The Essential Ivp Reference Collection: The Complete Electronic Bible Study Resource

Rating:
Summary: Really awesome content, horrible Amazon service
Review: I've used the print editions of these titles at UCLA for my history and religious studies courses, and have always loved their depth of analysis and breadth of subject. It'll be an essential asset to anyone who wishes to seriously study the Bible beyond what they simply teach you in churches or academic institutions. I heartily recommend IVP's Essential Reference Collection.

On the other hand, I am immensely pissed at Amazon.com. They say it normally can be shipped within a few days, yet here I am (Jan 23, 2005) still waiting for them to even begin shipping it, when I ordered the software on December 9, 2004. That's ridiculous, and more than a little misleading, If I knew it would take more than 2 months to receive it, I'd suck up the extra costs and buy it from other Christian or internet distributors. So, again I recommend getting this software. But I can't recommend getting it from Amazon.com.

Rating:
Summary: Improved interface for terrific bible study collection
Review: Listed here as a book, this item is of course a CD ROM!

There are some terrific books here, including old standards like the New Bible Commentary, which contains concise commentaries by some of the best evangelical scholars of the past century, the New Bible Dictionary, and the 4 volume New Testament Dictionary. But the volumes I find most useful are the innovative Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology and the New Dictionary of Theology.

There are 18 volumes in the set. I could not have justified buying them separately, but in this format they are easily accessible, and less than 10% of what you would have paid in print form.

Referencing the information has been made easy: when you copy an extract, a footnote is added automatically with full bibliographical details of the book from which it has been extracted.

This new version is much easier to use than the original as it uses the superior Libronix interface, which allows you to search much more easily, and which recognises your scrolling mouse, etc. Owners of the original can update to this engine free of charge from Logos.

If you do not own the original, I urge you to acquire this terrific collection. In some ways, it is better than having the books, as they are so much easier to use in the electronic format.