Biblia.com: Bible Study Online from Logos Bible Software

The latest news from Logos Bible Software is the launch of Biblia.com (beta) an online Bible study website that far outstrips any other online Bible Study website I have used.  I have been waiting for this kind of expansion from Logos, and I love it.

Here are some details about Biblia.com from Bob Pritchett, President and CEO of Logos Bible Software.  (This was posted early this morning on the Logos Bible Software Blog.)

Introducing the Biblia.com beta release: a super-simple Bible for the web that’s backed up by the incredible technology (and massive library!) of Logos Bible Software. What makes Biblia.com so cool?

1. Simplicity
Need to link to a Bible verse?
http://biblia.com/bible/jn3.16
Want to choose multiple verses and a specific version? http://biblia.com/bible/nlt/jn3.16-20

2. Power
Want to see the verse in context, or side-by-side with a commentary? Just click the “more >>” link and the single-passage display turns into a two-pane viewer where you can scroll through the Bible and thousands of other books from your Logos library.
You can even link directly to a book in your library: http://biblia.com/books/summbblnt/Jn3

Need to search? Biblia.com has the power of the Logos 4 search engine, running on the web.

3. Depth
Biblia.com offers thousands of resources for searching and reading online. Everyone can use a small collection of books (including more than a dozen bible translations). A free account allows access to dozens more free books. And Logos 4 users can access their library online, complete with synchronization of “last read” position between Logos 4, the iPhone/iPad, and Biblia.com! (The list of books available online is subject to publisher permission, as with availability through mobile applications.)

In the future, everyone will be able to purchase content at Biblia.com and use it wherever they choose: online, on mobile devices, in Logos Bible Software 4, etc.

4. Freedom
With shared licenses between Logos Bible Software 4 for Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Mobile Web, and Biblia.com, your content is available wherever you are. And we’re opening up to your great ideas, too:http://api.biblia.com offers a powerful set of web services for Bible search and retrieval. Anyone can harness the power of Logos Bible Software 4’s underlying engine to build new web sites, mashups, etc.

Biblia.com is still in beta, but the features that are live are running well. You can link to the URL’s created by Biblia.com’s “Share” feature and they will continue to work into the future. We will also be redirecting RefTagger and Ref.ly links to Biblia.com in the next few days.

Please send feedback to BibliaFeedback@logos.com, or join the discussion in our 
forums.

I tried this out and, sure enough, the last passage I was working on in Logos 4 popped up immediately.

I also see that I have access to 121 Bible versions and original language texts as well as 292 volumes from my synchronized library.

So far, the beta version is limited in features, but more are to come. I see that I'm experiencing some issues with fonts (which may be an issue on my end), but I like the access to basic resources with excellent response time.

Great job!

Check it out!

Biblia.com: Bible Study Online from Logos Bible Software

Grudem's Systematic Theology on Sale at CBD

Today's Fab Friday deals at Christianbook.com  includes a discounted price on Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.  This is well worth adding to your reference library!

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine 
Wayne Grudem
Retail Price: $49.99 
CBD Price: $24.99
( In Stock )
   
Stock Number: WW28670

The Christian church has a long tradition of systematic theology, that is, studying theology and doctrine organized around fairly standard categories such as the Word of God, redemption, and Jesus Christ. This introductory textbook on systematic theology has several distinctive features:

• A strong emphasis on the scriptural basis for each doctrine and teaching
• Clear writing, with technical terms kept to a minimum
• A contemporary approach, treating subjects of special interest to the church today
• A friendly tone, appealing to the emotions and the spirit as well as the intellect
• Frequent application to life
• Resources for worship with each chapter
• Bibliographies with each chapter that cross-reference subjects to a wide range of other systematic theologies

Compare with:  (currently $30.34) and  (currently $31.49)

Grudem's Systematic Theology on Sale at CBD

IVP - Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture CD-ROM

The ACCS series is now complete and available on CD-ROM working on the Libronix Digital Library System (TM).  This would make an excellent addition to your (and my) Logos collection.  Here are the details:

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture CD-ROM Complete Set

Windows Version
 (CD-ROM)
 General Editor - Thomas C. Oden


Expected Release: October 2010
Product Details

Retail Price: $385.00
Your price: $308.00 (20% Off Retail)
Length: 1 CDs
Size: 7 x 10 inches
Binding: CD-ROM
ISBN-10: 0-8308-2480-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-8308-2480-9
IVP Order Code: 2480

Related Books
The Bible Speaks Today New Testament CD-ROM (The Bible Speaks Today Series)
The Essential IVP Reference Collection 3.0
Tyndale Commentaries CD-ROM(Tyndale Commentaries Complete Set)

~ Details from the IVP Website ~

About the Series
The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture does what very few of today's students of the Bible could do for themselves. With the aid of computer technology, the vast array of writings from the church fathers—including many that are available only in the ancient languages—have been combed for their comment on Scripture. From these results, scholars with a deep knowledge of the fathers and a heart for the church have hand selected material for each volume, shaping, annotating and introducing it to today's readers. Each portion of commentary has been chosen for its salient insight, its rhetorical power and its faithful representation of the consensual exegesis of the early church.

Included on this CD-ROM from series editor Tom C. Oden is the full text of all twenty-nine commentaries from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Arranged canonically, each volume allows the living voices of the church in its formative centuries to speak as they engage the sacred page of Scripture. Now even more accessible in digital format, this series will prove an uncommon companion for theological interpretation, spiritual reading, and wholesome teaching and preaching.

Inside you'll find

• all twenty-nine volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
• commentary by the church fathers on all sixty-six books of the Bible and the Apocrypha
• introductions by world-renowned patristics scholars
• a money-saving package
• the new revolutionary Libronix Digital Library System (TM)
• a free KJV Bible
• unlockable versions of the Bible, including NASB, NRSV, NLT, RSV and The Message
• The Essential IVP Reference Collection (unlockable for a fee)
• a complete user's manual on the CD

System requirements: Windows 98 and beyond, Pentium II 350MHz (Pentium III 700MHz recommended), 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended), CD-ROM drive, 800 x 600 display (1024 x 768 recommended), Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.

Contents
Genesis 1-11 (Old Testament Volume 1)
Genesis 12-50 (Old Testament Volume 2)
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Old Testament Volume 3)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel (Old Testament Volume 4)
1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Old Testament Volume 5)
Job (Old Testament Volume 6)
Psalms 1-50 (Old Testament Volume 7)
Psalms 51-150 (Old Testament Volume 8)
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Old Testament Volume 9)
Isaiah 1-39 (Old Testament Volume 10)
Isaiah 40-66 (Old Testament Volume 11)
Jeremiah, Lamentations (Old Testament Volume 12)
Ezekiel, Daniel (Old Testament Volume 13)
The Twelve Prophets (Old Testament Volume 14)
Matthew 1-13 (New Testament Volume 1a)
Matthew 14-28 (New Testament Volume 1b)
Mark (New Testament Volume 2, 2nd Edition)
Luke (New Testament Volume 3)
John 1-10 (New Testament Volume 4a)
John 11-21 (New Testament Volume 4b)
Acts (New Testament Volume 5)
Romans (New Testament Volume 6, 2nd Edition)
1-2 Corinthians (New Testament Volume 7, 2nd Edition)
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (New Testament Volume 8, 2nd Edition)
Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon (New Testament Volume 9)
Hebrews (New Testament Volume 10)
James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude (New Testament Volume 11)
Revelation (New Testament Volume 12)

"Chronological snobbery--the assumption that our ancestors working without benefit of computers have nothing to teach us--is exposed as nonsense by this magnificent series. Surfeited with knowledge but starved of wisdom, many of us are more than ready to sit at table with our ancestors and listen to their holy conversations on Scripture. I know I am."

—Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College

IVP - Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture CD-ROM

"Prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually..." Packer

I am posting this primarily for my own exhortation.

One of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we know God, is prayer—spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer. Writing a century and a half ago, Robert Murray M'Cheyne declared, "What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is, and no more."

I do not write these things to manipulate you or to be engendering guilty feelings. But what shall we do? Have not many of us tried at one point or another to improve our praying, and floundered so badly that we are more discouraged than we ever were? Do you not sense, with me, the severity of the problem? Granted that most of us know some individuals who are remarkable prayer warriors, is it not nevertheless true that by and large we are better at organizing than agonizing? Better at administering than interceding? Better at fellowship than fasting? Better at entertaining than worship? Better at theological articulation than spiritual adoration? Better—God help us!—at preaching than praying?

What is wrong? Is not this sad state of affairs some sort of index of our knowledge of God? Shall we not agree with J. I. Packer when he writes, "I believe that prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is, so that how we pray is as important a question as we can face"? (J. I. Packer, in My Path of Prayer)

D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Baker, 1992 (my copy courtesy of Mark Gunn a reader of this blog. Thank you, again!)   

"Prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually..." Packer

How Do I Know God Exists? - D. A. Carson

Here's another argument for the practice of theology being a matter of changing hearts and lives rather than merely an "elite exercise" (see my previous post).



HT: Challies.com

How Do I Know God Exists? - D. A. Carson

The Idolatry of Concepts - Rikki Watts

I am using Rikki Watts' book Isaiah's New Exodus in Mark along with a few other commentaries (see them all in the sidebar) as I study and preach through the Gospel of Mark.  I've found a tremendous amount of help from Watts and highly recommend this work to you next time you dig into the Gospel of Mark.

Yesterday, I saw the following article highlighted by Jon Rising on his blog, Word & Spirit, which recounts the highlights of a recent lecture Watts gave at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore (flyer here).  This article was timely for me and I don't want to miss noting it here. (I checked for audio of this lecture, but found none.)

Emond Chua, "Theologian:  Bible About God's Character, Not Concepts".

I agree with Jon. This article "is well worth reading."  Three thoughts stood out to me as I read this article.

First,

Aggression by supposed Christians is really due to an "idolatry" of concepts...

“If you think it’s all about concepts, don’t be surprised if we treat people bad over concepts,” said Watts... “People in the name of truth will treat people badly.”

This is a hard saying, indeed.  Thinking of my own experiences and context, I must admit that maintaining a balance between standing for truth and upholding mercy towards real people is an enormous challenge.  Over the past couple of years, the Lord has placed me in positions where I've been helped to grow in this area more than ever before.  I'm very thankful for the reminder and challenge given by Watts at this point.

Second,

Watts gave the example of a chess game. Scientific observation of a chess game may lead to some understanding of the way the game is played. But it cannot differentiate between the friendly game played by a couple and the competitive one played by opponents. Just like that, theology has become an “elite exercise that doesn’t change lives,” he pointed out. (emphasis mine)

This statement coincides with the theme of Part II: Theological Existence in Karl Barth's Evangelical Theology: An Introduction (Eerdmans, 1986 [1963]) which I have been reading this week.  Please don't start firing darts at me because I'm reading Barth (re-read my First point above).  I'm reading Barth for academic reasons, but this second section aims at the heart of the theologian.  In his chapter on "Concern," Barth writes, "When a man becomes involved in theological science, its object does not allow him to set himself apart from it or to claim independence and autarchic self-sufficiency" (p. 75).  In other words, theology has ceased to be theology when it becomes an "elite exercise," to use Watts' phrase.  Barth goes on to say "There may be great lawyers, doctors, natural scientists, historians, and philosophers.  But there are none other than little theologians, a fact that, incidentally, is fundamental to the 'existentials' of theology" (p. 77).  I appreciated this humility coming from one who is lauded, certainly to his own chagrin, as a "Great" theologian.

Later on in this same chapter Barth tells a story of Professor Tholuck of Halle who sought to challenge the hearts of his students.

The story is told that the once famous Professor Tholuck of Halle used to visit the rooms of his students and press them with the question, "Brother, how are things in your heart?" How do things stand with you yourself?—not with your ears, not with your head, not with your forensic ability, not with your industriousness (although all that is also appropriate to being a theologian). In biblical terms the question is precisely, "How are things with your heart?" It is a question very properly addressed to every young and old theologian! (p. 83, emphasis mine)

Third, and finally, Mr. Chua notes that Watts landed his discussion of the "idolatry" of concepts with a contrast between concepts and character.  One concept that is paramount to Christians is that of holiness.  Can it be that the pursuit of holiness can lead to a form of idolatry?  This is what Watts proposes.

Holiness is not about being good, the professor pointed out. An excessive emphasis on goodness can actually bring death to people. It can make demons of its proponents. “I think holiness has to do with whether my life brings the life of God to other people,” he said. That was how the early church won over the ancient Roman world, the scholar added.

All of these statements, I believe, come from Watts' first lecture  in his two-part series, God's Faithful Character: Understanding the NT Use of the OT with Special Focus on Mark.

Lecture 1 is, God's Faithful Promise—Isaiah's Saving Light to the Nations and Malachi's Warning to Israel.

Lecture 2 is God's Faithful Presence—Jesus as Messiah, Servant, Son of Man...and the Lord Himself.

Watts also lectured on the Gospel of Mark.  Here is the series:

Making a Difference — Being Disciples of a DIFFERENT Kind of God: Studies from the Gospel of Mark

1.  A Call to Discipleship: Making Sense of the First Gospel
2. Who is This? Mark's Astonishing Picture of the Jesus We Follow
3. The Heart of Discipleship: A New Humanity for a New Creation

If anyone finds a link to these lectures in audio format, please let me know.  I'd love to listen to them!  I should also add, that Rikk Watts is slated to write a new commentary on the Gospel of Mark for the NICNT series which will replace that of William Lane.

The Idolatry of Concepts - Rikki Watts

"We need intimate knowledge of the past" // C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis combined abilities to look backward and forward in unusual measure. Most of his readers know he was a literary critic, but he spent little time reviewing authors among his contemporaries. He was, instead, a literary historian, an explorer particularly of medieval and Renaissance literature. He thus was committed to the importance of history to provide us not only with more or less interesting accounts of the past to satisfy our curiosity but also with an accurate understanding of how we got here‒and what "here" actually is. Lewis is, as usual, eloquent on his theme:

We need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village: the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age. (Lewis, "Learning in War-Time," 50-51.)

John G. Stackhouse, Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World. Oxford: University Press, 2008,  pp. 71-72.

"We need intimate knowledge of the past" // C. S. Lewis

Donald Fairbairn on What is "Eternal Life"?

We all know that Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe in him. But what is eternal life? Most of us think of it either as a synonym for "heaven" or as meaning "living forever." But neither of these gets to the heart of what eternal life, in the biblical sense, means. "Heaven," the way many people use the word, means little more than the actualization of whatever a particular person happens to like. Heaven is the place where you never have to work or where you can play baseball all day long or where you can eat whatever you want and not have to worry about your cholesterol level. The word heaven has been trivialized so much that it is almost meaningless today. And "living forever" can be misleading as well. According to Scripture, all people are going to live forever, in one way or another. One of the marks of the significance God has given to every human being is that all will live forever, either with God or apart from God. But that is not what Jesus means by "eternal life" here. Rather, the phrase translated "eternal life" means "life of the age." It is referring to a future age, to the new kind of life that God will establish at the end of history, a life that will be shared by all those who believe in Christ and follow him. Eternal life is not just living forever; it is living in a certain way, having a certain quality of life that is available only to those who have faith in Christ.

Donald Fairbairn, Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the Help of the Church Fathers. IVP Academic, 2009, p. 29 (emphasis mine).

I would like to thank the kind folks at IVP Academic for the review copy of this book.  I would also like to thank Giotis Kantartzis, pastor of 1st Greek Evangelical Church of Athens, for his hearty recommendation of this book.  So far, this has been a challenging and thought-provoking read!

Donald Fairbairn on What is "Eternal Life"?

Brand New: Dearman on Hosea (NICOT) + NICOT Sale

Not long ago the Westminster Bookstore partnered with Eerdmans Publishing to offer a special deal on The Letter to the Hebrews by Peter T. O'Brien along with a discount on the rest of the Pillar NT Commentary series.  I took advantage of this and am very glad I did.

Well, Westminster Bookstore is at it again with another great opportunity.  They are partnering again with Eerdmans Publishing to offer a special deal on J. Andrew Dearman's New International Commentary Series volume, The Book of Hosea.

View the Table of Contents here.

Below is a sampling of the high praise that Dearman's commentary is receiving:

"This is a welcome addition to the NICOT series. Dearman's commentary provides the most recent deep engagement with the ancient text of Hosea the prophet. Dialoguing with the best of scholarship, the commentary offers both detailed exegesis of the text with accompanying translation from the original Hebrew, as well as general overviews at key literary junctures to orient the reader to the progressive development of the book as a whole. Particularly helpful is Dearman's sensitivity to the social context of ancient Israelite households. He restores the vivid metaphorical colors of the book of Hosea long faded by history."
Mark J. Boda— McMaster Divinity College, McMaster University

"Serious engagement with the book of Hosea now starts with Dearman's commentary."
Tremper Longman III— Westmont College

"This is a welcome addition to the NICOT series on one of the most important prophets of ancient Israel.... readers will not be disappointed by Dearman's thorough and penetrating exegesis."
Bill T. Arnold— Asbury Theological Seminary

Until August 19th, Westminster Bookstore is offering Dearman's new Hosea volume for 45% off of its list price. At the same time, they are offering an extra 10% off of every NICOT volume's already discounted price with a purchase of 2 or more (so if someone buys 2 NICOT volumes they will receive and extra 10% off of each).

Here is a list of the NICOT volumes:

The Book of Genesis 1-17 (NICOT) by Hamilton, Victor P.  
The Book of Genesis 18-50 (NICOT) by Hamilton, Victor P.  
The Book of Leviticus (NICOT) by Wenham, Gordon J.  
The Book of Numbers (NICOT) by Ashley, Timothy R.  
The Book of Deuteronomy (NICOT) by Craigie, Peter C.  
The Book of Joshua (NICOT) by Woudstra, Marten H.  
The Book of Ruth (NICOT) by Hubbard, Robert L., Jr.  
The First Book of Samuel (NICOT) by Tsumura, David Toshio  
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (NICOT) by Fensham, F. Charles  
The Book of Job (NICOT) by Hartley, John E. 
Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15 (NICOT) by Waltke, Bruce K. 
Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31 (NICOT) by Waltke, Bruce K. 
Song of Songs (NICOT) by Longman, Tremper 
The Book of Ecclesiastes (NICOT) by Longman, Tremper 
The Book of Isaiah 1-39 (NICOT) by Oswalt, John N. 
The Book of Isaiah 40-66 (NICOT) by Oswalt, John N. 
The Book of Jeremiah (NICOT) by Thompson, J. A. 
The Book of Ezekiel 1-24 (NICOT) by Block, Daniel I. 
The Book of Ezekiel: 25-48 (NICOT) by Block, Daniel I. 
The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah (NICOT) by Allen, Leslie C. 
The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (NICOT) by Robertson, O. Palmer 
The Books of Haggai and Malachi (NICOT) by Verhoef, Pieter A. 

Brand New: Dearman on Hosea (NICOT) + NICOT Sale