I have been blessed to have been using the beta for the past couple months and words cannot really describe how far Bible computer software has come in the last five years.  There is so many new features that it would be dang near impossible to write a decent review of everything.  Allow me to say, though, that LOGOS 4 is as simple as downloading to your computer and using.  It is so easy to use that anyone wanting to study the Bible with greater care will appreciate all of the information available at your fingertips.  Still, the most intellectual PhD will find much value in what LOGOS 4 has to offer.

Below are some screen shots of LOGOS 4.

Newspaper appearance on the home page.  Note (bottom right corner) there are five pages to your home page.

Study the Greek and Hebrew with a click of the mouse.

Easily tile your workspace to have up to five resources on your screen at once!

You can take a guided tour of the Bible lands and never have to flip to the “book of maps” at the end of your Bible.

Upload to your iPhone!

The bottom line for LOGOS 4 is that the developers in Washington state have outdone themselves.  If you already use LOGOS, then you absolutely must upgrade to 4.  If you do not already use LOGOS, then you need to see what you are missing.  There is a discount for existing LOGOS users when you upgrade.

Regardless of whether or not you subscribe to Bible Study Magazine, do not miss this opportunity to get your free digital copy of Finally Alive by John Piper from Logos.

Key Features Included

* Memoirs of Jonathan Edwards
* Henry Rogers’ “Essay on the Genius and Writings of Jonathan Edwards”
* Complete family tree and list of descendants of Jonathan Edwards
* Letters and correspondence

Electronic Titles Included

Volume 1

* Memoirs of Jonathan Edwards
* A Careful and Strict Inquiry into the Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of the Will
* Dissertation on the End for which God Created the World
* A Dissertation on the Nature of True Virtue
* The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended
* A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections
* Narrative of Surprising Conversions
* Thoughts on the Revival of Religion in New England
* Inquiry Concerning Qualifications for Communion
* Misrepresentations Corrected and Truth Vindicated, In Reply to the Rev. Solomon Williams
* A History of the Work of Redemption
* Five Discourses on the Soul’s Eternal Salvation
* 925 pages

Volume 2

* Twenty nine sermons, including “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
* Eighteen Theological Discourses
* Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God
* An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement
* Life and Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd
* Observations on Important Theological Subjects
* Remarks on Important Theological Controversies
* Observations on Angels
* Types of the Messiah
* Notes on the Bible
* Seventeen Occasional Sermons
* 972 pages

If you are not familiar with Logos, you can read my reviews of their Scholar’s Library and their Scholar’s Library:  Gold.  I have also written a review on the Bible Study Magazine.   I highly recommend all three.

Again, get your free download of Larry Burkett’s Money Matters from Logos now.

Confession

I have a confession to make. One year ago, I hated the concept of digital print media and swore I would never “cave-in” to the latest “trend” in books; i.e., Logos. My how times have changed! Over the course of this past year, I have come to see the upside and the stewardship that is Logos Bible Software. I have moved up from the Logos Scholars Library to the Logos Scholar’s Library: Gold and continue to be blown away by what an excellent resource I have at my fingertips.

Installation

The installation is very easy. However, remaining true to form, I found a way to make it difficult! Actually, the problem was not me or the software as much as it was the age of my computer. I tried to download the Gold edition from a DVD only to get stuck at about the 10 minute mark. I literally spent 2 hours on the phone with customer service going through every trouble shooting method they could think of only to be told that we I probably need the CD’s instead of the DVD.

Nevertheless, this is to your advantage for a couple of reasons. First, if your computer or laptop is more than a couple of years old, purchase the CD’s. They are the same cost as the DVD’s but will load much faster on an older computer than the DVD because of its multiple layers.

Second, customer service at Logos is truly second to none. In both instances (read my review on Scholar’s Library), they were patient and kind and extremely helpful. We got to joking around about the problem and was even able to share testimonies with one another while waiting for the program to run its checks.

Usability

I do not get into the technical jargon when it comes to the interfaces and what-not of a computer software program. I only want to know one thing. Can I simply download and begin using or do I need, as we called it in the military, a block of instruction?

I have found Logos to be one of the easiest Bible software programs to use without first sitting through a bunch of training videos. As soon as the software was downloaded to my computer, I was able to begin checking everything out with no problems. That is very important to me since I truly do not have the time to meticulously learn all of the features.

Now, I realize that a block of instruction will only help the user to become familiar with all the various components and features of Logos, but not everyone has time to sit through tutorial videos let alone attend a class on how to use a particular Bible software program. However, because I am writing a review, I “researched” the tutorials and found them to be extremely beneficial. You do not have to sit for hours on end to learn how to use this software. There are a ton of videos you can watch on an as needed basis in order to increase your information and decrease the time it takes to get that information.

Perhaps one of the greatest features is the ability to search your entire library for one subject, hit return, and see which of your books mention that subject. Imagine the time saved from going to your library or the Internet and looking up all the books!

Content

Ok, the main thrust of the Logos Scholar’s Library: Gold is that it is truly the most cost efficient way to build a quality library quickly. The Gold edition contains more than 700 titles—which includes sets of books so that a commentary set may contain 12 of those titles. Allow me to share the importance of this. I currently own about 2,000 books in my personal library. I have moved four times in the past four years. Obviously, my library was not always at 2,000—it has grown considerably in these past four years. Every time my family has moved, the first thing that had to be done was to pack up the books because they take up the most boxes and space. At one point, I had over 100 boxes of various sizes of books moving into a third floor apartment!

With that picture in your mind, imagine being able to carry 700 books in something as small as a compact disc but no bigger than a CPU. Next, think of how many bookshelves 700 books take up. I will give you a hint–think one decent sized wall. It is obvious to see how having digitized books can only help. This is not too mention how much your back will thank you let alone how much your spouse will thank you for giving her part of the house back!

Another nice feature is the ability to study the original languages and do some solid exegetical work before looking through all of those commentaries and other resources. For many, this is the most important function when it comes to making a choice regarding Bible software. Logos can easily stand toe-to-toe with any other software when it comes to diagramming and studying the original languages.

If you are going to work on a sermon, simply type in a passage and you bring up commentaries (turned to the exact pages you need), parallel passages, key words found in the passage, sermons from SermonCentral.com and even power point presentations (if any exist). You can also get a list of hymns and worship music that are based from the passage as well as a list of all of the topics that can be discussed. In other words, this could be your one-stop shop for your sermon preparation.

Counting the Cost

At a price of $1,379.95, this product will clearly set you back a nice chunk of money. But, before you freak out over the sticker price, you need to keep in mind a few things. First, Logos offers payment plans for their more expensive products. They are able to work with everyone to make their product as affordable as possible. Perhaps, you can’t afford to start with Gold, but you really want to work with the original languages. You can purchase their original languages library and begin to build your very own library from there.

Second, Logos offers generous discounts to any degree seeking student, faculty or staff member as well as various other discounts throughout the year. Also, Logos is offering Going to Seminary readers a generous 25% discount on any of the base packages by using the coupon code GOINGTOSEMINARY. This, in addition to the payment plan, brings the total for Gold, their absolute largest package, to just under $1,035.00—that is only $36.00 more than their silver library!

Third, the inclusion of just two commentary series, the New American Commentary and the New International Greek New Testament Commentary, practically pays for itself. What is more, you still have over 650 other resources! The bottom line is you are receiving over $11,700 worth of print books for about 90% of the price!

Finally, I have found that because I now have duplicated copies (in print and Logos), I am able to sell (or give away) my print editions. This also helps to offset the cost of software. Some books I want to keep in print and therefore I do. However, my resource books, like commentaries, sell nicely and have would have already made a couple of the monthly payments for me.

Logos Bible Software has just released the first edition of Bible Study Magazine (BSM). At first I was a bit skeptical and thought the computer software company might be overstepping their boundaries. I was wrong. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised overall with the layout and “feel” to the magazine. The stated goal of the magazine is to provide readers “with tools and methods for Bible study.”

Inside the Magazine

The first thing I noticed was how colorful the magazine was. It seemed as though every page shouted for your attention. I use shouted not in a negative way. Rather, I say shouted because it was though each page said, “Hey, I have something important for you and you need to check it out!” Simply flipping through the magazine is not really possible because of the placement of comments in the margins and the use of pictures throughout. Your eye is regularly drawn to the page as you can’t help yourself from reading what is there.

Every addition of BSM includes

• Bible Study Tips–explaining difficult passages
• A Moment with God–everyday people sharing how they have quiet time amidst their crazy schedules.
• Feature Story–Generally the face on the cover of the magazine
• On the Cutting Edge–archaeological and historical findings
• Not your Average Bible Study–maps out an 8-week Bible study to be used personally or in a group.
• On Teaching–advice on teaching the Bible
• D.I.Y. Bible Study–using Bible study tools effectively
• In the News–the latest news concerning the Bible
• Thoughts from the Church Fathers–quotes from the past
• Greek Word Study w/o Greek–A 4-step process to studying the Greek text w/o going to seminary
• If Only Someone Would Explain it to me–complex biblical concepts in layman terms
• What They Don’t Tell You in Church–facts about the Bible that will
• I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible–pointing out what we usually do not see
• Shelf Life–reviews on books and commentaries about the Bible
• Bible Comics and Puzzles

Critique

The positives are many. The aesthetic appeal with the use of all the colorful pictures and ads bring life to the magazine. I really liked their use of bloggers in a print magazine. Bloggers have a noticeably different writing style than those who normally contribute to magazines and other forms of print media. In addition to bloggers, BSM used professors from various seminaries and bible colleges as well as other freelance writers. When you bring all of these various writing styles together in one magazine, you are presented with an eclectic publication that will find an audience with just about anyone from the newest believer to the oldest and from the layman to the scholar.

What is more, the scholarly articles are written with the layman in mind while the “not-so-scholarly” articles are written with the scholars in mind. For example, BSM makes use of the margins to explain words like “canon” and “Koine Greek” for those who are not familiar with those words. However, BSM also uses the margins to present some “deeper information” than what the article presents. In doing this, BSM does an excellent job of bridging the gap between the layman and the trained scholar.

Another postive was the way in which BSM attempts to keep everything interrelated. For example, in the “Greek word study without the Greek” section, the passage of Scripture that is being discussed is Luke 8:46. In the very next section, “Thoughts from the Church Fathers,” they quote Cyril of Alexandria on Luke 8:43-48. This is only one example, but it is obvious that the editorial team painstakingly made sure that there was a flow from cover to cover.

For all the many positives, there were some negatives. Perhaps the most glaring was the way they interspersed the ads throughout the magazine. Some of the ads were strategically placed on the same page that included an article about what was being sold. One example of this would be the inclusion of a sales add for Zondervan’s book How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth by Fee and Strauss in the middle of an article entitled Choosing a Bible Translation.

While I recognize this as a strategic (and probably effective) advertising approach, I think it leads to unintentional confusion. On the very next page, opposite the Zondervan book ad, is another ad featuring Josh McDowell talking about how great the New Living Translation is. The fact that it immediately follows the article on choosing a translation seems to imply an endorsement of the NLT by BSM. In all fairness, though, there were ads for the ESV and the NASB as well.

I also got the feeling that the magazine came with a Logos salesman. I realize that this magazine is published by Logos and they are going to advertise their product everywhere, but I think this is a case where less could be more. Yes, I appreciate knowing that I can find more information on the Dead Sea Scrolls or how to defend my faith, but every URL they offer that begins with logos.com/ leads to a page where I have to purchase something. Perhaps instead of putting all of these links in the margin where they have provided other excellent information they could place it at the end of the article beneath the author’s short bio or reserve a section in the back of the magazine that explicitly states that Logos offers many resources on what has been presented in the current issue of the magazine. With everything else going on in the margins, this became more of a distraction than a help.

Recommendation

I believe the editorial staff did a wonderful job of sticking to their main purpose of “providing readers with tools and methods for Bible study.” The negatives mentioned above dealt only with the ads and not the content of the magazine. That is a significant point that should be made. Do I agree with everything that was said in the magazine? No. Do I ever agree with everything that was said in any magazine or book? No. While BSM does not try to bring about debate and disagreement, it is going to happen and that is fine. I found nothing in the content of the magazine that was heretical. What I did find was a lot of tips and advice to believers to delve further into God’s word and plumb the depths of His glory and mercy and love.

There is a lot of information about the Bible being published today. Bible Study Magazine is a much welcomed resource that will enhance anyone’s study of God’s word regardless of education and/or age. If you know a new believer who is wanting to learn how to study God’s word, this magazine would enable them to study deeper the Bible quicker. If you know an older believer who sometimes struggles with his study of God’s word, this magazine would help them see the Bible from a fresh set of eyes.

From the colorful pages to the content found within, I welcome the addition of this magazine into my home and church and believe that you would, too. It would make a great Christmas gift as well.

There is nothing technical about this; I am simply offering what I found to be the strengths and/or weaknesses to the two programs as well as a comparison of the add-ons each offers. In many ways, this was a lot like comparing apples to oranges because each program is geared for a different person. Unless otherwise noted, I am comparing the two products as base products.

Cost: For a base price of $629.95 ($440.95 for students), you receive over $6,000 in print resources with Logos. For $349.00 ($250.00 if you take advantage of a group discount), you receive the best exegetical tool money can buy in BW7.
Advantage: Logos

Resources: Logos has digitized thousands of dollars worth of print books consisting of millions of pages that fit nicely onto your laptop. BW7 has made language, diagram, and exegetical work so quick and easy that one is able to wrestle with the text itself longer before reading what others have said about it.
Advantage: Depends

Bible Study: Logos has similar functions in terms of exegesis and bible study tools that BW7 has. Logos certainly has more study tools about the bible than BW7. However, I personally believe that if one is studying the Bible, he or she should wrestle more with the text rather than seek another’s understanding of what the Bible is saying. BW7 is much more equipped for intense Bible study than Logos.
Advantage: BW7

Add-Ins: Logos is always adding new products to their ever expanding library. They also run sales from time to time and offer what they call pre-pub sales in which you can purchase new titles for a much cheaper price than what the product will regularly run. BW7 only offers a handful of add-ins because their subject matter is much smaller than what Logos is.

If you compare the add-ins that they have in common, the base price is cheaper at BW7. If you factor in the 30% discount, if you qualify, on Logos, then they are almost dead even. Head-to-head, I would give the advantage to BW7, but because of the wider audience that Logos appeals to, and thus the quantitatively more add-ins overall, I would have to say:
Advantage: Logos

Usability: At first, BW7 is difficult to use and Logos is pretty much ready to go. However, there is a learning curve to both. This again boils down to what you want and are looking for in Bible Software. I would give the early advantage to Logos and the learned advantage to BW7.
Advantage: Even.

Conclusion

I realize this is not as detailed as many were looking for, but this only serves as an introduction to both programs. As I said earlier, in many ways, this was comparing apples to oranges because Logos has a completely different overall market than BW7. I would think if you were going into missions or were the pastor of a small church, then I would recommend Logos because of the digitized print feature. You can build your library in a very cost effective manner.

However, if are a serious student of the Bible, and the languages are appealing to you, then I would recommend BW7 over Logos. BW7 is more than worth the investment if you are looking to work with the original languages as you prepare your sermons and lessons. There is so much more that can be done at an exegetical level with BW7 that you are truly able to wrestle with the Word of God much more.

Depending on what you are looking for, both of these bible software programs are loaded with features that are appealing. If you can swing the cost, you might be best served to own both. I do not think that you can say one is better than the other without qualifying that statement with a “for ____.” The only thing that ultimately matters is what features you are looking for in bible software.

What do you think? If you use one what do you find so nice about it? If you use both, how would you rank them?

While I am familiar with some of Logos’ software, I will be writing this review from a very non-technical perspective and sharing what I have found as I learned how to operate the system and use it to my advantage. 

Installation

I installed the DVD version of the Scholar’s Library Logos Bible Software 3.0e.  The DVD is nice if you have a DVD drive on your computer because it is only one disc.  If you have to go with the CD-ROM’s, then you will have to deal with seven discs.  In my opinion, the less I have to keep track of, the better off I am.  The price is the same regardless of which type of discs you use.

The installation began easy enough.  All you have to do is insert the DVD into your DVD-ROM drive and let it do its thing.  Easy enough…unless you are me.   I figured because the disc had been “discovering resources” for 30 minutes, and was seemingly frozen on one discovery, that it had frozen in the process.  Either that or it was finished.  Well, I went ahead and closed the window to “help it along” thinking it was finished  Don’t ever do that!  I later found out that because it is a DVD, there are over 2,000 total resources that have to be discovered and that it might take a while to do so (upwards of 45 minutes).

It turns out that the error occurred between the screen and the chair.  I had greatly messed up the downloading process when I attempted to “help it along.”  However, this wound up being a blessing in disguise.  Because of my mistake, I am able to include in the review the Customer Support service.

Customer Support

I spoke with Deborah and Don of the customer support team to try and figure out my problem.  Deborah worked through her trouble-shooting plans and was able to figure out what the problem was but was unable to fix it.  I joked with her that it was above her pay-grade.  She then sent me over to Don, who was apparently within eye-shot of her.  Anyway, Don was actually able to log onto my computer, with my permission, and control my computer from his office.  That was pretty cool.

Anyway, he had it all working in no time and had everything fixed and completely downloaded in a matter of ten minutes.  During the time I spent on the phone with them, I learned that the latest version of the software, the version I own, is compatible with Window’s Vista.  Also, whenever an update comes out for your particular software, you can easily download it from the Logos website.

I was amazed at their patience and willingness to work on my problem until it was fixed.  I realize that this is the job of the customer support team, but most of the time you can hear a hint (ok, sometimes it is not even subtle) of exasperation and annoyance in the voice on the other end of the line.  I never heard that.  As a matter of fact, Deborah was all about the small talk while the computer would have to re-boot and re-start and everything.  Don would explain what he was doing as well as give tips on how to not crash the system again.

Tutorial

If you go to the video page on the LOGOS website, you can download and watch numerous video tutorials to help you get started with your Bible Study software.  Trust me, it is much easier to watch the videos for a few minutes rather than try to “get a feel” for the program by yourself.  Each video is what I would call “idiot proof” because I am an idiot and I could follow them with no problems whatsoever.  Because each software package comes with different features, using these tutorials will help you to learn what your specific software can do as well as help you to learn what exactly you have in your digital library.

You can always play around with your software and learn by trial and error, but that is almost self-defeating.  You would be doing yourself a great disservice by not using the tutorial videos provided at the website.  I noted in the tutorials that they promote the English Standard Version of the Bible in all of their videos.

Usability

After you have become acquainted with your library and what your software can do, you are ready to begin taking advantage of the resources you now own.  The particular edition I am reviewing, the Scholar’s Library, has over 330 resources unlocked at the time of purchase (a locked resource is one that can be purchased at a later time).  As you can see, it is very important to become familiar with your resources.  You have basically just added an entire library in one-felled swoop.

The usability of the software will depend upon a couple of factors.  First, did you watch the tutorials?  If that answer is yes, then you are truly ready to start studying passages, words, or topics found in the Bible.  If the answer is no, then there will be much more of a learning curve to the the usability.  In either case, it will take time to become completely comfortable and familiar with the product and its features.

One of the nice features to the Scholar’s Library is the ability to diagram sentences on the computer.  For those who are studying Greek and Hebrew, this is a nice feature.  However, it must be noted that the program does not have any ready made diagrams.  All of the diagramming must be done by the user.  But, once you do a diagram, and save it, it will come up whenever you want to do a study of that passage again in the future.

Simply typing in a passage, you are able to bring up commentaries (turned to the exact pages you need), parallel passages, key words found in the passage, sermons from SermonCentral.com and even power point presentations (if any exist).  You can also get a list of hymns and worship music that are based from the passage as well as a list of all of the topics that can be discussed.  In other words, this could be your one-stop shop for your sermon preparation.

Another positive with the software is that you can carry an entire library on your laptop wherever you may go.  Let’s say you are doing missions work overseas.  If you bring your laptop with you, regardless of Internet service, you have access to your entire library in the space your laptop takes up in your luggage.

Counting the Cost

Obviously, there is going to be some financial investment into this software.  In all honesty, it does not come cheap.  However, it is arguably the best “bang for your buck” when it comes to spending your money on building a library quickly.  For example, the Scholar’s Library, has a base price of $629.95, but you get over $6,100.00 worth of print material for your money.  The Scholar’s Library Gold has a base price of $1,379.95, but that includes $11,700.00 worth of print material (over 700 volumes!).  As you can see, it is much cheaper to buy the software than the books.

Before you shut down the computer in frustration over the cost of the software, please read on.  Because they are in the business of equipping the saints, LOGOS offers many different discounts for their programs as well as various payment options.

First, they have payment plans whereby you can pay for your software over a 12-month period.  There is a monthly $5.00 service fee for choosing this option which means you pay a total of $60 more for your product.  Still, it is a nice option to have if you are really wanting to own this software and do not have the money upfront.

Second, they offer an academic discount for seminary students and faculty and staff.  The faculty and staff of a seminary receive a 50% discount while the students receive a 30% discount.  This discount is off any of the base packages that LOGOS offers. They also offer various discounts on other titles for seminary students, faculty and staff, but you will have to search for these because the discount differs from product to product.

Recommendation

The LOGOS software offers a very economical and compact storage system to greatly enhance one’s library and study of the things of God.  It offers the ability for word study, topical study and passage study.  One can prepare a sermon using only the services provided in the Scholar’s Library base package and still do justice (insofar as a human can do justice to the exhortation of God’s Word) to the message that God has laid on his heart for a particular week or message.

There are also many levels of base products, ranging in price from $149.95 to $1,379.95, depending on what you are wanting.  If you are going into the ministry at any level I would highly recommend the Scholar’s Library as a great start to your preparation and study.  The books that are included will enrich your understanding of the Bible.