Jesus' words in red text

[Michael Hanel]

With that said, like myself, there are many developers "out there" in the world and who may have hi-lighted all of Jesus's words within BibleWorks. I don't think it's too much to ask the "community".

Like I said, this particular request, the red letter thing, is really a pretty easy task. All it requires is using the highlighting feature. The only real demand is that it is time-demanding. It isn't something that's easily automated and there is no little code you can write that would do it. That's why you're totally right this is best done by users, because developers have special software skills that are best used in other places, namely developing the software. However, if there are feature requests which you have, all you have to do is ask the BW folk and they'll usually do what they can do make it happen. That's the great thing, if there's something BW can do that would be more helpful to you, they try to get it done (notice that this is different than asking for more bible versions). Ultimately they are software people and they make searching and using the texts easier for us. They do obviously also open up new resources too, but again, like you said, there is always some level of balance between those two aspects

On another note--I don't know about you, but $300 is not cheap (maybe relatively speaking). But with the amount of end users vs. the cost of each product, there's got to be some profit--maybe enough to hire some more developers. I'm not asking BibleWorks to justify their cost, or itemize their overhead, but using the excuse that there are only 2 people writing the code isn't a good reason to deny end users from feature requests.

One can certainly argue this one, but as for me and my house, if you can show another program that can do what BibleWorks can and has the features that BibleWorks has for LESS than $300 please be my guest. Logos and Accordance, the two main rivals in my mind, can do similar things and may even be able to do some tasks better or have better resources, but ultimately, dollar for dollar, your $300 gets you more in BibleWorks than it would in either of those other two programs. And if it doesn't please point that out to me, because I am just another thrifty German at heart (no offense to Germans intended...)

[MrShep]

Like I said, this particular request, the red letter thing, is really a pretty easy task. All it requires is using the highlighting feature.

Yes Sir, I agree. But in order for an end user to save precious time, it doesn't hurt to ask the community to provide something that's already been done.

I haven't done the highlight, so I can't provide the file. It looks like he'll have to highlight each and every one--then save it as a custom highlight.

in Christ.

[vr8ce]

I'm not asking BibleWorks to justify their cost, or itemize their overhead, but using the excuse that there are only 2 people writing the code isn't a good reason to deny end users from feature requests.

Nor was it done here. Every software company, whether there are 2 or 200 developers, has to establish *priorities*, based on what the users want to see and what can be done in the time allotted. So, in a choice between re-writing the editor and highlighting the words of Christ in red, the editor wins, because way more of us would rather have a new editor than have Mike devote resources to something we could do ourselves if we wanted it, which many/most of us don't (how's that for a run-on sentence?). The issue here is simply that *this* request isn't of sufficient priority to devote scarce resources to. Mike has already laid out some of the stuff coming in v7 (search the archives); the product is definitely improving, probably far more than most of us can imagine.

Vince

[Michael Hanel]

maybe to bring conclusion to the matter. Maybe if those of you who want red letter stuff would volunteer or email one another and split up some of the gospels then it could be done rather than the continuing talk of it. I'm not sure if highlighting can be merged or if you'd have to start this out on one standard configuration file, but anyway, go for it and share it. it'll be helpful to all of your other compatriots who also would like this feature

[swestfall]

I can't imagine why any serious student of the Bible would want the developers of BibleWorks to spend any time on producing a new version of an existing English translation that displays words attributed to Jesus in red, especially given that it would divert them from working on improvements to the software itself.

As has already been pointed out, the decision about which words are those of Jesus and which are those of the gospel writer is an interpretive, exegetical decision which in some contexts can be uncertain and about which people can honestly disagree. It is a decision better left to the commentaries than to translators (and certainly not to editors and publishers of original language versions). I don't want some unknown (or even known) persons imposing their "red letters" on the text that I'm using to study the Bible.

It could be argued that people got along fine without color-coded editions of the Bible for eighteen hundred years, and that would be true, but others could fairly retort that we got along without computer assistance too. While that's true, I for one am only interested in the kind of technological assistance in Bible study that does not impose interpretations on the text.

The desire for a red-letter text seems to be more appropriate for a plain electronic text version of the Bible that some might want for reading and devotional purposes than for Bible study software of the type that BibleWorks represents.

Steve Westfall

[Dan Phillips]

Ditto, Stephen, only probably less nicely. Put time and effort elsewhere. Make a comprehensible GUI interface for searching.

[MrShep]

2 Timothy 2:16 ta.j de. bebh,louj kenofwni,aj perii<staso\ evpi. plei/on ga.r proko,yousin avsebei,aj(

[seadams]

Hello MrShep,

You mentioned you evaluated Logos...so as not to take this thread way off topic, I'll post a new thread asking you about how that went. I also evaluated both...and settled on both (scholar's edition). But knew that I'd be using Bibleworks 80% of the time. Please look for the new thread, thanks.

[dhave]

So, who spoke the words of John 3:16, Jesus or John (the author, not the baptizer)? I think John, but all my red-letter Bibles disagree.

I'd rather have all the words of Scripture in the same color, since they're all God-breathed and since we can't always be sure who the speaker is.

[Bennett B. Wethered]

While I both agree with those who don't like the 'canon within a canon' that red-lettering creates, and while I think, as a feature, it should be seen as rather far down a software developer's list......

.......this has already been offered as a 'plug-in' feature for the KJV translation. Someone, a while back (on the BibleWorks Forums, though I don't know who, or what post or thread), created a downloadable plug-in, that would show the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the KJV, in red.

If someone remembers where to find the thread & post, let our interested brother (and anyone else) know.