Timothy Butler of Open for Business has written an excellent review of Accordance which focuses on its usefulness for basic Bible study. As I’ve opined before, most software “reviews” are little more than a regurgitation of the developers’ own marketing blurbs. As someone who has written a few software reviews myself, I understand why that is: writing a good review is hard work. It means taking the time to learn how to use a program competently and thinking through how well it meets the needs of its intended audience. Butler has clearly done the hard work required to write a thorough and insightful review.
Butler begins by asking why anyone would want to purchase Bible study software when so many Bible study materials are freely available online. He provides a partial answer to that question by the end of the article, but since this is the first in a multipart series of posts, we’ll have to wait until he’s finished his review to read his final conclusions. I look forward to reading his next installment.