My favorite way to take Bible notes is to type them in Google Docs. In this post, I’ll explain several reasons why Google Docs is preferable to other options.¹

I’ve tried a lot of different ways of taking notes on Scripture over the years, including the following:

• Dedicated Bible software apps: Logos, Accordance, BibleWorks, and the Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library
• Markdown apps: Ulysses, Bear, Drafts, Byword
• Handwritten notes (I have drawers full) and other apps like Todoist and Microsoft Word (μὴ γένοιτο!).
  

Here’s several reasons why I like taking notes in Google Docs best.²

Reason #1: Shareable

Taking notes in Google Docs means that your work is seamlessly sharable with anyone. This reason is listed as number one for a reason: It’s super important to me.

Reason #2: Hyperlinking

In Google Docs you can easily hyperlink to anything — blog posts, websites, other notes in Google Docs, etc.

Reason #3: Navigation

Using headings makes it easy to navigate, by using the automatically generated table of contents in the sidebar. This is where the magic lies. Taking two minutes to establish how you want your headings and “normal text” to look is well worth it.

My system for headings is simple:

• Heading 1: Title of the doc, e.g., Luke Notes
• Heading 2: Chapter headings, e.g., Chapter 1
• Heading 3: Verse headings, e.g., 1:12
  

The built in shortcuts for applying headings are as follows on a Mac:

• Heading 1 = ⌘ + ⌥ + 1
• Heading 2 = ⌘ + ⌥ + 2
• Heading 3 = ⌘ + ⌥ + 3
• Normal text (body text/paragraph styling) = ⌘ + ⌥ + 0
  

If you don’t know how to use headings and styles, take comfort because it’s really not complicated. You don’t have to be a “tech person” to learn how to do this. If you Google it, you’ll find a thousand helpful tutorials and instruction sets.

Reason #4: Accessibility

I move between personal devices and work devices every day, and Google Docs is always accessible on every device. No one blocks Google Docs, and I need no special permission to download or update the app.

Reason #5: Large Canvas

When you write in a scrollable document, rather than a notes feature in Bible software, you can easily scroll through your notes on large sections of books. The large, quickly scrollable canvas provided by a document (rather than a notes window or something similar) makes it easy to scan and synthesize your thoughts.

It’s possible to click buttons and make your Bible notes in Logos scrollable, but that costs you screen real estate within Logos itself. I would rather have that real estate in Logos available for quickly glancing at Bible text and reference works.

A dedicated app for notes in a maximized window is preferable to me. My “dedicated app for notes” is Chrome. All other activity happens in Safari.

Reason #6: Markdown Compatible

Google Docs allows you to copy your work as Markdown so that you can paste your work into other Markdown apps like Ulysses, Bear, iA Writer, et al. Google Docs also allows you to “paste from Markdown.” This means you can copy out of a Markdown app like Ulysses and paste into Google Docs in a way that will transfer your Markdown headings directly into headings in Google Docs.

This is important because it makes it simple to move into and from all our other (less sharable) favorite writing apps like Ulysses, Bear, iA Writer, Drafts, et al.

Reason #7: Seamless Blogging

This is directly related to reason #5. I create and update blog posts on this website directly from Ulysses. Because I can copy my notes directly out of Google Docs as Markdown, I am able to move from notes to blog posts easily.

Often, in Google Docs, my notes will start as thoughts on individual verses. Those thoughts will then be synthesized into chapter summaries, and sometimes those syntheses will turn into larger coherent thoughts I want to share on this site. Being able to copy as Markdown directly from Google Docs (even though I don’t write in Markdown in Google Docs) makes this easy.

Reason #8: Font

You can use the font Cardo in Google Docs — it’s a native font option. This is great because Cardo was specifically created for biblical languages.³ Times New Roman also works well for English, Hebrew-Aramaic, and Greek.

Reason # 9: Price

Google Docs is free. I don’t mind paying for a quality product, but it’s always nice to be able to write a post like this and recommend a tool that anyone can start using right away.

Conclusion

The reason I like Google Docs the best is because of all the reasons above. I don’t know of another app that has checks all of those boxes.

Footnotes

1. When I say “Bible notes,” I’m talking about true notes, not long-form thoughts, but a scratch-pad organized by verse and chapter references. ↩
2. This post isn’t intended to be a tutorial. You can Google anything discussed here and find plenty of how-help. ↩
3. The only current issue with Cardo in Google Docs is that it doesn’t correctly display the rough breathing mark over over a rho (ρ). More on Cardo here. ↩