Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
This week, the Logos Talk blog published a guest post Ryan and I worked on together, called “How to Ask Excellent Bible Study Discussion Questions.” The post abridges some of the lengthier material from our series on how to lead a Bible study. If you’d like to lead a small group discussion well, we recommend you master these four kinds of questions:
Check it out!
A few months ago, I made the acquaintance of Logos Bible Software (version 6). And like a mare among Pharoah’s chariots, this software captivated my heart with a single glance of the eyes (Song 1:9, 4:9). Logos 6 had hair like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead (Song 4:1) – and, thanks to the software, I finally understand both how mountainous Gilead truly is and why said goats would want to leap down its slopes. So a new love was born. Because Logos has been so helpful to my Bible reading and Bible study, I’ve barely touched a physical Bible since I began using the software.
If you want to learn the basics of what Logos does and how, I refer you to my previous two-part review:
And this short video explains the essence of Logos: a theological library and a feature set.
But in this review, I want to focus on the new features available in Logos 7 that you couldn’t get in Logos 6. As you can imagine, Logos 7 has many more new features than those on my list. But these are the features I believe ordinary people would most appreciate as they learn to study the Bible.
Logos 7 has a “Concordance Tool” that will supercharge your observation of repeated words like never before. With Logos 7, you can:
Logos 7 also has a helpful feature when a Bible translation is open, called Corresponding Words. Once I’ve discovered that “people” is the most repeated word, I can hover my mouse over the word “people” in Exodus 1:7. Logos then automatically highlights every instance of the word “people” in the entire chapter. This sort of analysis used to take me 30 minutes or more, and now I can do it with Logos in about 10 seconds.
The Concordance Tool is incredibly robust. It can show me every instance of not only the word “Pharaoh” but also the person Pharaoh. The former occurs only 4 times in Exodus 1, but the latter occurs 17 times (including “a new king” in Ex 1:8 and “he” in Ex 1:9). No physical concordance can provide such information so quickly. Take a peek yourself, through this short video.
Logos 6 had logical outlines for every New Testament book, and Logos 7 now adds this feature to every Old Testament book. These outlines break out every sentence and phrase into its parts, showing how the parts are related to one another and flow from one to the next. These outlines give quick access to observation of the passage’s basic grammar and train of thought. And this careful observation paves the way for more vigorous interpretation and application.
Logos 7 lets you quickly examine different translations of the same passage side by side. The software automatically highlights the differences so you can explore how the translators’ choices may affect the way you’d read the verse. You can do this yourself with 5 or 6 open Bibles and excessive jumping from tome to tome. Or you can do it in seconds with this lovely software.
I was delighted to receive a pre-release copy of Logos 7 in exchange for an honest review. And I’m happy to say I heartily recommend it. If you take my warnings to heart, and don’t allow Logos to distract you too much from the text, this software will help you get more out of your Bible study, faster. And for a limited time, readers of this blog can get 10% off a base package (new Logos users only), along with a free commentary on James. Once you try Logos, I bet you, too, will end up among the choirs of Jerusalem, crooning “rightly do they love you” (Song 1:4).
Use this link or the coupon code KNOWABLE7 to get 10% off a Logos base package (new users only). Disclaimer: If you buy Logos with the code or links above, this blog will receive a commission. Thanks for supporting this work so we don’t have to neglect our own vineyards (Song 1:6).
Last week, I wrote about Logos Bible Software’s unlimited power to search resources and give historical background on the Scriptures. This week, I would like to ask, “How well does it assist observation, interpretation, and application in Bible study?”
Please use me responsibly
I must confess, Logos has so much power that using it can sometimes feel like bringing an ICBM to a game of darts. Will I hit the bullseye? Without a doubt. But what else might I hit in the process?
What I mean is this: My task in Bible study is to know God through understanding the text, and Logos helps tremendously with understanding the text. But it’s way too easy for me to let Logos help by taking me away from the text to other resources and expert opinions. For example, I’m glad to know what ancient Jewish rabbis and modern scholars have to say about Exodus 1; I must consider such things. But first, I must know what Exodus 1 itself says. And with a powerful tool like Logos I might trick myself into thinking I’ve learned Exodus 1, when in fact I’ve learned more about what others have said about it.
The potential problem here, of course, is not with the software but with the person using it. I’ve written about mistakes we can make with commentaries and the curses of study Bibles. Every one of these cautions applies to a tool such as Logos. For example, word studies and topic studies can do a lot of damage when they take you away from the context of specific passages. And Logos makes it easier than ever to move away from the contexts of specific passages.
With those cautions out of the way, how does Logos help with observing, interpreting, and applying (OIA) the Bible?
I’ve never seen anything like Logos’s ability to take notes and highlight text. I can customize formatting, colors, shapes, and styles. I can go free-form text or copy and paste. I can attach notes to one verse or to many. I can link ideas together. And I can keep it all easily filed and searchable for later use.
I couldn’t be more impressed with Logos’s approach to reading plans. If I want to read the Bible, Logos is going to be where I turn. I can customize a reading plan any way I want. Start and end dates. Defined passage limits and breakdowns. Schedule it every day or just certain days each week or each month. I will use Logos for my annual read-through, as I no longer will have to squish a full-year digital schedule into my speed-reading approach.
Here’s another example. My church’s preaching team is scheduled to meet on August 6 to overview the book of Exodus for our next sermon series. I would like to prepare by reading Exodus 5 times. So I had Logos create a reading plan as follows: “Read Exodus, Exodus, Exodus, Exodus, Exodus every day, in the ESV, divided by story units, beginning today and ending on August 5.” It spit out a schedule with check boxes and breakdowns. Each day, Logos’s home screen (either desktop or mobile, doesn’t matter) presents a link to open that day’s reading. Easy peasy. If I miss a day, I can adjust the rest of the schedule with a few clicks. I can also adjust the translation manually each time I start the book over.
Logos can turn any Bible translation into a reader’s version, with no headings, chapter or verse numbers, or footnotes. Or I can turn those features back on. I can do one verse per line or paragraphs. Basically, I can make the text look any way I want it to look. Whatever will assist my study is there.
Once I’ve done my own observing and interpreting, I can then turn to my library of commentaries and resources. I can find quotable quotes or illustration ideas to stimulate application. All is easily searchable and well packaged.
The features I’ve mentioned so far are available in any Logos base package. Logos also has a subscription package (called Logos Now) that gives you access to beta features that will show up in the next version of the software. If you want them now, you can have them for $8.99/month. [August 2016 Update: These features are now built right into Logos 7.]
With a Logos base package, I can see a word cloud of repeated words. But I have to guess from the font sizes which ones occur more frequently than others. If I simply want a list of repeated words and their frequency, Logos Now gives me access to the “concordance tool.” And this tool offers much more than a typical concordance. I can get repeated words for a single book or chapter (or any defined text range). I can search within the list for similar concepts. I can print, rearrange, or save the list for later.
Logos Now has a “corresponding words” tool that will automatically highlight those repeated words for me.
Logos base packages give you logical outlines for every New Testament passage. These are extremely helpful for tracing the flow of thought within a passage. But to get such outlines for the Old Testament you must subscribe to Logos Now or wait for the new version.
In conclusion, if you have the discipline not to jump away from the text or into a useless sort of word study, you’ll find powerful assistance here for your Bible study.
If your interest in the Bible comes as an academic or theologian, Logos will be indispensable to you. I bet you couldn’t find a better research tool.
If you are a pastor, missionary, or Bible study leader, you may at first find Logos’s price tag prohibitive. However, think of Logos not as luxury software but as your library. If you take what you’ve spent on books and save it up for a year or two, I bet you’ll be able to afford a decently sized package. You’ll likely also want to make future book purchases through Logos. The larger your library, the more power you give to your research assistant.
If you’re an average person studying the Bible without a sizable book budget, Logos may not be for you. You can still do excellent OIA Bible study without it. However, if the search functions and reading options intrigue you, you may want to consider trying the Logos core engine, which is free. You won’t get much of a library with it, but you’ll have access to the biblical text and primary software features. If you like it, you can always grow your library later.
Also, I must say Logos has a steep learning curve. I had to watch 2-3 hours of training videos before I felt like I could control the beast and unleash it in my study. But I am convinced it was worth it. I can’t wait to continue building my library and getting new features.
Use this link or the coupon code KNOWABLE6 to get 10% off a Logos base package. Disclaimer: If you buy Logos with the code or links above, this blog will receive a commission. Thanks for supporting this work so we can help ordinary people learn to study the Bible!
A core value of this blog is that ordinary people can learn to study the Bible. That means you don’t need specialized software to know God through his word. But can good software help? Absolutely, as long as you move in the right direction. Software is a tool that will accelerate your momentum. Start off in the right direction, and you’ll go farther than ever before. Shift your direction just a bit, though, and you’ll find yourself in a desert waste wondering if you missed an exit somewhere.
So when the good people at Faithlife offered me a review copy of Logos Bible Software, I was eager to try it. How much farther could it take me in my Bible study? So I’ve used it for detailed study, daily devotions, rapid reading, and sermon preparation. I was curious to see how the software would hold up in these different uses, and I wanted to know whether Logos would help or hinder OIA Bible study. And the more I use Logos, the more a single word comes to mind: power. In this post, I’ll write about the software’s power. Next week, I’ll write about how well it supports OIA Bible study.
In order to show the power, I need to set the stage. Logos Bible software is not merely a software package; it is a digital library. Imagine hiring a research assistant who, knowing you’re studying Exodus 1 today, finds everything in your home library that references Exodus 1. And then finds everything in your church library. Then, the researcher taps into everything from 36 seminary libraries. And the Library of Congress. And Google. Now before you can say “over-realized eschatology,” you’ll have access to virtual piles of ancient Jewish texts, manuscript variants, commentaries, atlases, and dictionaries; and you can sift through them until Jesus returns. You don’t have to spend hours or weeks finding these things yourself. Your assistant beheads every possible resource and serves it up on a silver platter. That’s Logos.
And Logos goes beyond libraries; its power extends to the Scriptures themselves. With Logos, and studying Exodus 1, I can do any of the following in seconds:
I could go on. I can quickly find photos of Egypt and the pyramids. I can highlight the text and create my own notes on it. I can find an infographic with the birth order of Jacob’s 12 sons. I can make a list of every time a Pharaoh speaks in the Bible, and I can order the list based on what kinds of people the Pharaohs speak to. I can generate a list of quotes or sermon illustrations for the topics within the passage. I can completely customize a reading plan for the Bible or any book in my library.
Where Logos shines most brightly is in its power to search resources and give historical background. Before studying Mark 13:1-37 with Logos, I had never seen Jerusalem’s temple mount from the Mount of Olives. At a few clicks, I could see breathtaking photos from multiple angles, and all I could say was, “Wow.”
Here is incredible power. The only limit to what I can seek or find is my imagination.
If you would like unbelievable access to oodles of historical research and search capacity, I am happy to recommend Logos to you. With this link, or the coupon code KNOWABLE6, you can get 10% off.
Next week, I’ll consider further how well Logos supports the steps of observation, interpretation, and application.
Disclaimer: If you buy Logos with the code or links above, this blog will receive a commission. Thanks for supporting this work so we can help ordinary people learn to study the Bible!
Sharon Hoover is writing a series of blog posts on how to study the Bible, giving very specific steps to help people practice by studying the Gospel of Mark. Here’s a post on Inductive Bible Study, which is very similar to what we’re doing here at Knowable Word.
Logos Bible software can help you count repeated words, which can help you find themes in a chapter or book of the Bible.
Getting the most out of your Bible reading: tips from the American Bible Society.
Check it out!
