Cross-posted from the Logos 9 Wishlist thread to give more visibility within the Verbum 9 community.
Phil Gons (Faithlife) said:What improvements should we make to existing features?
If Faithlife is genuinely expanding into theology, they have done some useful work for some users but, in general, I would say they have missed the mark for another set of users.
1. It is useful to create a neutral ontology so the organization of the LST has it's place. However, for many Christians an organization already existed in the form of the 12 articles of the Apostles Creed. An alternative organization based on the Creed would be "more natural" to many users and greatly appreciated:
Reformed Answers said:The Apostles' Creed
1. I believe in God the Father [Isa. 44:5-6], Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth [Gen. 1:1; John 1:3; Acts 14:15]:
2. And in Jesus Christ [Luke 2:11; John 20:28], his only begotten Son [John 3:16], our Lord [John 20:28]:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost [Luke 1:35], born of the Virgin Mary [Luke 1:27]:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate [Luke 23:24]; was crucified [John 19:20; Acts 4:10], dead [1 Cor. 15:3] and buried [1 Cor. 15:4]: He descended into hell [Acts 2:24, i.e. the grave]:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead [1 Cor. 15:4]:
6. He ascended into heaven [Luke 24:51; Acts 1:11], and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty [Mark 16:19; Heb 1:3; 10:12]:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead [John 5:22; 2 Tim. 4:1]:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost [John 15:26; 16:7-8, 13]:
9. I believe in the holy catholic [universal] church [Gal. 3:28; 1 Tim. 3:15]: the communion of saints [Acts 2:44; Heb. 10:25]:
10. The forgiveness of sins [Luke 7:48]:
11. The resurrection of the body [1 Cor. 15:52-54; 1 Thess. 4:16]:
12. And the life everlasting [John 10:28; 17:2]. Amen [Eph. 3:21; Rev. 7:12].
2. The Creeds/Confessions of Faith/ etc. are a frequent starting point for many when addressing historical questions or fundamental starting points for unfamiliar denominations. The resources offered in this area should be expanded (think Pelikan). But more important is some form of a parallel creed reader that presents sections on the same topic side by side.
3. The majority of systematic theology works represent the opinion of one person and have little authority and less long term influence. There are, of course, exceptions such as Palamas, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin . . .What is usually of more interest to an "outsider" than individual's opinions is the corporate opinion of the church as a whole .. think Lambeth papers, or the papers produced on same sex marriage, homosexuality, just warfare, capital punishment ... This is where the church hits the pavement and most questions I need to research fall. Building relationships with the publishers of church documents is critical.
4. Several branches of Christianity take "Lex orandi, lex credendi" very seriously. Liturgy IS theology in contrast to theology of liturgy. Therefore, Faithlife needs to improve the sequencing of the data in the Liturgy Guide section, implement historic lectionaries (i.e. liturgical dates only), and implement a basic structure into which worship services can be coded to permit easy comparison of analogous parts across rite, time and denomination. This also requires moving into the Daily Prayer/Breviary/Liturgical of the Hours/ et. al. as daily prayer is a significant element of liturgy.
When Faithlife addresses theology in this way, I will believe that they took their move into theology seriously and considered the needs from the lay leader to the ordained clergy to the professor.
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."
Comments
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MJ. Smith said:
When Faithlife addresses theology in this way, I will believe that they took their move into theology seriously and considered the needs from the lay leader to the ordained clergy to the professor.
[Y]
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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MJ. Smith said:
4. Several branches of Christianity take "Lex orandi, lex credendi" very seriously. Liturgy IS theology in contrast to theology of liturgy. Therefore, Faithlife needs to improve the sequencing of the data in the Liturgy Guide section, implement historic lectionaries (i.e. liturgical dates only), and implement a basic structure into which worship services can be coded to permit easy comparison of analogous parts across rite, time and denomination. This also requires moving into the Daily Prayer/Breviary/Liturgical of the Hours/ et. al. as daily prayer is a significant element of liturgy.
When Faithlife addresses theology in this way, I will believe that they took their move into theology seriously and considered the needs from the lay leader to the ordained clergy to the professor.
Yes, yes, yes! I occasionally check back to these forums to see if we are making headway on this... the possibilities are great if software could bridge these gaps and make it available to a wide audience.
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