Comments on: Redeeming the Ill-fated Re:Greek Project: a Call for Participation

By: pphhiilliip dduuttttoonn

pphhiilliip dduuttttoonn — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:04:04 +0000

Hi all.
I am in distress learning that zhubert.com is gone. A few years ago I discovered it. At the time I did not know anything about Biblical languages. I just used to browse the sight looking for potentially “cool” Koine phrases of which I entertained the idea of getting a tattoo. I was totally ignorant of how cool Koine is. Now I am studying Mounce’s “basics” books. I am learning for free from guys over at http://ad70.net/podcast/category/greek/ for free as they are teaching via a “live” Wednesday night internet radio show (and recorded podcast). People who love Koine go through so much sacrifice for their passion. Now I am getting bit by the Koine bug and started to code some web quizzes to help myself and other students. I am a 13 year software engineer veteran. I must say it is a challenge to work with polytonic Greek (finding fonts, working with unicode, dealing with emacs and my Dvorak keyboard layout, etc.). Well I hope to plug into the group of biblical-tech-geeks and with plenty of optimism I hope to contribute in any way possible. Blessings and Peace! ~flypaper

By: Noi pagini pentru limba greacă a Noului Testament « Marius Cruceru

Noi pagini pentru limba greacă a Noului Testament « Marius Cruceru — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:28:34 +0000

[...] Iată AICI o pagină interesantă…. și cîteva lămuriri. [...]

By: maria

maria — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:54:18 +0000

Thunk you for zhubert.com. I used it succesfully to prepare for seminars at the university. It was really great. I hope something like that will be created soon.

By: thomas

thomas — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:40:16 +0000

Is anyone taking the lead with an action plan?
Here’s a first draft:
1) create a legal foundation to carry on Zach’s idea (?done? = this site?)
2) ask Zach & Co. if they are willing to donate all their existing software
3) assuming Yes(2), get it and install it on servers.
4) recruit a core team of volunteers (hopefully including Zach&Co).
5) recruit a legal consultant (re: NT copyright & intellectual property)
6) create an affordable-subscription-based entry portal (yes, most people will pay a small fee, even tho they wouldnt bother to make a donation; eg, i am a retiree with limited means, but would certainly send $25 from my Paypal to get things started).
7) legally notify the claimant (GBS) of intention to use their text as before, but offering a substantial % of the subscription for licensure; note our legal consultant’s opinion that their copyright claim is not valid nor enforceable in this case.
Track A: put the site back online, pending a judgement/stay by a court of law with valid jurisdiction
9) Track B: a ‘transition subteam’ of programmers will make the needed modifications to Zach’s interfaces in order to use other GNT versions; the legal consultant will help with contacting custodians of other GNT versions and obtaining permissions.
10) Merge(A&B): programmers will enable users to select which GNT version is the base; any version (such as the contested UBS4) that becomes unavailable would be easily disabled without fatal loss of site functionality.
11) [and (0)] ALL PRAY!!!

Let me add my thanks to Zach and all who have contributed. As a software professional, I am quite sure it is best to adapt his remarkable work as directly as possible, rather than start anew. I am confident that this project is worthy and achievable.

By: Laurel LaCivita

Laurel LaCivita — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:18:58 +0000

I am so sorry for the loss of Zhubert.com. The website encouraged me to take up my own self-study of ancient Greek after a lapse of 10 years, and, then,to begin formal study of ancient Greek in a University. The very great value of Zhubert.com was the concordance and myriad hyperlinkings of all the words and definitions. I loved to see all possible parsings or conjugations of each word, and to locate their usages in scripture. This functionality, which was freely given, is not the work of the German Bible Society or USB4, but of the creativity of the programmer who made it available. It made word study easy, and possible. It made scripture accessible. It provided the most comprehensive English to Greek concordance of the New Testament, which no one, as far as I can tell, has provided in print or online. I don’t understand why/how the German Bible society has the right to suppress such applications, which they do not provide. And, by the way, the German Bible Society’s USB4 Reader’s Edition (which I have purchased), is awesome, but, like any book, cannot provide the word analysis that was at your fingertips through Zhubert.com. If there is anything I can do to help transfer the functionality of Zhubert.com to another text as Westcott-Hort, as some others have proposed, let me know. Thank you Zack.

By: Markafeller

Markafeller — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:27:44 +0000

I am sadden by the loss however I expect things to get far worse over time. As there is an effort to regulate the content of the net for the left, to tax it or make such sites to costly to stay on. That the church would be up to its ears with dealing with the homeless and the cost from legal problems. Also add copy write laws could be changed to use fees that also would effect even public libraries. I think it is good to save what you read and need to your hard drive.

By: Germans try to OWN the Greek NT! - Christian Forums

Germans try to OWN the Greek NT! - Christian Forums — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:12:27 +0000

[...] info on this here: Redeeming the Ill-fated Re:Greek Project: a Call for Participation | Open Scriptures peace Nazaroo __________________ "Neither do I judge thee. Sin no more." (Jn [...]

By: Nazaroo

Nazaroo — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:58:21 +0000

We have been operating on the ‘open everything’ concept for many years, believing that Christians have the right and authority to give every kind of aid and assistance to one another absolutely free. The examples from Elisha & Acts inform us that “selling” the word of God or our help to fellow-Christians is basically wrong.
We have worked to provide exhaustive materials for the study of John’s Gospel which have been long out of print and out of copyright. We have used copyrighted material for analysis and review purposes, and we have created our own material for which the copyright has been organized under the GNU open license system.
By creating our own materials we have been able to provide copious materials and usable tools like online NT texts in several languages.
The attempt to prevent Christians from freely giving to one another and provide resources without charge to the world is “anti-Christ” and unbiblical.

peace
Nazaroo

By: Hal Hester

Hal Hester — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:22:14 +0000

Thanks to Zack and Weston. Your time and efforts are very appreciated. God bless you both

By: Todd Oeftger

Todd Oeftger — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:24:46 +0000

I have read all the posts and explanations for why zhubert.com was shut down, but it is still not clear why there is a copyright infringement.

Throughout the ages past, the word of God has been under attack, chained to a wall or left in the darkness of ancient languages to in order to keep it from the people. At the time it was the powerful church of Rome who desired to restrict access to the Bible lest the people discover her false teachings and cause her to loose her power over them. Yet it was then work of God’s reformers that brought the Word of God to an oppressed people.

Beginning with Jesus, who spoke the plain truth to the common citizen and came to his own town and read from Isaiah (See Luke 4:17-30):
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

But the people of the synagogue were filled with rage at his explanation and attempted to through him off a cliff. Later Paul brought the word of God to the Gentiles for the Jews refused to share it with them for fear of corruption. Ironically they became corrupt because of their fear and failure to share.

Before the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of the Bible in existence, but God had not suffered His word to be wholly destroyed. The word of God had for ages been locked up in languages known only to the learned; but a time had come for the Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different lands in their native tongue.

In John Wycliffe’s day the fountain of truth was closed to the uneducated classes of people. Wycliffe did not set himself deliberately in opposition to Rome. But devotion to truth could not but bring him in conflict with falsehood. He fearlessly accused the priesthood of having banished the Scriptures, and demanded that the Bible be restored to the people and that its authority be again established in the church. The papal leaders were filled with rage when they perceived that this reformer was gaining an influence greater than their own. Three papal bulls were dispatched to England, commanding immediate and decisive measures to silence the teacher of heresy. Defiance meant certain death at the stake. Yet, Wycliffe was emboldened by the promises in the word of God, “Fear not:… I am thy shield” (Gen. 15:1), and God stretched out his hand to protect His servant. For his work was to preach the Gospel to the poor. But the greatest work of his life was to the translation of the Scriptures into the English language. He desired that every man in England might read, in the language in which he was born, the wonderful works of God. The reformer feared not the prison or the stake. He had placed in the hands of the English people a light which should never be extinguished. In giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done more to break the fetters of ignorance and vice, more to liberate and elevate his country, than was ever achieved by the most brilliant victories on the field of battle. At the time there was no law in England prohibiting the Bible, for it had never before been published in the language of the people, which gave them an opportunity for the circulation of the word of God. The priest attempted to silence the reformer and his teachings by threatening his life unless he retract. But his final words to them were, “With whom, think you, are ye contending? with an old man on the brink of the grave? No! with Truth — Truth which is stronger than you and will overcome you.” For the, “Lord hath taught me rather to obey God than men.”

The study of the Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can. It gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and fortitude; it refines the character and sanctifies the soul. The Great Reformation was begun by the hand of God by empowering the people with the truth.

Wycliffe, Luther and other great reformers were up against an enormous established power and ignorance. Their goal was all the same, to get the undefiled word of God in the hands of the common people. Zhubert.com was doing the same, but was stopped by something as mundane as a copyright.

I for one was never educated in the Biblical languages, yet Zhubert.com empowered me to dig deep in the word of God like I had never done before. I was in the middle of study on the Biblical meaning of grace, from Genesis to Revelation. The Greek had become a valuable tool as got into Ephesian but I am now stopped at Titus. I had grown to depend upon the web site. I regret that I am unable to return to school at this time to take Greek and Hebrew.

I believe that the copyright problem needs to be challenged! Access to the Greek should be returned to the common people like myself. Who can know but God what great reforms will come from the free access to the truth in this easy to use form. Please, someone be bold and restore this site for us common folk that we might know more fully the word of God without depending upon the clergy and their imperfect interpretations.

Thanks.

(History on John Wycliffe was summarized from “The Great Controversy” by E G White, pages 79-96.)