Bible Question: Which is the best Reference Bible for serious study? Why? |
Bible Answer: Susan a First I think the chart Kalos referred you to is a good starting place. Remember any study Bile is going to have the authors opinions. Since they are merely men’s personal opinions or thoughts some of those comments have the potential of being wrong. Of the Bibles mentioned Scofield, Ryrie and MacArthur are written from a mostly Baptist perspective. The Full Life and Spirit Filled Life are written from a Pentecostal perspective. The Nelson Open Bible, The Nelson Study Bible, Zondervan NASB Study Bible, Thompson Chain Reference and a few others are written from what I would call a fairly neutral perspective. With those thoughts in mind you need to decide what it is you want in your Study Bible. If your Baptist you would probably want something to agrees with the teaching you receive. In the same light if you are Pentecostal you would want something that agrees with that teaching. If your interested in understanding positions held by others some of the more neutral Bibles may be your choice. I prefer the Ryie or MacArthur for the Baptist point of view. I prefer the Full Life for the Pentecostal point of view. And I like the Nelson Open and Thompson Chain Reference for their more neutral positions. One Bible no one mentioned and you may want to consider. The International Inductive Study Bible from percepts ministries, published in NASB or NIV. In this Bible there are no comments or commentary per say, the idea is to lead you to your own Bible based conclusions. It requires far more work than any of these others but I guarantee the results are more rewarding. I believe you get a true picture of what God is saying to you. Hope this all helps EdB |