EVERYONE PLEASE READ - To All Users: Is "The Word"

[PastorDave]

The answer is a resounding "Yes!!!", of course!

But I figured the title would catch your eye and I wanted, if possible, for everyone to see this message!

I have been bragging up this software up in many places!

Does anybody wonder why? Or do you already know that it's because of the following three reasons:

1) It is better! It is so programmable and so powerful! And I haven't even gotten beyond the basics yet! I switched from e-Sword after only half a day and I didn't even have all of the basic features working right yet! That's how good it is!!!

And hey, I know e-Sword well and haven't even scratched the surface of "The Word" can do yet and it's already outperforming e-Sword! But like Costas so politely told me; "You have to get your brain out of the e-Sword way of thinking.".

And boy was he right! And once I did that, it all fell in place for me!

2) Costas is obviously one heck of a programmer (and I don't say that to be patronizing) and is definitely one heck of a supporter of his program! He has put up with me and that says it all! After all, I am blond.

And in these forums, answers come in minutes, not days, or weeks!

Plus, because Costas is so open with his software and how it works, users are so much more knowledgeable about the program, whereas with other programs, you're really kind of out of the loop, like with e-Sword, which I have found out, is just a basic database and not a real program, or I should say, ot like this one is.

I don't mean to knock Rick personally or anything. I'm just stating what I believe to be facts about the two programs, that's all.

3) The users here are so nice and the attitude here is so Christian, that it makes one want to use the software just for the experience of being here in these forums and I really do mean that!

As a pastor who has not been able to preach publicly for a while due to an injury and who tries to carry on, online and needs to be in bed using a laptop, I feel enriched by this Bible study software and I feel so blessed by you people! And I just want to say thank you to all of you for being so kind to me, when I needed the help so much! You could have told me to "go look it up", but you didn't and I'm glad for that, given that I can only physically prop up for just so long and quick answers are so appreciated! And I have told people about what a wonderful, Christian attitude of help there is in this forum and thank you again, so very, very much!

Both you and Costas have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you all and especially Costas for his endless dedication and I am so happy that I have found such a wonderful Bible study software package and such wonderful people that are so eager to help!

Thank you and God bless you all!

[Teksun]

I agree completely! In fact one of my favorite things to do when I go to the local christian book store where similar products are sold. When I see people eyballing the other very expensive programs I tell them about "The Word" and direct them to the site.

[PastorDave]

I agree completely! In fact one of my favorite things to do when I go to the local christian book store where similar products are sold. When I see people eyballing the other very expensive programs I tell them about "The Word" and direct them to the site.

Hahaha! You evil little man, you! Just kidding!

I know what you mean. The commercial software available is not any better than something like this one, from what I can see anyway and they usually have some kind of major bug (or two, or three) in them and some of the modules that come installed into them don't even work!

I have had multiple pay versions in the past, costing upwards of a thousand dollars and so, I can say definitely that they just aren't any better and most of what they use, is stuff that's available for free for free Bible study packages like this one by Costas!!

I invite everyone to go into a Christian book store and look at the boxes and look at the screen shots and the "features" and what comes in it and see for yourselves!

Christianity has become such a commercial enterprise! And that is prevalent in Bible study software, when you consider that you pick up a package in your hand and look at a list of Bibles in it, for example, that include less than 10 "pay" modules and the rest are all freely available on the Internet for free Bible study packages like "The Word", as are the commentaries, dictionaries, etc..

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that programmers shouldn't be paid for their work. I'm saying that the publishing companies are making way too much money off of these packages, especially when you consider that most of the stuff they include is free anyway and much of the other stuff consists of their own Bible study tools in the Bibles that they put out and so they have that material in data form anyway.

So to charge $500-$1,000 and sometimes even more for a supposed "scholars" version, that really isn't any more feature packed (except for how many texts and maps are already in it when you first install it) than The Word", to me seems ridiculous! I'll save the money and install some Bibles/Dictionaries/Commentaries/Maps myself, thank you! I mean, even the user who buys the expensive package is still going to have to know how to do that to install any additional modules that come out for their pay package, so it's not like it's always going to do it for you. Some do, through an online update (which doesn't always work properly), but not all do and they charge for almost every add on that they come out with, many of which, again, are free in packages like "The Word"!

Oh well, anyway, enough of being upset about the commercialization of Christianity. At least our faith is genuine, amen?!

There are some unique ideas out there, like "Accordance", which is supposed to be a great tool for historical research and the maps of the lands are supposed to be awesome and it uses a different approach. It's not what I'd be looking for as my main approach, but I did some in depth study on this software title as it intrigued me and which I don't even know is available in retail "brick & mortar" stores and it seems really cool to have as a second package for researching history and the lands, anyway. And at $150 for a scholar's edition, the price is much more reasonable.

Isn't it odd though, that the one we should use as our primary package is the free one? Hahaha!

Proof that God does bless us mightily, amen?!

Thanks for your comments and may God bless you!