Thursday, September 29, 2011

Strongs Concordance: Dr. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Dr. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Studying the Holy Bible is an activity practiced by devout believers and theology enthusiasts alike. Being one of the most important resources of the Christian faith, it's crucial that scripture can be understood and easily found. Much of Christianity relies on sharing scripture and it's application to our daily lives. Without a clear idea of where to find select topics, it would take exhaustive study of the entire bible to be able to hold those conversations. Of course, after years of study, most Christians can share a lot of verses and chapters from memorization, but even someone who has been a believer for years can use some help.

As with most books, there are many parts of the Bible that can be interpreted in different ways since it was written in a different language many years ago and translated into different versions several times since. While the overall message and theme of Bible is a simple concept, it is still one of the most intricate works in all of history. One can easily forget where a certain subject is found or may desire to read a section entirely on one topic. This is why a good concordance is so helpful in study.

One of the greatest features of the Strong's Concordance is it's brilliant cross-reference of every word in the Bible. Since many of the books of the bible were originally letters or other forms of communication, they often refer to past and present happenings experienced by author at the time. In many of the New Testament books, there are historical and biblical references to things that took place in what we know now as the Old Testament.

At the time of writing, many of these were simply letters written by people sharing enlightenment and commentary on an ever-changing world. It is clear that none of the writers of the Bible got together with the purpose of writing one book. They were just keeping history, informing the people and sharing the Gospel. I would like to think of it in the same way that you or I would write an informative e-mail to a loved one. Looking at it like that, it is understandable that if you have not read the entire bible, some references made back to other scripture can be difficult to understand.

Strong's Concordance was created under the instructions and direction of Dr. James Strong. Dr. Strong was the Professor of exegetical theology at Drew Theological Seminary when he began to put the concordance together. Having first been published in 1890, it is the guide made of the King James Version (KJV) of the bible.

Without a clear understanding of the 66 books of the bible, someone who is dedicated to living a Christian life and wanting to know more about specific topics may miss some of the fundamental beliefs of the lifestyle. With Strong's Exhaustive Bible Concordance, the guess work is diminished in the study of one of the greatest books in all of history.

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