Of those who upgraded to Logos 7
Did you upgrade primarily because of the new features available in Logos 7, or did you upgrade to take advantage of the book packages?
Which was more important to you?
As for me, it was more the book packages.
"In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church," John Wesley
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Full feature set, for the 2 interlinears, and the multi-view. Then some Zondervan, while the sale lasts.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Book packages. I have no use for sermon editor. A lot of features / datasets of any interest I already had access via Logos Now.
When it comes to the book packages of the resources i don't have and am interested in they are spread out over a number of denominational packages with very little overlap. So this time around I won't be able to initially get all of the resources I would have liked but thankful for what I can get and for the ongoing discounts Logos Now offers.
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I upgraded primarily for new books. The features I bought to own them, though I had access to them through Logos Now. As mentioned by DOC, the various base packages don't overlap as much, so dynamic pricing is still high on some other BP's. I'm upgrading as I can, but as of now, I have everything I need. Mainly looking at Baptist Platinum and Standard Platinum as final upgrades, but may have to wait a little longer for those.
I'm definitely looking forward to mastering Sermon Editor and other features.
DAL
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The books. I have the Bronze Verbum library and the Starter tools
WIN 11 i7 9750H, RTX 2060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD | iPad Air 3
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Michael Childs said:
Did you upgrade primarily because of the new features available in Logos 7, or did you upgrade to take advantage of the book packages?
Which was more important to you?
As for me, it was more the book packages.
Mine was both. There were some feature sets that were attractive, and then I saw that there were three sets in L7 Standard Gold that I would like to have.
With previous major upgrades, the larger, higher packages were important to me but no longer. It's surprising the gems that one can find in the new smaller packages.
Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Clinton, SC
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Purely new books.
- New features are not really geared towards preparing a sermon. Even the new Sermon Note thingy is still premature. (not available on mobile, -- ship now fix later type of business model)
- Visual Copy still doesn't even have the capability to edit the font size and style, though Logos' promotional video said so. *more marketing pitch.
- Worst.. They haven't improve their so called famous tagging system. (those thousands monographs in our library are just sitting ducks for years)
- And few other stuffs that I'm disappointed with.
Logos 7 release is more like another day of the 6-week Logos Now cycle. No face-lift, no groundbreaking/magical features. I'm even still ok for them to call it Logos 6.15
I've used Logos around 3 days a week, and I haven't lose sleep at all without Logos 7 new features.
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Mainly the books for me. I'm just a lay person so the Sermon Editor has no value for me even though it's supposed to be a big new feature.
I ended up getting Standard Bronze for the mobile ed NT211 class because I was interested to check it out. I'm coming from a Logos 6 Platinum library so this was a very inexpensive upgrade. $69 for the library. So it was worth it just for the class. I think a class by Darrell Bock is worth it. The New Daily Study Bible seems to be a good addition for me as well.
The main upgrade was Anglican Bronze because I wanted the NT Wright resources (For Everyone Series and various books) that were bundled. I didn't have most of them and many were on my wish list so it was a no brainer to spend roughly $100 for more than $400 in resources I planned to use.
The course tool looks promising. I have enough of the resources for most of the classes. I'm still missing AYBD though which is used in a few of them. Stepping up to a Gold package was too steep to get AYBD in a base package. AYBD and ACCS seems to be the main resources that I didn't have. ACCS doesn't seem like a compelling addition since I already have a lot of commentaries (WBC, NICOT/NT, NIVAC, PNTC, TOTC/TNTC, NAC)
New Testament Use of the Old Testament looks very interesting.
Improved text comparison is useful for me since I don't know original languages.
Spellcheck with notes is nice. Although I could've sworn this feature was already in version 6. It seemed to be working last week before I upgraded.
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Books, because I already had 7 because of my Now subscription.
I got Methodist Bronze for about $90 because it was the package with the most bang for the buck for my interests.
Michael said:I'm still missing AYBD though which is used in a few of them. Stepping up to a Gold package was too steep to get AYBD in a base package.
And when I stuck the Methodist Bronze in my cart, I had the option (which I took) of getting the AYBD at $70 off (=$200). So, for just under $300, I got a decent small library with the AYBD--a much better deal for me than the Gold packages which included said Dictionary.
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I upgraded primarily for the datasets. I do not want to fall behind too far. I did however chose the "best" Bronze package in terms of price and books.
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I have not completely upgraded yet, but took the starter feature set and intend to get the full set when I can.
I have way more books than I will ever read, so I don't feel that I need to get a whole bunch of them. At this point, I only buy very specific resources and get collections if they make me get the books I want for cheaper than separately.
But I want to keep on increasing my ability to mine the Scriptures (and other resources I have) and this is what datasets and features make possible.
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I am Now subscriber - so I was automatically upgraded to 7.
I did also pick up a Bronze package for the library.
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Logos Starter Feature Set, because my Dynamic Price was insanely low. Looking to get the Verbum Starter Feature Set for the same reason. Also looking at Bronze and higher packages in different traditions based on which items already on my wishlists are included in what package(s). I am comparing the cost of those wishlist items separately with the cost of the package which contains them to identify "best buys" for me. I'm away from that spreadsheet at the moment, but there are some... interesting opportunities, cash flow permitting.
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I upgraded because of the Tyndale commentary set - the upgrade price was not much more than the set discounted, and I also bought the feature set.
Logos 7 has more features than I can utilize, but I try to keep up with the technology and and be ready for situations where I have to work off-line.
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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For me it was both. Got a larger library and a couple of smaller ones. Since I bought a package and received a discount on the Mobil Ed classes picked up those also. Picked up L7 and Verbum ( was only like $2.00 more) full feature sets. Wanted the full feature sets to keep up on them. And since buying LN gave me an ok discount picked that up too, well that and the Mobile Ed class that is included. Um and the discounts. Oh yea and maybe some free stuff now and then.
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I'm another person who did it for both. Buying base packages is the most cost-efficient way to grow your library.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Primarily for the books. If I didn't have LN, it would have been for both. The base packages (even the small ones) are the most economical way of increasing the library with need resources, although you will get some resources that you may not imagine needing.
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I did for both. The Concordance Tool looks pretty cool, and I think I'll use it quite a lot in the future. I am also looking forward to getting the BCP28 Lectionary that is only included in the Full Feature Set when it is released. But it is also a great way to get additional books for my library. I have my eyes set on a certain Gold Level library, but I don't quite have the money for that yet. So, in the meantime, I've purchased the Bronze with the Full Feature Set.
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I'm always happy to add the new features even if I'm not going to use them all. The libraries are really the foundation of Logos and building them is always the hook for getting the update.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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I just upgraded the Library because I have Logos Now and will be keeping it.
But I added the Tindale commentary, ACCS, and the main point was Continental & Hermeneia.
In my class work I have already used ACCS for reference work even though that is not one of the main resources i wanted.
So I am happy with getting Platinum.
L4 BS, L5 RB & Gold, L6 S & R Platinum, L7 Platinum, L8 Baptist Platinum, L9 Baptist Platinum, L10 Baptist Silver
2021 MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14" 16GB 512GB SSD, running MacOS Monterey iPad Mini 6, iPhone 11.0 -
To get the books.
I love Logos, but would gladly give p 90% of the features to get 50% more speed. I have a relatively new, fast laptop, but still fine myself waiting a lot of Logos. A lot of the bells and whistles are cool, but I never use them.
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Having Logos Now allowed me to upgrade to L7 Features automatically. I will continue with LN as I like having new features as they come out. Regarding the library sets, I really like Standard Gold and Platinum. My problem is that I have the older Barclay NT and I have Tyndale and the Anchor Dictionary in another bible software. So, I don't really get the value except having those in Logos. Platinum is probably the best overall value for me with Hermenia and Continental Commentaries, but not being a student I am not sure they will be useful. I have a few of the Hermenia volumes and they are good, but I have the technical/critical commentaries covered with other sets.
So, I think I will save money and just purchase a smaller denominational library. Baptist Bronze has Mentor and SDA silver has Mentor, New Covenant and half the Tyndale. Both have denominational resources that I am not interested in, but still less expensive than buying the books I want. I may just be content with my current library...
I am non-denominational (Calvary Chapel), so my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful? I am not in anyway degrading denominational resources, just curious how valuable they are if one is not practicing in that denomination.
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I wanted the additional books and some training videos that the library offered. As a Now member, I was getting the Features incrementally all along.
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each time I wait for new release, I wait for new base packages because I learned that this is the best discount I can have.
"No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying." Leonard Ravenhill
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John Fidel said:
my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful?
Answer from me is yes.
For this upgrade I have not taken a Pentecostal and Charismatic option, main reason being that the resources seem more Charismatic than Pentecostal.
What I did to though was purchase a Methodist and Wesleyan package alongside a Standard one. These better met my needs for specific resources that cover aspects of our theology.
For me some of the other packages have not been attractive to date but I tend to look at them in part at least because there is always an arbitrary element in the way things are partitioned and from my perspective if another denominational package had a series that I wanted and was the most cost effective way of obtaining the resources I would buy the package.
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Michael Childs said:
As for me, it was more the book packages.
Same here but this is because I have Logos Now so that covered the features for me.
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John Fidel said:
...my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful? I am not in anyway degrading denominational resources, just curious how valuable they are if one is not practicing in that denomination.
I haven't done so yet, but I am planning to purchase Verbum Starter for the Catholic catechism resources. I'm interested in a denomination's positions "from the horse's mouth", so if I find a denomination to be of relevant interest, I'll look for those kinds of resources and buy accordingly.
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I agree with Virgil as to the reason I buy a mixture of denominational library's. When looking at theological topics it is good to read how different denominations look at a give topic in order to help us going beyond I believe 'x' because that's how my denomination tells me that's what I should believe. That said you will always get some denomination specific 'handbook's' on how to do church etc that are less useful but if you choose wisely then the resources of value that you do get from that level of package will cost you more outside of the base package than they do buying them as part of the base package.
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Virgil Buttram said:John Fidel said:...my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful? I am not in anyway degrading denominational resources, just curious how valuable they are if one is not practicing in that denomination.
I haven't done so yet, but I am planning to purchase Verbum Starter for the Catholic catechism resources. I'm interested in a denomination's positions "from the horse's mouth", so if I find a denomination to be of relevant interest, I'll look for those kinds of resources and buy accordingly.
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Just got the New Feature Set. Maybe will add a package before the sale ends but am still paying off the last big purchase.
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John Fidel said:
so my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful?
John, I have purchased packages from many of the traditions ("denominations"). My first thought was that the term "denominational resources" is a bit vague, although it makes me think more of the catechisms and liturgical and church polity resources that are probably not so much of interest to me. However, each tradition has authors and sets that I am interested in reading/studying. But even the worship resources are helpful--I come from a "non-denominational" background, but have loved using the lectionaries for personal study and occasionally building a sermon series (advent and lent come to mind). I like some of the fresh, bold, simple faith and practice found in the Pentecostal sets. I love the historical roots in the fathers and some of the theological thinking void in my tradition that I find more overtly in the Orthodox and Catholic sets, etc. etc. Those are some of the reasons I guy across traditions. [note: I have made some sweeping generalizations and know that some may think I have meant something I do not--perhaps that "Pentecostalism is simple" (hmm, see Fee for constant reminders it is not).]
I like Apples. Especially Honeycrisp.
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Disciple of Christ (doc) said:
in order to help us going beyond I believe 'x' because that's how my denomination tells me that's what I should believe
Another good point
I like Apples. Especially Honeycrisp.
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Friedrich said:John Fidel said:
so my question to those of you that purchase denominational libraries outside your own denomination, do you find the denominational resources in them useful?
John, I have purchased packages from many of the traditions ("denominations"). My first thought was that the term "denominational resources" is a bit vague, although it makes me think more of the catechisms and liturgical and church polity resources that are probably not so much of interest to me.
Thanks for your thoughts. I did mean denominational resources, not commentaries or other books written by authors of various backgrounds. There are resources that are very tradition or denomination specific that I question the value of for me (of course they are valuable for others.) I appreciate the input provided by all.
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I have really appreciated this discussion. It has helped me formulate my own buying strategy and examine my motives for buying. I also strongly relate to what one poster said in another thread regarding both (a) being a fan of Logos, but (b) not really feeling like I'm in the center of their target audience. I am not currently a pastor, so I have very little need of things to help me write sermons or to make lessons easy; I don't need tools to facilitate things I can do on my own such as grammatical analysis. However, I have a great desire for resources that reflect top level primary research (rather than secondary research such as that found in all but a few commentaries). While I enjoy and am edified by other types of resources, I'd love to focus my buying on things that will feed into my specific academic needs.
So here's my dilemma: While there are tons of great resources available for Logos that fit my current goals as described above, the base packages are not really centered around such needs. Even when some some resources have my mouth watering (e.g., the Dictionary of Classical Hebrew), these aren't things that would be primary jumping-off points from any academic work I intend to do. But the L7 release promotional pricing makes it hard to avoid, right? Further, I have no idea how much the great L7 features would really help me promote my research.
I'm not looking for answers from anyone here, but I just wanted to share my thinking and to express gratitude for those who have shared and for the great tool FL has built for us.
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Lew Worthington said:
I have a great desire for resources that reflect top level primary research (rather than secondary research such as that found in all but a few commentaries). While I enjoy and am edified by other types of resources, I'd love to focus my buying on things that will feed into my specific academic needs.
Hi Lew:
Very interesting point. Out of curiosity, have you got a list of the resources that you consider would satisfy your requirements and needs? If so, can you share it with us.
I started with a particular denominational base package and the features. As I started to read threads on new features, and see the training videos for L7, I saw how much more helpful L7 could be in general.
So due to dynamic pricing, I was able to get some other denominational packages.
The sermon editor I think is not only for sermons, but could be used for teaching ( as in WS lesson maker) sort of.
One of the most incredible features to me are the Systematic theology and Biblical theology in the Passage guide.
As I am into checking in detail my beliefs, and why I have them, these features allow me to really see what the different angles are on a given doctrine.
I wish that in the future a similar feature is developed to have biblical, systematic and historical theology but by topics.
So far I go to topics type resources, and see what verses / passages / pericopes are included in the topic, and then run the passage guide for the reference(s).
Thanks ahead of time for any input.
Peace and grace.
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Hamilton Ramos said:
Hi Lew:
Very interesting point. Out of curiosity, have you got a list of the resources that you consider would satisfy your requirements and needs? If so, can you share it with us.
Hamilton, I am very grateful to you for the extent to which you are encouraging me to think about this with greater precision. In response, I asked myself, "If I could build a base package just for me, what would I put into it?"
For me, the starting point would probably be journals and festschrifts and other collections of articles and essays. When I open the base package comparison page and look at all included resources, the high-end packages are really good. But many of the included journals, even in the Collector's Edition, I already have. (I must confess, however, that many of the journals I find most useful are not available in Logos, which is probably fine since they would probably cost way too much.)
So I started thinking about monographs and collections of essays that I would find helpful, and you know what? They ARE included in a base package, but generally only in the magnificent Collector's. (It's an odd name since having that many great resources ought to encourage one to use them, not just collect them. [:)] ) One fine example is Characterization in the Gospels: Reconceiving Narrative Criticism by David Rhoads. There are many others in this collection I would love to include as part of my study, but I cannot afford them.
Therefore, I really misrepresented the state of things regarding base packages: It is not the case that great academic materials are not available in a base package; but it is the case that the more expensive the package, the greater proportion one gets of the kinds of materials I'm interested in. And this is fine, because it's probably important that FL target Sunday School teachers, pastors, Bible study leaders, etc., more than biblical scholars since the former folks are more directly connected with most people and they far outnumber the latter folks.
I wish there was a way to configure a base package, similar to the way I chose classes in college eons ago. For my undergraduate work, I had to choose two courses in each of several general areas. It would be great to build a custom base package (at the lovely discount rate of the current ones) by allowing me to choose 20 resources of NT monographs, 20 OT monographs, 50 journals, etc.
But I'm dreaming. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to make that work in a business environment.
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Lew, thanks for your reply.
I see what you mean. I am far from the scholar environment.
Some time ago I was able to get the Bloomsbury bundle ridiculous cheap. The Characterisation in the Gospels resource you mention was included.
I agree with you that a custom base package build option would be real cool.
From my point of view, it would be great to have a list of resources that "reflect top level primary research" so a collection can be done, to check what them resources have to say with respect certain key thrusts in the Bible.
What I have seen that is helpful, is that when persons with large libraries are invited to talk about key themes, they are able to search and discuss key concepts that would signal valid venues for further research.
In the site "Christian Discourse", I have been able to have very good information exchanges with other participants, and we are able to learn and edify by sharing views on content from resources, and allows persons to know if certain resources are worth buying.
Peace and grace.
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Lew Worthington said:
I wish there was a way to configure a base package, similar to the way I chose classes in college eons ago. For my undergraduate work, I had to choose two courses in each of several general areas. It would be great to build a custom base package (at the lovely discount rate of the current ones) by allowing me to choose 20 resources of NT monographs, 20 OT monographs, 50 journals, etc.
I think that would be great too. The other thing that has occurred to me is whether, now that FaithLife has developed a fairly full series of denominational packages, they could consider doing something similar to reach other specific target markets. For instance, they already have the "Biblical Languages" package. I could imagine that being expanded out into a series of base packages targeting seminarians, professors and scholars. The Starter and Bronze packages might have resources chosen for someone studying Bible as an undergraduate at a Christian college, Silver and Gold might target the resources someone would use working on a Masters degree in Seminary, Platinum and Diamond might target the general types of resources that someone working on a Doctorate might typically use, and so on.
That wouldn't get to the kind of customization you're looking for, but it would allow for packages that focused more exclusively on resources that are useful in an academic environment. And, if it went really well, perhaps there could be more than one set of academic packages (e.g., a Languages series, a New Testament Studies series, and an Old Testament series). There would be overlap, but with dynamic pricing that wouldn't be a real problem.
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Interesting idea.
I would love to help them put these packages together! [:)]
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EastTN said:
I think that would be great too. The other thing that has occurred to me is whether, now that FaithLife has developed a fairly full series of denominational packages, they could consider doing something similar to reach other specific target markets. For instance, they already have the "Biblical Languages" package. I could imagine that being expanded out into a series of base packages targeting seminarians, professors and scholars. The Starter and Bronze packages might have resources chosen for someone studying Bible as an undergraduate at a Christian college, Silver and Gold might target the resources someone would use working on a Masters degree in Seminary, Platinum and Diamond might target the general types of resources that someone working on a Doctorate might typically use, and so on.
That wouldn't get to the kind of customization you're looking for, but it would allow for packages that focused more exclusively on resources that are useful in an academic environment. And, if it went really well, perhaps there could be more than one set of academic packages (e.g., a Languages series, a New Testament Studies series, and an Old Testament series). There would be overlap, but with dynamic pricing that wouldn't be a real problem.
That would be fascinating. It could open up the possibility for some of the "higher-tier" resources (BDAG, HALOT, NA and BHS Critical Apparati, etc.) to be included at higher package levels (i.e. Gold).
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