The Most Useful Resource for Topic Studies
I am trying to find the most useful resource for Topical Studies. I am also tying to compare and contrast the various Logos tools.
For example the Topic of Patience
1. Factbook list 135 passages plus 6 key verses
2. The Topic Guide list 48 passage plus 4 key verses
3. The Sermon Starter Guide list 147 passages plus 6 key passages
4. The Sense Lexicon lists 14 results for Galatians 5:22 in the NKJV Longsuffering
5. The New Topical Textbook list 52 verses and various other Topical Books
6. A search for the English word patience in the NKJV lists 25 results
7. A Louw and Nida semantic domain search lists 25.167–25.178 list 102 results in the New Testament
8. A seach for the Greek lemma in Galatians 5:22 lists 14 results
9. A root search list 25 results.
10. If I am doing other Topics such as marriage then I also have the Cultural Concepts search.
What is the most useful way to search for a Topic. Why is there a discrepancy between Factbook and the Sermon Starter Guide? The Topical Guide in this case seem less comprehensive then the Factbook and the Sermon Starter Guide.
Comments
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What is most useful depends upon what information you are trying to get, what kind of questions you want to answer.
As for the Factbook/Starter Guide inconsistency, the Factbook is curated data; the Start Guide is not. as for the other "discrepancies" - most of the topics are assigned based upon a particular person's particular interpretation of the passage and the topic. Root and lemma searches are just a starting point because many words have more than one meaning. I personally find Louw-Nida and the BSL the best starting points ... but not the complete story..
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Which resources are best is extremely subjective and dependent upon what the intended goal is. Personally, when I am starting a study on a topic, I am appreciative of resources that provide passage references and concise summaries of how the passages cited contribute to knowledge about the topic as a whole. From there it is helpful to move to more in-depth resources, searches, etc. In no particular order, here are some resources I have at various times found to be helpful at "jump-starting" a topical study:
1. Dictionary of Bible Themes
2. Where to Find It in the Bible
3. Nelson's Topical Bible Index
4. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5. What Does the Bible Say About...
6. Willmington's Book of Bible Lists
7. Topical Analysis of the Bible
8. Collins Thesaurus of the Bible
9. New Nave's Topical Bible
10. The New Topical Textbook
There are others, but these should get you started. Factbook and Topic Guide should automatically search these resources and show you any hits from them. Again, I do not cite these because they are the most in-depth, but because they provide a quick overviews of a topic and a launching point for further study.
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