Poll : Do you mark up your Bibles and/or books ?

[JimmyH]

I suppose many of the members of PB buy used books. I have been building a library and have, in the past, had an aversion to underlining, highlighting or margin notes In books. I will always ask the seller if it is not specified as to whether the text is 'clean'.

My old Scofield reference Bible bought new in 1986 has both underlining and margin notes. I find this distracting, even though it is my own, but back then I thought that was the thing to do.

Now I have a wide margin NASB and I underline text in red and since it is a red letter edition, I underline works of our Lord in black. Margin notes where I feel the need. I absolutely will not 'mark up' any other Bible that I own, which is quite a few.

Of course if I were a pastor, preparing sermon outlines, I would probably use margin notes routinely. I have begun using underlining and margin notes in books. I use pencil so that in the future, if the books change hands, the next owner can erase my marks if they choose.

I also will note the important, to me, page numbers on the front endpaper of said book. I'll write the page number and a word or two synopsis of what I feel is important to refer to on said page. This is my solution to being able to access material, that I feel is important, at a later date.

If anyone has their own thoughts on this to contribute to the thread please do.

 

[JimmyH]

If any mod/admin sees this thread and can change the poll to multiple choice, it would be appreciated. I just didn't think of it until I had already pulled the trigger, figuratively speaking.

If I had it to do over I would have included choices such as, underline but no highlighting, pencil but not pen ........ if not, no biggie. TIA.

 

[Shawn Mathis]

How about the first three options together? I used to keep my bible pristine and then I realized the book is not a museum piece but a tool to help me get closer to God. Now I mark it up and even cross-reference it. I also added topical index on the extra white-sheets for handy reference on church, salvation, etc.

 

[Eoghan]

I recently recovered a NASB 77 and would hope to pass it on to my son. I would not want to pass on a marked Bible. I doubt very much that Bibles were ever marked up. Only with the advent of mass printing does it become possible. On the whole I want a minimalist text not red letter (we really don't know exactly what was said by Christ)and without headings that influence the reading. Cross references yes, footnotes yes but a clean text.

 

[Rich Koster]

I picked other because I highlight, underline and scribble notes, at will.

 

[JimmyH]

How about the first three options together? I used to keep my bible pristine and then I realized the book is not a museum piece but a tool to help me get closer to God. Now I mark it up and even cross-reference it. I also added topical index on the extra white-sheets for handy reference on church, salvation, etc.

This is what I am now doing with the wide margin NASB that is reserved for that purpose. When I look at the old Scofield that I got saved with, the text, not the Scofield notes, I see what I underlined at the time. Most of it was the "right" stuff to underline, but if I was going to underline everything that was important there would be more underlined than not.

Marginal comments I made back then seem to be more devotional than informational or educational. What I'm doing in my wide margin now is harvesting informational additions out of commentaries, sermons, or realizations that the Spirit provides. So for that one Bible I hope to use it wisely in terms of what I 'mark up'.

As to books, reading through Reverend D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 8 volume commentary on Ephesians there were so many instances where I wanted to go back and re-read what he had said on specific points. So I finally began, as previously mentioned, noting the page number and topic on the fly leaf. Also possibly pencil underling and/or margin notes.

 

[gkterry]

I picked other because it depends. I have a Local Church Pub Notetakers Bible that is single column text with a similar column for notes. That one I mark up. Most other Bibles I don't and rarely do I mark up books. Sometimes, I place notepaper in the front of a book with references to passages I found interesting.

 

[jambo]

I have one wide margined bible that I use for notes be it underlining, highlighting or making marginal notes. Now with electronic versions I now use those and am currently transferring all my notes.

 

[Hamalas]

I'm kind of schizophrenic on this issue. I do not underline or mark up my Bible, literary, or historical books but I do underline theological works and school books. I honestly don't know why.

 

[Tyrese]

I use blue grease highlighters because you can erase the markings if necessary. I also use a wide margin Cambridge Bible.

 

[Scottish Lass]

Wide-margin notes plus underlined text.

 

[reaganmarsh]

I underline, highlight, and make marginal notes freely in my Bibles.

 

[Frosty]

Ladies and gentlemen, have you not heard:

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
-Revelation 22:18



When I was a kid this was the reason I never even thought about writing in my Bible!

Do it all the time now.

 

[ZackF]

Here and there. Mrs F seems to highlight/underline everything. I've asked her in jest if she just pays attention to what she doesn't mark.

 

[sevenzedek]

I don't need to write in my Bible and most of my books. I type everything into my iPhone or iPad because I am able to complete my thoughts by writing extensively. I can even search my notes. I have even pasted quotes from discussions on this board (Is that against the rules?) I also take sermon notes on my phone. I have a friend who does the same at church. Someone asked him why he goes to church as he is constantly on his phone. He thanked him for the concern and gently corrected him. I used to write notes in my Bible, but I found them terribly distracting.

 

[Rich Koster]

One more thing: I find post-it notes very useful when preparing for a one-time thing. It marks the various spots I want to visit, and I can put comments on the post-it too. You can even "color code" using them for various purposes, or dividing it into several portions.

 

[sevenzedek]

For those who are really crafty, bible tape and tracing paper would allow one to add folding leaves to a wide margin bible. This is one way that notes could be written more extensively in a paper bible. This technique can also be used to add whole sheets of paper to a Bible for note-taking. I had a pastor who did such things.

Another technique I used to employ for a paper Bible is a numbering system in conjunction with a journal. I would write the reference number in margin/text and the journal. Then, in the journal, I would write as many words next to the reference number as I desired.

Edwards made an interleaf Bible for himself (he also used "post-it" notes). There are interleaf Bibles for purchase online. There are also instructions for making one homemade.

Using an electronic Bible has made the inconveniences of the aforementioned techniques unnecessary.

 

[GloriousBoaz]

I write in my books but not my bible, my Spurgeon commentary set has its own system of symbols for quick reference I invented i.e. things like Church History, or Trinitarian doctrine, or TULIP, or naturalistic metaphors, etc but lately I haven't been writing because I'm trying to read more and it slows me down a lot. I'm trying to better figure out what is essential reading and what is not because as it is I calculated it and it will take me about 8 years at the pace I am at to read all of the books I own, and I still want to buy lots more books. But I want to be able to retain, in my memory, the info so I don't want to read too fast. Any suggestions are welcome for my dilemma.

 

[CuriousNdenver]

I write notes and underline, with a super-fine point pen that won't bleed through the pages.

I have found it helpful to read some of the notes later.

I also make prolific notes and highlight everything I read in my Kindle.

 

[JimmyH]

Using an electronic Bible has made the inconveniences of the aforementioned techniques unnecessary.

Maybe it is my age, or simply bullheadedness, but I prefer a 'book' to an electronic gizmo. Perhaps I will change in that regard. The droid and tapatalk are very convenient for reading forums, but I still do all of my Bible and book reading in hard copy.

 

[Steve Curtis]

I picked other because I highlight, underline and scribble notes, at will.

This.

 

[Free Christian]

Could never bring myself to mark or write on my Bible. Have never wanted to! Not telling others what to do, what others do is up to them. But I treat the Bible as a precious gem.

 

[Logan]

I never write in any of my books. Just can't do it. If I like a specific quote or find a section particularly helpful then I will write the page and paragraph number on a slip of paper and keep that in the front of the book for future reference.

Jimmy, I felt much the same but the e-paper Kindle really is quite convenient. I hate to read on a computer or tablet but probably 95%of my reading is now done on Kindle.

 

[davdavis]

I chose the first, though I actually do all three. In part because I do it compulsively in all books I own.
I really Like the Old Hard backed NIV pew bibles because their thick pages and layout made notes and highlighting
easy. I spent several months with a Kindle bible but could never really get used to it. Showing my age I guess.

David Davis
PCA Montgomery
Dave,s Ravings

 

[baron]

I just can't mark up a (text) bible. But I do underline or highlite my kindle all the time. Also I enjoy books that are marked up or highlited by other people, including bibles.

 

[sevenzedek]

If anyone is interested in writing in books and Bibles with a quality pen, I found that Pigma Micron markers were the best. They come in the smallest of tip sizes. They also use pigments. Pigments stay on the surface of the paper and bleed through very, very little. I would discourage using ball point pens because they will eventually seep into the other side of the page years down the road and appear blurry.