The English Bible in a New Format

In August of 2007 The International Bible Society (Colorado Springs, Colorado) will release a new printing of the Bible entitled The Books of The Bible. Though this edition features the text of Today’s New International Version (TNIV), it is formatted in a way designed to reflect more accurately the intentions and thought forms of the original authors and to allow more transcending of a particular reader's theological and presuppositonal baggage. In this edition all divisions of chapters and verses are removed, and instead there is a setting forth of the natural literary breaks in each biblical book. Furthermore, there are no headings, cross references, or notes included, the text is printed in a single column, and the books are presented in an order intended to give the reader more help in understanding the text. It is hoped that this format will make the Bible easier to read and encourage more reading of the text. See the following site for more information: http://thebooksofthebible.info/.

A Harmony of Reformed Confessions

The work entitled Reformed Confessions Harmonized, ed. Joel R. Beeke (President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) and Sinclair B. Ferguson (noted author and pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC) (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999) provides a very helpful harmony of the historic confessions used within the conservative Reformed tradition. Included are The Belgic Confession of faith (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), The Second Helvetic Confession (1566), the Canons of Dort (1618-1619), The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), and The Westminster Larger Catechism (1648). In addition to an index of biblical texts, the work also includes a selected annotated bibliography of Reformed doctrinal works, arranged in the systematic categories and order of the harmony.