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    Theology: Theology Sources (UNV-505)

    This guide highlights library and internet resources relevant to Theology and Christian Studies at Grand Canyon University, including online article databases, electronic books, and more.

    Finding Sources for a Bibliography

    Your bibliography assignment will require finding different types of sources.

    Journal Articles

    For assistance finding peer-reviewed journal articles and an introduction to the ATLA database, visit the Find Journal Articles page on the Theology guide. 

    Books & Book Chapters: Research in Depth

    Books are an excellent choice for in-depth information about a topic, as well as background, overviews, and history. 

    Why talk about books and book chapters  separately? They're cited differently! Many scholarly books have different authors for every chapter, as many scholarly books are a collection of individual research essays or research papers.

    Book chaptersare cited individually when different chapters in a book have different authors. This allows the actual author of the content to be listed first, rather than the editor of the book. 

    Books with one author, or authors that wrote the whole book together, are cited in their entirety, no matter if you used one chapter or many chapters. 

    Important note: when assignments ask for books, ebooks are always acceptable. The GCU Library's book collection focuses on ebooks so all students can access them, with over 195,000 ebook titles.

    A scholarly book will:

    • Be written by an expert, scientist, or academic.
    • Be published by a scholarly or academic press.
    • May be a collection of research papers by several different authors.
    • Be written for an academic audience, not for the general public.

    To locate a book chapter, you will need to search for an edited book with different authors for each chapter. You can locate books like this by adding 'edited' to your search:

    1. Enter your basic search term.
    2. On the results page, click Advanced Search. ​
    3. Add ' edited' to the second search box.
    4. Search.
      the advanced search provides two search boxes

    Tips for Searching

    • Books tend to be on broader subjects.
    • If you don't find a book on your narrow topic, look for a broader one.
      • for example: prodigal sonis too narrow, search parablesinstead.

    Search For Books

    Search LopeCat, the GCU Library Catalog (opens in new tab).

    Search for ebooks, print books, streaming media & more!

    How to search...?

    The most relevant results are found using the author's name using this format:

    Rogers, Carl

    Keep in mind, you may only have the first initial of the author. For example: Rogers, Carl may appear only as  Rogers, C.

    To locate an exact title, enclose the title with a set of quotation marks as shown here:

    "Casebook for a spiritual strategy in counseling and psychotherapy"

    The most relevant results are found using this format:

    psychotherapy OR therapy OR counseling
    Or
    "higher education" OR college OR university

    Use multiple keywords to represent the same concept or try multiple combinations and alternatives!

    For electronic books from  LopeCat, after you have entered your search terms,

    click on " Online Book " under the " Format" on the left side menu options.

    Bible Dictionaries

    Locating Bible Commentaries and Dictionaries

    What is a commentary?

    These are books that analyze the bible.  They are generally written for specific bible books but there are ones that cover the entire bible as well as some that cover the old testament and the new testament.  Many are comprehensive and will include information about the author of the book and its history (when it was written, where it was written, and to whom it was written).  A comprehensive commentary will include an analysis of every verse.

    What is a bible dictionary?

    These are structured like a normal dictionary.  Instead of defining words, they define biblical concepts.

    In the library's Catalog:

    Search for general commentaries with:

    Bible commentary

    and Dictionaries with:

    Bible dictionary

    Or Search the book and commentary like so:

    Psalms commentary

    Choose 'online book' on the left after you search to see only the ebooks. Find a print book you'd like to read? We ship for free! You can use a LopeCat Account to request books, find out more on the LopeCat Guide .

    Search LopeCat, the GCU Library Catalog (opens in new tab).

    Search for ebooks, print books, streaming media & more!

    Websites with Commentaries:

    Citing Reference Books & Book Chapters

    dictionaries like Biblical dictionaries are cited as books


    One Author, first edition

    Format for Note:

    Author’s First and Last Name, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    [*Note: If editor or translator is listed on the title page, use that name in the author slot, followed by ed. or trans.]

    Sample Note

    1. A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine (Camp Hill, PA: Wind Spread, 2006), 60.
    2. Tozer, The Pursuit, 6 1.
    3. Tozer, 61.

    Sample Bibliography Entry

    Tozer, A.W. The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine. Camp Hill, PA: Wind Spread, 2006.

    One Author, later edition

    Format for Note:

    Author’s First and Last Name, Title of Book, edition # ed. (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book.  edition # ed. Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    [*Note: If editor or translator is listed on the title page, use that name in the author slot, followed by ed. or trans.]

    Sample Note

    1. Kate L. Turabian,  A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 8th ed.  (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2013), 172.
    2. Turabian,  A Manual, 173.
    2. Turabian, 173.

    Sample Bibliography

    Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers,Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers.  8th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

    Two to Three Authors

    Format for Note:

    Authors’ First and Last Names, Title of Book (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    First Author’s Last, First Name, Second Author’s First and Last Name. Title of Book . Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    Sample Note

    1. Arthur F Glasser, Charles Van Engen and Dean S. Gilliland, Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible (Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003), 52.
    2. Glasser, Engen, and Gilliland, Announcing the Kingdom , 53.
    3. Glasser, Engen, and Gilliland, 53.

    Sample Bibliography Entry

    Glasser, Arthur F., Charles E. Van Engen, and Dean S. Gilliland, Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible . Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003.

    Four or More Authors

    Format for Note:

    First Author’s First and Last Name, et al., Title of Book (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    First Author’s Last, First Name, Other Author’s First and Last Name. Title of Book . Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication

    Sample Note

    1. Bernard B. Scott et al., Reading New Testament Greek (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993), 50.
    2. Scott et al., Reading, 51.
    3. Scott et al., 51.

    Sample Bibliography Entry

    Scott, Bernard B., Margaret Dean, Kristen Sparks, and Frances LaZar. Reading New Testament Greek. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993.

    Chapter in an Edited Book

    Format for Note:

    Chapter Author’s First and Last Name, “Title of Chapter,” Title of Book, ed. First and Last Names of editor(s) (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    Chapter Author’s Last, First Name. "Title of Chapter." In Title of Book, edited by Editor’s First and Last Name, Inclusive page numbers. Place Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    Sample Note

    1. Kenneth R. Calvert, “Why Educate? A Return to the Classical Christian Model,” in Christianity, Education, and Modern Society, ed. William Jeynes Enedina Martinez (Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2007), 68.
    2. Calvert, “Why Educate? ” 68.
    3. Calvert, 68.

    Sample Bibliography Entry

    Calvert, Kenneth R. “Why Educate? A Return to the Classical Christian Model,” in Christianity, Education, and Modern Society , edited by William Jeynes and Enedina Martinez, 67-89. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2007.

    Editor or Translator in addition to author

    Format for Note:

    Author’s First and Last Name, Title of Book, ed. and/or trans. Name(s) of Editor(s) and/or Translator(s) (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Format for Bibliography Entry:

    Author’s Last, First Name. Title of Book . Edited and translated by First and Last Name of Editor(s) and/or Translator/s. Place of Publication: Name Publisher, year of publication.

    Sample Note

    1. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Science of Logic, ed. and trans. George di Giovanni (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010),  642-43.
    2. Hegel, The Science of Logic, 644.
    3. Hegel, 644.

    Sample Bibliography Entry

    Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, The Science of Logic . Edited and translated by George di Giovanni. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

    Book as Part of a Commentary: Single Volume

    Note Format:

    ##. Author’s First and Last Name, Title of Bible Book Commented On , Title of Commentary (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    [Please note: The use of abbreviations for well-known biblical commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and periodicals is permitted in notes, but only if you provide a list of abbreviations in your paper. Always use full titles in bibliographic entries.]

    Bibliography Format:

    Author’s Last, First Name. Title of Book Commented On . Title of Commentary. Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    Note Example:

    1. Charles A. Wanamaker, The Epistles to the Thessalonians , New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 23.

    Bibliography Example:

    Wanamaker, Charles A. The Epistles to the Thessalonians . New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

    Signed Article or Chapter in Book as Part of a Commentary: Multi-Volume Work

    Note Format:

    ##. Author’s First and Last Name, "Title of Article or Chapter," in Title of Commentary , vol. # of Title of Work , ed. First and Last Name of Editor (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), page(s) cited.

    Bibliography Format:

    Author Last, First Name. "Title of Article or Chapter." In Title of Commentary . Vol. # of Work Title . Edited by First and Last Name of Editor. Inclusive page numbers. Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    Note Example:

    1. Patrick D. Miller, “The Book of Jeremiah: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in Introduction to Prophetic Literature, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel , vol. 6 of New Interpreter’s Bible , ed. Leander E. Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 2001), 577.

    Bibliography Example:

    Miller, Patrick D. “The Book of Jeremiah: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections.” In Introduction to Prophetic Literature, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel . Vol. 6 of New Interpreter’s Bible . Edited by Leander E. Keck. 553-926. Nashville: Abingdon, 2001. 

    Unsigned Article in Book as Part of a Commentary

    Note Format:

    ##. "Title of Commentary on Biblical Book," in Title of Commentary , ed. First and Last Name of Editor (Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication), vol. #: page(s) cited.  

    Bibliography Format:

    "Title of Commentary on Biblical Book." In Title of Commentary . Edited by First and Last Name of Editor. Vol. #: Inclusive page numbers. Place of Publication: Name of Publisher, year of publication.

    Note Example:

    1. "Interpretation of Daniel,” Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary , ed. F. D. Nichol (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1953-57), 4:54.

    Bibliography Example:

    “Interpretation of Daniel.” Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary . Edited by F. D. Nichol. 4:53-56. Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1953-57. 
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