CALVINISM
HARD DRIVE COLLECTION
The Puritan Hard Drive could have just as easily been given the name the Calvinism Hard Drive or the Calvinist Hard Drive, as most of the resources (whether books, MP3s or videos) on the Puritan Hard Drive are by Calvinist authors and preachers faithfully defending the truth of Scripture which sometimes goes by the nickname of "Calvinism."
"To deny Calvinism
is to deny the gospel of Jesus Christ." - Charles Spurgeon
***
What you must understand, is that you have, in one
resource (the
Puritan Hard Drive - ed.), the vast wealth of God working through His
chosen elect for hundreds of years... This nation's ignorance regarding
the absolute sovereignty of God is a stumbling block of society destroying
magnitude. The
Puritan Hard Drive (by God's grace - ed.) will instill the truth of the
sovereignty, immutability, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience of our God
and weed out the Arminian error...
- Mel R. Everingham II, Hendersonville, NC (USA)
***
Just wanted to let you know, the Puritan Hard Drive came in the mail today. I spent a little over an hour browsing the contents and am looking forward to diving in and doing some serious reading! I'm floored at the sheer quantity and breadth of the contents. That so many of the .pdf's are OCR'd and searchable is truly remarkable!
I am amazed at my newly found ability to search Ursinus' Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Witsius' Economy of the Covenants, all seven volumes of Calvin's Selected Works: Tracts and Letters, Dabney's Discussions and his Lectures in Systematic Theology, as well as Charles Hodge's three volumes of Systematic Theology to name only a few. I haven't even begun to plumb the resources by Diodati, Hengstenberg, John Dick, Jonathan Edwards, Matthew Henry, Martin Luther ... and I could just keep on going!
When you mentioned the .mp3 collection, I must admit that I was skeptical at first; I wasn't sure I would have a need for .mp3s. Upon browsing the selection, however, I am convinced that this too will be an incredible resource - especially for my daily commute. I look forward to listening to audio book versions of Augustine's City of God and his Confessions, John Owen's Death of Death and his Mortification of Sin, and Jonathan Edwards' The Religious Affections - again, to name only a few!
I'm only at the beginning of my journey through the Puritan Hard Drive but based on what I've seen so far, some very delightful study lies ahead!
- Pastor R. Andrew Compton
Christ Reformed Church
The Reformed Reader http://reformedreader.wordpress.com
***
Fantastic Product: The Puritan Hard Drive
My hat is off to the folks at Still Waters Revival Books - you've put together something special that will benefit all the purchasers and recipients!
Purchasers of the Puritan Hard Drive will find at their fingertips a truly awesome collection of writings and video, eminently convenient in the pocket sized drive.
It's my prayer (which I see already being fulfilled) that users around the world can search these documents to great benefit as they prepare sermons, write papers, study for a deeper understanding of history and theological development, and share with friends.
It makes a generous gift, too.
Check it out for yourself and you'll find, I believe, that it's one of the best Christian software libraries yet developed and its price and convenience make the Puritan Hard Drive a truly appealing resource.
- William Nopper IV
Graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
and Bible study lay leader.
More PURITAN HARD DRIVE REVIEWS
Puritan Hard Drive
Introductory Video (Click Here Now!)
This is the must see free
online video of 2011!
In just six and half minutes you get a
full insider's video look at the cutting edge technology of the Third
Reformation!
The Puritan Hard Drive will change the
face of biblical (Puritan and Reformation) studies forever ... and change your
life for the glory of God!
More free online videos at SWRB's
PuritanDownloads.com Web site: Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #1 (Overview) - Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #2 (Browsing
Resources)
- Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #3 (Introduction
to Search)
- Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #4 (Advanced
Search Techniques)
As you will see in the Puritan Hard Drive videos
above, the new SWRB Puritan Hard Drive is "a true technological revolution
in Christian (Puritan, Reformation, Presbyterian, Reformed Baptist and
Covenanter) studies," for which we give the Lord all the thanks and glory!
More videos are forthcoming, as there are many powerful features and benefits
on the Puritan Hard Drive to showcase.
The SWRB Super Sale
Price of $347.97 (with free shipping worldwide), for the Puritan
Hard Drive (PHD, Single Platform Edition) ends soon! This Puritan
Hard Drive sale price saves you over $600.00 so check it out today and save
big. We also offer an
interest free deferred payment option with payments starting as low as
$50/month.
The Puritan Hard Drive - Best Reference Tool Ever!
You will be floored by this
product. Amazing!
- John Hendryx, Monergism
Books
In the history of the church's sanctification I don't believe there has been a more valuable extra-biblical resource and tool than the Puritan Hard Drive.
It holds some of the most priceless Reformed works of God-centered and Christ-glorifying truth that were ever penned.
Most students, ministers and scholars of the Bible would never personally acquire even half the literal number of books on the Puritan Hard Drive, much less the extreme caliber of its contents.
In God's providence modern day Christians have been chosen to be the recipients of both a theological and practical blessing. May we not squander it.
- Matthew McMahon, Ph.D. A Puritan's Mind http://www.apuritansmind.com/
I want you to know that I have enjoyed my Puritan Hard Drive immensely.
I simply could not have imagined such a resource before getting my hands on it!
To have that much information from a consistent, biblical, orthodox, and gospel-centered point of view is simply astonishing.
Anyone who admires the Puritans simply must have the Puritan Hard Drive.
From Pastors to Ph.D. candidates, there is simply nothing else out there that puts so much at your fingertips.
What an amazing tool for pastors... thank you for your work.
Soli Deo Gloria!
- Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., Grace Family Baptist Church (Spring, TX) http://www.sermonaudio.com/go/38367 and http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net
The Puritan Hard Drive is an exquisite piece of work.
The purchaser of this fine product will have at his fingertips more of the best Reformed literature than he can probably ever get around to reading.
Truly, if a Christian wants to invest wisely in his own growth, this is the best investment he can make at this time.
More than highly recommended!
- Justin Rawson, Gospel Covenant Publications http://www.gcpublications.com
The Puritan Hard Drive is one amazing resource.
When I was full-time at seminary, we had a superb theological library. But for access to the Puritan classics a special trip was necessary to visit the Puritan collection at Regent College on the UBC campus. If I had had this Puritan Hard Drive, no such trips would have been needed.
Never before have ordinary pastors, teachers and students had access to such a wealth of rare sermons, classic theology and commentaries.
This will blow your mind.
- Pastor Joe Haynes (BC, Canada) http://www.keruxai.com or http://historicism.com/blog/?p=378
Wow!
The Puritan Hard Drive is fantastic!
Most commercial theological software packages allow you to search 18th - 20th century public domain books or charge premium prices for materials under current copyright. But for spiritual richness and depth of insight, who can match the Reformation and Post-Reformation Puritan classics? The ones available in PDF form scattered around the Internet would take hundreds of hours to locate and download. And, for ease and speed of search, the Puritan Hard Drive is frankly ingenious.
For pennies per resource, you even provide a collection of outstanding MP3s and a handy portable hard-drive with ample available space.
What a gift to Christ's church!
I love my Puritan Hard Drive!
- D.M. (California)
Still Waters Revival Books has performed an astonishing feat in pulling together a massive collection of books and other resources.
Let me tell you how absolutely fantastic the Puritan Hard Drive really is.
This is a treasure trove for a local church pastor.
The search ability is beyond my expectation.
I was just on the island of Iona where Columba established a missionary outpost sending evangelists all over Britain. Searching the hard drive for "Columba" added much to my understanding of this great leader through the eyes of Spurgeon and many others.
Thank you so much... for going to the trouble to make this available.
I am greatly improved by it and I anticipate the pace of worldwide reformation to be improved as well.
I blogged about it here: http://www.ncfic.org/weblogmodule/view/id/805/src/@random493e73d2154bd/
Below is the blog post from the link above:
On my way across the ocean to study the reformation with Doug Phillips, I did not have a suitcase of books as I usually do. I was lamenting that fact at the airline ticket counter and my daughter Claudia said to me, "Papa, close your eyes and step into the new world." Well, let me confess: on my computer I have approximately 13,000 puritan and reformed books which I have acquired through my son downloading ebooks and a gigantic collection put together by Reg Barrow from Still Waters Revival Books. I am now like Abdul Kassem Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia who, in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. The 117,000 volumes were carried by 400 camels which were trained to walk in alphabetical order.
- Pastor Scott Brown (M.Div.), Hope Baptist Church (NC, USA, http://www.hopebaptistchurch.info), Director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC, http://www.ncfic.org/), and Conference Speaker (who speaks at conferences alongside other Reformed ministers like Joel Beeke, Paul Washer, Doug Phillips, Jeff Pollard, et al. http://www.ncfic.org/gcm-speakers)
The Puritan
Hard Drive reached
me this morning and as soon as I installed it on my PC I was totally
amazed at what it is able to do.
It is a tremendous blessing
of God to have such a tool in my hands... the
Puritan Hard Drive is a wonderful and powerful tool.
Now, I will be able to enjoy all the possibilities of this tremendous program.
You were right, it was
worth the wait.
Thank you very much and
congratulations to all your team.
Soli Deo Gloria!
- Richard Gagnon (BD, MATS, ThD-cand.)
Reformed Baptist Pastor,
Quebec, Canada
I received it (the
Puritan Hard Drive - ed.) yesterday and am blown away by it!
It is simple to set up and there
is a tremendous amount of material available that will last me for years as I
go through it all.
The search tools are, by themselves, well worth the price of the Puritan Hard Drive. It makes finding authors, topics and documents incredibly easy and fast. (The speed itself is amazing!) I also find the ability to copy from any of the (searchable - ed.) PDFs and paste into whatever .doc I happen to have open to be extremely useful.
I'm also glad to see that there are audio sermons/teachings (MP3s - ed.), as well as WMVs (videos - ed) from a variety of speakers and preachers as this provides a well-rounded approach to my own theology.
I've downloaded the entire drive to one of my computers that can handle it, and have it hooked up to a laptop.
The
Puritan Hard Drive is a tremendous asset to my
library and a huge time-saver for my own learning, preaching, teaching
and counseling.
Thank you ever so much for
doing this.
- Kevin Guillory (Pastor),
Redeemer Christian Congregation (Baltimore, MD)
More
PURITAN HARD DRIVE REVIEWS
Phone: 780-450-3730 - Fax: 780-468-1096
Email: swrb@swrb.com
(ask to join our double opt-in email list, we respect your privacy and hate
spam as much as you, so your email address is safe with us and will never be
sold or shared with others.)
Still Waters Revival
Books (www.swrb.com)
Discount Puritan and Reformed Christian book
distributors serving Christians worldwide (in over 100 countries) for 25+
years.
The new SWRB Puritan Hard
Drive works on both PCs and Macs.
ANNOUNCING THE GRAND OPENING OF STILL WATERS REVIVAL BOOKS' NEW WEB SITE!
PLEASE JOIN US AT PuritanDownloads.com TO SEE ALL THE NEW 99 CENT DIGITAL DOWNLOADS (REFORMATION AND PURITAN BOOKS, PSALM SINGING MP3s, etc.), THE NEW SWRB PURITAN HARD DRIVE, AND MUCH MORE! The new Web site is state-of-the-art and contains Puritan Hard Drive videos, Puritan quote videos, free samples of Psalm singing (MP3s), a powerful search engine, new material (Puritan books, MP3s and videos) that you may follow through an RSS feed, and it is very easy to navigate. Click here now to take a look at SWRB's new Web site!
"I am
overwhelmed... the CD series look priceless, and you have done a great service
for the kingdom through this ministry."
- Dr. R.C. Sproul (Ligonier Ministries)
The comment above,
by Dr. R.C. Sproul, was related to SWRB's previous two Puritan and Reformation
Bookshelf CD sets, of 62 total CDs. The Puritan Hard Drive (PHD) has replaced
these CD sets as a far superior study tool. In fact, there really is no
comparison, as the Puritan Hard Drive is many orders of magnitude better than
our previous (now discontinued) CD sets — kind of like a $1,000,000.00,
12-cylinder, Enzo Ferrari (F60) super car is better than a horse and buggy as a
mode of transportation.
In fact, this is a
good comparison in terms of how fast you will be able to locate and learn from
the 12,500+ Reformation and Puritan books, MP3s and videos on the Puritan Hard
Drive, when compared to less productive and less effective methods of study —
allowing you to more faithfully follow the Scriptures where God commands you to
"Redeem the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). See the
Puritan Hard Drive tutorial videos, on our new domain www.PuritanDownloads.com
for the many ways in which the Puritan Hard Drive will help you to obey the
Lord and "redeem the time."
As you are reading
this and other comments on our discontinued CD sets, you may want to keep in
mind that the Puritan Hard Drive contains over 10,500 more Puritan and
Reformation books, MP3s and videos, than our previous 62 CDs. This is an
increase in Reformation resources of well over 500%!
On top of that, thousands
more free and deeply discounted digital Puritan and Reformation books, MP3s and
videos will be available for quick and easy download, many at just $0.99 each
(or less), from SWRB after we unveil our new state-of-the-art e-commerce Web
site in the near future! These digital downloads will seamlessly integrate with
the Puritan Hard Drive, as we provide updates to the KnowledgeBase and embedded
database on the PHD. These new digital downloads which you will be able to add
to the Puritan HD, whether they be books (PDFs), audio (MP3s) or video
(WMVs/MP4s), will be published by us (Still Waters Revival Books) and other
participating Puritan, Reformed, Creationist and home school publishers.
The Puritan Hard
Drive also contains great, even amazing (thanks be to the Lord), technological
advances over our previous CD sets. For example, the Puritan Hard Drive
contains a custom-made, upgradeable (for when we add new features in the
future), world-class, search and research software program. Please see
the Puritan Hard Drive video series on our new Web site at
http://www.puritandownloads.com/swrb-puritan-hard-drive.html to see the
unprecedented power and comprehensiveness of the new SWRB KnowledgeBase
software.
A large-scale
(scalable), updatable (for when you choose to add new resources to your digital
collection of Reformed books, MP3s and videos on the Puritan Hard Drive), and
extensive, embedded database is also included on the Puritan Hard Drive and
works in conjunction with the spectacular SWRB KnowledgeBase study software.
This database contains over 71,000 book, MP3 and video categories, and over 4.5
million (4,500,000) records related to SWRB's Resource Category Signatures
(which are proprietary and unique to the Puritan Hard Drive) and which will
significantly aid you in your study of the Bible.
Furthermore, as
another added bonus, most of the books on the new Puritan Hard Drive have been
OCRed, using the best in Optical Character Recognition software available, and
are not only searchable, but you may now copy and paste from them too (unlike
our previous CD sets which for the most part contained unsearchable images of
book pages from which you could not copy and paste)!
Moreover, because we
have OCRed the text on most of the books on the Puritan Hard Drive, we have
also been able to add embedded and appended indices to all the OCRed books —
and the embedded database contains over 10 million (10,000,000) page references
for words in the appended indices. In addition, some of the appended indices,
for individual books, are over 100 pages long. You can imagine how much this
will aid you in your study of God's Word!
What's more, the
embedded indices make for lightning fast searches. This saves you much study
time, while also greatly aiding you in your ability to mine whatever
information you need (the real gold of the Reformed Faith) from the best of the
classic and contemporary Christian (Puritan and Reformed) books on the PHD. See the
Puritan Hard Drive video series for examples of this amazing feature, where you
can search for and pull up hundreds of search results in seconds or less, with
all the searched-for-words in context and linked (i.e., one click away) to
their location in a book!
Most importantly,
the over 12,500 contemporary and classic Puritan and Reformed resources (being
many of the best and rarest from throughout Reformation history, with most of books
on the PHD now searchable, many for the first time in history!), combine with
the world-class search and research software and database on the Puritan Hard
Drive, to place in your hands the most useful Christian study and research tool
ever available — may the Lord Jesus Christ get all the glory!
This is a marriage
made in heaven, thanks be to the Lord — a true technological revolution in
Puritan and Reformation studies! Or, in short, in the Puritan Hard Drive, you
now have a search and research study tool available to more rapidly and more
deeply search the valuable, delightful and greatest of historic Reformation
treasures (whether in book, MP3 of video formats) which the Lord has given His
church.
With the Puritan
Hard Drive you will be able to use your searches and studies, with the greatest
efficiency now possible, to come to more fully know the "the unsearchable
riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8) — at levels never before imagined!
There are
many more benefits, for all faithful Christians who desire to know the Lord and
His truth to the fullest degree possible (this side of heaven), to owning and
using the Puritan Hard Drive — and the many videos on our new Web page will
introduce you to more of the advantages the Puritan Hard Drive gives you.
However, it is only when you have the Puritan Hard Drive for yourself that you
will be able to fully explore, learn from, analyze, save, etc., from many of
the best Puritan and Reformed books, MP3s and videos this world has ever known
— and it is thoroughly delightful working with the source documents of the
first and second Reformations, as well as the best Puritan and Reformed works
right up to our day, using the full technological power of the astonishingly
well constructed software and database on the Puritan Hard Drive!
We hope you will
take advantage of all the spiritual benefits that are available (by God's
grace) through the Puritan Hare Drive, so that you may be a greater eternal blessing
to your family, church, friends and everyone else you come into contact with —
and that through the accelerated studies and growth the Puritan Hard Drive
makes possible (again, only by God's grace), your life may be a shining, even
refulgent, testimony to the beauty, grace, love and mercy of our great and
majestic God and Savior, and that in this our Lord may get all the glory!
SWRB PURITAN HARD DRIVE FREE ONLINE VIDEO TUTORIALS
"A
Technological Revolution In Puritan, Reformation and Covenanter
Studies."
More videos are forthcoming, as there are many powerful features on the Puritan Hard Drive to showcase.
Puritan Hard Drive Introductory Video (Click Here Now!)
More free online videos: Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #1 (Overview) - Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #2 (Browsing Resources) - Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #3 (Introduction to Search) - Puritan Hard Drive Tutorial Video #4 (Advanced Search Techniques)
Another comment
on SWRB's two discontinued Reformation and Puritan Bookshelf CD sets (of 62
total CDs) follows. These CD sets were greatly inferior, in every way, to the
new SWRB Puritan Hard Drive, and the Puritan Hard Drive even costs less (and
gets you discounts on rare and new digital downloads in the future)!
"I have been
systematically working through reading the Puritan and Reformed CDs I
purchased... I must say, there is nothing like them available anywhere. It is
the most amazing collection of works I know of in one package to date... You
have done an immeasurable service for the Kingdom of Christ in making these CDs
available, and every pastor and theologian should own them without question
(they would be foolhardy to pass them by)."
- Dr. C. Matthew McMahon, A Puritan's Mind Ministries)
Another comment
on SWRB's two discontinued Reformation and Puritan Bookshelf CD sets (of 62
total CDs) follows. These CD sets were greatly inferior, in every way, to the
new SWRB Puritan Hard Drive, and the Puritan Hard Drive even costs less (and
gets you discounts on rare and new digital downloads in the future)!
"Still Waters
Revival Books... have released an incredible array of... compact disks which
contain over 2,000 titles (remember there are over 12,500 resources on SWRB's
new Puritan Hard Drive Collection - ed.) of some of the best Reformation and
Calvinistic books ever written. It is by far the best and widest collection of
Reformed literature ever assembled."
- The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined,
Defended, and Documented,
Second [Special 40th Anniversary] Edition, Updated and Expanded [p. 76, 2004, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Company] by David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn, Foreword by
Roger Nicole, Afterword by John MacArthur).
Another comment
on SWRB's two discontinued Reformation and Puritan Bookshelf CD sets (of 62
total CDs) follows. These CD sets were greatly inferior, in every way, to the
new SWRB Puritan Hard Drive, and the Puritan Hard Drive even costs less (and
gets you discounts on rare and new digital downloads in the future)!
"Your CD's of
Reformation and Puritan authors are a great boon to studies in the
Reformed-Puritan experiential tradition. Receive our hearty thanks for your
invaluable work in making so many rare gems accessible to thousands."
- Dr. Joel Beeke (President of Puritan Reformed
Theological Seminary, Author, And Preacher)
THE MOST EXTENSIVE AND POWERFUL PURITAN AND
REFORMATION SEARCH AND RESEARCH CHRISTIAN STUDY TOOL EVER PRODUCED!
Over 12,500 Classic and Contemporary
Puritan and Reformation Resources On SWRB's New, Portable, USB Puritan Hard Drive
(SWRB-PHD) - Now Including An Embedded Database and SWRB's New, Custom,
Proprietary Search/Interface Knowledgebase Program (With Over 70,000 Category
Cross References, Over 4.5 Million Records Related To Resource Category
Signatures and Over 10 Million Page References In The Indices We've Appended To
All OCRed Books), For Easy, Virtually Effortless, Access To All 12,500+ Puritan
And Reformation Resources (Books, MP3s and Videos) and the Power to Search,
Build, Print and Even Save An Unlimited Number of Study Lists Related to
Whatever Authors, Topics and Titles You Most Need To Know and Understand!
Four sample
screenshots from the powerful, custom SWRB KnowlegeBase program that comes with
the Puritan Hard Drive are show below.
SWRB's PURITAN HARD
DRIVE is the most extensive and robust Reformation study tool ever created —
thanks be to the Lord! It presently contains over one million dollars worth of
classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformation books (PDFs), MP3s and videos,
a comprehensive custom search/interface program (SWRB KnowledgeBase, see
screenshots below), and a powerful embedded database. The extensive
world-class KnowledgeBase software and database are also fully upgradeable (via
free Web downloads we will provide as new features are released), so the
PURITAN HARD DRIVE can grow with you as you grow in the Lord.
Moreover, all future SWRB publications (PDF books, MP3s and videos), as well as
resources from other participating publishers, may also be downloaded free, or
at a nominal cost (most for just 99 cents each), as they become available in
the future. These low cost digital downloads will be completely integrated with
the KnowledgeBase and database on the PURITAN HARD DRIVE and will even include
the rarest of Reformation resources, which can cost thousands of dollars each
on the antiquarian book market (e.g., just one eight volume set presently on
the Puritan Hard Drive cost $US28,000.00 to obtain for scanning).
Additionally, as an added bonus, most books on the Puritan Hard Drive are
either already in text format or have been ORCed using state-of-the-art Optical
Character Recognition software. We have even embedded indexing in the OCRed
books (PDFs) so that they are not only searchable, but can be searched a
lighting fast speeds (see below for more details). You may also cut and paste
from these books! We have also appended extensive indices to all of the
searchable books to further aid you in you studies. In short, the PURITAN
HARD DRIVE can greatly increase your knowledge of the Lord and His truth (by
God's grace) in much less time than any other study method or tool of which we
are aware. Furthermore, in the 25 years we have
been building the PURITAN HARD DRIVE, only the very best resources were
selected for inclusion, which means you will have virtually instant access to
the very best (and most sanctified) Christian minds in history on virtually
every topic you can imagine. Never before has a Christian study tool this
powerful ever existed, all thanks and glory be to the Lord! Please take full
advantage of the best Christian (Puritan and Reformed) study resources and
cutting edge educational technology ever available, at the lowest price
possible, by purchasing the PURITAN HARD DRIVE today (or before the
prepublication sale ends). You, your family and your church will be very
thankful (even potentially eternally grateful) you did!
We have even more phenomenal news for you!
Most of books
on the Puritan Hard Drive will now be searchable!
The world-class
software architect who is heading up the development of the custom
KnowledgeBase software, embedded database, and file preparation for the Puritan
Hard Drive (PHD) has once again (by God's grace) implemented his God-given
genius in these things to add another extraordinary feature to the Puritan Hard
Drive.
We recently announced that we have been OCRing all books (in more modern
font styles) on the PHD. Not only have the OCR accuracy results been turning
out much better than expected, but laying the OCRed text behind the images of
the book pages has led to more incredible features which will greatly benefit everyone
who uses the PHD.
Some of the search, cut and paste, indexing, etc., advantages of having the
OCRed text available have already been mentioned in previous emails (email us
at swrb@swrb.com to join our email list), so
today I would like to focus on what may very well be one of the foremost
feature enhancements that has resulted from OCRing the majority of the rare
Reformation, Puritan and Covenanter books that are on the PHD (and remember you
may download all the no cost PDF listings related to the massive 12,500+
resources on the PHD above).
Find
lists of hundreds of search results in seconds (or less)!
As you probably know, Adobe's PDF reading programs have some very
powerful search features. However, what you may not know (I didn't know this
myself), is that it is possible to embed text indices into PDF files.
Why is this important? The primary advantage of embedding text indices into
PDF files can be seen in how fast searches of PDF documents take place. I was recently testing
OCRed/indexed PDF books that I received from our Director of Software
Development and I am still shaking my head in shock at how useful it is to have
virtually instant access to all the text in the books on the PHD that contain
embedded indices (not to mention that for a number of these books this will be
the first time in history that the text in these books is searchable).
Now the OCRed books on the PHD will all have embedded text indices which
allows then to be searched at lighting fast speeds -- even for searches that
bring up hundreds of results! What's more, even beyond the blinding search speeds that
are now available, all these results can be viewed in context when you use the
"Full Reader Search" in Adobe readers.
How
important this is for serious Christian study can not be overstated!
Now, when you are using the PHD, you can combine all the "big
picture" features we have been revealing in past emails, to quickly find,
list, amend, manipulate, save, print, etc., large or small resource lists from
among the 12,500+ Reformation resources on the PHD (even adding your own
personal notes) -- and then take your studies to the next level by getting
into the most minute details of the text for every OCRed book on the PHD and in
your personal search results lists.
I was literally astonished at how quickly I was able to complete complex
research projects, when I was testing our upgraded PDF files, because almost as
soon as my finger came off the mouse, after hitting the
"Search" button in Adobe Readers' "Full Reader Search," the
search term(s) I was looking for were already listed in content -- even when
there were hundreds of search results. Thus, not only are many of
the rare Reformation and Puritan books on the PHD searchable for the first time
in history, they are searchable at blistering fast speeds!
The embedded indices in our OCREd books on the PHD have now eliminated a great
deal of the common time barriers that previously attend the information
gathering process of studying. Every instance of OCRed words are now
literally at you fingertips in a large number of the best Puritan and Reformed
books ever written!
An
example of the increased search speed and how much time this will save you.
Here is one example of how much computer waiting time you can save because
of the embedded indices in the OCRed books (in PDF) on the PHD. If you were to average five
"Full Reader Searches" (this is the advanced search you can use when
you click the little arrow next to the "Find" box in Adobe readers
and you choose "Open Full Reader Search") per day, over a 365 days,
with the equivalent processing power I was using (4 X 2.5 GHz PPC G5 Mac with
4.5GB of RAM), you would save over one full 24 hour day of computer
waiting time -- and some of us will be doing much more than five "Full
Reader Searches" per day (on average).
And it is not just the total time saved, but as everyone who has graduated
(over the years) to faster and more powerful computers knows, the increased
speeds tend to change the way you use your machine -- allowing you to explore
and learn more and more because it takes so much less time for various
functions, this leading in turn to the doing of many things that you may not
have even attempted on slower, less powerful, machines. This is exactly the
advantage that embedding indices into the OCRed files provides you --
especially the ability to almost instantly pull large amounts of search results
(in the blink of an eye)!
You
may now test the speed of a new OCRed/indexed PDF for yourself, on your own
computer, as well as see the extensive index we have appended to this
complimentary sample book, which we are giving to you free of charge!
Just go to http://www.puritandownloads.com/
and download the no cost, complimentary copy of the SWRB PDF of William
Cunningham's Historical Theology (volume two).
Better yet, you may also directly download
this complimentary book using this URL: http://snipurl.com/svq2q
or http://www.puritandownloads.com/Historical-Theology-Vol2-William-Cunningham.pdf.
This PDF contains OCRed text (behind the image of the actual book pages), an
embedded text index, and an appended OCR-based (page number) index, which we
have added, which are all the same items we have or will be adding to the
majority of the books on the PHD (as previously announced).
The search of the
OCRed/indexed PDF file of Cunningham's complete book (of over 600 pages) took
about two seconds and brought up 525 results.
One "Full Reader Search" that yielded the stunning results noted
above was for the word "Calvin," with none of the boxes checked in
the selection below where you enter your search term. The
search of the OCRed/indexed PDF file of Cunningham's complete book took about
two seconds and brought up 525 results. The exact same test on
the exact same OCRed book, but without the embedded index took 51 seconds.
Thus, this one search, with the embedded index in the PDF took about 49 seconds
less than the same search without the embedded Index in the PDF. If you do the
math for the scenario given two paragraphs above, you will see why you would
save over one full 24 hour day of computer waiting time over a year because of
the added embedded index (assuming similar searches on similar machines).
You should also make sure you have a recent version of Adobe Reader or Pro, as
some of the older versions will not take full advantage of the embedded index,
for super fast searches. You may go to http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/
and click on "Download Adobe Reader" for the latest no cost version
of Adobe's PDF Reader.
The
graphic below illustrates what the search results for this "Calvin"
test looked like.
In the Adobe Reader results window, like the one below,
you can also "mouse over" any individual result to see what page the
result is on, or, even better, single click any individual result to
instantly jump to that result. The result you jump to will also be highlighted as in
the second graphic below.
The
graphic below illustrates how search terms are highlighted, in the PDFs on the
Puritan Hard Drive, when they are found through your searches.
More
bonuses related to adding text via OCRing.
Another nice little bonus of having the OCRed text available is that the same
search term highlighting shown above occurs whatever type of search you are
running, making it very easy to quickly and easily spot your search
result on the page.
One more exceedingly useful feature that also comes into play because we are
OCRing many of the books on the PHD is the "Read Out Loud" function (which is under
the "View" among the top menu items -- and also available directly
through some operating systems). You will now
be able to listen to all the OCRed books on the PHD through Adobe's no cost
Reader and/or the paid Pro version.
I (Dr. Reg Barrow) often use cordless headphones (or other portable devices) to
listen to sermon and audio book MP3s while I eat and at other appropriate times
during the day -- which is one of the reasons I've been able to listen to
somewhere between 20,000 to 30,000 audio sermons/lectures/books since the Lord
saved me over 30 years ago (went through a lot of cassettes in the "old
days" but now everything is so much easier with MP3s and the like). I find
this to be an excellent way to "redeem the time" (Ephesians 5:16) and
would encourage everyone to implement a regular listening plan which takes
advantage of the best technologies of the day (iTunes, iPhone, Zune, etc.) if
cordless headphones are not a viable option in your situation.
The blessings that come from such regular communion with the Lord, through
this means of grace (i.e., the hearing of the preached or written Word), are
incalculable.
Having this massive new library of freshly OCRed versions of the best
editions of the best Puritan books now available for audio, on the PHD, is just one more
reason that I am eagerly awaiting (to totally understate the case) the
completion of the PHD myself, as there are hundreds of books on the PHD I'd
like to listen to as it has been probably 20-25 years since I first read some
of these Reformation classics -- and the books on the PHD are certainly worth
going through multiple times.
Also, remember that we have placed over 4,080 MP3 audio sermons/lectures/books
at http://www.sermonaudio.com/swrb (and 96 videos, see
http://www.sermonaudio.com/go/7018 ), which you may obtain at no charge, to get
your daily personal listening program up and running quickly -- and to keep it
going indefinitely.
Moreover, the PHD contains over 6,000 additional MP3s (some of the best
stuff!) that are not available on our sermonaudio site. Furthermore, all the audio on
the PHD is fully integrated with the powerful, custom search/access
KnowledgeBase program, which gives you even more control over what you find on
the PHD to listen to, what type of lists you build, save and/or print, etc.
Your part in the growing worldwide Reformation of our day and your ongoing
generational influence for the glory of God -- from the comfort of your own
home, using your own PC or Mac.
Request our
recent email entitled "Major (Amazing) Puritan HD Announcement, More New
PHD Screenshots, 6 More New No Cost MP3s, etc." if you would like us to
send you a copy of this email just email your request to swrb@swrb.com.
The Puritan Hard Drive now provides you with the perfect
combination of custom, propriety software tools, with numerous powerful study
features, which (to my knowledge) are not available in any other Christian
software on the market today.
This potent combination of "big picture" and "details"
tools on the PHD will allow you to find more truth in less time -- while, at
the same time, providing you with over 12,500 of the very best of classic and
contemporary Puritan and Reformation resources ever gathered into one offering!
And because the Purtian Hard Drive is fully expandable, this unrivalled
collection can grow with you for the rest of your life -- as we plan, Lord
willing, to be offering you many more new, free and low priced, digital resources
in the future. These
new digital books, MP3s and videos will be published by SWRB as well as by any
other modern-day Reformed, Creationist and homeschooling publishers who want to
work with us to incorporate their books, MP3s and videos into the PHD/SWRB
schemata.
Even more ways in which OCRing the books,
to make the text searchable on the PHD , allows for additional features in the
powerful, custom, Puritan Hard Drive search/access/analyze (SWRB KnowledgeBase)
program.
The Lord has once again been very
good to us concerning the amazing developments concerning the Puritan Hard
Drive (PHD) which I will share with you below. The
PHD is now many orders of magnitude better than the 62 CDs we previously
published -- so much so that I feel safe in comparing the 62 CDs to a tricycle
and the Puritan HD to a Ferrari. Both will get you where you want
to go, but that is about where the comparison ends.
Major New Puritan Hard Drive Announcements
As noted in previous emails, we are presently working on about 35
instructional videos to include with the PHD (to join our double opt-in email list plase email
us at swrb@swrb.com). However, because we
noticed (some time ago) that this was going to take longer than originally
expected, we purchased more computer equipment and began running a top Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) program over the image-based books on the PHD.
Because this can be done almost entirely programmatically (while we are working
on the videos), as we are applying the OCR process to digital files already
produced (which have already been scanned), it should not delay the release of
the PHD more than a day or two, but will provide you with a number of very
important, major, and powerful study advantages!
Moreover,
because the OCRed (and searchable) text is being laid behind the images of the
book pages, you get the best of both worlds -- as you will still be able to see
the actual book as it originally appeared (as in teh graphic above) and at the same time have all the advantages of a
text-based file.
This means, often for the first time in history,
you may now run computer searches on the many rare Puritan and Reformed books
on the PHD which will be OCRed.
This exponentially increases the usefulness of
all these files!
Moreover, it also means that you may now cut and paste from all OCRed
books.
However, we won't have time to proof the OCRed content, so the indices, and
what you are able to cut and paste, will only be accurate to the level that the
OCR program produces. Nevertheless, we have seen OCR accuracy rates as high as
99.67% and the more modern the font style, the better the results. This means
most of what you will get will be accurate -- and this opens a fantastic new
door for the study of these rare and influential tomes! I've been thoroughly
amazed at what I've already been able to find as I've been test searching
through various files that are already completed -- and how much this expedites
the study of the all the topics I've been checking.
You
Spoke, We Listened
We also know that adding the text behind the images, and therefore making
the PDF book files searchable, is the most requested improvement we have been asked to
complete on the large body of books we have published digitally -- and we are
very thankful to the Lord that He has ordered everything surrounding the PHD so
that we are now able to fulfill these requests to a great degree. And to
whatever degree any work remains to be done (in this regard) after we ship the
PHD, it may be helpful to remember that virtually everything
on the PHD (including the custom KnowledgeBase program, the embedded database,
all the resource files, etc.) has been designed so that they can be easily
upgraded in the future. This means that as we are able to proof
read and otherwise upgrade these files in the future, we will be able to
provide them to you via Web downloads to install the upgrades on the PHD. We will also be able to provide,
as they are completed in the future, any files we don't get OCRed by the time
the instructional videos are completed and we begin shipping the PHD shortly.
Of course, all the books on the PHD which are already in text format do not
need to be OCRed and will also benefit from the additional indexing features I
will describe below -- as there are even more benefits to having the searchable
text available for many of the books on the PHD.
Overview
of Additional OCR Benefits
Below is a short overview and four screenshots related to some of the
additional benefits that will be included on the PHD as a result of having so
much book material in searchable (text) format.
First, because we will now have the text for all the books that are OCRed, we
are also running a very fast indexing program over the text to
produce indices for every book that is OCRed. In a number of cases this will
be the first time indices will be available for some of the most important
Puritan and Reformed writings that have ever been available!
All the extensive programmatically produced indices for the OCRed books will
also be appended to the actual PDF (book) files on the PHD (download
a free sample of William Cunningham's Historical Theology [volume 2] to see exactly what this appended
OCR-based Index looks like), giving you the ability to quickly and
easily dig deep into this treasure trove of classic and contemporary Puritan
and Reformed books using these sizable and substantial indices.
Moreover, because of the power of the indexing
technology we are using, the SWRB produced indices will often contain many more
references than most indices you would find in books that may already have
indices (from the original publisher).
The new SWRB generated indices also have the advantage of referring to the
page in the PDF, rather than the actual page in the book, which will make it
much easier for you to speedily access any indexed word or phrase in the book (and you will still be able to
see the original book page number when you arrive at your destination -- if you
need that reference for any purpose).
More
Scintillating, Even "Jaw-Dropping," Bonuses Added to the PHD
What's more, we added additional scintillating, even "jaw-dropping,"
bonuses to the PHD, as a result of having most of the books on the PHD
OCRed -- which I will outline below!
Because having searchable and copy/cut/pastable text available to you (with
additional and complimentary indexing search features) will be so valuable to
your studies, and because our primary software engineer is a world class
software developer who can do remarkable things in very little time, we have
already added some great new features to the SWRB KnowledgeBase program on the
PHD -- related to
the many new indices that will be available.
New
PHD Screenshots Illustrating New Functions, Features and Bonuses
First, as the screenshot below illustrates, you
will be able to search for indexed words or phrases using a built-in "help
screen" that will present all indexed words or phrases related to your
search term.
The most amazing thing about this
screen/function is that once you click on an indexed word or phrase, you will
be presented with a Search Results screen that will show you every book on the
PHD that contains the indexed word or phrase you choose!
This will be phenomenally helpful for getting right to the most specific of
indexed words or phrases in every text-based book (which will now be most of
the books on the PHD), across the complete Puritan Hard Drive.
Pastors
will be able to quickly research whole sermons (or even series of sermons)
using this feature, from many of the best Christian books ever published.
Seminary students may use this feature to almost instantly
locate all the best Puritan and Reformation source material for papers and
other course requirements.
Fathers and mothers can learn about all the most scriptural
methods for raising godly children with just a few mouse clicks.
And the uses go on and on for just this single, unprecedented, new feature on
the PHD!
Second, in the Resource Detail window on the
PHD, you will have direct access to the index (for any indexed book) directly
through a lower tab panel, called Keyword/Phrases, on this screen.
The scrollable list, in this tab, will provide
you with all indexed words or phrases for the selected book, how many times the
word or phrase shows up in the OCRed text, and the first few results of page
references which fit in this screen (to see additional results you may
easily open the resource and consult the complete index we will have added to
the back of the book).
This bonus feature should be very valuable for study purposes in a number of
ways, not the least of which will allow you to quickly access how much a given
book deals with a specific subject based on how many times a word or phrase
appears in the book..
Third, you will have all the same direct access to all this useful index
information through the Keyword tab on all Search Results screens.
Fourth, if a resource (like MP3s [audio],
WMVs [video], or a book) does not contain an SWRB generated index, you will be
able to tell immediately as there will be no words or phrases listed when you
are viewing the Keyword tab in a Search Results screen.
There are also some small indexing caveats I should
mention.
First, the index program, though eminently useful and blazingly fast, picks up
even partial matches -- which means that some of the references in the indices
may not be exactly what you are expecting. This usually won't be a problem, as
in a case of words like "sin" and "sinful" being indexed
together, but I thought you would like to know exactly what you are getting in
this feature, in case you run into the occasional anomaly. On the other
hand, sometimes this may even be an advantage for serendipitous (or better,
providential) advances in sanctification, as you are led to words which also
form part of other words, which you may not have otherwise been looking for,
which ultimately end up aiding you in your studies of God and His Word, and
helping you to press forward in your growth in grace.
Second, the indices will only be as good as the OCRed generated text and
therefore, on occasion (among the books in more modern type), may not include a
word that is actually in the text -- and this drawback will be even more
evident once we start OCRing the books in the older font styles (the change to
more modern font types seems to me to have taken place in the early eighteen
hundreds, though I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who knows the exact
time when the typography changed to more modern type styles for books written
in English). However, from what we have seen so far, we believe that we will be
able to accurately provide the great majority of the text in searchable format
(behind the images) for all books which were published using more modern fonts
-- having already seen accuracy results as high as 99.67% in sections of the
OCRed text we have sampled. Even when accuracy rates have been lower than 99% they have still
been very high -- and we believe that it is much preferable to have most of the
text accurate and searchable (and all of it in the OCRed books available for
copying, cutting and pasting), rather than not having any searchable text
available at all (for the image-based PDFs on the PHD).
Third, to make sure the indices include every instance of a correctly OCRed
phrase or word, from the master index word list, the indices that will be
appended to the books will be in all lower case letters. This certainly does
not mean, even in the slightest, a disrespect or dishonor to our Lord when His
name appears this way in the indices (as nothing could be further from our
thoughts) -- it simply allows for greater indexing accuracy.
Puritan
HD OCRing Plan (Present and Future Bonuses)
We have planned to OCR all the books on the PHD which are in more modern font
styles, first, and we already have many of them completed, as we began some
time ago. OCRing these types of books first makes sense, as they can be OCRed
with the greatest accuracy. We also hope to eventually get to the older font
style books (which are a minority of the titles), likely after the PHD has
shipped. But, even among the smaller number of older books (where the OCR
accuracy is much lower), which are not likely to get OCRed before we begin
shipping the PHD, you may still OCR these files yourself using the OCR
feature in Acrobat Pro or other OCR programs.
Moreover, when, Lord willing, we do get to OCRing these older titles (with the
oldest typography), we can still make them available to you (along with the
updated database, so all the features in the screenshots above include these
books as they become available) via download to add to your Puritan HD -- for as previously noted just about everything
related to the Puritan HD has been constructed with the utmost flexibility in
mind, including the ability to update and upgrade the KnowledgeBase program,
the embedded database, the PDF (book), MP3 and video files (which means you
will be able to download new resources as the become available in the future,
and add them to you Puritan Hard Drive, with all the functionality related to
all the features upgraded and intact at the same time!).
Additionally, please keep in mind that even some
of the older books, originally published prior to the end of the seventeenth
century, have already been retype set and therefore can be accurately OCRed
(for the most part) and will be available with searchable text (and all the
other features related to searchable text) on the Puritan HD when it first
ships.
WANT MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW
PURITAN HARD DRIVE?
World-Class Software On Puritan Hard Drive
(Screenshots)
Searchable Text and Indexing On Puritan HD (With
Screenshots)
Multi-Volume Book Sets On Puritan HD
QUESTIONS?
PLEASE CALL US AT 1-780-450-3730 Or
Email swrb@swrb.com
We are here to serve you!
Secure Online Order
Form (Click Here Now!)
Or Call 780-450-3730 To Place Your Order
swrb@swrb.com
Voice: +1 780 450 3730 Fax: +1 780 468 1096
STILL WATERS REVIVAL BOOKS
Serving Christians worldwide (in over 100 countries) for 25+
years.
More select comment
on SWRB's two discontinued Reformation and Puritan Bookshelf CD sets (of 62
total CDs) follow. These CD sets were greatly inferior, in every way, to the
new SWRB Puritan Hard Drive, and the Puritan Hard Drive even costs less (and
gets you discounts on rare and new digital downloads in the future)!
"I have now had
several months to peruse the contents of the (SWRB) CD sets, and the experience
has been a feast for the soul. They have been invaluable to me in sermon
preparation and in improving personal and familial piety."
- Dr. Steven Dilday
"Thank you so
very much for the CDs. I am amazed at the quality and quantity of the
literature... I cannot imagine any other single thing being done by any man or
group of men in the earth today that is of such extensive, present, and
enduring value as this CD work is."
- Dr. B, Colorado,
USA
"You all are
doing a wonderful service by making all these materials so readily available.
Having them on my hard drive is BETTER than having access to a rare book library
with all of them in hand... I have found the CD set invaluable as a tool of
scholarship. So once again I commend you brothers for making it
available."
- Dr. E. Calvin
Beisner,
Knox Theological Seminary, Author and Associate Professor of Historical
Theology and Social Ethics
"In all
seriousness, this collection is almost impossible to describe. It has to be
seen to be believed. As a pastor, my library has just increased dramatically.
As a Ph.D. student in Puritan and Post-Reformation studies, I have immediate
access to many of the same works for which I would normally need to access
through rare book rooms of theological libraries."
- Yours for the
faith, Pastor David Owen Filson, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church (PCA),
Nashville, TN
"These
Puritan resources are the greatest I've ever seen. These eyes have never seen
anything greater than what you have produced except that old King James Bible.
I am sure that it will help me and others grow in the Lord and I can use it in
my Home School for my children. "
- Email from a
Customer in Georgia, USA
"The SWRB CDs
... have been an incredible source of spiritual delight and theological
pleasure. They were also an incomparable help in researching and writing my
countless M.Div. papers. My professors were always amazed at the rare book
quotations and relative obscurity of my sources. I still feel that I have
barely scratched the surface of what these books have to offer."
- Pastor Andrew
Underhile, Missionary in the Philippines
"(The)
great attainments (of the Second Reformation/Westminster Assembly) are rejected
largely because of ignorance. The best books on these subjects have not been
readily available; but (thanks be to God) they are available again on these CD
sets. For anyone interested in recovering our Presbyterian past, these CD sets
are a must.
- Dr. Steven Dilday
"Still Waters
has done our community a great service by making the English Puritan classics
available on CD. I treasure the copies on my desk and I use what I have continually."
- Dr. Edwin P.
Elliott, Jr., Managing Editor of the Christian Observer, Director of the
Christian Observer News Service
"I cannot
express the depth of my gratitude to you and your staff for the massive work
you have done on the Reformation... Bookshelf CD series. Your compilation -- in
addition to tripling the total size of my personal library -- has already
encouraged me greatly in the development of the habit of family worship in my
home. Your contribution to Christ's Church is of inestimable value, and I am
sharing your materials with every serious Christian I can find. My Pastor was
ecstatic to receive his copy."
- Neil Barham (USA)
"I appreciate
the work that you are doing at SWRB. The availability of old ministry on the
CDs is truly remarkable and at such good prices. I have been
blessed in my own reading and also sermon preparation help... Keep up the good
work, it is truly appreciated and I am sure people like myself are being helped
and you will never know the blessing your ministry is until you get home to
glory."
-Your Brother in
Christ, AMT, (Email for a Baptist Brother in Ontario, Canada)
"I just
received the CD's in the mail to day. I am overwhelmed! It was Dr. Richard A.
Muller at Calvin Theological Seminary who first pointed out your website for
access to documents that would otherwise be unavailable or unattainable. I am
looking forward to reading the material by Beza and Twisse!"
- Email from
Richard Chelvan, USA.
"A good
man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children…" (Prov. 13:22a)
WANT MUCH MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW
PURITAN HARD DRIVE?
Download free PDF listings of the
contents of SWRB's new REFORMATION HARD DRIVE using the three links provided
below:
CATEGORY LISTING in PDF for All 12,500+
Reformation Resources (Classic and Contemporary Puritan Books as PDFs,
Reformation Sermon and Audio Book MP3s, and Reformed Videos) on the NEW SWRB
REFORMATION HARD DRIVE (4,538 Pages)
http://www.PuritanDownloads.com/SWRB-Puritan-Hard-Drive-Categories.pdf
AUTHOR LISTING in PDF for All 12,500+
Reformation Resources (Classic and Contemporary Puritan Books as PDFs,
Reformation Sermon and Audio Book MP3s, and Reformed Videos) on the NEW SWRB
REFORMATION HARD DRIVE (813 Pages)
http://www.PuritanDownloads.com/SWRB-Puritan-Hard-Drive-Authors.pdf
http://www.puritandownloads.com/SWRB-Puritan-Hard-Drive-Classic-Puritan-Reformed-Sets-Category.pdf
TITLE LISTING in PDF for All 12,500+ Reformation
Resources (Classic and Contemporary Puritan Books as PDFs, Reformation Sermon
and Audio Book MP3s, and Reformed Videos) on the NEW SWRB REFORMATION HARD
DRIVE (545 Pages)
http://www.PuritanDownloads.com/SWRB-Puritan-Hard-Drive-Titles.pdf
"Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
Calvinism
and the Sovereignty of God