About the author
Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. is the author of these Bible studies and sermons. He is the Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law at Regent University School of Law. Professor Cameron has devoted his life to promoting the Gospel and defending believers. In addition to teaching at an overtly Christian law school, he continues his 46 year practice of law which is limited to the litigation of constitutional rights and religious freedom cases for employees. He holds an undergraduate degree from Andrews University and a Doctor of Law from Emory University School of Law.
GoBible History
Bruce and Blake Cameron are the founders of the GoBible studies. Since 1975, Bruce has been teaching small Bible study classes. In the 1980s he began to use a computer to type up his Bible study outline. In that decade, when portable computers became available, Bruce taught his class using the screen of the portable computer as a kind of “teleprompter.”
Blake, Bruce’s son, taught himself computer programing when he was less than ten years of age. In the early years of the Internet, when there was a great deal of debate and doubt about its future, Bruce and Blake believed that the Internet was not “a flash in the pan,” but instead represented the next generation of mass communications. With Blake’s programming and computer skills, and Bruce’s computer-generated Bible study outlines, they collaborated to put Bruce’s Bible study outlines on the Internet. The first Bible studies appeared on the Internet in 1996 when Blake was 12-years of age.
In the beginning, the Bible studies appeared under Bruce’s domain name “CameronLaw.com” on a web site designed by Blake. Later, they decided that a domain name appropriate to a law firm was not appropriate for a ministry. In 2000, they acquired the domain name GoBible.org and Blake redesigned the web site. Because many readers associated the CameronLaw name with the studies, the web site noted that GoBible was a “CameronLaw.com project.” This not only made the association with the old name, it reflected the fact that GoBible was financed by Bruce Cameron.
As GoBible grew to a readership of tens of thousands, everything connected with it had to move up to “commercial” grade. Bruce decided he would rather spend his time studying and writing the Bible lessons than being involved in the administrative side of raising money to support the web site. At the same time, the cost of maintaining the GoBible site was going up. Blake, at that point a teenager, decided to make a leap of faith by forming a business to finance the commercial expenses of GoBible in exchange for placing ads on the GoBible site and attempting to raise ad revenue.
This ended up being the best solution. The Bible studies remained free to the readers, the GoBible expenses which Bruce paid out of his own pocket were eliminated, and Blake was successful in generating ad income which he used to pay for the GoBible expenses and to pay to promote the GoBible site.
Although contributions for GoBible are not actively sought, they are welcome. At present, contributions to GoBible are not tax deductible. (If you would like to make a contribution, please contact Blake for instructions.)
No history of GoBible would be complete without a mention of the translators. Over the years, many dedicated individuals have translated the GoBible lessons into their own languages. Some translators have their own web sites, others use the GoBible site, and still others have made copies of their translations for friends and fellow students. Eric Belloy deserves special mention because he holds the record as the most tenured translator. Eric has faithfully translated the GoBible lessons into French each week since 2004. Eric posts the lessons on his own web site: www.etudesbibliques.net.
Legal Notes
GoBible.org is a registered Service Mark and the material on the GoBible pages is copyrighted. Bruce N. Cameron holds the copyright and ownership of the service mark. Use the “contact us” screen to make specific inquiries about the redistribution of the GoBible materials or the GoBible.org registration. Although specific permission is required, in general, Bruce Cameron permits free non-commercial copying of the Bible studies as long as all copies carry the copyright information.
GoBible.org has no relationship, business or otherwise, to GoBible.com. GoBible.com is a younger organization than GoBible.org, and GoBible.com has recently gone out of the business of selling audio Bibles. We hold the service mark to GoBible.org and are in the process of acquiring a trademark for the name GoBible.