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joshrskinner's review against another edition
5.0
We are blessed to live in an age and society where we are virtually swimming in a sea of Bible study resources. The amount of quality commentaries, books, lectures, sermons, study guides, courses, journals, and magazines available is staggering. Along with those resources, study Bibles abound. There are plenty of good ones and a few that easily qualify as great. Over the years, one of my favorite study Bibles has been the Reformation Study Bible from Ligonier Ministry’s publishing branch, Reformation Trust. When I heard that an updated edition was coming out, there was no decision to be made. I would be getting one . . . at least. I had given a donation where the incentive was a hardback copy and, due to a great response, I found myself waiting during the back-order process. I also found myself blessed with a little extra money and the overwhelming urge to splurge for a leather-bound copy.
Yay! Wait, let me say it more accurately. YAY!! Not to throw a shoulder out of place with an excessive amount of back patting, but that was one of the greatest impulse decisions I have ever made. And, for the record, the statistics involving my impulse decisions could not be disputed due to a small sample size. Large sample and all, this decision was one of the best.So, allow me a moment to gush. I received the Bible quickly. So quickly, actually, that when I opened it I thought it was the hardback copy upon which I had been waiting. Slightly disappointed, I began to unwrap. It was my leather copy! I was tricked by those tricksters at Reformation Trust because they had the awesomenacity to send my leather Bible in a beautiful, hard slip case. As far as relationships go, there is much to be said about first impressions. And this relationship began beautifully (on my end at least, I can’t vouch for the RSB’s side of this encounter.) Seriously though, a slipcase for a leather Bible is such a blessing. Books belong on bookshelves (when not being used, of course) and leather Bibles get beat up when stood up. This slip case 1) is gorgeous and 2) protects my gorgeous Bible so that 3) I can enjoy the RSB that much more for that much longer.
That takes me to another point. This Bible is gorgeous. The cover looks great and seems pretty sturdy. I am not going to bend it backwards like an Allan Bible, but it lays flat and seems like it is going to last for a good while. I am a yapp man, and this Bible has no yapp. It is about preferences, for sure, and you have to make choices on issues like these. It is not a big deal by any means but, in case there is polling for the future, I vote “yapp.”
As you open this Bible and lay it flat (love that), you see that the typeset is different from the previous edition. I haven’t set the two side-by-side so I cannot compare directly, but I really like the new typeset. It is pretty and it is easy to read. What more could you want, right? One issue that I have is this. The cross reference is set in the center of the Bible and it is pretty far in the center. Couple that with the small font, and it could be difficult for some with weaker eyes (not a Leah reference) to read the cross references. I wish that the font had been a bit larger or moved slightly out of the center of the Bible.
Back to aesthetics, there is some definite shadowing. I highlight that it is an aesthetic issue because it does not in any way hinder the reading experience. I would love a thicker paper and a larger font on Bible’s like these. However, I understand that in order to provide this, we would all be carrying Bibles around that look like Jonathan Edwards pulpit Bible. So, apart from taking a wheelbarrow to Sunday school or removing some of these tremendous resources, we will all just have to endure some shadowing. And by "we", I mean those of us who have the time, energy, or compulsion to pick that particular nit.The features of the Bible are tremendous. I have not worked through every article and every note. I cannot speak definitively on the content other than to point to the editors and contributors and say, “Yep.” But you can download a sample ofthese resources here and a copy of Ephesians and judge for yourself. The book introductions are tremendous. I love the section breakdowns. It includes the typical introductory stuff (“typical” in no way implies “unneccesary“ or “boring”), but it also includes sections on the book’s place in the “larger story of the Bible,” how Christ is present in that particular book, and a “history of interpretation” to give some historical context of the book’s place in Church history.
Now, for a quick soapbox followed by a celebration. First off, let me encourage you to treat yourself to a great book and go read Carl Trueman’s The Creedal Imperative the next chance you get. You will be blessed. Now, endure me for a moment. As we have moved away from being unified, confessional believers and moved towards a “what does the Bible mean to you” culture, we have lost a whole lot. We would benefit greatly from grounding ourselves in the confessions and creeds of the Church. As great as study notes are, there is so much to be learned and enjoyed from reading the creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the Church. I have wanted all of my Bibles to include these for a while. As excited as I was to meet the slipcover when I unboxed the RSB, I was exponentially more excited when I flipped to the back and saw “The Heidelberg Cathechism” staring me in the face. The RSB includes the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Definition of Faith, the Westminster Standards, the Three Forms of Unity, and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. While the notes, as far as I have seen, do not cross reference the standards like the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible did, it is still a blessing to have them so readily available. And maybe, just maybe, for the next update we can have the notes linked to the Creeds and Confessions as well! |
| Outline and Notes |
The maps and concordance sections are good. The maps are full page, full color, and quite pretty. The concordance is very basic and, to be honest, I don’t use the concordance in the back of Bibles any more. With software and the internet, if I want to find a verse with a specific word or phrase I feel I am well covered. However, it is still nice to have a basic concordance available to do a quick look-up, and that is what the RSB provides.
As if providing a slip-cased, leather-covered, theologically-rich, study Bible was not enough, Ligonier threw in boocoodles of extra goodies. When you register the Bible online, you get to reap the benefits of $400 worth of extra resources, including a Ligonier Connect membership for three months, a six-month Tabletalk subscription, six e-books, and eight teaching series. I borrowed from the website to show all of the resources at the bottom. In a world where actors messing up lines and giggling/cursing about it is considered an “extra,” it might leave the wrong impression to tag that label on these goodies. Fight the temptation to think that “extra” means “little value,” these blessings are blessings indeed.There is much to like about this new edition of the Reformation Study Bible. From cover to cover, it is a blessing. In style and substance, it is superb. I look forward to using this Bible, recommending this Bible, and giving this Bible as gifts to many. The Bible is God's word and the greatest book ever written. The Reformation Study Bible serves as a beautiful shovel to help the reader mine the depths of God's word. I am so thankful that this resource is in print--for me, for my family, for my church, and for the Kingdom.
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
5.0
The English Standard Version of the Bible has been, by far, my favorite version since it came on the scene somewhere around 2000. I find it to be easy to read, and very accurate (as far as I can tell, seeing that I know nothing about Greek and Hebrew). This particular study Bible incorporates notes edited by R.C. Sproul, a very brilliant Bible scholar and founder of Ligonier Ministries. As the title would suggest, the notes in this Bible hold fast to the "doctrines of grace."