A few months ago Logos Bible Software was kind enough to make me a gift of their Scholar’s Library package, in exchange for my doing a review of the program. Then life happened—as it has a habit of doing—, and so the review was put off for a little bit. There were issues of The Canadian Lutheran to finish, bronchitis to survive, Christmas holidays to be had, and a wedding (and honeymoon!) to be enjoyed. [And boy were the last two enjoyed!] But now that I’ve had time to play (and work) with the program, it’s time to let you know what I think.
Logos is a leader in Bible study software, and an invaluable aid for research, whether for academic studies, sermon/article writing, or personal education and devotion. That much you probably already know; Logos has a reputation for excellence in these matters, and that reputation is well-deserved. The textual resources can be adapted to your preference: place textual notes beneath the text if you like to give your favourite translation an interlinear look; alternately, keep the text clear of the clutter and simply mouse over a word you’re curious about to see the Greek/Hebrew analysis. All the while, help from commentaries, books, maps, images, and a thousand other resources are just a click away. Keep a few windows open to keep track of things; or keep it clean and switch between tabs when you want to double check something.
That last feature (the numerous resources available) is perhaps the main selling point for me. Chances are, if you’re at all like me, your bookshelves are all very, very full. Logos condenses a full library and puts it right at your fingertips. Want to see how a Greek word was used in older, non-biblical texts? Take a look in the Perseus classics. Want to reread John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress? Pull it up in another window. Perhaps a somewhat newer book is to your liking? Never fear; Logos carries books and resources from well over 150 publishers, including Oxford University Press, Zondervan, Moody Press, and (yes, for you Lutherans among my readers), it also carries books from Concordia Publishing House, Augsburg Fortress, and Northwestern Publishing House.
Lutherans are a good example of those who can benefit from using Logos, provided they’re willing to put in the money for the extra resources. Get all 55 volumes of Luther’s Works for $260 (compare with $1,870 in print). Catch up on the back-issues of WELS’ Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. Download CPH’s Lutheran Study Bible, and/or get Augsburg Fortress’ Lutheran Studies Collection (complete with Spener’s Pia Desiderius). Supplement your reading with works by Melanchthon, Chemnitz, and Gerhard. In short, get a veritable Lutheran library for a fraction of the cost—a library which will require no extra space on your bookshelves.
Logos has recently upgraded to Logos 5, meaning the system is a little different than what I’m currently running (I have Logos 4). As a result, I can’t advise you directly on which package is right for you. You can check them all out here yourself. But I can certainly tell you that Logos is a powerful research tool for the thinking Christian. Just remember that, whatever package you choose, you’re likely to want to purchase a couple of extras (like the Lutherans one I mention above) over and above the package to get the most out of it. That’ll increase the cost, so keep it in mind when calculating what the program is worth to you.
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There are few things I like better than sitting down with a cup of tea, a pen in hand, and a good book or article on theology. The trouble is (if you’re anything like me) your bookshelves are all pretty much full already. So where exactly are we supposed to store the back issues of theological journals that we subscribe to?
Well, there’s now a solution for at least one such publication. Logos Bible Software has informed me (and asked me to pass on the info to my readers) that 20 years of the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly (WLQ) is soon to be made available for your computer through Logos.
The Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly is the theological journal of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, the seminary of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in the United States, the third largest Lutheran body in North America. While there are theological positions that WELS takes which I would not, I’m more than happy to read their journal of theology. In fact, engaging the deep thinking of a church body is (in my opinion) the most honest way of doing ecumenicism. As I’ve written on another site, I believe “truly fruitful ecumenical dialogue only occurs when we recognize (and do not ignore) theological differences between Christians.” And as I note elsewhere on this site, I agree with the reformers that “God works in the vocations of all people (Christian or otherwise), meaning that there are things to be learned from those outside our own tradition.”
That’s perhaps the reason why the Emmaus Conference is such an interesting concept. This conference (which draws together representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod) brings together people to discuss theology in a “free conference.” Free and open theological discussion is the basis for worthwhile conversation.
So dig in to WLQ (and any number of other theological journals for that matter). When you learn something new, thank God for the new insight and knowledge. And when you come across something you’re not quite sure about, thank God for the opportunity to sharpen your own mind—“as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another,” after all.
The following comes from Logos and gives a bit of the history of WLQ. It also explains some of the features available to users who get WLQ through Logos.
Since 1904 the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has published a theological journal, originally called Theologische Quartalschrift, now the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. This journal is issued by Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary as a testimony of its theological convictions, as a public witness to the saving truths of Holy Scripture, and in the interest of the theological and professional growth of those whom the seminary is training for the public ministry and of those already active in this ministry.
With the Logos Bible Software edition all Scripture passages in Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly are tagged and appear on mouse-over. What’s more, Scripture references are linked to the wealth of language resources in your digital library. This makes all 84 issues more powerful and easier to access than ever before for scholarly work or personal Bible study. With the advanced search features of Logos Bible Software, you can perform powerful searches by topic or Scripture reference—finding, for example, every mention of “justification,” or “Paul.”
Check it out at Logos here.
