About the Christian Bible Reference Site
What and Why?
Purpose
The Christian Bible Reference Site is a noncommercial, nonprofit Christian Bible study website
devoted to better understanding the Bible and its messages for the modern world. Articles on our site are arranged by topic. Broad topics include
Jesus' teachings and Biblical wisdom.
More focused topics include the answers to frequently
asked questions about the Bible and its teachings. Hundreds of Bible
quotations are included in the articles.
Bible Interpretation
The Bible is the sacred Book, or collection of books, accepted by Christians as uniquely inspired by God, and thus authoritative, providing guidelines
for belief and behavior1. However,
the Bible was written a long time ago in different languages, and many of
the cultural references and literary styles used are unfamiliar to us today.
Bible translations into English cannot adequately capture all the shades of
meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek writings. To truly understand the Bible, we need to understand the background
of life, language, literature and religion 2000 to 3000 years ago as the Bible was being
written.
The Bible is sometimes interpreted through the "lens" of denominational or
personal beliefs or present day culture. But the scholarly method of hermeneutics makes use
of knowledge of the nuances of the original Biblical languages as well as the history and cultures of
Biblical lands to best understand what messages the original authors intended to convey.
We at the Christian Bible Reference Site use many reference books written by the best qualified Bible scholars to
bring some of that knowledge from seminaries and universities to the Internet
community. Our References
page
lists the primary reference materials we use. In total, we have over 200 Bibles,
Bible commentaries, Bible Dictionaries, Hebrew/Greek references, concordances and
cross references in searchable electronic form where we can find information on
almost any Bible passage or topic.
Our Services
Features on our website
include a short summary of the Bible and its history,
the teachings of Jesus, Biblical
wisdom, answers to frequently asked questions,
famous Bible stories, and
Bible studies for individual or group use.
We also give personal answers to Bible-related questions
by email and provide interactive Bible-themed Bible quizzes,
crossword puzzles and
word search puzzles to combine fun and learning.
There is no charge to access any of our materials or services, and no
registration or membership is required.
When?
Our website began in January, 1996, with the publication of
Wisdom of the
Bible at members.aol.com. In 1999, we registered the TwoPaths.com domain name which alludes to the two
roads we can choose in life. The broad, easy way leads to destruction,
but the narrow, more demanding way leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). In 2006, we changed the name of our website to The Christian Bible Reference
Site to better reflect our content and services. Now you can find us on the
Internet at either www.ChristianBibleReference.org
or www.TwoPaths.com.
Who?
Site owner and General Editor Cliff Leitch, M.S.,
U. Florida, has been
studying the Bible in depth since 1990. He has published over 90 Bible study articles on the Web
and some in print. In addition
to writing articles and answering questions for this website, he has been a
leader of two Bible study groups at his church.
Helen Leitch, B.S., Nova U., serves as Copy Editor and uses her writing and
proofreading skills to correct problems with spelling, grammar, punctuation,
clarity, and completeness.
Cliff and Helen live in Minnesota, USA. They
have two grown sons and one grandson.
Acknowledgments
Many other people and organizations have contributed to the success of The
Christian Bible Reference Site. Many visitors have contributed ideas for Bible word
search puzzles. Jess and the team at
Applied Innovations have provided fast
and reliable web hosting since 2001. The copyright owners of several Bibles
have given us permission to quote beyond their normal fair use limits. Some of our
illustrations were supplied courtesy of ChristiansUnite.com. Many Christian Websites, churches and individuals have posted Web links
to our site. Many thanks to all of you who have contributed in many
ways!
Special thanks to the many hundreds of people who have written offering
corrections, ideas, suggestions and words of encouragement!
1 Ronald F. Youngblood, F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison, Thomas
Nelson Publishers, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1995)
