picture of the cover, author’s name, title and all types of information off the internet automatically. Entering about 20 books a minute is a real blessing!
Then I make my own genre categories to organize the library exactly the way I need it. I can even mark which packing boxes each book goes into.
So if you want to organize your library and you own a Mac, look into Booxter.
I doubt I’m alone when I say the Old Testament in my Bible is largely unknown to me. This is probably due to the fact that it’s not chronologically structured and many overlaps and gaps make things confusing. Such prospects can be despairing for a big-picture reader like myself.
Typically before I begin a book I question the themes and overall direction of what I’m
about to read. It’s the basic ABCs of critical thinking, really. However the historical big-picture of the Old Testament is often hard to discern and so the details are often disconnected.
Enter Mark Dever.
I remember my introduction to Mark Dever four years ago as a carpenter finishing a basement drywall project. I was somewhat new to drywalling myself, usually opting to hire an expert (the wise choice). So like an amateur, I made the mistake of applying too much drywall mud on the walls. Thus I sanded and sanded for several painful winter days while me and my .mp3 player were both covered in several layers of fine white dust. Audible amidst the white fog, however, Mark Dever preached on.
Over those days I listened to (and was sustained by) Dever’s entire sermon series on New Testament (now also in print). I was amazed at the clarity of his messages and his uncanny ability to summarize whole NT books into nice packages. And I anticipated a survey of the Old Testament.
At Together for the Gospel in Louisville Dever’s Old Testament survey was available for purchase and I jumped at the chance. Although several hundred of you jumped sooner I guess because they were sold out before I could get my hands on a copy. As soon as I returned home I ordered a copy and have not regretted it!
The book is simply a 960-page collection of sermon manuscripts. But don’t be intimidated by its size. Dever’s summary of the message of the Old Testament is terse and clear. With a broad brush he paints the major movements of the Old Testament to highlight the history of God’s chosen nation. In fact, early in the book he summarizes the history of the Old Testament in about 2 pages! Very helpful for big-picture readers like myself.
This is one of the most helpful and (in a world of redundant publishing) truly original books. This volume will provide great help for preachers and laypersons wanting to unlock the message of the Old Testament.
As an unexpected bonus, wonderful reflection questions conclude each chapter perfectly suited for group study and personal meditation.
The Message of the Old Testament is the perfect balance of two worlds – letting the biblical storyline come alive for readers today AND addressing the pressing issues of our lives from the application of the ancient text. Buy it, read it, cherish it and some day pass it on to your children. It’s one of those rare and priceless volumes that will bless your heart and your ministry.
Tony Reinke 