Buyers' Guide: Logos 6 Diamond editions

Mark Barnes

Since the launch of Logos 4, I've tried to write Buyer's Guides to Logos Base packages. Here are my belated opinions on Logos 6 Diamond packages. (There are also guides for Starter, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum editions.)

Diamond includes all of Platinum, and adds more than 580 resources for around $1,300. That includes some commentary sets, of which the most valuable is probably College Press NIV Commentary Series [$769.95]. Most of the other sets are incomplete or dated. Wesleyans may appreciate Wesleyan Bible Study Commentary Series [$249.95] which covers the NT and the Eerdmans Wesleyan Bible Commentary [$199.95], which covers just seven volumes at present. Moulton's Grammar of New Testament Greek [$179.95] will help with exegesis. There are also several journal sets, including 26 volumes of The Journal of Biblical Literature [$299.95], For OT background the Context of Scripture [$299.95] is a welcome addition. They are collected works from Spurgeon [$499.95], John Wesley [$249.95], Charles Wesley [$99.95] and B. B. Warfield [$274.95]. The Jewish Encyclopedia [$349.95] is comprehensive, if somewhat dated. The rest of the additions range from A Grammar of the Hittite Language [$81.95] to 101 Things Husbands Do to Annoy Their Wives [$8.95].

Anglican Diamond includes only the works of John and Charles Wesley (although Charles has been included since Anglican Gold). Some modern critical commentaries are finally added to Anglican, namely Continental Commentary Series [$599.95], Forms of the Old Testament Literature Series [$243.99], International Critical Commentary New Testament [$1,049.95], and International Theological Commentary [$449.95], all of which represent Continental/European scholarship. Several volumes of modern theology are also present including Canterbury Studies in Spiritual Theology [$329.95], Colin E. Gunton Theology Collection [$119.95], Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theological Trilogy [$449.95] and John Polkinghorne's Science and Theology Series [$159.95]. There's also plenty from the 19th century.

Baptist Diamond includes the College Press NIV Commentary, and Moulton's Grammar. Like Anglican Diamond, the major additions are commentary. They tend towards the expository rather than exegetical, and Several of these are 19th century sets or from less well-known authors. But notable sets include Calvin's Commentaries [$149.95], Focus on the Bible Commentaries [$409.95], the UBS Handbooks [$619.95] and Welwyn Commentary Series [$724.95]. There are several excellent lexicons, including BDAG [$150], Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon [$135] and Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT) [$159.95]. There are many books on minstry, and several relatively simple evangelical biblical studies resources, including the Day One Biblical and Theological Studies Collection [$269.95] and Donald Fortner's Discovering Christ in All Scriptures [$179.95]. The Early Church Fathers [$229.95] finally makes an appearance.

Reformed Diamond includes Spurgeon, the Context of Scripture, and Warfield (although the latter two were in Reformed Platinum). Again there are several welcome commentary additions. This time the majority are contemporary, and there's a mix of academic and more pastoral works, and of evangelical and more mainstream. On the academic side the best are Exegetical Summaries [$554.95], Mentor Commentary Series [$369.95] and New International Greek Testament Commentary [$599.95]. On the pastoral side Sheffield / T&T Clark Bible Guides [$262.95], Welwyn Commentary Series [$724.95], Westminster Bible Companion [$399.95]. There's a wide range of other resources, including older works on the History of Calvinism [$249.95] and Scottish Reformation [$104.95], Richard Muller's excellent Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics [$179.95] and Hughes Oliphant Old's The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church [$239.95]. As always in the Reformed base packages, there are also many collected works, this time R. L. Dabney [$149.95], Stephen Charnock [$149.95], Thomas Manton [$599.95], Cornelius van Til [$199.95] and John Knox [$199.95].

Verdict: Prior to the Diamond level the denominational packages tended to be very weak on commentary sets, but thankfully they've now caught up. Personally, I'm not convinced the standard Diamond package is worth the premium over Platinum, as it's a curious mix. It might suit pastors who want a wide range of resources from the last three centuries, and are involved both in ministry and academic work. If you don't fit that description, and the denominational Diamond packages don't appeal, you might be inclined to mix and match some of the smaller packages if you have a Diamond-sized budget. But Anglican Diamond is good value for Anglicans committed to Continental/European theology, Baptist Diamond would suit pastors wanting mostly non-academic commentaries combined with high-quality Greek tools. Reformed Diamond offers an excellent mix of exegetical tools, Biblical Studies, systematic theology and historical theology. It has plenty that will appeal to evangelicals (reformed or not), and to those from more mainstream reformed churches.

Mark Smith

Thanks for your efforts in this.