HCSB Collection

I took these photos a while back in anticipation that I would post my remarks on the set of Holman Christian Standard Bibles (CSB) that I have acquired. Since I have been a bit on the quiet side I thought I would go ahead and post the photos, and remarks.

I own a total of total of 4 different sizes of the CSB bible. Why? Because once I enjoy a certain translation I tend to like to have different sizes for different reasons. Also growing up as a Christian, I could only afford hard back bibles, and usually only one per translations. Now that I can afford more than one, I buy what I want within reason.

First thing to mention about all of the bibles listed here. They are all sewn binding, and not glued. So for those of you that are interested in rebinding, all 3 mention here would be great choices for spending those extra dollars on a quality leather bible rebind.

Second thing to mention is all bonded and genuine leather bibles come with a lifetime guarantee, according to Holman:

Holman leather bibles are guaranteed to last a lifetime. If any Holman bonded or genuine leather Bible is defective or falls apart, Holman will replace it with a comparable Bible free of charge.

My big gripe with Holman is that they DO NOT PUBLISH PHOTOS OF THE BIBLES! They just publish photos of the box – who cares what the box looks like?

Here are the three bibles that I have:
Standard Bible Pocket Size Bible Classic Edition – BritishTan
The pocket size that I own is bonded leather in what they call a British Tan. Overall I really like this one, the font size is easy to read, it’s the right size to carry around, however it is bonded leather which is very smooth, but stiff, and not supple. However, the British Tan looks decent and it is a pleasure to carry around. It has one ribbon, and a side flap.

Holman CSB UltraThin Reference Bible – Black Genuine Leather

I love the overall size of this bible the best, the pages are a good weight and not much bleed through. What I hate the most about this bible is the leather. It is too glossy, very stiff, and the texture of this cow hide is over the top for me. Now this could have been avoided had Holman just published some photos of this bible. Again this is a personal gripe about the leather, some of my actually like very glossy bibles   But had there been some good photos I may have not purchased this one, and bought another one instead.

I remedied this problem by purchasing a custom made leather bible cover. You can read more about that here.

CSB Minister’s Bible

This is the only single column format bible that Holman offers for the CSB. If you like the CSB translation, and you want single column this is your only choice. The pages are a bit on the thin side, the leather is a nice cow hide, a bit thin, but overall nice. Again it is a stiff leather and not supple. It has two ribbons one red and one black. I personally don’t care for the red ribbon and would have preferred two black ribbons. All black letter edition which is a nice plus – I don’t mind red letter editions. This bible is a bit on the bigger size, but you have to judge for yourself.

CSB Legacy Bible

I already posted on this before so you can read the comments there. One thing that has changed is that I have become much more comfortable with the size of this bible. So much so that I don’t even notice the size difference between this one that the Ultrathin. If you use it enough you just get use to the size.

For a complete listing of all the photos go here:

Holman CSB Bible Collection

HCSB Apologetic Study Bible – Review

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Pub. Date: October 2007
ISBN 10: 158640024X
ISBN 13: 9781586400248
Product #: 005040119
Translation: Holman Christian Standard
Description: Complete Without Apocrypha
Concordance: No
Pages: 2240
Print size: 9.5 pts
Red Letter: No
Binding: Paper Over Board
Weight: 2.98 lbs
Trim Size: 7 X 9.4 X 1.71
Price: $39.99

Big thanks to Drew Van Huss from B&H Publishing for sending me a review copy!

This new study bible from B&H Publishing uses the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB, CSB) as its bible text. You all know what a fan I am of this translation!

The great feature of this study bible are the more than 100 concise articles that are written by a who’s who of well known Apologist. They cover everything from demons to the Trinity. It also contains these sections title Twisting Scriptures through out the bible that detail how these portion of verses have been misinterpreted (Twisted) by cults. It also contains some really nice color charts in the back with various Apologist through out history. I find this study bible very useful for those that are starting out in Apologetics. As you read through the articles it will introduce you to many great writers in this field to pursue further.

I took some time to compare it to few other study bibles (The Believers Study Bible – BSB & Ryrie Study Bible -RSB) that I own, and overall it compares well. I did find that the commentary notes were not as extensive as the RSB, or the BSB. Also, the introductory notes for Genesis could have been a bit more in-depth (i.e. did not explain the meaning of Genesis) as BSB & RSB, however they are written with an apologetics emphasis. The strength of this study bible truly is in its unique approach. Since it’s focus is on Apologetics it places it in a class by itself as there is no other study bible that I know of today that has taken this approach.

I would highly recommend this bible for anyone looking for a different approach in study bibles, or anyone that has an interest in Apologetics. For further information:

• ASB Sample Pages (PDF)
• ASB Scholars
• ASB Articles
• ASB Features
• What Others are Saying
• Apologist Videos
• Key Scriptures
• Holman – America’s Oldest Bible Publisher
• Holman CSB
• Purchase the ASB

Quality Custom Leather Bible Covers

I have become a great fan of quality made soft, supple leather bibles. However, I just cannot afford to buy a calfskin, or one like the Holman CSB Legacy bible for every single bible that I own. I just don’t have $100.00 plus dollars to spend on each one.

Great Alternative! I found this craftsman/artisan that will make a custom bible/book cover for you. I just order one for my Holman CSB Ultrathin Bible. I had comtemplated having this one rebound, but I could not afford to do so at this moment, and I decided to wait because Holman is going to update the text sometime next year.

Who is this Leather Craftsman you ask? Renaissance Art

First off, they are really great and nice to deal with. I sent an email to them and they (Arthur) responded right away, and answered all of my questions. He even gave me some advise, had he not I would have given him the wrong dimensions. I was about to send in the dimensions from the website, and he cautioned me not to as they are often smaller than the actual size, and that I should measure it myself. Be sure to measure correctly, because these are custom made, and you can’t return it. They had completed my bible cover in less than 24 hours, and was promptly shipped to my home. I had paid for 3 day turn around and it was here even faster! Know I can’t promise that you will get in the mail that fast, but he did get it done really quick!

These bible covers are not the run of the mild ones you buy at your local bible bookstore, but they are custom made for your bible. He does all sizes! It fits like a glove on my bible.

I got my in today, and I have to tell you I am very pleased. This bible size happens to be my favorite size to read, take to church, and now it is a true pleasure to hold. The leather is amazing, it is very soft and supple, a true pleasure to hold in one’s hand. I was very unhappy with the stiff, glossy leather that it came in. This bible is sewn stitched, and is well built, it’s just the leather that I did not care for.

You can also have this bible embossed, but I choose not to because I was trying to control the cost. I did not ask if you can have the emboss done on the spine, but that would be worth asking.

Oh yeah cost, what did it cost me? $37.70 that includes shipping.  I know you are wondering “control cost” I got a great deal, yeah I know, but I have been spending a great deal lately on books.

Also, for those of you that are true quality bible connoisseur, and are not looking for a bible cover, well he also makes these fine custom journals. They are hand-sew, and would be a great complement to your nice bible.

Ok, enough talk, here are the photos (you can view them all at flickr.com:

A Theology for the Church

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Pub. Date: July 2007
Type: Hardcover
ISBN 10: 080542640X
ISBN 13: 9780805426403
Product #: 001317634
Weight: 3.05 lbs
Trim Size: 6.32 X 9.3 X 2.3
Binding: Hardcover
Price: $49.99

CBD

Amazon

Many thanks to Jim Baird from B&H Academic for the complimentary review copy!

Although I just received it today I wanted to post to say thank you to the publisher, and also give a quick overview. Again I have not read the entire book (997 pages). Several nice features about this book are:

• In addition to discussing the various theology subjects, each chapter contains the following segments:
  • What does the Bible say?
  • What has the church believed?
  • How do the doctrines fit together?
  • How does each doctrine impact the church today?

I really do appreciate the sections “What has the church believed”. The sections “What has the church believed” are introductions to what the early church fathers believed. I have recently become very interested in studying the church fathers, so I find this section especially useful. To often they are overlooked or just introduce to students by way of the creeds and nothing more is ever discussed besides the occasional quote. With today’s innovations and the churches seeming to neglect our roots I am very glad to see that the church fathers are included, and will hopefully spark further interest in their writings.

Since the book is a new publication, and published by B&H publishing it includes the HCSB as one of the translations used. It also uses the ESV, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, & the KJV. This yet another nice feature of this book. Because of this they also quote many of the recent theology books that have been written in the last 20 years, and of course they also quote all of the usual theological giants as well. Which introduces you to the many other books written on the subject if you wish to study deeper on any topic. I have read various other introductory theology books such as “Basic Theology” by Charles Ryrie, and he does not cover the church fathers at all in the way this book does. Also they don’t shy away from quoting or discussing theologians such as Karl Barth.

These are just a few reason why I think this would make a great addition to any library. If you are looking for your first introductory book to Systematic Theology, you can’t go wrong with this edtion. Each chapter is written by different theologians, and the editor is Daniel L. Akin president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

UPDATE:

I have been reading much more since I first received it, and I am very impressed, so much so that I am highly considering using this new volume as our standard text book for our Bible Institute. Currently we use Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, and I think that “A Theology for the Church” offers a bit more depth for our students.   I also think that laypersons will find much value in this book as it is not so technical that it will overwhelm them.  Although written by Southern Baptist I find this book to be useful for other denominations as they quote extensively from outside sources.  As it is clearly seen in how they present opposing views in an irenic manner.

Holman Legacy CSB Bible

This is by far one of the nicest bibles that I own. I was not sure if I was going to like this bible, and it was a risk since I do prefer smaller size bibles. Plus this one was stated as being Large Print, which made me a bit nervous.

However to my surprise it is not to big, honestly still getting use to it, but I am really starting to get comfortable with it’s size ( 10.4 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches).

Official Name: Holman CSB Legacy UltraThin Reference Bible

Description: Genuine Cowhide Leather, Large Print Edition, Words of Christ in Red, Two Ribbon Markers, Bonded leather Lined, Center Column References & a Lifetime Guarantee

The first drawback. It only came with One Ribbon, even though it is offered with two. I contacted Holman Publishers about this, and they were very kind and apologized and offered me an exchange. I didn’t because I felt that it was not worth the effort, and that would have meant for me to part with my new bible, and I was not willing to do so I did let them know how disappointed I was. After all this is the highest quality bible that you you can buy from Holman.

The second drawback is the box that it came in, it’s just a regular box, nothing fancy other than the printing on it. This bible retails at $100.00. I have purchased two other high quality bibles a NLT, and ESV, and both came with exceptional boxes. The NLT came in bonded leather box, and the ESV came in a hard box, with magnetic side.

The third drawback, there is some bleed through on the pages, but not enough to bother me, or be a distraction when reading or studying.

Ok, so those are the only drawbacks for me. The bible is made out of Genuine Cowhide Leather. Now I did not know that you can get cowhide this soft and supple. It is as soft, and supple as the Calfskin ESV that I own. The leather as you can see in the photos below has a very nice texture.

The pages are nice and white, the large print is not as big as I thought (font 10.5 if that means anything to you). Actually I like the font size much more than I thought I was.

It comes with a the detail spine, which I really like, it gives the bible an extra nice look. My understanding is that at one point this was due to how they would bind them, but now it’s just cosmetics (and it does look great).

It only comes in black, for those of you that like other colors, sorry.

Holman Legacy HCSB Bible

Birthday just passed

My wife and son could not decided what to get me for my birthday, so they left it up to me.  The problem is that I could not decided either.  Finally I decided to order the Holman Legacy Ultrathin Reference Bible Large (supple flexible genuine leather). It is not much larger than my current HCSB leather bible, and the font is 10.5 just slightly larger than my current one.

The reason why I could not decide on this is because the HCSB is going to be revised sometime next year.  However, considering the price ($63.00), it was difficult to pass on.  And I am not really happy with my current genuine leather HCSB ultra thin bible that I use.  It is just too glossy / flashy.  Excellent binding, and it has a lifetime warranty.

The sad part is that just prior to making the choice as using the HCSB as my primary study/reading bible I had purchased the premium ESV Thinline bible, which I am not using that much.  Oh well I do love collecting bibles, but I don’t like to pay the premium price for them, genuine leather is good enough for this purpose.  Maybe I will give to my son.

The other reason I held off is because I had purchased the HCSB Ministers Bible, single column.  The leather is nice, the single column is great, really love the look and feel, but it is just to thick for me to carry around.  I took it to church several times, and I was not comfortable with it’s size.  It is bulky, heavy, and I think the pages are a bit to thin, considering it’s size.  It’s a good reading bible for home but that’s about it for me.  It’s like the size of a study bible but it has no notes, however it is advertise as a wide margin bible, but it is not as wide as other wide-margin bibles.

My ideal bible would be a single column ultra-thin high premium leather bible.  Maybe in 2009 for my birthday HCSB will release the revised version, and issue one like this, and then I’ll buy that as well.

TNIV and John 3:16

I just bought the TNIV red letter edition. Nothing fancy or expensive. It’s one of those TruTone Ultra Thin Reference bibles. I already own the New Testament, but I wanted to have the Old Testament so that is why I bought it.

I was reading an comparing some verses when suddenly I realized that John 3:16-21 was not printed in RED. At first I thought this was a printing error, but it just so happens that I just finish taking a course in the Historical Reliability of the NT, and remembered that the Professor discussed this very topic. He was saying that it is difficult from John’s writing to tell when he is saying something, and when Jesus is saying something. I am not a Greek scholar so maybe a Greek scholar who reads this can expound a bit more.

John 3:16-21 is a classic example of this. It is difficult for bible scholars to determine if this is Jesus talking or John. Well, TNIV has taken the BOLD step and not print in RED indicating that it is John narrating and not Jesus speaking.

What bugs me is not the RED letter stuff, but that TNIV would take this BOLD step, but yet translate John 3:16 in the safe traditional manner.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – TNIV

When in fact a better translation would be (according to Greek scholars such as William Mounce):

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. – HCSB

OR:

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – NETBible

Go figure.

(bold added by me)

Open Theism Summary

First off I want to thank Brad, but especially Sam & Jonathan for engaging me on the subject with grace and humility. What started off as a simple question asked by me from a young member in my church has led to countless hours of reading, blogging, thinking, and praying.

I had studied this subject over 10 years ago, although Open Theism was not as popular as it is today so I never really tackled that subject as much as I have recently. The interesting thing is that I have concluded, what I had concluded 10 years ago. No body really seems to know. We have philosophical arguments, and arrive at theological conclusions, but in the end no body really knows how it works. My conclusion is that God has divine providence over his creation, has divine foreknowledge, and man has free will. How these work together is a mystery, and will be debated for many, many years. I understand that for the Academic world, and those seeking for logical answers this is not sufficient, but for me on a personal level it is.

I have personally chosen to approach this matter with the utmost humility, understanding that I am a finite creature trying to comprehend an infinite divine being. By no means am I done with the subject matter, as I have just come back from the book store with two more books to read. In all fairness to the Open Theist camp, I have purchased the 2nd edition of John Sanders book “The God Who Risks” 350+ pages worth, and “How Much Does God Foreknow?” by Steven C. Roy in defense of Traditional Theism.

At times like this I wish I was wired more artistically, than logically and would be fine with just expressing the wonders of God, rather than trying to understand them. I just feel like Job, and just want to express myself like singer/writer Matt Redman.

1 Then Job replied to the LORD:

2 I know that You can do anything
and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

3 [You asked,] “Who is this who conceals [My] counsel with ignorance?”
Surely I spoke about things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know. – Job 42 – CSB

Blessed Be Your Name

by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord...

Bible Meme

Nick, from Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth is asking the following:

Here is my response:

1. What translation of the Bible do you like best?

Holman Christan Standard Bible (CSB) it is for now.

2. Old or New Testament?

New Testament

3. Favorite Book of the Bible?

Romans

4. Favorite Chapter?

Philippians 2

5. Favorite Verse? (feel free to explain yourself if you have to)

Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ” – CSB

6. Bible character you think you’re most like?

King David – many flaws, like me, loves God

7. One thing from the Bible that confuses you?

Eschatology – I get it. Just confused – it’s all of the Preterist fault

8. Moses or Paul?

Paul – he’s my hero

9. A teaching from the Bible that you struggle with or don’t get?

King David – a man after God’s heart (this was a tough question, as I always found it interesting that David is the only man that the bible says this about.) Why not Joseph he is so good. I can’t even relate to the guy, he is good.

10. Coolest name in the Bible?

Methuselah

Now tag five people:

I tag: John Glass, Zack Williamson, Sam Nunnally, Kevin Sam, ElShaddai Edwards, and James Bradford Pate