Reference Materials

Evangelists, religious scholars and others who want to enhance their studies with Bible-related reference books no longer have to buy them all in print and dedicate bookshelves to storing them. The materials are readily available online, and these pages pull them together into a central location. In addition to Bible-specific resources, you will find links to related secular tools. The reference materials include:

  • Dictionaries (Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, etc.);
  • Encyclopedias (Encyclopedia of New Testament Textual Criticism, Encyclopedia of Pentecostal History, Nave’s Topical Bible, etc.);
  • Lexicons (Hebrew and Greek);
  • Maps and atlases;
  • And miscellaneous research tools (Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, etc.).

Commentaries
matthew_henry_commentaryCommentaries share the uninspired reflections of fallible men who often approach the Bible with preconceived and wrong ideas, but these commentaries can provide useful insights for wary Bible students. Head here for links to commentaries by John Calvin, Alexander Campbell, Matthew Henry, Barton W. Johnson, J.W. McGarvey and other religious leaders of Christendom.

Debates
bible_debatesPeople these days tend to pick Facebook fights or engage in Twitter tirades about religion rather than debate issues at length, in person or in writing, but it wasn’t always so. People used to settle their religious differences (or not) on everything from baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to marriage and the role of women in the church. Recurring debaters include Jeff Asher, Patrick Donahue and David Padfield.

denominational_churchDenominations & Doctrines
God has one church, but in their quest to find Him, misguided men have fashioned hundreds of religious denominations and creeds that all claim to be that church. The resources on this page, including a denominational family tree that traces the branches of Christendom, will help Bible students understand the origins of those denominations and compare their teachings with what the Bible says.