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Bible Note Taking

I make notes in a Field Notes journal permanently tucked into my Cornerstone Ultrathin bible. CU paper is typically very thin but FP friendly. My challenge when making notes in the bible is usually trying to cram words into limited space. I use medium or broad nibs, so reversing the nib works very well for me.
 
I make notes in a Field Notes journal permanently tucked into my Cornerstone Ultrathin bible. CU paper is typically very thin but FP friendly. My challenge when making notes in the bible is usually trying to cram words into limited space. I use medium or broad nibs, so reversing the nib works very well for me.

You find Field Notes journals work well with FP's? That's cool. I was always under the impression that they did not–lots of feathering, etc. I may have to try one.
 
I'm not a bible person either, but I can't imagine desecrating the pages by putting notes on it...

I know this is a belief held by Muslims as well as Jews about the holiness of the physical book. For the most part Christians believe it's the words themselves that are holy, not the medium which holds the words. The words are God-breathed whether printed on a $10,000 hand-scribed or $8 paperback Bible. This is why the explosion of digital versions of the Bible in addition to people making notations in theirs.

If I spend a large sum I want to keep it in good shape for as long as possible. In that case I would not mark it up in order to preserve it.
 
You find Field Notes journals work well with FP's? That's cool. I was always under the impression that they did not–lots of feathering, etc. I may have to try one.

To be honest, Field Notes journals are not the very best for FPs, but i needed thin journals that could be tucked into the bible without creating too much of a bulge.
 
I can't write in mine with a fp for all the bleed through. So I use that as an excuse to go buy another nice notebook, lol. I use the Black 'n' Red hardback notebooks/journals from Office Depot. Unless you're just determined to write in it with a fp, I'd use a pencil for annotations on the pages and then get a nice notebook for sermon notes.
 
I have a Crossway large-print ESV with leather cover, sewn binding. The only writing in my Bible is in the Psalms to note the reading cycle -- we use a lectionary, and there are Psalms appointed for each day of the month. Each Psalm has a value next to the chapter denoting the day of the month and time of day it is appointed to be read. For instance, Psalm 1 is "1M" for "Day 1, Morning Prayer."

Other than that, I have some notes on the blank pages at the beginning and end of the binding with my name and important events for those close to me (births, baptisms, marriages, deaths).

All these notes have been done with a Hero 1000 (very fine nib) and Noodler's X-Feather. The thicker pages at the front and back of the binding show no ghosting, but the thin paper on which the Bible itself is printed does ghost a bit (with no bleed-through). I keep a separate journal for note-taking and sermon prep.
 
It took a lot for me to overcome the hesitancy to mark in my Bible--not because it is a Bible, but I've just always felt that way about any book. I have a crossway journaling Bible that has large margins for taking notes. Most of the notes I make are related to apologetic notes since I carry this Bible with me when doing street ministry. I tried using FPs to make notes, but even with the heavier paper of this printing, the bleed through was too bad. Pencil seems to work well, but also winds up being to feint to read under night skies.
 
Definitely up-voting the idea of pencils or colour pencils. I've used both. A long time back I had some high-lighters that were made specifically for bible use, they were great. I got them from a bible book store, but haven't seen them since. I just looked on the web now and they are available. You might like this site for ideas: http://jamedders.com/the-best-pens-highlighters-for-your-bible/

I'm not a believer any more, but have kept three of my bibles. A child's book of parables, with no verse divisions, and beautiful illustrations, and not written in. My Good News Bible I've had since I was a teenager, it has tons of quotes I wrote in ballpoint pen on any blank page that I could find. It has stickers in it. I mostly used pencil on it, but in some areas shaded with pencil, or drew heavy versus light lines, so in some spots it just has an overall grey look. This is the one I used the high-lighters on and they worked very well, but the Good News has thicker pages than a lot of other bibles. I also used colour pencils, but not to high-light... I started colouring in all the black/white illustrations. And my red-letter KJV that my folks gave me. It has a few light pencil marks here and there. I always liked the red-letter version, because I was/am always more interested in what Jesus had to say, then in what others said about him.

I can't ever, ever, ever imagine writing in a book with a fountain pen or nibbed pen, but then again, I can barely use them on loose-leaf without messing up. I would so worry about spills, blotches, and bleed-through that it wouldn't be worth it to me.

As to those mentioning to mark or not to mark. Earlier Christian churches definitely valued and took care of their bibles, same as the Jews and Muslims, and probably any other religion that had written texts. I don't think any of those groups saw the paper/ink as holy, so much as taking care of vessel the words were written on.

I don't know if modern religious books are written on or not, in other traditions, but I imagine it is likely similar to Christians.... some like pristine, some like to look at the book as workbook of life to be written in. Probably both avoid writing in more decorated/fancy versions. No one that gets a replica of The Book of Kells is likely to be getting out their pens and markers (http://www.addisonpublications.com/book_of_kells.html).

While the idea that the words are holy, not the book, is somewhat prevalent, it applies to religions other than just Christianity. As well, in some Christian circles, reverence for 'the book' can border on superstitious: it can't lay on the floor, if it is on a table no other book can be on top of it, and so on.

I do have some fountain pen stuff I've used and I did get some nibbed pens, but I haven't tried them. I'm not sure if I'll be keeping them, but if I do, I imagine I'll eventually be showing up on the 'writing' section of BnB.
 
I use colored pencils/scripture markers to obviously make highlights of specific verses. I have used fine pencils or even pens from time to time to make notes in the margins.
 
My grandfather passed away a month ago and my dad told me last night while going through his things they found my great grandmother's old bible. It was falling apart and had notes written all through it. I can't wait to see it and read the things she thought were important enough to write down. I don't usually write in books, but I can see the value of something like this when it's left for future generations to appreciate. I'm also curious to see what kind of ink/pencil/etc she used!

I would have it professionally rebound. You will never regret it.
 
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