Been a little quiet here recently, since I’ve been working on a new project. The other day, I was looking for a Bible dictionary on the Internet, and couldn’t seem to really find what I was looking for. I did find the Compass Wiki, which is more like a Theological dictionary. In other words, it’s more likely to have articles on transubstantiation than Abraham.

So, not one to wallow in misery, I looked at what I would need to do to create my own open content Bible dictionary. I downloaded the MediaWiki software (that’s the software that powers Wikipedia.org), and installed it on my webserver.

I started out creating some text on a main page, and then writing up a few articles on Joshua, Caleb, and Abraham to try out some of the features of the software, and it’s pretty cool.

One of the cool features is the autoformatting, so you don’t have to learn XML in order to edit the pages. The most commonly used markups (bold, italics, hyperlinks) are all icons on the editing screen, and it’s easy to create multi-sectioned articles. The software even creates a table of contents for you automatically.

So, if you’re interested in the concept of on online Bible dictionary, check it out. I’ll decide on my level of committment over the next few weeks, but check it out if you have time, and even try your hand at writing some articles.