"Christians And The Internet" newsletter
CATI, Vol. 4 No. 5: September 13, 2003
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. SOME CHRISTIAN WEB SITES: PART TWO (N - Z)
2. e-SWORD: FREE BIBLE STUDY SOFTWARE
3. MAKING AUDIO CDS FROM MIDI (.MID) FILES
4. SHORTEN THAT WEB ADDRESS WITH TINYURL.COM OR SNIPURL.COM!
5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: INFORMATION ON CATI NEWSLETTER
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The latest revision of this issue of "CATI" can be accessed
on-line at http://traver.org/cati/archives/cati82.htm. The
Web page edition makes it especially easy to visit the links.
Unless otherwise indicated, all material in this newsletter is
Copyright (C) 2003 by Barry Traver, All Rights Reserved. See
the end of this issue for more information on "CATI."
_______________________________________________________________
1. SOME CHRISTIAN WEB SITES: PART TWO (N - Z)
Following you'll find in alphabetical order a list of some
Christian Web sites, some of which you may like to check out
further. Some of the sites on the list are "Reformed" in
perspective; others are more broadly evangelical in viewpoint.
Obviously, this list is not a complete list of Christian Web
sites, nor does inclusion of a particular Web site on the list
necessarily imply full endorsement of that site. You should,
however, find some here that you will find profitable and/or
interesting. Each has something special to offer. Enjoy!
All of the links have been updated and checked, and all of
them were working on September 4, 2003. Please let me know if
any links become "broken." Thanks!
NAPARC (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council)
http://naparc.org/
National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
http://nae.net/
National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC)
http://www.nanc.org/
The Navigators
http://www.gospelcom.net/navs/
New Horizons
http://www.opc.org/new_horizons.html
North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC)
http://www.opc.org/relations/NAPARC.html
Not Just Bibles: A Guide to Christian Resources on the Internet
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/christian-resources.html
Open Doors with Brother Andrew
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/
Ordained Servant
http://www.opc.org/OS/Ordained_servant.html
Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC)
http://www.opc.org/
P & R Publishing
http://www.prpbooks.com/
Phil Johnson's Bookmarks
http://www.gty.org/~phil/bookmark.htm
Phil Keaggy
http://www.philkeaggy.com/
Philip E. Johnson Page
http://www.arn.org/johnson/johome.htm
Pilgrim's Page: A John Bunyan Archive
http://www.johnbunyan.org/
Piper's Notes
http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper.htm
Pointing the Way: A Guide to Christian Literature on the Internet
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/christian-books.html
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
http://www.pcanet.org/
Presbyterian Youth of America (PYA)
http://www.pya.net/
Preview Family Movie and TV Review
http://www.gospelcom.net/preview/
Prison Fellowship Ministries
http://www.pfm.org/
Probe Ministries
http://www.probe.org/
Prodigal Press by Marvin Olasky
http://www.worldmag.com/world/olasky/Prodigal/index.html
Promise Keepers
http://www.promisekeepers.org/
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
http://www.hnrc.org/gr/Ministries/PRTS/prts.html
A Puritan's Mind
http://www.apuritansmind.com/
The Quiet Place
http://www.iserv.net/~mrbill/Quiet.html
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
http://www.gospelcom.net/rzim/
Razormouth
http://www.razormouth.com/
Reformation & Revival Ministries (John H. Armstrong)
http://www.randr.org/
Reformation Heritage Books
http://www.heritagebooks.org/
Reformation Ink
http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/index.html
Reformed Bible College
http://www.reformed.edu/
Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS)
http://www.rcus.org/
Reformed Episcopal Church
http://www.recus.org/index.htm
Reformed Network (Protestant Reformed Network)
http://www.reformednet.org/refnet/index.htm
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA)
http://www.reformedpresbyterian.org/
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS)
http://www.rpts.edu/
Reformed Theological Seminary
http://www.rts.edu/
Reformed Theological Seminary Bookstore
http://www.rts.edu/bookstore/
Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul (Ligonier Ministries)
http://www.gospelcom.net/ligonier/
Reverend Fun Cartoons
http://www.gospelcom.net/rev-fun/
Revive Our Hearts (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/
Richard Baxter Homepage
http://members.aol.com/augusteen/Baxter.html
Robert Murray M'Cheyne
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/m-cheyne.htm
Rutherford Institute
http://www.rutherford.org/
Samuel Miller
http://samuelmiller.org/
Scottish Preachers
http://www.newble.co.uk/hall/
The Shelter: A Francis A. Schaeffer Site
http://www.rationalpi.com/theshelter/
Sola Scriptura! (Michael Bremmer)
http://www.mbrem.com/
Sound Word Associates, Ltd.
http://www.soundword.com/
Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS)
http://www.scccs.org/
Spirit-Wars (Peter Jones)
http://www.spirit-wars.com/
Spurgeon Archive
http://www.spurgeon.org/
Still Waters Revival Books
http://www.swrb.com/
The Strait Gate
http://straitgate.com/
Summit Ministries
http://www.ChristianAnswers.net/summit/sumhome.html
Telling the Truth by Marvin Olasky
http://www.worldmag.com/world/olasky/truth1.html
The Teaching Home
http://www.teachinghome.com/
Telling the Truth by Marvin Olasky
http://www.worldmag.com/world/olasky/truth1.html
Third Millennium Ministries
http://www.thirdmill.org/
Today's Christian Woman
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/
Trinity Book Service
http://www.trinitybookservice.org/
The Voice of the Martyrs (Persecution.com)
http://www.persecution.com/
Web Devotions
http://www.farese.com/webdev.htm
Westminster Bookstore
http://www.wts.edu/bookstore/
Westminster Shorter Catechism Project
http://bpc.org/wsc/
Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia)
http://www.wts.edu/
Westminster Seminary California
http://www.wscal.edu/
Wheaton College
http://www.wheaton.edu/
The White Horse Inn (Michael Horton)
http://www.alliancenet.org/radio/whi/whi.html
Wisdom's Gate
http://www.homeschooldigest.com/
Wisdom's Gate: Home School Digest
http://www.homeschooldigest.com/hsd.htm
WordMP3.com
http://wordmp3.com/
World Evangelical Alliance
http://www.worldevangelical.org/
World Magazine
http://www.worldmag.com/
Wycliffe Bible Translators
http://www.wycliffe.org/
Young Life Ministries
http://www.younglife.org/
Your Church: Church Buyers Guide
http://www3.christianity.net/yc/
Youth for Christ (YFC)
http://www.gospelcom.net/yfc/
Youth Specialties
http://www.gospelcom.net/ys/
Zondervan Publishing House
http://www.zondervan.com/
Enjoy!
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2. E-SWORD: FREE BIBLE STUDY SOFTWARE
e-Sword
http://www.e-sword.net/
I don't like most Bible software programs, because the Bible
resources that are included are so often a mish-mosh of
materials, some Reformed, some Arminian, some conservative,
some liberal, some good, and much bad. e-Sword is no exception
in that regard (except that it's better than most), but it can
be an excellent resource if you choose carefully the materials
you use with it (and I will have some suggestions for you a bit
later).
Here's how the author, Rick Meyers, describes some features of
the program:
"e-Sword is feature rich and user friendly.... If a feature
became too complicated for anyone other than a software
engineer to use, then I abandoned the design in favor of
keeping things simple....
"All available Bibles, commentaries and dictionaries are
readily viewed without having to 'tile windows'....
"[There is an] Integrated editor for creating your own
commentaries or study notes, complete with Spell Checking and
a Thesaurus! Notes are "linked" to the Bible for easy viewing
and can also be exported for portability....
"Comprehensive print capabilities ... allow you to create
impressive Bible study handouts from the Study Notes Editor....
"Scripture references in the Commentary and Dictionary views
are displayed as ToolTips! Just place the mouse pointer over
the reference and the passage will then be displayed. To go to
the passage, just click it!...
"[The program has] Powerful search capabilities [which are]
yet simple to use. Enter as many words you want to search for
and select the search style and range....
"[There is a] Graphics Viewer for studying maps, charts, and
other images....
"[Finally, there is a] STEP Reader for viewing the various
resources you may have invested in from QuickVerse, Bible
Companion, and WORDsearch."
http://www.e-sword.net/features.html
Check out that page for further features of this fine program.
Well, the program is free and most of the accompanying
materials are free, but don't look for all of the accompanying
materials to be equally worthwhile. The same is true, however,
of similar programs that cost lots of money, and the e-Sword
collection of additional resources does contain some very fine
resources indeed.
Let me go through their list and make some personal
recommendations.
Bible translations I recommend include the American Standard
Version (different from the New American Standard, which I also
like), the Geneva Bible (Reformed forerunner to the King James
Version), the King James Version (without the Apocrypha), The
Message [not a translation, but a thought-provoking paraphrase
by Eugene Peterson), the Greek New Testament (your choice), the
Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), and the Hebrew Old Testament.
(Also available are many modern translations of the Bible.)
The New American Standard Bible is also available, BUT it will
cost you $20. And the following translations (in alphabetical
order) are currently NOT available: Amplified Bible, English
Standard Version, New American Bible, New English Translation,
New International Version, New King James Bible, New Living
Translation, New Revised Standard Version, and Revised Standard
Version.
You need to be selective in the area of commentaries, but I
would recommend the following: Geneva Bible Translation Notes
(prior to King James Version); Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown;
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible; and The Treasury
of David (reflections on the Psalms by Charles Spurgeon).
For dictionaries I would recommend the King James Dictionary
and Nave's Topical Bible. For devotions I would recommend
Morning and Evening (by Charles Spurgeon).
Under "Extras," there are many titles I would recommend: All
of Grace (Charles Spurgeon), Concerning Christian Liberty
(Martin Luther), Doctrinal Works in the Reformed Tradition,
Fox's Book of Martyrs (John Foxe), Institutes of the Christian
Religion (John Calvin), The Pursuit of God (A.W. Tozer), and
the Westminster Confession w/ Catechisms.
Caution: Rick Meyers tends to praise everything, but of the
titles I did not mention, some are all right and some are
terrible theology. You may want to check with your pastor
before using a resource with which you are not familiar
(unless, of course, you happen to be the pastor!).
"STEP libraries" are also available for e-Sword, but usually
for a fee, and what I wanted to emphasize here was the rich
treasure chest of free resources that are available for this
program. You do need to exercise some discretion as to what
materials you use with the main program, but if you choose
them carefully, e-Sword can be a very helpful program.
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3. MAKING AUDIO CDS FROM MIDI (.MID) FILES
All of the tunes for the hymns in the original Trinity Hymnal
are available in MIDI format from an area on the Web site for
the Orthodox Presbyterian Church:
http://opc.org/books/TH/
Naturally enough, someone has raised a relevant question: Can
you make an audio CD from .MID files? Well, it can be done,
but it's not as simple as it may at first appear.
First, a .MID file is in one respect very different from an
.MP3 file or a .WAV file. Both of those reflect a recording
of actual sound (e.g., using a microphone to capture the
sound). That is NOT true of a .MID file, which is more like
sheet music that you hand to your sound card to play. Or, to
use a similar analogy, a .MID file is like a piano roll for a
player piano. How it sounds depends upon the instrument (MIDI
device) on which it is played.
Second, to make a normal audio CD that will play on a normal
audio CD player, you usually start with the music in .WAV or
.MP3 format. This means that you need a way to convert .MID
files (such as the Trinity Hymnal files on the OPC Web site)
to .MP3 or .WAV format.
Third, here are two Web pages that discuss different ways
that you can go about making that conversion:
Convert MIDI into WAV?
http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/nwcforum/1003.htm
(Look for "Midi to Wav Conversion" section)
http://www.buildorbuy.org/wavtomidi.html
Some ways are better than others. Note, however, that it is
not a "natural" conversion, since a .MID file (as explained
earlier) is like sheet music or a piano roll, while a .WAV or
.MP3 file represents the recording of actual sound.
Fourth, if the preceding information presents too many choices,
then here's one specific one to try: Mid2Wav Converter. Here's
where you can find a demo version:
Mid2Wav Converter
http://www.midi2wav.com/download.html
With the demo you can only create a 10-second .WAV file. A
full working version of the program will cost you $14.95. (I
tried the demo with Trinity Hymnal .MID files, and it seemed
to work fine, but it may or may not be the best choice.)
Fifth, there are a number of software programs that will create
audio CDs from .WAV files. The one I use is Roxio's Easy CD
Creator, but the reason I use it is that it came with my
computer and CD-burner. (Some people use a program called
Nero.)
I hope that this information is helpful to you!
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4. SHORTEN THAT WEB ADDRESS WITH TINYURL.COM OR SNIPURL.COM!
Did you ever want to share a Web site address with a friend
and the Web address for that site was just too long to make
that practical?
For example, if you include a Web address (also known as a
URL, which stands for "Uniform Resource Locator" or "Universal
Resource Locator," depending on what you read) in an e-mail
message, often someone who gets that message can simply click
on that URL to go to that Web page, BUT it usually doesn't
work if the URL is so long that it cannot be included within
one line of text.
Well, now there is an answer to that problem! You can now
take that long URL to a place that will shorten it for you.
(Well, you don't actually get a shortened version, but you get
a shorter URL that will go to the same place.) There are
many places that will do this for you, but I recommend the
following two in particular:
Tiny URL
tinyurl.com
Snip URL
snipurl.com
I won't give you a super-long, two-line example of how it
works, but here's the Web address for the "CATI" bulletin
board: http://traver.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi . Tiny URL
converts that to http://tinyurl.com/jjdq and Snip URL
converts it to http://snurl.com/20hp, both of which are only
about half as long.
Here's how to do it. Go to the page with the long URL, and
copy the URL into the Windows clipboard. (For example,
highlight the Web address and do a CTRL-C for Copy.) Then
go to Tiny URL or Snip URL and paste the long URL into the
box (click inside the box and do a CTRL-V for Paste). Then
click on the button to get your shorter URL (which is put into
your Windows clipboard to make it easy for you to paste
someplace else).
Whenever you see a Web address in this newsletter containing
"tinyurl" or "snurl," it's because the original URL was much
longer, ordinarily too long to fit on a single line of text.
The "tinyurl" or "snurl" equivalent makes it much more
manageable.
Try it out! As Web addresses get longer and longer, such
utilities become more and more useful. (I do recommend,
however, that you keep the original URL around someplace, just
in case Tiny URL or Snip URL ever close down.)
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5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: INFORMATION ON CATI NEWSLETTER
Like to know what this is? This is the eighty-second issue
of a free newsletter devoted to "Christians And The Internet"
("CATI," pronounced "Katy," but spelled with a "C" and an "I"
for "Christians" and the "Internet").
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Unless otherwise indicated, all material in this newsletter is
Copyright (C) 2003 by Barry Traver, All Rights Reserved.
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