Archive - January, 2012

Now on Pre-Pub: Women’s Bible Commentary

  |  Tue, January 24, 2012   |  Products   Comments Off

Do you ever wonder what it was like for women in Bible times? What did the writings of Moses, David, and Paul mean for women of God? The Women’s Bible Commentary provides a female perspective on the Bible’s characters, contexts, and principles, which makes it perfect for answering these questions.

Over 40 woman scholars have contributed to the 500-page Women’s Bible Commentary, including editors Carol Newsom and Sharon Ringe and authors Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Gail R. O’Day, Jouette M. Bassler, and many more. What sets this commentary apart from others is that the authors also address specific issues that are particularly significant to women, such as marriage and family. You’ll also find insights on Bible characters, symbols, life situations, and more.

And this expanded edition is full of extra features! There are 14 chapters on the Apocrypha and two chapters on the life of women during Old and New Testament times. By looking at the women’s lives, opportunities, and hardships, you’ll gain new perspective on applying the Scripture today.

Women’s Bible Commentary has received a lot of praise through the years. Here’s what others are saying about Women’s Bible Commentary:

“A remarkable volume that is fresh, provocative, and faithful. It is as faithful as Jacob is faithful in wrestling with the angel. Sometimes you can only know the truth by fighting back.”
—Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Professor of Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary

“This welcome and daring book has much to teach us that we cannot safely ignore. . . . A landmark in interpretation.”
—Walter Brueggemann, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

“With the Women’s Bible Commentary, careful and critical feminist biblical interpretation is made accessible for preaching, study groups, and seminary courses.”
—Letty M. Russell (1929–2007), Professor of Theology, The Divinity School, Yale University

Check out Women’s Bible Commentary while it’s on Pre-Pub for just $24.95—that’s almost 40% off of the retail price!

Updates to Highlights and Notes Coming in 4.5

  |  Mon, January 23, 2012   |  Misc   10

A new version of Logos Bible Software is on its way! We wanted to give you a heads up on some of the changes you can expect to see when it ships. Version 4.5 is an update available for both Windows and Mac.

What’s New in Logos 4.5?

With 4.5, Notes and Highlighting have been merged into one. This means that whenever you highlight a passage of Scripture or underline an important thought in your favorite commentary, these highlights are backed up as an individual note. From here, you have the ability to add notes to any specific highlight, alter the style of the highlight, or remove the icon that appears next to a highlight in the resource.

When you update, Logos 4 will create a new note for your existing highlights (one per highlighting palette) with links to your highlights. You can turn sets of highlights on or off by (un)checking that specific note in the visual filter menu for a resource.

One of the most requested features from our users has been the ability sync highlights and notes to your mobile devices. Now, with Logos 4.5 and the soon-to-be-released version 2 of the Logos Bible app for iOS (this functionality is coming for Android but it’s behind the iPhone release), this feature will be rolling out soon. (Look for an announcement here on the blog once the Logos iPhone app 2.0 is released.)

Here are a few more of the many changes to Highlighting and Notes:

Highlighting

  • The “New Palette” function has been moved to the toolbar.
  • Command menu buttons have been added to the right of each palette for alternate access to context menu (right-click) options.
  • Highlighting note destination can be selected for a particular palette by clicking on the palette’s menu, selecting “Palette specific note” (default) and changing the selection to “Most recent note” or a specific user-created Notes document.

Notes

  • Hyperlinked citations will be automatically added to the end of pasted resource text in a note.
  • Pressing “Esc” in an active note will defocus and collapse the note.
  • Notes can now be sorted by reference, date added, title, and note color.

You can find more Highlighting and Notes changes (as well as other updates) in the release notes.

There are also some new Mac-specific changes and features available in version 4.5 including:

  • “Bibliography only” option to the Print/Export panel
  • Font scaling
  • New gestures
  • Changes to the Passage List

For a specific listing check out the release notes.

How Do You Get It?

The 4.5 update will be shipping soon. Here’s how to ensure you get the update:

If you have automatic updating enabled (PC screenshot | Mac screenshot), which is the default setting, Logos 4 should notify you when updates are ready to be installed. When you see the balloon tooltip window, right-click on the Logos icon in your system tray and choose to “Install update” (PC screenshot).

We expect 4.5 to ship Tuesday, January 24. If you have not received 4.5 by Wednesday, January 25, type Update Now into the Command Bar (PC screenshot | Mac screenshot). This will force Logos 4 to check for any available updates (PC screenshot | Mac screenshot) and begin downloading them.

5 Things You Didn’t Know about John Calvin (and Should!)

  |  Mon, January 23, 2012   |  Products   Comments Off

1. Calvin suffered.

He was in constant pain: “headaches, insomnia, shortness of breath (probably due to advanced tuberculosis), coughing fits, hemorrhages, fevers, colitis, kidney stones, hemorrhoids,” according to Alexandre Ganoczy, and “bleeding from the stomach, fever, muscle cramps, nephritis, and gout” to name just a few. Calvin was more than a preacher and theologian—he was a pastor, too. He knew what it meant to suffer, and his writings bear this out.

2. John Calvin and Ignatius of Loyola were classmates at the University of Paris.

Why is this interesting? Because Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus—more commonly known as the Jesuits. The Jesuits were the driving force behind the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that, as the Reformation unfolded, no group opposed Calvin and his successors more than the Jesuits.

3. Calvin had a religious conversion.

Everyone knows the story of Luther’s conversion—his near-death experience and his commitment to a life of study. But did you know Calvin had a conversion experience, too? Calvin famously wrote in the preface to his commentary on Psalms:

“God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies, yet I pursued them with less ardor.”

4. Calvin was deeply influenced by Augustine.

Some have claimed that Augustine was the first Calvinist! B. B. Warfield wrote:

“The system of doctrine taught by Calvin is just the Augustinianism common to the whole body of the Reformers—for the Reformation was, as from the spiritual point of view a great revival of religion, so from the theological point of view a great revival of Augustinianism.”

Spurgeon wrote:

“Perhaps Calvin himself derived it [Calvinism] mainly from the writings of Augustine.”

Calvin himself wrote:

“Augustine is so wholly with me, that if I wished to write a confession of my faith, I could do so with all fullness and satisfaction to myself out of his writings.”

The data are pretty interesting, too. In the 1536 edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin quotes Augustine 24 times. By the 1559 edition, he quotes Augustine 400 times. Here’s just a snapshot:

  • 68 citations about the sacraments
  • 54 citations about the church
  • 34 citations about God’s will
  • 34 citations about sin
  • 28 citations about grace
  • 17 citations about predestination

5. Nobody knows where Calvin is buried.

Calvin wanted no veneration after he died. He didn’t want pilgrims to travel to Geneva to find his grave. In fact, even today it’s difficult to find many monuments to his life at all. James Rigney has written that “unlike other reformers. . . Calvin is represented in Geneva only by traces and shadows and by the diffused voice of his writings.” Hugh Y. Reyburn wrote in 1914 that “The spot where he was laid is now uncertain. . . . But he needs no stone. His indestructible memorial is his works.”

Calvin’s most important work is the Institutes of the Christian Religion. This book has enjoyed a prominent place on the reading lists of theological students and scholars around the world, and has left its mark in the fields of theology, philosophy, social thought, and legal theory. It has been republished and translated nearly 100 times in dozens of languages.

The most authoritative English edition is the translation by Ford Lewis Battles of the 1559 Latin edition, which is newly available for pre-order. If you’re a scholar of the Reformation, you already know this edition is a must-have. And if you’re new to Calvin but not sure where to begin, you couldn’t do much better than the Battles translation of Calvin’s Institutes. But the price is only available for a limited time, so pre-order it now!

Get 5 Books for 5 Days at 50% Off!

  |  Mon, January 23, 2012   |  Misc   Comments Off

The Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Deal Has Expired. Continue to Follow Us on Twitter for More Daily Deals.

Baker Books and Logos have teamed up for 5 days of Daily Deals.  Starting today, January 23, through Friday, January 27, we’re offering bestselling Baker books at 50% off all week.  There are several ways you can take advantage of these amazing deals:

  1. Follow us on Twitter @Logos. Look for the hashtag #DailyDeal. Click on the link and enter in your coupon code. You do not need a Twitter account to view our tweets daily either; simply visit Twitter.com/logos to catch the daily updates.
  2. Subscribe to our Twitter feed using RSS. We previously created a step-by-step guide on how to subscribe using Google Reader. You can find the #DailyDeal links from there.
  3. “Like” our Facebook page. Then, you’ll see the “Twitter Deals” tab on the left hand side. This is a new addition. We know many of you may not want to join another social network, so we’ve brought the deal to you. Now you can enjoy our Twitter updates complete with community pricing, Pre-Pub, new product, and #DailyDeal announcements. (click image to view page)

Today’s Daily Deal features Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by D.A. Carson and G.K. Beale. This commentary normally sells for $59.99 but with the Daily Deal it will be available for just $29.99, but only today!  Remember, each deal is good for that day only! Use Coupon Code DD5321 to receive the special price.

“This really is a new sort of commentary! For the first time we are given a continuous exegetical reading of the way each New Testament book quotes, alludes to, and evokes the Old Testament Scriptures. This volume will be an immensely useful resource for all kinds of study of the New Testament.” —Richard Bauckham, professor of New Testament studies and Bishop Wardlaw professor, St. Mary’s College, University of St. Andrews

Look for tweets like the one below and build up your library at a great discount daily!

Weekly Roundup: January 21

  |  Sat, January 21, 2012   |  Company, Misc   Comments Off

The Weekly Roundup is a regular feature alerting you to significant things happening at Logos this week. Take a few moments to check out these newsworthy items for the week of January 21, 2011.

Logos Talk

Vyrso Voice

Interesting Discussions

Facebook

Pre-Pubs

New Pre-Pubs

Community Pricing

Don’t miss out on these collections nearing the 100% mark!

New this week

Job Postings

Logos is hiring! Here are just a few of the newest postings on our Careers page:

Marketing Department

Graphic Design and Video

Sales

Information Technology

Software Development

Publications

Ministry Development

Was there anything else from Logos you found interesting this week? Leave us a comment and let us know!

New Resources for Logos 3

  |  Fri, January 20, 2012   |  Company   9

We made a mistake.

We stopped making Logos 3 / Libronix editions of new resources on January 1, but we neglected to give any advance warning about this change, and it surprised some of our users.

I am sorry; it was my fault. I authorized the change in process but didn’t think about the need to communicate the change to all of you with plenty of advance notice.

We’re going to make it right. We’re going back and creating Logos 3 editions of resources we’ve already shipped in 2012, and we will continue to make Logos 3 editions of new releases through March (except where a resource requires Logos 4-specific functionality).

New products released after March, 2012 will only be made available for Logos 4.

April will be two years and five months after the release of Logos 4, and more than 11 years after the first release of the Libronix platform used by Logos 3. We’re flattered that some users still like Logos 3 and find it useful. And the good news is that it still runs, and should for the foreseeable future. Installing Logos 4 doesn’t disable Logos 3, and we’re not retroactively removing anything.

Logos 3 / Libronix support articles have moved to an archive on Logos.com, to avoid confusing the majority of our user base which only uses Logos 4. Post-purchase email download instructions will continue to reference Logos 3 until March 31, and existing Logos 3 ebook files will still be available online through the “Orders” tab of your Logos.com/MyAccount page.

We want to be efficient in our use of resources; building new products for the old platform takes time and money we’d rather put into forward-looking development.

But we understand that some users had placed pre-orders or made purchases with the expectation that they could use those resources with Logos 3, and we want to honor that expectation.

New content released since January 1, including Pre-Pubs, will be available for you Friday, January 27. You can unlock and download these files from the “Orders” tab in your account after next Friday.

I apologize for any confusion and frustration we have caused you.

Bob Pritchett
President, Logos Bible Software

Susanna Wesley: The Mother of Methodism

  |  Fri, January 20, 2012   |  Misc   1

It is almost strange that we remember January 20 as Susanna Wesley’s birthday. I mean think about it, how many other mothers of famous religious figures do we even remember by name? And yet, the mother of John and Charles Wesley has taken on a renown that almost equals her sons’.

Susanna Wesley was born the last of 25 children to prominent Puritan pastor Samuel Annesley and Mary White (The Puritan Sermons 1659–1689 collection features 5 of Annesley’s sermons). Annesley, opposed to state interference in religious matters, was a dissenter from the Church of England. Showing the strength of will she would exhibit her whole life, Susanna left her father’s church at 13 and joined the official Church of England.

She soon met Samuel Wesley, a 19-year-old who had also left a church of dissenters and committed himself to the Church of England. They were married after Samuel finished studies at Oxford and was ordained into the Church of England.

Samuel was a strict and austere man who struggled with finances his whole life. Not only did he spend time imprisoned for debt, he even left the family for months out of frustration with Susanna for not saying “amen” to a prayer for King William III. Samuel explained to Susanna that if they were to have two kings, they would also have two beds.

Susanna’s Legacy

The lion’s share of the responsibility for parenting their children fell on Susanna. She did not shrink from this responsibility—she shined. The Wesley home was run by Susanna’s strict guidelines which included:

  1. Children will be taught to pray as soon as they can speak.
  2. Children will not receive what they cry for, and only what they ask for politely.
  3. To prevent lying, children will not be punished for what they confess and repent of.
  4. Children will not be punished twice for a single offense.
  5. Good behavior will be commended and rewarded.
  6. Any attempt to please, no matter how poorly performed, will be commended.
  7. Property rights will be preserved, even in minute matters.
  8. Children will be taught to fear the Lord.

As you can see, Susanna was extremely intentional in her parenting style. And although some of her rules may seem foreign and severe to modern eyes, the Wesley children adored their mother. In fact, as a child John thought he might never marry because he would never be able to find a woman as exemplary as Susanna.

Despite worries about her ability to parent alone, Susanna poured herself into her role. In a letter to Samuel, Susanna wrote:

“I am a woman, so I am also the mistress of a large family; and though the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies upon you; yet in your long absence I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my care as a talent committed to me under a trust. . . . I resolved to begin with my own children; in which I observe the following method: I take such a proportion of time as I can spare every night to discourse with each child apart. On Monday I talk with Molly; on Tuesday with Hetty; Wednesday with Nancy; Thursday with Jacky [John]; Friday with Patty; Saturday with Charles. . .”

It is these regular one-on-one discussions with their mother that helped John and Charles become thoughtful and introspective. And it was the regimented intentionality of their upbringing which helped give Methodism its systematic nature. It’s for this amazing legacy that we remember her so fondly.

We still have the 29-volume John Wesley Collection on Pre-Pub. If you are interested in Susanna’s remarkable legacy, this collection includes an in-depth biography of John Wesley, and his personal journals—as well as his notes upon the whole Bible and all of his theological writings. Pick it up today and save over 77% on these exhaustive resources.

Add Insight to Your Library with Baker Collections

  |  Thu, January 19, 2012   |  Products   Comments Off

For over 70 years, the Baker Publishing Group has carried out their mission to publish “high-quality writings that represent historic Christianity and serve the diverse interests and concerns of evangelical readers.” If you were to look at the four Baker collections currently on Pre-Pub, you’d see that Baker is living up to their goal.

Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Upgrade (7 vols.)

This 7-volume upgrade to the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (8 vols.) proves that you don’t have to sacrifice readability for scholarly depth. Whether you’re a pastor, professor, student, or church leader, you’re going to benefit from both the scope and the accessibility of this series.

Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (16 vols.)

The church has a strong history of interpreting the Bible theologically. In an effort to recreate this tradition, Baker has put together the 16-volume Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. If you’re looking for commentaries which draw from a wide range of traditions, while expounding upon Scripture from a distinctly theological viewpoint, the Brazos Theological Commentaries are for you.

Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (6 vols.)

When it comes to interpretation, the Old Testament’s poetry and wisdom literature provide very unique challenges. The Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms meet these challenges with exegetical precision. Let authors like Tremper Longman and Craig G. Bartholomew help navigate the literary and structural devices in these books by incorporating linguistic, historical, and canonical insights.

Handbook on the Old Testament Series (4 vols.)

Are you interested in Old Testament exegesis? The Handbook on the Old Testament is definitely for you.  These 4 volumes cover:

You will get remarkable insight into the Old Testament’s content, structure, and theology with this collection. You’ll also benefit from a bibliography of recent, relevant scholarship to help guide your future studies.

All of these collections are currently under development, so there isn’t much time to get them at their current Pre-Pub prices. Pick one (or all!) of these great collections up for your library today.

And check out the rest of our Baker resources while you’re at it!

Love Alone is Credible: Communio Theology on Pre-Pub

  |  Wed, January 18, 2012   |  Products   1

Two of the most important theologians of the 20th century now have collections on Pre-Pub! Joseph Ratzinger (now pope Benedict XVI) and Hans Urs von Balthasar were founding members of the Communio school of theology, which has become dominant in the Catholic Church and has had major influence on Protestant thought. Indeed, the great Swiss Reformed thinker Karl Barth once said of his life-long friend von Balthasar that no one understood his thought better.

The Communio School of Theology

Like the Protestant neo-orthodox theologians, the Communio school denies the validity of “natural” theology, emphasizing that all creation, and most significantly all of human experience, finds meaning and truth only in the person of Jesus Christ. There is no neutral ground, no realm where reason functions “unencumbered” by revelation: grace abounds. What this means is that reason and revelation, nature and grace, are not sealed off from each other, but find fundamental unity within the Trinitarian God and within mankind, made in his image. This reality finds perfect expression in the Incarnation. Man’s encounter with Christ is the content of the Communio approach to theology, which von Balthasar described as “essentially an act of adoration and prayer.”

Within Ratzinger’s Christocentric thought, the Incarnation is the only source for what is true about God and about man: love is the ultimate reality of the cosmos. Von Balthasar is perhaps best known for his aesthetics, for his contention that beauty reveals God and that beauty itself is defined by the Incarnation: Christ is beauty and what is beautiful is Christological. Both thinkers work within the paradigm of “ressourcement”—a return to the sources of the faith: Scripture and the Church Fathers. In doing so, they opened up new (or old) avenues for Christian theology.

Communio Opens Doors to Ecumenical Dialog

Both von Balthasar and Ratzinger encountered stiff resistance within the Catholic hierarchy and the academy, sometimes even being accused of heresy. But their theology was so powerful and subtle that it slowly won adherents and had a direct effect on the theology expressed at Vatican II. Through the pontificates of John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) the Communio approach has become dominant in the Church. What’s more, the emphasis on “ressourcement” has opened new opportunities for ecumenical dialog. Indeed, Joseph Ratzinger himself suggested that the Augsburg Confession might be accepted by the Catholic Church, and the Communio approach has underwritten the fruitful Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue of recent decades.

Communio theologians have re-shaped Catholic thought and have built bridges—between modern Christianity and the ancient Church and between contemporary denominations. Add this powerful and profound perspective to your Logos library. The Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI Collection ships tomorrow, so place your pre-order now. The Hans Urs von Balthasar Collection is almost through Pre-Pub and will ship soon, so keep an eye out for this too.

Get Notified about the Latest Titles for Logos

  |  Tue, January 17, 2012   |  Company, Misc   Comments Off

We’re always working hard to bring new titles to the Logos library—from the latest books by top publishers and best-selling authors to tried-and-true classics. But with the sheer number of titles going up each week, it can be difficult to stay up-to-date.

That’s why we’ve created two new email subscriptions to notify you when the latest works become available on Pre-Publication and Community Pricing. Whenever a new title is available for Logos, you’ll be the first to know. This ensures that you’ll never miss the chance to get a classic on Community Pricing for up to 95% off or to snag a new title on Pre-Publication at a steep discount!

Signing up for these notification lists is easy:

  1. Go to the account details page on Logos.com
  2. Click on the Notifications tab
  3. Scroll down and select the boxes next to Pre-Publication and Community Pricing

That’s it! Now you’re all set to get updates on the latest titles to add to your digital library.

Find out more information on how our Pre-Publication and Community Pricing systems work.

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