There are plenty of study Bibles out there. Google "Christianbook" for a site that will offer lots. I myself use the ESV Study Bible, which has excellent notes, charts, maps and graphs.
A good study Bible will provide footnotes and commentary about the origin of a passage, what it meant to people at the time of its writing, how certain words have been interpreted, and so on. Your post, Foreign visitor, prompted (did I just use that word?) a question: Are there, or have there ever been, "study" editions on the Book of Mormon? Doctrines & Discourses?
Just for the sake of silliness, how would somebody go about creating a study edition (or guide) to the Pearl of Great Price? The Book of Abraham?
And would such a party run afoul of the masters at "Intellectual" Reserve?
It is claimed by some that the Bible was divinely directed and is God's perfect word. If that's so, why didn't He direct the creation of a Bible that doesn't require study and expert guidance to fully understand?
olderelder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It is claimed by some that the Bible was divinely > directed and is God's perfect word. If that's so, > why didn't He direct the creation of a Bible that > doesn't require study and expert guidance to fully > understand?
Indeed. One would think a an infallible, omniscient being could craft a perfectly clear message. Rather than, you know, texts in dead languages, with no surviving originals, written by authors that cannot be ascertained in most cases, with contradictions galore, that have spawned tens of thousands of different sects with endless varieties of interpretations, but all claiming the Truth™.