Cheap Kindle Theological Books

Thanks Tyler, I think I can add another 4 books to my library for under $10 and best of all they will not take up any shelf space.

A. A. Hodge, Outlines in Theology, for example. Very bad scan, not too well done, but protected with DRM so you can’t correct the errors. Still… for 99c, I guess I shouldn’t complain.

[Don Johnson]

A. A. Hodge, Outlines in Theology, for example. Very bad scan, not too well done, but protected with DRM so you can’t correct the errors. Still… for 99c, I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Don-

Here’s a few different FREE versions of the same book-

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL1535560W/Outlines_of_theology

Thanks for the link, Greg. The scans here are equally bad! But at least the ePub is editable and I can convert it to mobi with Calibre later.

Don,

With the right plugin, Calibre can take your DRM‘d Amazon books and de-DRM them for you for permanent storage. I do this with all the books I buy from Amazon, as it has happened that they have “withdrawn” books that have been purchased. It only works with your own books, as you need your Amazon/Kindle password to de-DRM them, and of course, it would be illegal to then share them with those who haven’t purchased them. Once you have done this, you can also then convert them into different formats for use with different readers.

[TylerR]

I appreciate the utility of e-books but really prefer holding a book in my hand. I just can’t concentrate by reading at length from a screen.

Just curious- have you ever tried a dedicated e-ink reader, as opposed to the app on your computer or on a tablet? I found it does make a difference- the e-ink device has a lot less potential distractions to break your concentration. It might not still be your thing, but I throw it out there…

CCEL has ePub formats available here - http://www.ccel.org/index/format/epub. Piper has given away a ton of resources in PDF as well (http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/by-title) although a few of them are in ePub format, which I prefer. I think a BIG part of Piper’s popularity has been the fact that he gives away so much stuff, and I think he’ll be richly rewarded by the King for doing so.

Greg has a point about the dedicated e-reader. I have an iPad (1st gen WiFi - got it when I signed up to take some very expensive IT classes) and a Nook (got it as a gift a few weeks later), and I much prefer the Nook. Less stuff to distract me with, even if I do have to transfer my music from WMA/AAC to MP3. If the Nook goes, I’ll probably replace it with a Kindle of some sort, since I get a lot of free books from Amazon that way. I’ve thought about selling the iPad, but my wife uses it so we’re hanging on to it for now, even if Apple won’t support it anymore with updates and software. It’s great for Angry Birds and watching movies - but I don’t need to be playing Angry Birds, and it’s easier on my eyes to get DVDs and watch them on my TV (helps me be more picky about when and what I’m watching as well).

I tried doing the e-reader with my Bible reading, but I just can’t get used to it - I like to mark up my Bibles, and it’s not the same as reading an actual hardcopy. It’s fantastic, however, for carrying around a ton of novels or other books that I’m not going to refer to again and again (or if I’m going on a trip or something).

Is anyone using an e-reader for sermon prep? How does that work for you, if so?

Calibre is a nice program too, but I really need to figure out how to use it.

One more thing - it is a scandal that booksellers can charge so much money for books that are already in the public domain (in excess of publishing costs). I can’t tell you how upset I was that we paid $40 (or whatever) for JFB when it’s available for free online. Oh well.

…is that Tyler actually writes all his SI posts with a fountain pen on a legal pad before posting them… ;)

I preach using PowerPoint slides for the audience, record the sermon in PowerPoint as I advance the slides, save the file as a WMV and post it to our church YouTube channel and website. That must get me some points for modernity.

It would if you weren’t printing out the slides on transparency film and using an overhead projector to display them… :D

…what it really proves, Tyler, is that you’ve apostatized and we need to separate from you since you’re using that crazy *.wmv format. Real believers use *.drc.

Well, we would if I could find anything that played that format… :p

…with formats like .WMV or Adobe Flash, even, is that they are copywritten, rather than open source like the MPEG formats.

(Just waiting for someone to observe that the MPEG formats are under copyright in Great Britain…)

[TylerR]

I have no problem with casual reading from an eReader. I also don’t mind looking at pure reference works on Logos; you know - stuff I’m not going to be marking up or referring back to often.

For more serious stuff, I just have to hold the book in my hand. I mark up commentaries and insert margin notes and tote the books around with me. I have Logos and can do the same thing electronically, but it just isn’t the same. I usually try out an electronic reference and buy the hardcopy if I really plan on using it. For instance, I have a PDF copy of George Peters’ The Theocratic Kingdom - a massive, 3-vol, 19th century defense of premillennial dispensationalism. If I like it enough, I’ll spend $100 in a few months and buy the hardbacks.

As far as sermon prep; I’m pretty old school. I use a combination of Logos and hardback references and type my notes out in Word. I so prefer hardbacks that I usually forget to go into Logos.

I don’t know that it is really a defense of dispensationalism as much as it is an expostion on the kingdom. No doubt it is from a dispensational perspective though. I haven’t read it all though, just used it for reference. I think the preface says that Peters wrote it while building a house and that the bibliography has over 2,000 references. That is amazing in that day. Thanks for the Kindle heads up.

Here’s a freebie for anyone that’s interested.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBPJ5A8/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_…

John Calvin: The Life of the Man and the Legacy of the Reformer

Amazon has several volumes by C. S. Lewis on sale right now. Here’s The Four Loves. Follow the links to find others.

Martin Luther and John Calvin: Leaders of the Protestant Reformation

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBPTCQU/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_…

Jay thanks for the links. I noticed that pipers book “the Future of Justification” is free in PDF format. I have heard it is one of the best refutations of the New Perspective on Paul.

…but I’ve heard the same thing as well. Piper has been terrific in some areas, and that seems to be one of the better books from what I’ve heard.

[TylerR]

Essential Works (22 of them) from John Owen. $2.99.

I have browsed through his Death of Death in the Death of Christ for his defense of limited atonement. I hold to unlimited atonement, but I hope to have the time to dig into this one day.

D of D is a very hard read. I started in the paperback and finished in a free Kindle edition. The text is tightly packed and he uses a lot of first; second; third points. I would like to see an edition formatted with a little more spacing.

His argument has been summarized this way:

He died for either

1. All the sins of all men.

2. All the sins of some men, or

3. Some of the sins of all men.

For Who(m) Did Christ Die

p.s. I affirm a Limited Atonement

Just curious - not trying to start a Calvinist war here.

Limited in scope or Limited in Efficacy?

I believe in unlimited scope/limited efficacy.

All Christians believe in a limited atonement.

Some believe the atonement is limited in it’s application - it is only applied to those who believe

Others (me included) believe the atonement is limited in it’s intent - it was only intended for the elect, which is the same group of people as those who will believe.

Both groups would affirm the statement “sufficient for all” while Calvinists would affirm the additional phrase “efficient for the elect.”

If I understand correctly your “limited efficacy” is another way of saying “limited application.”

So while I affirm that it was (and is) sufficient for all men without exception (maybe affirming your “unlimited scope” - depending on how you define that) I would agree with your “limited efficacy.”