Useful Academic Resources
Go deeper in your Bible study
The Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and it is authoritative in everything it says. However, as finite human beings, we often struggle to understand and apply it to our lives. Among the paid tools, some of our professors like Logos Bible Software and Accordance Bible Software. They often have free starter kits. There are also some excellent free tools to help you, and these are some of our favorites:
Bible.org has a beneficial study Bible, going deep in the original languages, with commentaries and places for your notes. Bible Hub has a comprehensive tool to see parallel translations, commentaries, and even sermons. Blue Letter Bible also has a lot of free resources, although with a more dated interface.
One interesting resource is the Bible Project, with high-quality animated videos.
Understand Christian History
The Christian faith is transmitted both by the Bible and the faithful teachers throughout church history. The writings of the first believers provide a wealth of resources for the church in the 21st century. Some ancient secular or Jewish writers also help us better understand some controversies on Jesus’ days and the world of the Bible. The image on the right is the Avdat baptistry in the Negev.
There are free texts from the church fathers and other Christian writers in both links. Perseus Digital Library has a vast collection of Greek and Roman primary and secondary texts. The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae has part of its library of Greek literature on open access.
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts has a wealth of resources including high quality scans.
Prayerfully Engage in Missions
Operation World and the Joshua Project are essential resources to pray for each country’s needs, with a detailed analysis of the current context, people groups, languages, and Bible translation. The Pew Research Center has interesting populational analysis and projections.
The Movement for African National Initiatives (MANI) is also an excellent source for our continent.
Be better prepared to defend the faith
The best way to defend the faith (2 Peter 3:15) is to know what we believe. However, it is also profitable to understand what others believe and how to respond to their objections or concerns with our faith. There are good, free apologetics resources, and some of the best are: Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM), Apologetics315, The Center for Apologetics Research, Apologia Report, and the Apologetics Index.
Sometimes is also interesting to research another religion from its proponents’ point of view. This list would be too vast, but a good starting point is the World Religions and Spirituality Project.
Go deeper in your contemporary research
Apart from your research at our library, there are some free (open access) peer-reviewed journals online. African Journals Online has 620 African journals, 10 in religion.
You can also research all open-access journals globally at the DOAJ.
A good practice is first to study the Bible, then use commentaries, research church history, and check contemporary research. See the sections above.
This curated list of third-party resources is provided to help students, pastors, and church leaders to study the Bible.