CCEL Classics

This software contains a selection of the best spiritual writings of Church history in a versatile easy-to-use format. The books are from a variety of theological eras and perspectives, but they all have a history of changing lives and the ability to bring the willing reader into God's presence.

Also included is a selection of commentaries, including abridgments of Calvin's and Matthew Henry's commentaries, and one-volume commentaries by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Martin Luther and John Wesley. These make the software a good tool for studying a Bible passage for personal use or to prepare for a study group. A complete list of the contents is available.

The software works much like the Web site. After installing the CCEL-Desktop software and opening the files of any books in which you are interested, you can search and browse your local collection of books in a Web browser. Also, for every book, a PDF version is included and the software is able to export into Microsoft Word.

The software also allows you to install additional books from the CCEL Web site with a single click if you have a www.ccel.org login. At this time there is no charge for installing additional books not included with the software, though there is a request for a donation.

The powerful search engine enables you to search for references or commentary on a scripture passage, find definitions of words, or look for occurrences of words or phrases anywhere within a book, an author's works, or the installed books

Purchasing this software enables you to install books on your PC with a single click, so you don't need an Internet connection. It provides you with advanced search tools, it helps support the CCEL, and it brings some of the greatest writings of Christian history to your computer!

Compatibility: This software works with Windows XP or later and Mac OS 10.4 or later. It also runs on most Linux systems. Hard disk space needed is between 20 and 800 MB, depending on which books are installed. Viewing PDF files requires Adobe Reader. Does NOT work with some versions of AOL browser.

A Note About This Download

This software is exactly what is included on the Classics CD. As a result, you may notice some references to a CD within the software itself. It is recommended that the contents of the zip archive be written to a CD in order to avoid potential difficulty installing additional books or formats later on. Alternatively, you may extract the zip archive to a more permanent location and leave the files there after installation (though this will require more disk space).