Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (Digital Edition)

It finally arrived!

After weeks of waiting and then dealing with a shipping snag, this afternoon a new Lutheran addition to my Libronix Digital Library System arrived at my doorstep. I finally got my copy of Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions on CD-ROM (The 2nd Edition)!

Earlier this month, Concordia Publishing House (CPH) released the Libronix version of their new Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord. Since I just got it today, I’ve only been able to check out a few of its amazing tools, but personally, I’m blown away by what you’re capable of doing. Some highlights I’ve discovered already:

• A Book of Concord Reading Guide: The daily reading guide from the print edition can also be found in the digital edition AND can be easily used on your computer for your own daily confessional readings! The easy readability of this edition of the Book of Concord will, God-willing, make the Lutheran Confessions more accessible to called workers and laymen alike!

• Links to Luther’s Works: Back in late 2001, I was able to purchase Luther’s Works on CD-ROM, which tied right into Libronix. Besides saving me a ton of bookshelf space, it has proven time and again to be a fantastic resource to search the works of Luther in a quick fashion. In CPH’s Concordia Digital Edition you can find easy links between the Book of Concord AND Luther’s Works! Very cool!

• Woodcuts: One of the neatest aspects of the print edition of Concordia was the variety of appropriate woodcuts and artwork from the era of the Lutheran Reformation up through the 1580 publication of the Book of Concord. In the digital edition, CPH did include all the woodcuts that were in the text of the print edition, a fact I appreciate as these woodcuts were often included in printings of the Book of Concord centuries ago.

• Triglotta and Concordia Together: One of the desires expressed in our circles, including in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly and even in comments on this blog, was that the new Reader’s Edition might eventually replace the old, wooden English translation of Bente & Dau alongside the Latin and German in an updated Concordia Triglotta. Though such an update does not exist in print, if you own the Concordia Reader’s Edition and the Logos edition of the Concordia Triglotta from Northwestern Publishing House (now being updated and upgraded to mesh better with Libronix and soon to be part of The Northwestern Publishing House Electronic Library), you can actually link up the new English translation with the Latin and German editions from the Triglotta (as well as the more literal English translation of Bente & Dau, if one so desires!). It makes for a very cool setup for the study of the Lutheran Confessions.

As I said, these are just a few of the amazing tools I’ve discovered for myself. There’s plenty more I’m sure I’ll uncover in the future. If you use Libronix or even if you don’t have it (you can install the Reader’s Edition independently onto your computer), I would definitely recommend getting your hands on the digital edition of Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions on CD-ROM.

One other reminder/encouragement/note: If you’ve used Libronix for a while or are just getting into it, I recommend joining the Logos for Lutherans group. Pr. Aaron Frey, who teaches Winterim courses on the use of Libronix for the pastoral ministry at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, started the group back in January and since then, the group has grown to nearly 100 members. The group was created to help confessional Lutherans, especially confessional Lutheran pastors and seminary students, in learning how to use Libronix for the study of the original languages. Besides joining in the discussions amongst the group, you’ll also find helpful links, various resources and great ideas as you use Libronix to study the Word of God and share its treasures with your flock. I’ve included the group site under my links.