The Church Fathers for e-Sword (Almost!)
Posted by Chuck Grantham on April 21, 2009
Is two out of three really not bad?
The Ante-Nicene Fathers are readily available on the e-Sword download menus under “Extras” here.
The Nicene Fathers are available for download at e-Sword users dot org here.
Alas, the Post-Nicene Fathers and extras are yet to be converted for e-Sword. However, they are available at CCEL.
The CCEL page also has a link to Roger Pearse’s More Fathers page. This is too small an intro to that digitizer extraordinaire. Try this link for his blog, his various ancient Christian writings projects, his wit, wisdom, and unfortunately, programming hints (BLEECH!!). WARNING: Mr. Pearse has curiously strong opinions on some things. Whether they are mint-flavored or not I don’t know. The only strong opinions I hold are a recital of Crash’s beliefs from “Bull Durham”. I keep telling you I’m not original.
jonathon blake said
FWIW, the first seven volumes of the Post-Nicene Fathers have been converted to e-Sword. When the entire set has been converted, it will be released on e-Sword-users.org
jonathon
Chuck Grantham said
Jonathon,
Thanks for the news. Something to look forward to.
rpearse said
Thanks for the link!
The additional fathers that I edit are also public domain (including whatever materials I have contributed), so if you want to include them in e-Sword (whatever that is), do feel free!
Chuck Grantham said
Rpearse,
Esword is my favored free bible software, of course. It has the Catena Aurea translated by Newman available, but no hearty soul has made available anything like a form of the Glossa Ordinaria, or Peter of Lombard Sentences, or such. Yet. Lack of public domain resources and the time involved to do the linking between verse and commentary, no doubt.
There’s also the argument over how accurately these excerpts from the Fathers correcly represent their views, to consider.
rpearse said
This is why I prefer full texts!
Chuck Grantham said
Rpearse,
Well, I also wonder what use my SBC brethren might have for the medieval fathers glosses in light of the dominance of Augustine. He’s a little pre-Calvinist, among other things, for many SBCers.
So many Christians nowadays have a hard time just getting through the whole Bible that study of the Reformers and the Fathers is not even a possibility for them, even though so many of today’s questions were discussed of old by these Christian predecessors.
rpearse said
Inter-Varsity Press are doing a series of volumes which are commentaries on the books of the bible, made up of quotations from the fathers. I covet these, but can’t afford them. Of course some of what the Fathers say is tosh. But sometimes, living in antiquity, they know stuff we don’t.
Few people know that in the depths of the Dark Ages, a man from Tarsus came to Anglo-Saxon England. His name was Theodore, and he was in Rome to talk to the Pope, just at the time when some Saxons came there asking for a new Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope grabbed the chance and sent him there. The Venerable Bede records:
“The same apostle (Paul) said, ‘a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea’ (2 Cor. 11:25). I have heard certain men assert that Theodore of blessed memory, a very learned man and once archbishop of the English people, expounded the saying thus: that there was in Cyzicus a certain very deep pit, dug for the punishment of criminals, which on account of its immense depth was called the depth of the sea. It was the filth and darkness of this which Paul bore, amongst other things, for Christ.”
All the best,
Roger Pearse
jonathon said
If somebody can point me to a bona fide public domain copy of _Glossa Ordinaire_ and _Peter of Lombard Sentences_, I’ll convert them to e-Sword. (Both 8.x and 9.x formats.)
###
Before installing e-Sword 9.x, make a backup of your entire directory, and toss all of your topical files into the e-Sword _user_ directory. Then move to the program directory after starting e-Sword.)
Chuck Grantham said
Roger,
Yes, those two ancient commentary series are very tempting, aren’t they? Alas, the bills have come due, so I won’t be rushing out and buying them anytime soon, either. Luckily I have volumes and volumes to read in pdf and e-sword.
Jonathon,
How’s your Latin? Six volumes of the Glossa on Internet Archive. Sadly, my high school Latin was never up to it, and surely isn’t after decades of disuse.
And good to know about topic files and esword 9.x.
A lot of the problems with e-sword 9.x is testosterone poisoning. “Full speed ahead! When that is a disaster, then figure out exactly what you’re doing. If all else fails, read the manual or ask somebody.”
Adam said
Post Nicene Fathers are now available for the new E-Sword 9.x
http://www.esnips.com/doc/62407dc7-e425-4c86-beb0-8a923e1d628e/Post-Nicene-Fathers—–SQLite-
Chuck Grantham said
Adam,
Thanks for the heads up!