The origin of The Color-coded Bible, Library, and Study System.
“My father was instrumental encouraging me during my early teenage years to begin color-coding my Bible using colored pencils. My childhood Bible given to me on my fifth birthday, which I still have in my possession even though it is not in the best of shape, continues to provide evidence of my earliest color-coding. For my sixteenth birthday, Mom and Dad offered to buy me my choice of a new study Bible. We went to the local Christian bookstore and looked over what was available at the time. I fell in love with the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, King James Version. Very shortly after that, I bought a new pack of colored pencils, and began to color-code my new Bible. By the time that I was thirty-two, my first Thompson Chain Reference Bible began to fall apart from use, so I replaced it with a new one. Once again I had to color-code the new copy. During those two times that I had to re-color-code a new Bible, I wished two things: first, that I could color-code a new Bible just one more time and never have to do it again, and second, that I could color-code my personal Bible to the extent that I truly wanted to, not being limited by the number of colored pencils in a package whose colors could be easily discernable in my Bible (a problem which had plagued my previous color-coding). With the advent of the personal computer the opportunity that I had longed for was at my fingertips. My second oldest son, Joseph Ray, was heavy into computers, and he opened my eyes to the wonderful capabilities of the word processor, in particular, its ability to use combinations of colors, styles and formatting. Sometime in early 2003 I obtained a digital copy of a King James Bible, and embarked upon a quest, so to speak, to color-code my Bible in the manner I always had wanted. The first edition of my Color-coded King James Bible was completed in April 2004, and since then, as the various studies have progressed, I am currently producing edition 14. From a meager beginning with maybe six colored pencils to work with, my color-code now has over 175 different color and formatting schemes. Never again will I have to start from scratch with a new Bible, so long as I am willing to use my digital copy. The Color-coded Bible may be printed out into looseleaf form anytime that I feel the need to update my hard copy with the notes and revisions that have been made. But the color-coding is just the beginning of the wonderful capabilities that the word processor offers. Searching for words, phrases, and/or verses is now just a matter of a few keystrokes. If my eyes are bothering me today, the font size of the entire document can be easily increased without changing the file saved on my computer.
“My father was instrumental encouraging me during my early teenage years to begin color-coding my Bible using colored pencils. My childhood Bible given to me on my fifth birthday, which I still have in my possession even though it is not in the best of shape, continues to provide evidence of my earliest color-coding. For my sixteenth birthday, Mom and Dad offered to buy me my choice of a new study Bible. We went to the local Christian bookstore and looked over what was available at the time. I fell in love with the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, King James Version. Very shortly after that, I bought a new pack of colored pencils, and began to color-code my new Bible. By the time that I was thirty-two, my first Thompson Chain Reference Bible began to fall apart from use, so I replaced it with a new one. Once again I had to color-code the new copy. During those two times that I had to re-color-code a new Bible, I wished two things: first, that I could color-code a new Bible just one more time and never have to do it again, and second, that I could color-code my personal Bible to the extent that I truly wanted to, not being limited by the number of colored pencils in a package whose colors could be easily discernable in my Bible (a problem which had plagued my previous color-coding). With the advent of the personal computer the opportunity that I had longed for was at my fingertips. My second oldest son, Joseph Ray, was heavy into computers, and he opened my eyes to the wonderful capabilities of the word processor, in particular, its ability to use combinations of colors, styles and formatting. Sometime in early 2003 I obtained a digital copy of a King James Bible, and embarked upon a quest, so to speak, to color-code my Bible in the manner I always had wanted. The first edition of my Color-coded King James Bible was completed in April 2004, and since then, as the various studies have progressed, I am currently producing edition 14. From a meager beginning with maybe six colored pencils to work with, my color-code now has over 175 different color and formatting schemes. Never again will I have to start from scratch with a new Bible, so long as I am willing to use my digital copy. The Color-coded Bible may be printed out into looseleaf form anytime that I feel the need to update my hard copy with the notes and revisions that have been made. But the color-coding is just the beginning of the wonderful capabilities that the word processor offers. Searching for words, phrases, and/or verses is now just a matter of a few keystrokes. If my eyes are bothering me today, the font size of the entire document can be easily increased without changing the file saved on my computer.
The above picture shows my very first color-code in my childhood Bible.
The above picture shows the color-code key card that was placed in my two Thompson Chain Reference Bibles and served me for over thirty years.
Dan Hopkinson is available to share with your church congregation the benefits of marking or color-coding
their Bibles. Why not schedule a special service for the near future?
their Bibles. Why not schedule a special service for the near future?