How should Christians give?
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I was once quizzed by a man whose adult daughter had become a Christian and applied for church membership. He himself was not a church-goer and had many questions. One was, ‘What will she have to pay?’. I assured him there would be no charge! ‘But the church must need money,’ he told me. I explained that attenders gave voluntarily. ‘So what will she have to give?’ I told him it was entirely up to her. He kept pressing me for an appropriate amount. ‘What do other people give?’ he wanted to know. I replied, ‘Many Christians believe around 10% of their income would be appropriate’. There was a long silence. My answer had come as a bit of a shock — he’d apparently been thinking that around £50 a year would be adequate! Read More→
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Prioritising resources in Logos 4
By · CommentsSorry for another post about Logos version 4, but it really is a terrific piece of software. This time I’ve got two videos about prioritising resources. Resource prioritising in Logos 4 has replaced key-linking from Logos 3. Key-linking was a powerful magic that few mastered. Prioritising, on the other hand has drag and drop simplicity. It’s not quite as powerful as the key-linking feature, but as these two videos show, that’s not to say you can’t personalise Logos 4 almost exactly to your tastes. There are two videos. The first covers the basics and intermediate tips, the second is a bit more advanced. Update: I’ve added a third video on managing collections.
If you have any difficulties, all three videos are also available on Vimeo (introduction to prioritising and advanced prioritising and advanced collections).
Introduction to Resource Prioritisation:
Advanced Resource Prioritisation:
Update: Here’s an additional bonus video on creating collections.
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Moving from Logos 3 to Logos 4
By · CommentsWith the release of Logos version 4, a number of users are complaining about features that are missing in the new version. They’re right – but only partially so. There are some important features missing, but Logos has promised to add these back in fairly soon. But more often, the missing features are not missing at all. Logos hasn’t removed things you can do, so much as changed them. As a consequence users need to change their habits in order to make best use of the new features. The video below shows some of the ways I’ve tried to do that. The main point really is that we should not be asking “Why is this feature missing in Logos 4?”, but rather “How best do I accomplish this task in Logos 4?”
If the video above does not work, you can view it on Vimeo.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Evolution and the fall
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Darwin, Creation and the Fall – A review article
All evangelicals must accept that if science contradicts the Bible, then science is wrong. But we must also recognise that if science contradicts my interpretation of the Bible, then it could be that my interpretation of the Bible that is wrong, and science, in fact, that is correct. We must therefore be constantly reviewing our interpretation of Scripture in the light of new theological, archaeological or other scientific discoveries.
Often scientific discovery increases our understanding and appreciation of the Bible’s message. But some scientific theories seem opposed to Christian teaching, and, if Richard Dawkins is to be believed, none more so than Darwinian evolution. How we view evolution will have an incalculable impact on how we understand the Bible’s message. It will change not just how we read Genesis, but also our thinking about sin and the fall, and consequently our beliefs about redemption and the work of Jesus Christ. We must therefore be extremely careful in assessing whether Darwinian evolution can be compatible with an evangelical interpretation of the Bible. Read More→
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Logos Bible Software v3 (£300 – £1,000)
By · CommentsLogos Bible Software is not so much Bible Software, but a full electronic theological library. It combines the power of Bibleworks’ searching with the ability to read some of the very best commentaries, dictionaries, systematic theologies and even books. Most of these are available as add-ons, which can quickly get pricey. However, when you make your initial purchase of Logos you could choose a package that had many of them included, usually at a substantial discount.
Let me give you a flavour of some of the commentaries that are available: Kistemaker/Hendriksen (12 vols, £110), Bible Speaks Today NT (22 vols, £70), Calvin (22 vols, £70), Focus on the Bible (coming soon – 32 vols, £200), Welwyn (coming soon – 49 vols, £210), Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (21 vols, £350), Keil & Delitzsch OT (10 vols, £85), Lenski’s NT (12 vols, £210), New International Greek (12 vols, £375), Pillar NT (8 vols, £175), Word Biblical Commentary (59 vols, £490). Read More→
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Bibleworks v8 (typically £250)
By · CommentsBibleworks does one thing very well, very quickly. It allows you to view, search and analyse the Biblical text. Bibleworks deliberately avoids commentaries, theological dictionaries and other ‘books’, and puts all its effort into the Bible text. It’s lightning-quick, relatively cheap, and very powerful.
Bibleworks is designed for people who are familiar with the original languages, or you want to become so. There’s no interlinear included, for example, which would display the Greek/Hebrew text, but under every Greek/Hebrew word give an English translation of that word. There’s also few ‘extras’ to buy (which many people think is a blessing – you get almost everything included for your initial fee). The only ‘extras’ most people would consider would be the BDAG, HALOT and perhaps Liddell-Scott lexicons, which weigh in around £100 each. Read More→
Popularity: 2% [?]
