FREE/BARGAIN — Christian Interest

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Zondervan's New International Reader's Version Bible translation is on sale for $.99. I also just noticed that this is the 2014 update that I didn't know happened. This may only matter to you if you're a compulsive translation collector , but if you are, it'll only cost you a dollar.

Note that the older NIrV is still available as an ebook, so make sure you're buying the one with a 2014 copyright date.

Old: New:

For anyone that doesn't know, the New International Reader's Version is Zondervan's translation marketed for kids and those that don't read English natively. The vocabulary and grammar are selected to be at a third-grade reading level. The translation is otherwise intended to conform to the NIV.

The changes look to be minor, but they're apparent even on the first page. Here's Genesis 1:1-2 from the 1998 and the 2014 editions:

1998: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

2014: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn't have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

Anyway, here are the links:

B&N
eBooks.com
Christianbook
Amazon

I still prefer the KJV over the modern translations. It just seems to read better for some reason.

[GtrsRGr8]

I don't have time to comment much on these Wipf & Stock freebies, but just could not _not_ post them, because they are so awesome. Maybe someone else will come along and add some more info.

https://wipfandstock.com/divinations...IGN_2018_02_05.

https://wipfandstock.com/unclean.htm...IGN_2018_02_05.

Very quickly: ignore the price, just add to cart. "ebookfree" should appear in the discount code place. Click on apply coupon. Full price will appear, but you will see where that amount is deducted, so it ends up being free. You might need to do each ebook individually.

They're ePub's.

[GtrsRGr8]

For those with the Google Play $3 off voucher, a great purchase choice, in my opinion, would be the _Bible Timeline_ by Rose Publishing (they recently merged with Hendrickson Publishers, so the company is officially now called "RoseHendrickson," or something to that effect).

I love Rose Publishing's graphics, and that's one reason that I recommend this item. Too, this pamphlet/book should be eminently useful. And, it has great ratings. But I recommend it now mainly because the product is $3.03. Using your voucher, the net price drops to 3 cents!

[Difflugia]

A number of Bart Ehrman's books are on sale for $1.99, including his second-to-latest one.

Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior
B&N Amazon

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
B&N Amazon

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
B&N Amazon

Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
B&N Amazon

Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth
B&N Amazon

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer
B&N Amazon

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

A number of Bart Ehrman's books are on sale for $1.99, including his second-to-latest one.

Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior
B&N Amazon

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
B&N Amazon

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)
B&N Amazon

Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
B&N Amazon

Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth
B&N Amazon

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer
B&N Amazon

I'm always happy when I see "Difflugia" in the "Last Post" column--it means that we're in store for something really good. This post was certainly not an exception!

I think that I have never seen so many of Ehrman's popular (popular as opposed to scholarly) works on sale at the same time at such a low price point!

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I'm always happy when I see "Difflugia" in the "Last Post" column--it means that we're in store for something really good. This post was certainly not an exception!

Thanks. Actually, a coworker that shares my taste in books turned me onto the sale. Neither of us had Jesus Before the Gospels.

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

I think that I have never seen so many of Ehrman's popular (popular as opposed to scholarly) works on sale at the same time at such a low price point!

His new book is being released tomorrow. I'm assuming the sale is to generate interest.

[GtrsRGr8]

It appears that Christianbook.com has ceased to send out emails with daily specials. I haven't received one of those emails in about 5 days. That is _more_ than extremely unusual for them--in the four or five years that I've been on their mailing list, I cannot remember a single day in which I did not receive one of the messages. And they emailed them _every_ day of the week, including Saturday and Sunday. Oh, and the missing messages from the last five days didn't get misdirected to my "spam" folder--I checked there two or three times--and none of those messages were in there.

However, after a little sleuthing on Christianbook's website, I found a webpage which seems to have the same content as what their daily emails had, the same quantity of ebooks (in the email messages, the median number was probably three), and the same kind of pricing. And the content appears to change every day. I don't know how to explain it, so I won't even try; I'll just give the URL of that webpage: https://www.christianbook.com/ebook-daily-deals. If you like bargain "Christian Interest" ebooks, I _strongly_ recommend that you bookmark this webpage, and check it daily.

FYI--all of Christianbook's ebooks that you and I would be interested in are apparently ePub's. However, many of them are DRM-Free.

While I'm talking about Christianbook's specials, I will mention another webpage of their's with good ebook deals. In fact, they're all _free_. There are a lot of them. The downside is that the selection changes very little from day-to-day (I used to peruse the list every day, but quit doing it because of that; unfortunately, as far as I know there is no way to sort them by newness). The webpage is at www.christianbook.com/page/bargains/ebook-deals.

I currently am vetting a couple of other possible Christian Interest" daily deal websites. I'll announce them here, on this thread, if they pass muster after my vetting is through.

Remember: GtrsRGr8 always has your back. Always.

[GtrsRGr8]

The tongue-in-cheek/facetious _How to Ruin Your Child in 7 Easy Steps_ is marked down to $2.39 at Amazon and at Christianbook.com (the two vendors that I checked). The list price for the ebook is hard to find, but the list price of the paper-based version is $14.99 (could it be that vendors give the price of the paper-based book, which is usually more expensive than the ebook version, so that the discount appears higher? Naw, no one would do such a thing!).

Expect the book to have religious references, allusions, overtones, etc., if for no other reason than the fact that it is published by David C. Cook, which publishes to a Christian audience.

Oh, the book is high to very highly rated (or I wouldn't be posting it).

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00RK...uin+your+child.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

It appears that Christianbook.com has ceased to send out emails with daily specials. I haven't received one of those emails in about 5 days. That is _more_ than extremely unusual for them--in the four or five years that I've been on their mailing list, I cannot remember a single day in which I did not receive one of the messages. And they emailed them _every_ day of the week, including Saturday and Sunday. Oh, and the missing messages from the last five days didn't get misdirected to my "spam" folder--I checked there two or three times--and none of those messages were in there.

However, after a little sleuthing on Christianbook's website, I found a webpage which seems to have the same content as what their daily emails had, the same quantity of ebooks (in the email messages, the median number was probably three), and the same kind of pricing. And the content appears to change every day. I don't know how to explain it, so I won't even try; I'll just give the URL of that webpage: https://www.christianbook.com/ebook-daily-deals. If you like bargain "Christian Interest" ebooks, I _strongly_ recommend that you bookmark this webpage, and check it daily.

FYI--all of Christianbook's ebooks that you and I would be interested in are apparently ePub's. However, many of them are DRM-Free.

While I'm talking about Christianbook's specials, I will mention another webpage of their's with good ebook deals. In fact, they're all _free_. There are a lot of them. The downside is that the selection changes very little from day-to-day (I used to peruse the list every day, but quit doing it because of that; unfortunately, as far as I know there is no way to sort them by newness). The webpage is at www.christianbook.com/page/bargains/ebook-deals.

I currently am vetting a couple of other possible Christian Interest" daily deal websites. I'll announce them here, on this thread, if they pass muster after my vetting is through.

Remember: GtrsRGr8 always has your back. Always.

UPDATE: The Christianbook emails of daily specials resumed a day or two after I made the post above. Strange. Anyway, I'm glad to get them back.

[issybird]

Cross-posted from Nonfiction.

The Birth of Christianity by John Dominic Crossan is $1.99 at Amazon.

From the Amazon blurb:

In this long-awaited companion to his landmark The Historical Jesus, John Dominic Crossan, the world's foremost expert on the historical Jesus, explores the lost years of earliest Christianity, those immediately following the execution of Jesus. He establishes the contextual setting by an interdisciplinary combination of anthropological, historical, and archaeological approaches. He identifies the textual sources by a literary analysis of the earliest discernible layers within our present gospels, both inside and outside the New Testament. Context and text come together to challenge long-standing assumptions about the role of Paul and the meaning of resurrection, and to forge an eloquent and powerful new understanding of the birth of the Christian church.

[DaleDe]

seems to be gone today.

Dale

[TrevorViking]

From the audiobook thread.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

christianaudio -- Monthly Offers -- exp 31 Mar

• FREE -- Talking w Your Kids about God -- N Crain/ N McNamara --> 9.0 hrs --> NF parenting

Other Related Audiobooks On Sale

• $4.98 -- I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist
  
• $4.98 -- Total Truth
  
• $4.98 -- Screens and Teens
  
• $4.98 -- 12 Huge Mistakes Parents Can Avoid
  
• $4.98 -- Keeping Your Kids on God's Side
  
• $4.98 -- 52 Ways to Connect with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kid

[Difflugia]

The Message Catholic/Ecumenical Edition is on sale for $3.99 at Christianbook. This edition of Eugene Peterson's popular Bible translation/paraphrase includes the Catholic Apocrypha.

It's $4.99 at B&N, eBooks.com and Kobo. It's $9.99 at Amazon.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

The Message Catholic/Ecumenical Edition is on sale for $3.99 at Christianbook. This edition of Eugene Peterson's popular Bible translation/paraphrase includes the Catholic Apocrypha.

It's $4.99 at B&N, eBooks.com and Kobo. It's $9.99 at Amazon.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of the existence of this book.

One of the most valuable uses that I can see for this book is to get part of the whole Apocrypha in (what I assume to be) the easy-to-read style of Eugene Peterson's _The Message_. As almost anyone who has tried to read any of the Apocrypha can tell you, the books of the Apocrypha often can be difficult reading. I'm sure that Peterson has simplified the reading as much as he feels that he can do, and still feel that he is conveying the meaning of the text more-or-less accurately.

Frankly, I don't know, off of the top of my head, what books of the Apocrypha that Catholics consider canonical and what books Protestants consider part of the Apocrypha. It would be great to have those books of the Apocrypha that are recognized by Protestants, but not by Catholics, available in an easy-to-read style, like Peterson's, if a work like that doesn't already exist.

Thanks for _another_ great find and post!

[Difflugia]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Interesting. I wasn't aware of the existence of this book.

One of the most valuable uses that I can see for this book is to get part of the whole Apocrypha in (what I assume to be) the easy-to-read style of Eugene Peterson's _The Message_. As almost anyone who has tried to read any of the Apocrypha can tell you, the books of the Apocrypha often can be difficult reading. I'm sure that Peterson has simplified the reading as much as he feels that he can do, and still feel that he is conveying the meaning of the text more-or-less accurately.

Frankly, I don't know, off of the top of my head, what books of the Apocrypha that Catholics consider canonical and what books Protestants consider part of the Apocrypha. It would be great to have those books of the Apocrypha that are recognized Protestants, but not by Catholics, available in an easy-to-read style, like Peterson's, if a work like that doesn't already exist.

Thanks for _another_ great find and post!

The biggest problem with them being hard to read is that the ones easiest to find are the public domain versions, the King James and Douay Rheims. The apocryphal books are about the same to read as other Old Testament books, so a reasonable translation shouldn't be any more difficult than reading Genesis.

Here's the list of the books from the NRSV With the Apocrypha. As far as I know, this list is complete in terms of books extant in Greek that are used by modern Christian churches (Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Eastern Orthodox). There are a few books that only exist in Coptic, Ethiopic, or Slavonic (the books of Enoch, for example) that aren't included, but that's starting to move a bit past a casual interest.

(a) Books and Additions to Esther and Daniel that are in the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Slavonic Bibles:

Tobit
Judith
Esther with Additions
The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus, Or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach
Baruch
Letter of Jeremiah (= Baruch ch. 6)
The Additions to the Book of Daniel:
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

(b) Books in the Greek and Slavonic Bibles; not in the Roman Catholic canon:

1 Esdras ( = 2 Esdras in Slavonic, = 3 Esdras in Vulgate Appendix)
The Prayer of Manasseh (in Vulgate Appendix)
Psalm 151 (following Psalm 150 in the Greek Bible)
3 Maccabees

(c) In the Slavonic Bible and in the Latin Vulgate Appendix:

2 Esdras ( = 3 Esdras in Slavonic, = 4 Esdras in Vulgate Appendix)
(Note: In the Latin Vulgate, Ezra–Nehemiah = 1 and 2 Esdras.)

(d) In an Appendix to the Greek Bible:

4 Maccabees

If you want a reasonable translation for free, the New English Translation of the Septuagint (or NETS) can be downloaded as PDFs of the individual books here. The only annoyance for me is that all proper names have been transliterated from the Greek, rather than the Latinized versions we're generally used to. Here's Judith 1:1 from both the NETS and the NRSV:

NETS: It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nabouchodonosor, who ruled over the Assyrians from Nineue, the great city. It was in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes from Ecbatana...

NRSV: It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. In those days Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana.

In addition to the ones already mentioned, here are the other modern translations that I know for sure have ebook editions with the Apocrypha:

New American Bible NAB (the most popular modern Catholic Bible)
Orthodox Study Bible (the entire Old Testament is from the Septuagint, NKJV-style)
Common English Bible CEB (like the NRSV, available as both Catholic and "with Apocrypha")
GOD's Word GW (Apocrypha aren't included in any Bible, but available as a separate book/ebook)

The RSV has a single catholic ebook edition available (The Ignatius Bible) but the formatting is terrible.

There is a paper edition of the ESV with Apocrypha that I very badlly want to be an ebook, but no luck so far.