I love technology; But not as much as you, you see. But I still love technology; Always and forever.-Kip, from Napoleon Dynamite
Some folks just don't like using a "digital Bible." They want to use a "real" Bible [Q: Does that mean a digital Bible is an imaginary one?]
I can certainly understand that. I myself also like the feel of leather in my hand, and the smell of book paper. I also can't discount how important my iPad is to me for my study.
But here's the truth: I still carry my paper Bible around with me.
Now before you throw stones, and yell, "HYPOCRITE! I thought you switched to an iPad Bible," let me assure you that I have. But in my recent move to Metropolis, IL to work with the church there, I had to change my routine a bit.
Instead of preaching off of my iPad now, I present my Keynote presentation (Apple's PowerPoint equivalent) using my iPad. It sits quite nicely on the pulpit with me. Any notes I have are added to the "presenter notes" section of the slides, so I still kind of preach off of my iPad. Of course all of this means I've been driven back into the printed pages, too.
It's with these things in mind that I want to share with you some of my favorite "low tech" technology. The following is a list of some of my favorite Bible study tools for enhancing your study with a paper Bible.
Bible: Cambridge Wide Margin NKJV
To me, this is the Bible of all Bibles, at least as far as build quality is concerned. I love my Cambridge because the paper itself is thick and sturdy, and the binding is "smyth sewn," which makes it extremely durable. The cover on mine is goatskin leather, and the book lays open in my hand or on a table.
The wide margin edition gives me plenty of room to make notes, both on the outside margins, and even deep into the gutter.
The downside is that it's pricy. But this is a Bible made to put study notes into which will last you most (if not all) of your life! I know some people think paying more than $30 for a Bible is crazy, but those same people end up paying $30 for a Bible several times throughout their life. They also lose or have to transfer their notes and highlights each time.
My advice is this: Invest in a well-made Bible. If you are using it like you should, you won't regret it.
Now on to what to use to write in it.
Pens Galore
Since I'm picky about my Bible, I'm also picky about what I use to write in it. I've tried several different brands of pens, so here are a few of my favorites.
Pigma Micron pens are great. I've never had a problem with them. They are acid free, archival quality pens which won't bleed through the pages of your Bible. I use the "005" size pens for actually writing notes, marking symbols down in the text itself, and any other detailed writing I need to do. The advantage they give is that they allow me to writes notes in teeny-tiny print, leaving room to make copious notes in my Bible. If you don't like having to write and read with jeweler's glasses on, they are available in larger sizes, too.
I also like the ZIG Millennium art pens, too. I have them in a larger size ("05") to use for underlining. They are my favorite "thick" pens so far, due to their sturdy tip. Also, the metal shaft which holds the pen tip itself extends far enough down the pen tip to allow me to drag the metal part against a ruler instead of the tip itself. More on the ruler in a minute.
Some other pens you might try are the Sharpie fine tip pens. Now be careful which ones you get; I'm not talking about the Sharpie fine-tipped markers. But Sharpie introduced a porous point pen a couple years ago which doesn't bleed, and works well for underlining. I've also tried Staedtler Triplus pens, but they tend to bleed through thinner paper. Just be careful, and try these out for yourself.
I also use highlighters occasionally. I like the Zebra Zebrite Bible highlighters for this purpose. They have a medium and fine tip all in one pen, and last for quite a while. They are also smooth on Bible paper, and won't bleed through. I'd steer clear of the "crayon" variety, as they are hard to make additional notes (or underlines) over.
One other thing I might mention: I use notecards when preparing my sermons. While I certainly wouldn't recommend using the following pen to write in your Bible, I do like the smooth writing Uniball Vision Elite pens for writing notes outside my Bible. But again, please don't use that particular pen in your Bible, as it will bleed through.
Other (Invaluable) Tools
I'll readily admit that I sometimes go "overboard" on things. Maybe the following tools are "overkill" for you, but they have certainly served to enhance my Bible marking. Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.
One such little thing is my 6-inch steel ruler. I use it to keep my underlining straight and lined up correctly. I can't stand marking accidentally over the text of my Bible, so this ruler has been one of those little tools that I never thought I needed, but appreciated once I found it.
Another neat tool is my Mead Five-Star stand up pencil bag. It's small, zips shut to hold all of my pens (and ruler), and even stands upright to make it easy for me to see all of my pens.
Oh, and notecards. I love notecards. I use them every week for my sermon preparation, and even for personal study. I wish my brain worked in a "linear" fashion, to where I could simply use a sheet of paper to make notes. But my mind tends to jump from one place to the next. By using notecards, I can organize separate thoughts, verses, and observations on their own note cards, then put them in order later. If your brain works the same way, that just might be the ticket for you, too.
Paper: Is it dying?
For the record, everything I study still makes it's way through my iPad. I still have a database of notes stored in Olive Tree and synced to Evernote. I still read a lot from my iPad.
But if something like the plot to NBC's REvolution ever actually happens, I'm also comforted to know that by having my paper copies I could still study.
Okay, I know that's a stretch. But if you don't have (or want) a tablet, check out some of these tools. Next week I'll discuss how I put them to use.
-Daniel
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