Many Accordance users (myself included) will state that one of their favorite commentary series is the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Today, we are releasing a “sequel series” (a term also used by InterVarsity Press), the Reformation Commentary on Scripture. No doubt, this series will also become a favorite as it offers a second means of “reading the Bible with the dead” (as first termed by General Editor John L. Thompson).
Together with the previously released ACCS, the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) is “committed to the renewal of the church through careful study and meditative reflection on the Old and New Testaments, the charter documents of Christianity, read in the context of the worshiping, believing community of faith across the centuries” (General Introduction). Together, these series have been developed as a “corrective to…the imperialism of the present”—that is, the tendency among modern readers only to value and read the most recent biblical interpretations. I have previously admitted my own faulty bias in this regard in years’ past.
Click/tap on the image above for a larger view
of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture.
As an example (see accompanying screenshot), I chose a passage that I recently taught in my church: Acts 5:1-11. This is the very difficult passage (at least to most of us moderns) about the deception made by Ananias and Saphira and their immediate judgment. The provided commentary in RCS comes from the following individuals and documents of the Reformation era (note the wide diversity of this list):
- Desiderius Erasmus
- Johannes Brenz
- John Trapp
- Otto Brunfels
- John Calvin
- The Bohemian Confession of 1535
- Konrad Pellikan
- “The English Annotations”
- Peter Riedemann
- Dirk Philips
- Second Helvetic Confession
A number of the above individuals/sources are quoted more than once. Although I had more than my required number of church history classes years ago in seminary, and despite that I feel fairly well-read on the subject, I admit that I wasn’t familiar with some of these individuals. Fortunately, however, because this is commentary series in Accordance, I could quickly get information on any individual because all names and sources are hyperlinked. Simply moving a mouse over a name/title (or pressing on it in iOS) revealed pertinent information in Instant Details. Clearly this is a resource from which readers will not only learn about the Bible, but learn about the Reformers as well.
The RCS will eventually comprise 28 volumes covering both Old and New Testaments of the Protestant Canon. Currently, there are 9 of these volumes available in print–and now in Accordance. Biblical quotations in RCS are from the English Standard Version (a modern translation in the “Tyndale” lineage of Bible versions); but as with any commentary in Accordance, users can place it in parallel with any biblical text or translation of their choosing.
Note: Accordance will offer new additions to this remarkable series from IVP at upgrade prices as they become available, with an estimate of two new volumes being added each year.
I have no doubt that the Reformation Commentary on Scripture will become a favorite like its predecessor, the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. For a limited time, Accordance users can get this new release at discounted introductory pricing.
