Most Christians haven’t had the chance to hang out in the local Jewish synagogue or travel to Israel extensively. Thus, you may not have ever seen an original handwritten Torah scroll up close and in person, fully unfurled. Notice the handling of the scroll itself so no fingers actually touch it.

To see the entire Torah written in Hebrew freehand, not by machine was and is awe-inspiring in itself.

Take a quick looksie:

We get so excited about the latest and greatest versions of the Bible that sometimes we forget to reflect about the Bible 1.0.

I can’t believe my eyes.

My PC is now a MACINTOSH computer. Seriously.

And all I did was follow the installation directions that came with the Accordance for PC I recently received from Oak Tree Software to review.

Basically, whenever I want to run Accordance, all I have to do now is rev up my Mac emulator (called Basilik II) via a desktop shortcut, just like any other application:

Then a full-screen Macintosh computer comes to life on my PC:

After “start-up,” you get a full Macintosh desktop, complete with top of the screen menus and its own virtual hard drives (which you configure during installation) and all. You’ll notice my Accordance Folder open on the left of the Mac desktop with all my Accordance goodies ready to run:



And just as if I’m running Accordance on the Mac, I can launch the actual bible study application by clicking on the Accordance icon:



And voila!



I must say that the installation documentation was one of the best manuals I’ve used for installing software on a Mac or PC. And because we have to install and configure the Basilisk II Mac emulator application on the PC before you can install Accordance for Mac (on the PC which thinks it is a Mac!), there’s risk of getting derailed or discouraged along the way. But this documentation had detailed screen shots for *every single* move you make between inserting the install DVD to getting to run accordance for the first time on the PC. It was super easy.

Now I just have to go back to the Training DVD which came with the package and start to watch some intro videos so I can get a good handle on the application. If the training is as well thought out as the installation docs, I’m completely excited to engage with the Accordance platform training DVD. Afterall, who likes going through instruction manuals? But so far, these guys have made it super simple to follow-along. I kind of understand why Mac users tend to rave about Accordance. Now there doesn’t seem to be a reason for PC users not to do the same!

Are you an Accordance user (either on the Mac or PC)? Got any tips for me as I dive into the text (my current anchor text to exegete is Luke 11:5-13)? Please leave them as comments below!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Here’s some legalspeak about sponsored posts. . .I have not received any compensation for writing this post other than a complimentary review copy of the software package mentioned. I have no material connection to any of the the brands or products/services mentioned in this post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Mosaic Church has made the finalists in this year’s television commercial showdown sponsored by Doritos:

The church, led by Erwin McManus, has already won $25,000 for becoming one of the 6 finalists. The masses were invited to vote for their favorite over at www.crashthesuperbowl.com. And the winning tv commercial will not be announced until the actual Superbowl commercial is run during the Superbowl.

Erwin McManus explains in this video clip a little about their tv project, and why they want you to support their cause over at www.VoteForCasket.com

The 30-second spot is bringing a lot of attention to Mosiac Church. The big question of course is if this type of engagement with secular culture is worth it for the church and the Church (with a capital “C”). Of course, any church pursuing this sort of mass-media tactic to gain attention will garner a lot of support and criticism at the same time.

“Phil Cooke, a Christian producer, filmmaker and author has commented about Mosaic’s tv commercial:

Nobody’s going to fall on their knees and accept Jesus as a result of this spot. But advertisers on Madison Avenue spend millions on a Super Bowl spot because they know it influences people,” said Cooke, the producer. “It might not get someone converted, but I think it will get someone to say, ‘Maybe there is something I ought to investigate.“‘

source:FoxNews

I leave you with TWO QUESTIONS:

• What do you think of the actual tv commercial?
• Did Mosaic cross the line by spending their time, money and energy toward this contest?

Please share your reaction and thoughts in a blog comment below.

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UPDATE @ 7:09 PM SUPERBOWL SUNDAY. . . IT AIRED! Congratulations Mosaic Church, congratulations to the Church.

Today, I had the pleasure of doing something which I believe hasn’t ever been done!

It was a first. A first for me, and most probably a first for the world:

I bet that no one has every pursued seriously theological ponderings in the world of Chuck E.

It was one of the best reading sessions I’ve had. Complete concentration and complete fun with the kids afterwards. I found out that no one bothers or tries to interrupt you when you’re busy with a highlighter and serious reading in front of you at Chuck E. Cheese.  The kids are fully occupied within a couple of feet of me all the while in a contained environment.  And just to put it into context, we’re talking a brand new, two-story, fully renovated with “new carpet smell,” stocked with all the latest video games for $0.125/game facility (and of course, complete with singing animatronics and purell stations throughout!).  A win-win situation, I proclaim!

Go ahead, let the predictable *jokes* comments get posted. Just saying ahead of time that “suffering” can be relative and based on perspective!

Today, I’m sharing a public service announcement here on Godvertiser.com

Look what I found around town recently…

Sometimes “Mom knows best”. So much so that they make a sign to remind everyone – including you and me!

If you have a PC and want to dive deep into the Scriptures, you’ll likely come across Bibleworks Bible Study software. It’s a robust package that aims to help you with Biblical exegesis work. There are tons of bells and whistles to keep you occupied when doing research about any verse, passage or chunk of the Bible.

I’m happy to have gotten my hands on a copy of Bibleworks 8, their latest version to try out.

CALLING ALL BIBLEWORKS 8 USERS: If you’re already a BW8 user, would you share either (or both) of two things with me in the comments below?

1) What’s your MOST used function or features of Bibleworks?
2) What’s the one thing you wish BibleWorks would have or change to make your life easier?

Disclosure of Material Connection: Here’s some legalspeak about sponsored posts. . .I have not received any compensation for writing this post other than a complimentary review copy of the software package mentioned. I have no material connection to any of the the brands or products/services mentioned in this post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”