Ministry and website
Why the name “BibleDocs”?
It is accepted good practice (as well as my own opinion) that URLs of websites should be generally descriptive of their content. It also helps if they are as short as possible, for a variety of reasons (such as being easier to remember and easier to type).
Put simply, this website primarily contains documents centered around the Bible. Hence BibleDocs. This URL is both descriptive and short.
Having a dash in the URL would make it more cumbersome to share orally – to avoid ambiguity, the URL would have to be read “Bible dash docs dot org.” As it is, it can be read simply as “Bible docs dot org,” and people will tend to automatically type in the correct address (without a dash) when they get to their computer.
Why .org not .com?
This site is dedicated to Bible teaching, offered freely to all; this is a ministry of grace. Traditionally, .com domains were the province of commercial entities, while .org domains were the province of nonprofits. Over time, many people started using .coms for everything, including nonprofit work, and they became more dominant.
However, since it seems to me that .org domains do not present recognizability problems for people who are less technically savvy (contrast less-well-known alternate global top level domains like .io and .co, as used by some startups), and are unambiguous with respect to commercial intent (unlike .com domains), it makes sense for this site, which is firmly in the nonprofit camp, to use a .org domain.
Why have fancy web design? Does the shininess take away from the content?
Compared to Ichthys, say, this website has a bit more interface sparkle. I have taken care to keep content pages entirely text-centric with no unnecessary interface distractions; the shininess most assuredly does not take away from the content. Most of the more complicated interface bits show up on the home page, which has some fancier content sectioning and grids of image links.
The idea behind this is not any sort of “marketing-first” approach (this sort of thing makes me completely nauseous when I encounter it on other Christian websites – all style and no substance), but simply to use modern web design so that the interface does not present a stumbling block to anyone. Put simply, for better or worse, some people are put off by a website that is “too 1990s,” so I have just made the website look more like most other modern websites.
People who don’t care about interface (i.e., the people that would be fine with a home page containing nothing but lists of links embedded in text) aren’t going to care either way, but making things shinier will work out better for people who do care more about interface. The idea here is more or less along the lines of “being all things to all people” (compare 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
I’m also a web applications developer by day. What can I say?
Who is behind this ministry?
This ministry is currently a one-man operation run by me, Steven Tammen. You can read more about me specifically on the about the author page.
Does this ministry accept donations or other financial support?
Not at present. I believe that others need the support a great deal more than me (see below).
In place of me, I hope people might consider these other needs within the body of Christ. Some of those I recommend below are my close friends, and helping them is in fact helping me.
Is this ministry associated with any denomination or group?
No. Further, as my formal Greek and Hebrew study was undertaken at the University of Georgia – a secular research university (rather than a seminary) – I do not even have a historical association with any denomination or group.
Broadly speaking, this ministry falls within the conservative evangelical tradition. However, it splits with much of contemporary Christianity on a number of points, such that I prefer to simply say that this ministry is what it is.
What syntax do you use in translations original to this site?
See the description of original translations on the Content Organization page.
Can I change the Bible version used in verse tagging?
Yes. You can change settings related to verse tagging on the settings page.
Connections and associations
You said you don’t take donations. Do you know of good causes?
For a variety of reasons, it is my opinion that believer-to-believer aid is best done directly (especially in our modern internet age, where giving via PayPal and the like is easy and secure). No matter how efficient a charity proper is (and some are in fact a whole lot better than others: see Charity Navigator), it will always have a lot more overhead than direct giving.
Contributing to others without any middlemen also allows you to directly see where your financial support is being used (contrast again charities proper). For us as Christians, spiritual ends are far more important than material ones; we are not here to ease economic distress, but to share the gospel that people might be saved, and to help them grow in the truth thereafter. Money that goes towards these spiritual ends is in truth much more important.
For this reason, I find it best to prioritize giving money to Christians who are legitimately in need of aid due to difficult material circumstances, and especially to Christians who are in need of money to help support their service to the body of Christ (by freeing up their time and attention to do ministry, for example). In line with the above discussion of the truth’s role in our giving, Bible teachers going about things the right way should be priority #1 in terms of people we support.
Towards these ends:
- A close friend of mine and fellow Bible teacher, Odii Ariwodo, could use your support. (You can email me at steven@bibledocs.org, and I’ll get you in touch).
- Another public teaching ministry that takes donations that I can recommend is Bible Academy.
- There are also other private individuals I support or help coordinate support for that I would be happy to get people in contact with. Again, you can email me at steven@bibledocs.org for more information.
Note that money is not the only way we can assist one another. I can help people set up ministry websites, for example. A contact of mine has helped another with some rehabilitation exercises based upon his experience as a personal fitness trainer. And so on.