Good afternoon my friends,
I was given a KJV-Life Application Study Bible for Christmas and I was wondering what your thoughts are on this study Bible.
Is it good for in depth study? Are it's notes biased towards a particular viewpoint?
Should it be my primary study Bible?
Your time is valuable I know,
and I thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my questions.
I have one as a reference (KJV).
It was my choice of a study Bible (NKJV) that I bought some time ago for my adult daughter.
I find the Zondervan study bible (NIV 1984; NASB 1995) better for indepth study.
My first study Bible I bought as a teenager was the Schofield Reference Bible (1917 notes).
I do not always agree with all study notes, but they are generally always good for a place to start.
My wife uses an NASB Life Application Bible.
I’ve used her NASB Application SB occasionally to help me develop applications from a text while teaching a group.
Applications are hard to make personal unless you discover them yourself and are convicted enough while studying to follow through.
Personally if you want “in depth” bible study you might be better served by investing in specific commentaries or topical books.
Very good SB to
learn about how to apply bobcat principles, but not the best one for doctrines and theology, as my favorite one for that would be the Esv study bible, or if you are KJV preferred, the Thompson chain is go to get into the actual doctrines of Bible, as it directs you into the cross references themselves!
I find Life Application and KJV to be an interesting pairing.
If you have ever been to a church that has Quarterlies for Sunday school, I think this is the best parallel.
You may have a few maps and introductions to the books of the bible, but I generally found that the focus is how the scripture applies to your daily life.
It won't have a in depth discussion of theology and it won't try to explain the numbers in Numbers, but it does what it does well.
It's a very popular edition.
I used one for a few years almost 15 years ago, but I dropped it for other Bibles.
Most people may dislike it because it is more conservative than liberal.
However, I'm sure some conservatives won't like it either.
I believe it leans toward conservative interpretations of morality.
It was not really created in order to give to the reader the finer points of theology, but how to apply in a practical sense main doctrines of the faith!
As others have mentioned. It’s a wonderful study bible for a “how to guide” to apply biblical principle to ones life. It is NOT a great bible for studying the scripture for a deep theology/doctrinal standpoint.
I have found as I’ve collected a lot of bibles though is that there is no perfect bible in regards to the study helps for every aspect. And I do enjoy my copy in NASB!
I liked the Life Application study notes, they presented sound conservative views, and steered clear of controversial doctrinal disputes.
Good starting blocks for a life-long pursuit.
I once had a couple of study Bibles, but over the years I got rid of them because I found that the notes took away from ( or even sometimes outright contradicted ) the words on the pages.
One example was the Scofield Bible with the old notes that my mother bought me...somewhere along the line it disappeared, but I don't miss it.
Now I read a plain, Thomas Nelson AV with a black leather cover that was printed sometime in the 1970's, and has occasional helpers for some of the words that have fallen out of use over the years.