Essential reference works
Which reference works (on or off logos) do you consider essential in either bible study or sermon prep? Prior to getting Logos I would have listed:
- Young's Analytical Concordance of the Bible
- The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary
- Catena Aurea
- A good English Dictionary
- These Truths We Hold
Logos makes Young's somewhat redundant, and has allowed me to access more Patristic commentary directly, lessening the value of Catena Aurea. It has also highlighted the deficiencies in the Patristic resources I own and in my language skills.
Which reference works would you list?
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- the books of Johanna Manley as one thread to follow;
- The commentaries of Theophylact of Ohrid are a definite must.
- Kallistos Ware provides a methodology so anything that helps you implement that is a plus ... access to summaries of typology, liturgical documents, sermons ...
- I've seen only a bit of the Chrysostom Bible project but it may deserve mention.
- The Orthodox Study Bible: If you’re not already using it, the OSB has some helpful, basic articles and footnotes throughout the text.
- An Interlinear or Side-by-Side Bible or New Testament: Using both the Greek and/or Hebrew text alongside the English text can really help when you get stumped on a passage or everyone has really different translations. Plus, it brings up other interesting questions as you go along. There are a few online sources like BibleHub or BibleStudyTools or you can find them on Amazon (here’s one suggestion). For this and other books, I suggest purchasing one or two OCF copies that can be passed down rather than having everyone in the chapter get one.
- A Concordance: This nifty little book is basically a fancy index for the Bible, letting you find passages by topic. Again, there are some online tools on BibleStudyTools or you can go for Strong’s Concordance in print.
- A Bible Dictionary: Ever come across a word and wonder the history of that word, idea, or object? A Bible Dictionary is a step up from Wikipedia. Try Vine’s.
- Commentaries: There are about a million of these you could try, but the best, of course, are the Orthodox patristic commentaries, but certainly modern Orthodox (and non-Orthodox) authors have some things to add, too. Probably your local parish has a few of these you can borrow or might be willing to purchase them for the parish. Here are just a few:
- Ancient Christian Commentary Series: This gives you just little snippits from a number of Fathers, East and West, on each passage. This is great for hearing from the cloud of witnesses and getting to know which Fathers you connect with the best.
- The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox: Similar to Ancient Christian Commentaries in that it gives brief patristic passages, but compiled by an Orthodox author to be used with an Orthodox daily lectionary.
- St. Theophylact: St. Theophylact’s commentaries on Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ephesians, Galatians are available on Amazon.
- St. John Chrysostom: Of course, St. John’s homilies are incredibly useful! You can find many of them for free in somewhat archaic English from Christian Classics Ethereal Library or you can order a volume such as this one. St. John has homilies on Genesis, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews. Whew. I think that’s it.
- The Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series: Written by Fr. Lawrence Farley, these offer some simple and helpful reflections on the entire New Testament and are meant to be especially helpful if you are reading in the OSB.
- Fr. Paul Tarazi: A biblical scholar from St. Vlad’s, Fr. Paul has written on Genesis, Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John (including his letters), Paul’s letters (with full volumes on Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Romans, I Thessalonians, and Galatians.
- ExeGenius: Have you seen this really cool tool put out by the GOA’s Y2AM team? Go through the Sunday Gospel readings word by word with this interactive commentary which pulls together interesting portions of Bible dictionaries, concordances, and commentaries as well as adds a few thoughts geared specifically toward youth and young adults.
- OrthodoxYouth: These resources from the Antiochian Archdiocese include study guides, quizzes, and mp3s on the books of the New Testament for youth and young adults.
- Orthodox Scripture Study: Thanks to the ACROD seminary Christ the Saviour, you can tune in to live lectures on the Gospel of John or the Gospel of Matthew. They also archive video and audio versions of the lectures.
- Your Spiritual Advisor: You can never go wrong with having a priest helping you walk through the words of the Bible.
Which reference works (on or off logos) do you consider essential in either bible study or sermon prep?
For the Orthodox perspective, that is not an easy question. I would suggest:
But remember that I am Catholic leaning towards the Eastern rites and I stick to English sources.
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."
From my Latin rite Catholic perspective, an absolutely necessary prologomenon to any real study of Orthodoxy or any aspect of it is attending Orthodox (or Eastern Catholic) liturgies, especially but definitely not exclusively the Divine Liturgy. The actual celebration of the liturgy is, to my mind, the first and greatest reference book for Eastern Christianity. (Of course, the liturgy is inexpressably more than a reference book.)
Readers of books on Eastern Orthodoxy will benefit tremendously from attending even one significant Eastern Christian liturgy before hitting the books.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
Readers of books on Eastern Orthodoxy will benefit tremendously from attending even one significant Eastern Christian liturgy before hitting the books.
This Lutheran would want to echo this as well. I understand how we Logos book lovers want a resource to explain everything, but from what I DO understand, they view things differently. I will not claim to understand it fully since I remain an outsider, but the best hints I have have been from attending their worship and talking with Orthodox about why they do some of the things they do.
The Gospel is not ... a "new law," on the contrary, ... a "new life." - William Julius Mann
L8 Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox Silver, Reformed Starter, Academic Essentials
L7 Lutheran Gold, Anglican Bronze
Hi Ken:
I understand what you are trying to say. But then your post kind of illustrates what I am trying to convey to all:
To have a better idea of what is really going on, is not enough to read a book. Ideally if we meet the practitioners / sources then we can understand better.
Exactly my point: If we get the baptism of the Holy Spirit and have an encounter with God that way, we will understand better what He wants done and how.
It is not enough to read the Bible, we need to be involved and take part in Jesus' second mission: baptize us with the Holy Spirit.
The church g:ekklesia was in real life the gathering of believers that had the Holy Spirit operant in their lives.
Now there is a misunderstanding that church is the Structure, with its traditions, authority lines, etc. When all that was just to facilitate being a fit aid to Jesus.
Jesus is the hope of the world, He is the savior. Not the Church, the Church is just a fit aid of Jesus (His Bride), let's not lose that understanding.
Kind regards.
For centuries there has been quite a bit of theological study on various early Christian witnesses in academic theology. Of particular interest to many is Ignatius of Antioch, who left us some letters that he wrote when he was being transported from Antioch to Rome for his expected martyrdom. The textual history of these letters is arguably complex - with some abbreviating them, and others expending on them to update them with later concerns and distinctions, but most scholars for over at least the last century have said that the "middle" version is authentic. One passage of his came to mind upon reading your response, Hamilton.
Flee from divisions, as the beginning of evils. You must all follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and follow the presbytery as you would the apostles; respect the deacons as the commandment of God. Let no one do anything that has to do with the church without the bishop. Only that Eucharist which is under the authority of the bishop (or whomever he himself designates) is to be considered valid. (2) Wherever ever the bishop appears, there let the congregation be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church. It is not permissible either to baptize or to hold a love feast without the bishop. But whatever he approves is also pleasing to God, in order that everything you do may be trustworthy and valid. (Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans 8)
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers: Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed., pp. 189–191). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
At the very least I hear from figures like this that as important as it indeed is to make some distinctions between the Church and Jesus, her bride, we dare not make this distinction a separation. In fact, much of what this Lutheran has heard from Orthodox is that we Westerners have often done that - or at least muddy things in our desire to make clear distinctions. They find it hard to imagine talking about the Holy Spirit without talking about Prayer - and when they talk about Prayer they want to tie closely together the Prayer of the Church as a a whole with all the prayers of all the faithful. And wrapped up in all of this, they also talk about the Holy Spirit with the Trinity itself - as being sent from the Father through the Son to the Church - and so our lives as Christians are wrapped up in and around the divine life of God.
And so I strongly suspect that when they hear you talking about "baptism of the Holy Spirit" they would either be confused about what you mean, or say that of course when we are Baptized, we are also sealed with the holy oil of Holy Spirit... And if you are talking about a spiritual experience much like what has been called the Beatific Vision in much of western mysticism, they would remind you that in the Orthodox descriptions of this, this Vision is followed/lived out in an earthly community.
That all said, I am neither an authoritative interpreter of Eastern Orthodoxy nor is this really a topic appropriate to discussion here.
SDG
Ken McGuire
The Gospel is not ... a "new law," on the contrary, ... a "new life." - William Julius Mann
L8 Anglican, Lutheran and Orthodox Silver, Reformed Starter, Academic Essentials
L7 Lutheran Gold, Anglican Bronze
Which reference works would you list?
I found an interesting list at https://www.ocf.net/resources-for-bible-study/
[quote]
"Illumine our hearts, O Master Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Thy gospel teachings. Implant also in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well-pleasing unto Thee. For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, Who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."
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."
How could I have forgotten the Ancient Christian Commentaries Series?! That's a great resource. St.Theophylact's commentaries are also highly regarded, and sadly missing from my shelf. I have concerns with Fr. Paul Tarazi (see http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/fr-paul-tarazi-from-study-to-heresy.aspx).
And of course, every Orthodox Christian should turn to his spiritual father for guidance. But that's not a resource I can put on a bookshelf, or download to Logos.
I have concerns with Fr. Paul Tarazi (see http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/fr-paul-tarazi-from-study-to-heresy.aspx).
Thanks for the link. Has there been a response? I was left with an uneasy feeling re:the author expressing concern: was he reading the text as the average intended reader would or was he reading with the intent to find fault? When I next find myself reading Tarazi, I will pay closer attention to the perceived issues.
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."
Hi Christopher:
As a non expert, I like certain very basic books to help me.
From an article related to 9Marks we can see that there are different areas, that may require different resources:
I particularly like very much: (remember I am not formally trained)
https://www.logos.com/product/27749/survivors-guide-to-theology
Anchor Yale Dictionary, Old ISBE has some neat stuff,
https://www.logos.com/product/4897/the-ways-of-our-god-an-approach-to-biblical-theology
https://www.logos.com/product/16107/dictionary-of-bible-themes,
https://www.logos.com/product/8537/the-jewish-encyclopedia,
Logos Pro Team had some recommendations on good resources for study, but I cannot find the exact article:
https://blog.logos.com/2016/04/top-bible-study-resources-picked-logos-pros/
In a similar article they listed:
https://www.logos.com/product/27277/new-dictionary-of-biblical-theology
In the forums, many persons have given recommendations for resources, an important one for me was:
https://www.logos.com/product/46349/lexham-glossary-of-theology
There are good Mobile ed courses that clarify many concepts, and that recommend good resources according to particular areas.
As you can see I am more drawn to Systematic Theology and topical studies.
One idea is for you to enter "Logos Pro Team" in the search box of Logos Talk blog site and explore what they have to say:
https://blog.logos.com/2016/01/5-ways-the-logos-pros-can-help-with-your-bible-study/
https://blog.logos.com/2010/10/improving_your_bible_study_with_dictionaries/
I have a collection with all my dictionaries / encyclopedias, and some suggested resources by the Logos Pro Team, and I use it to search for particular topics to get a rough idea of the conceptual envelope associated with it.
https://blog.logos.com/2016/12/people-really-studied-bibles-2017/
https://blog.logos.com/2015/07/how-to-grasp-the-flow-of-thought-in-a-passage/
https://blog.logos.com/2018/05/study-concept-senses-ring/
You must remember that many tools in Logos actually harness many resources to help you with the task at hand.
https://blog.logos.com/2017/07/find-every-eschatological-reference-entire-bible/
https://blog.logos.com/2017/07/use-bible-sense-lexicon-logos/
https://blog.logos.com/2017/06/find-everywhere-jesus-discusses-subject/
https://blog.logos.com/2017/06/search-connections-greek-english-bibles/
Then there are timeless classics like:
https://blog.logos.com/2014/07/logos-5-combine-clause-passage-list-and-ln-numbers-for-a-unique-search/
https://blog.logos.com/2014/06/how-do-you-use-logos-dave-moser/
As you can see, there are certain resources that are very good reference works. but Logos software is a platform that goes beyond that to provide tools, workflows, and the like that allow more to be done more effectively.
The amount of help from the Logos Pro Team and others is large and invaluable in tackling tasks suited to particular areas as depicted in the graphic above.
Hope some of the above info is of help to you.
Kind regards.
Thank you for the well thought out reply, Hamilton. I will admit the intent was less to gather resources than generate discussion and traffic in the Orthodox products forum. I appreciate your contribution.
Ok, sorry.
Any thoughts on good Orthodox systematic theology?
What are some of the key loci, that you think are missing in the systematic theologies of other traditions / denominations?
Tanks ahead of time for your input.
Well since theology is the study of God, I would have to say that the primary deficit in non-Orthodox books of theology (at least from an Orthodox perspective) is that they are wrong.
Also, Orthodoxy has never been overly concerned with systematically organizing anything. It is probably the single most disorganized organized religion I've ever seen. Having said that I would suggest
I have not read the last one, but it is highly regarded and may actually do more to explain how Orthodoxy views our interface with God, and the ultimate goal of the Christian life.