Covenant Companion, January-February 2003, pp. 13-14,

Searching the Cyber-Scriptures

By John R. Throop

Bible study and sermon preparation are great spiritual exercises. Until recently, however, these exercises built more than spiritual muscle. Lugging those hefty texts to a desk where they could be spread out felt like a workout, complete with a weightlifter’s bench press. Now, a small CD in a computer is all that you need for personal study sermon preparation. A nd complex studies, which used to take hours, can be accomplished in a few keystrokes with a new generation of Bible study software available for desktops, laptops, handheld devices (like the Palm Pilot) and even some Internet-ready cell phones.

Making the right decision on Bible software depends on use and need. A pastor with a more scholarly approach, seminary professor, or Bible teacher will want a product that has multiple translations of the Bible, many original language tools, contemporary and older commentaries, and Bible dictionaries, with the ability to do quick searches between all of these tools.

The Logos Bible Software Series X (www.logos.com), for example, provides a vast library of resources—up to 2,500 titles from more than 100 publishers—that can interface with dozens of Bible translations, original texts, and an enormous variety of tools. Logos software features the Libronix Digital Library System, a new easy-to-use system designed in response to user feedback.

Logos Series X is built on a new technology called the Libronix Digital Library System. Dan Pritchett, Logos’s director of marketing, says that the company has responded to user feedback on how they actually use the product, and redesigned it for ease of use.

“People now can dive directly into their study of a Bible passage or Bible topic,” he says. “All they have to do is enter passage, click ‘go.’ The software researches the passage and creates a report with links to the right page and paragraph within all the relevant books. It’s like having a personal research assistant.” Additional books can be copied from disk or downloaded from the Logos website directly into the software and unlocked (purchased) via Internet or telephone.

Logos offers a variety of resource combination, such as the Scholar’s Library (232 Bibles and references), but also a Christian Home Series for lay people (60 Bibles and references), and a host of other combinations that can be customized by theological bent or denominational preferences. “A customer can order a digital library to their own taste,” Pritchett says.

The Libronix system also will run a new version of the New American Standard Electronic Bible Study System from the Lockman Foundation, together with a new electronic version of the Whole Amplified Bible.

Sidebar: Focus on Logos Bible Software Series X

The Logos Bible Software X, which uses the Libronix system, provides several starting points for research and reflection. I can begin with a passage, and move into various resources: the Bible text itself, text and commentary, a word study incorporating Greek and Hebrew, or a passage guide. Or, if I prefer, I can enter a topic, such as “kingdom of God” or “discipleship,” and the Libronix system presents relevant verses on those topics, all hyperlinked.

Entering Mark 1:1-8, for example, I have access to an excellent commentary by the evangelical scholar John D. Grassmick in The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Textual cross-references are hyperlinked so I can point, click, and get to the text—and then click on the tools taskbar to return to the original text. I also can identify a preferred commentary for passage study.

What if I want to get other points of view? I can click on a reference search bar for a particular Bible verse and get notes from other study Bibles, Bible dictionaries, and a wealth of commentaries, some older and some newer. I can make my own notes on a text with the notes tool, and I can highlight a passage with an electronic marker.

When I select a passage, the software presents me with hyperlinks to various commentaries. In addition, there is a cross-reference to The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge for additional background material. Finally, there are twenty topics supporting this passage from which to choose (such as “messenger,” “honey,” and “repentance”) that provide further material. If I click on “word study,” the software generates key words in the passage such as “beginning,” “gospel” and “Jesus,” together with hyperlinks to the relevant lexicons.

I also have the option of starting a Bible reading plan tailored to my interests and time—again, with a wealth of tools at my fingertips so that I can go as deep in study as time and interest allow. There also are morning and evening devotional commentaries in the library, and in the basic library more than 100 books by Christian authors such as Bill Hybels and Ben Patterson.

© 2003 by John R. Throop. Used by permission.