{"id":135960,"date":"2022-12-19T13:28:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbu.edu\/seminary\/?page_id=135960"},"modified":"2023-09-15T13:48:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T18:48:17","slug":"research-helps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mbu.edu\/seminary\/research-helps\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Helps"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” module_class=”cust-banner-seminary” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.mbu.edu\/seminary\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/CxPH3U3w.png” custom_padding=”80px||80px||true|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”80px||80px||true|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” module_class=”cust-banner” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”120px||120px||true|false” custom_padding_tablet=”40px||40px||true|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”dinot-bold|700||on|||||” text_text_color=”#ffc136″ text_font_size=”36px” text_letter_spacing=”2px” header_font=”dinot-bold|700|||||||” header_3_font=”dinot-bold|700||on|||||” header_3_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_3_font_size=”40px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” custom_margin=”||12px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” text_font_size_tablet=”18px” text_font_size_phone=”18px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_3_font_size_phone=”25px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n

Research Helps<\/h3>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”dinot-medium||||||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]\n

As technology and the Internet have created a world network of information, both the scholar\u2019s resources and responsibilities have been enlarged. Some resources, many suggested below, may be accessed quickly and with ease. At the same time, however, the lesser restrictions of Web-based publishing demand scholars do all online work with informed discretion. At this point in history, probably not all research should be Web-based. Using the library is still a good idea!<\/p>\n

Commentary surveys and research introductions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Surveys help determine the value and usability of each author, and some series of major Biblical commentaries have been produced, among which are the New Testament Commentary Survey by D. A. Carson (REF 016.225 C321n) and Old Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Longman (REF 016.221 L856o). These analyze each commentary for its exegetical, theological, and literary strengths.<\/p>\n

Similar books help Bible students make sense of the many theological resources available. One such book is John Glynn\u2019s Commentary and Reference Survey (REF 016.2 G568c), which classifies resources by theme and theological orientation. Another such book is An Annotated Guide to Biblical Resources for Ministry, by David Bauer (REF 016.2 B344a). These books can be helpful when determining which book or author to use when writing a research paper or making a personal book purchase.<\/p>\n

Frederick Danker has published Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study (220.071 D187m), in which he discusses the use and abuse of concordances, the Greek New Testament, the Septuagint, grammars and lexicons, Bible dictionaries, Bible versions, and other tools for serious Bible study. This may be a helpful guide upon embarking on any intensive use of the tools mentioned above.<\/p>\n

Cyril Barber and Robert Krauss have produced An Introduction to Theological Research: A Guide for College and Seminary Students (REF 230.072 B234i). Though released in 2000, it still contains cogent information relating to research methods and tools.<\/p>\n

Online reference helps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Biblos.com\u00a0<\/a>seeks to provide access to many Bible study tools that were previously\u00a0available only on premium Bible software. This site provides free visuals of Bible lands, a searchable atlas, and many Bible and language tools.<\/p>\n

Dr. Thomas Constable, the chairman and senior professor of Biblical exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, has been writing and revising\u00a0his notes on all 66 books of the Bible<\/a>\u00a0for over 25 years. They \u201cprovide more information than a study Bible, but they are less technical than many commentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jewish Encyclopedia<\/a>\u00a0is a 12-volume resource in our library, also available online. This may be a helpful resource for both Old Testament and New Testament background studies.<\/p>\n

Theopedia.com<\/a>\u00a0is the world\u2019s largest online encyclopedia of Christianity. It is constantly being updated and refined. Here you will find links to virtually every theological discipline in almost every conceivable category.<\/p>\n

Both beginning and seasoned Greek students may find the\u00a0Institute of Biblical Greek\u00a0<\/a>to be a valuable reference for questions of grammar and review.<\/p>\n

Popular websites<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bible Gateway<\/a>\u00a0is a tool for reading and researching Scripture online. It provides a multitude of versions for searching and comparisons, and provides limited access to Bible dictionaries and commentaries.<\/p>\n

NTGateway<\/a>\u00a0is produced by Mark Goodacre of Duke University. His link to \u201cBible Translations\u201d provides a listing and description of popular online Bible sites.<\/p>\n

Crosswalk.com<\/a>\u00a0boasts\u00a07 versions of the Apocrypha, 12 commentaries (including Darby\u2019s and Scofield\u2019s), 3 concordances, 5 dictionaries, 3 encyclopedias, helpful historical references, lexicons, and maps. Theological students may want to stop here for helpful and convenient references.<\/p>\n

The mission of\u00a0Blue Letter Bible<\/a>\u00a0is \u201cto facilitate in-depth study of God\u2019s Word through an on-line interactive reference library continuously updated from the teachings and commentaries of selected pastors and teachers who hold to the conservative, historical Christian faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research may best be accomplished by using the Library\u2019s Catalogue and Federated Search option (see Research Methods and Suggestions). Sometimes, however, a student is in a bind and needs quick access to a book that may not be listed in these databases. Such a book might be found by\u00a0performing a search in Google Books<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s largest book depositories.<\/p>\n

For in-depth study<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0Wabash Center<\/a>\u00a0offers \u201ca selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion: syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, web sites, bibliographies, liturgies, reference resources, software, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Christian Apologetics Research Ministry<\/a>\u00a0(CARM) is a comprehensive introduction to comparative religions and apologetic interaction with secular philosophies. The site is well constructed and provides many valuable links.<\/p>\n

STEM (Sound Teaching on Electronic Media<\/a>) perhaps is the most substantive carrier of Darby\u2019s writings and those of other Plymouth Brethren. This may be an extremely useful resource for studying historic, exegetical dispensationalism.<\/p>\n

The Resource Pages for Biblical Studies<\/a>\u00a0\u201care intended as a resource for serious, scholarly studies of the early Christian writings and their social world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Bible Research site<\/a>\u00a0\u201cis for Bible students who are looking for detailed information on the history of the canon, texts, and versions of Scripture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students of history may find the\u00a0Making of America<\/a> site useful as it documents subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, science and technology, and religion. Thousands of books and journals primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction (app. 1850-1877) have been preserved and are searchable on this site.<\/p>\n

Searching dissertations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some excellent studies that have not been published are in the form of dissertations. The Cedarholm Library houses approximately 150 of these (REF 091 section), while more than 1,500 monograph quality theses and dissertations are available using TREN (Theological Research Exchange Network). Using an advanced search, you may check all of our in-house dissertations by typing \u201cREF\u201d as a call number and \u201cdissertation\u201d as a key word. TREN papers also may be accessed by using an advanced search and typing \u201cTREN\u201d as the call number. You may recognize the authors of some of our in-house dissertations.<\/p>\n