AGES Software

In the world of Bible study software, you have products at the Macy's level, the Target level, the Wal-mart level, and the flea market level.

I want to tell you about a good flea market software.

The good folks at AGES have put a lot of "oldies but goodies" into pdf format. Real text pdfs, not single-image-per-page pdfs that aren't searchable. You can get sermons, commentaries, theology, and classics at a fraction of what you'd pay for other software.

How fractional are we talking? The Works of Charles Spurgeon, currently on sale for $700 through Logos, costs $20 from AGES and $11 if you buy it from DiscountBible.com.

You can get Calvin, Wesley, Augustine, Bunyan, the Talmud, and more in pdf from AGES.

There's even a nifty collection available from ChristianBook.com with a little bit of everything.

The fact that these files are pdf-based means that they will also work on many PDAs and smartphones, plus the Kindle. So unlike most of the offerings out there, these can go with you anywhere you have the urge to read some Spurgeon, Finney, or Tertullian.

Is there a down side? Sure. The search in Adobe Reader is certainly not as powerful as in most Bible study programs. For instance, Logos lets you search your dozens (or thousands) of resources all at once from one screen complete with hyperlinks. It's great. It's also expensive.

But if you're interested in reading the greats of years gone by, but don't want (or have) to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend the AGES products.