Over the last year I converted to Nelsons eBible which uses Logos 3.0d. There is a bit of a learning curve with this package. However once you’re in the groove the system is really useful. I have previously used E-Sword and Wordsearch 7.
Effectively every bible study program has some basic functions to carry out:
“easy on the eye” access: Logos is a little primitive here. It doesn’t immediately support font changes or multiple monitors. It is not immediately obvious as to how to operate the system. Logos has tried to address this issue by providing downloadable training videos. I didnt need this for e-Sword but I see Wordsearch now also provides them.
“quality content”: This is where Libronix shines. They have been more successful than anyone else in convincing third party publishers to license their system. So quality materials from Thomas Nelson, Jewish Publication Society and Baker Publishing et al can be readily purchased. Well-known authors such as Wiersbe, Pannenberg, Fruchtenbaum, Stern et al can also be purchased. The availability of various interlinear and reverse interlinear texts provide useful tools for linguistic studies without having a prior knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages.
“search”: contrary to reviews elsewhere, the usual search capabilities are all there including narrowing one’s search to various subsets of the bible. A “search as you type” feature has recently been added.
“Cross referencing”: When a particular bible verse is highlighted how does one know if another resource also deals with it. In e-sword little “i” flags appear on the resource tabs. This is fine until the resource deals with the passage in multiple places within itself. Logos deals with this by allowing a search for all references to the verse. If there are a lot of resources, this can take a while. Multiple hits just appear as lists, sorted by title of the resource.
“Study tools”: These include some technical linguistic graphical tools and diagramming that assist the reader to break down texts. I had to check a few dictionary definitions to understand some of the linguistic jargon: “Morphology”, “Lemma” etc. Still learning the basics on how to use these tools.
I started out with eBible but now I’ve expanded to include the IVP Essential Collection, Word Bible Commentary (Pentateuch and Gospel collections) and the Scholar’s Library. In our bible study we encourage wide reading which enhances the discussion and debate. We have recently discovered the richness in understanding more about the Jewish milieu during Jesus’s times. Materials from Fruchtenbaum, Stern and JPS have greatly assisted this line of enquiry.
On the whole, Logos’ strength is its access to quality contemporary content. Its weaknesses are its slow searches, its not obvious how searches within results can be effected, its inability to be customized by the user to allow different fonts and to support multiple monitors. Bible study readily lends itself to multiple monitors. My productivity is much higher when I don’t have to flick back and forth between the bible and a reference work.
Effectively every bible study program has some basic functions to carry out:
- Provide “easy on the eye” access to content.
- Make quality content available.
- Provide abilities to search the content.
- Provide a cross referencing system so that relevant content can be discovered efficiently.
- Provide bible study/linguistic tools that aid analysis.
“easy on the eye” access: Logos is a little primitive here. It doesn’t immediately support font changes or multiple monitors. It is not immediately obvious as to how to operate the system. Logos has tried to address this issue by providing downloadable training videos. I didnt need this for e-Sword but I see Wordsearch now also provides them.
“quality content”: This is where Libronix shines. They have been more successful than anyone else in convincing third party publishers to license their system. So quality materials from Thomas Nelson, Jewish Publication Society and Baker Publishing et al can be readily purchased. Well-known authors such as Wiersbe, Pannenberg, Fruchtenbaum, Stern et al can also be purchased. The availability of various interlinear and reverse interlinear texts provide useful tools for linguistic studies without having a prior knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages.
“search”: contrary to reviews elsewhere, the usual search capabilities are all there including narrowing one’s search to various subsets of the bible. A “search as you type” feature has recently been added.
“Cross referencing”: When a particular bible verse is highlighted how does one know if another resource also deals with it. In e-sword little “i” flags appear on the resource tabs. This is fine until the resource deals with the passage in multiple places within itself. Logos deals with this by allowing a search for all references to the verse. If there are a lot of resources, this can take a while. Multiple hits just appear as lists, sorted by title of the resource.
“Study tools”: These include some technical linguistic graphical tools and diagramming that assist the reader to break down texts. I had to check a few dictionary definitions to understand some of the linguistic jargon: “Morphology”, “Lemma” etc. Still learning the basics on how to use these tools.
I started out with eBible but now I’ve expanded to include the IVP Essential Collection, Word Bible Commentary (Pentateuch and Gospel collections) and the Scholar’s Library. In our bible study we encourage wide reading which enhances the discussion and debate. We have recently discovered the richness in understanding more about the Jewish milieu during Jesus’s times. Materials from Fruchtenbaum, Stern and JPS have greatly assisted this line of enquiry.
On the whole, Logos’ strength is its access to quality contemporary content. Its weaknesses are its slow searches, its not obvious how searches within results can be effected, its inability to be customized by the user to allow different fonts and to support multiple monitors. Bible study readily lends itself to multiple monitors. My productivity is much higher when I don’t have to flick back and forth between the bible and a reference work.
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