Please check this base package out - it should be educational for many
In the Catholic Products forum, my attention was drawn to Verbum 8 Biblicum Standard, a new base package. It "was created in collaboration with the Pontifical Biblical Institute." I would like everyone to look at the resources that this official Institute chose. Why? Because it illustrates the degree to which high quality Bible study is independent of theological leanings. And how much we can share as long as we read critically.
It is so tempting to also use this as a soapbox as to why Verbum/Logos software divide should remain only a setting away. 
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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Goodness. Even the Peshitta. And those sly dogs included Aramaic Bible too. It IS quite unbelivable!
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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I also was curious about this and was wondering why the other Verbum BPs have a 20% discount, but not this? I sent a query to my sales rep, but no answer yet.
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The one thing in this package that's kind of interesting is the scope of foreign language texts. Sort of like BibleWorks if you need that.
I have most everything in this package save for a handful of commentaries, those foreign language texts, and the Verbum training.
We can always toss a coin to see who is playing catch-up. [8-|]
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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Does 'standard' mean that there will be more Verbum 8 Biblicum packages?
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That looks fantastic. Easily the best package so far for people like me.
"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected."- G.K. Chesterton
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That is a great package!
Disclaimer: I hate using messaging, texting, and email for real communication. If anything that I type to you seems like anything other than humble and respectful, then I have not done a good job typing my thoughts.
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Filled with lots of fillers I can’t use IMHO and I wouldn’t pay $900 for it.
DAL
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DAL said:
Filled with lots of fillers I can’t use IMHO and I wouldn’t pay $900 for it.
Verbum.com said:Designed for: Academic biblical scholars
You are absolutely correct that this is not the best package fit for much of the FL customer base. But I can't resist pointing out you have a $1,600 overlap with it. I picked up NICOT at a fire sale price as I had a larger overlap.
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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My sales rep responded twice: I followed up with a few departments on this one. It looks like this was a custom bundle that was created for a conference and doesn’t qualify for the discounting at the moment.
And then: Good news! It looks like we were able to get that approved for 20% off!
That brings it down to a reasonable price for me.[:D] Recheck your price.
https://www.logos.com/product/182577/verbum-8-biblicum-standard
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Dale E Heath said:
My sales rep responded twice: I followed up with a few departments on this one. It looks like this was a custom bundle that was created for a conference and doesn’t qualify for the discounting at the moment.
And then: Good news! It looks like we were able to get that approved for 20% off!
That brings it down to a reasonable price for me.
Recheck your price.https://www.logos.com/product/182577/verbum-8-biblicum-standard
Academic audience or not, it still doesn’t offer that much for $795 which is only $105 less with the discount. I’m good, though; so this one is definitely skipper. Plus, I don’t read german, korean or any other language included in the package. 👍😁👌
DAL
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Dale E Heath said:
And then: Good news! It looks like we were able to get that approved for 20% off!
That’s what I admire about Faithlife, that they care about their customers! Thank you, Dale, for asking, and FL, for being flexible.
Thanks to FL for including Carta and a Hebrew audio bible in Logos 9!
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Biblicum is brilliant for people who want:
- Critical, technical commentaries on both testaments.
- Original language texts and tools for the OT, NT and Septuagint
- Multilingual Bibles and interlinears
If that's you, it's certainly worth checking out.
(For those who are interested, my commentary rules already cover the commentaries included in this base package.)
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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MJ. Smith said:
It "was created in collaboration with the Pontifical Biblical Institute."
Biblicum is a common name for the Pontifical Biblical Institute run by the Jesuits (Society of Jesus). It occurred to me that many might not realize this. This is a list of classes for the upcoming academic year that would be supported to varying degrees by this package:
PHILOLOGICAL SECTION
Introductory courses [1 semester course = 15 ECTS]
- GP1107 Greek I-II [in Italian] (5 hrs/wk, I sem.): Prof. Luca Pedroli
- GP2109 Greek I-II [in English] (5 hrs/wk, I sem.): Prof. Sunil Clifard Ranjar
- GP1207 Greek III-IV [in Italian] (5 hrs/wk, II sem.): Prof. Luca Pedroli
- GP2209 Greek III-IV [in English] (5 hrs/wk, II sem.): Prof. Sunil Clifard Ranjar
- HP1110 Hebrew I-II [in Italian] (5 hrs/wk, I sem.): Prof. Luigi Santopaolo
- HP2112 Hebrew I-II [in English] (5 hrs/wk, I sem.): Prof. Wiesław Jonczyk
- HP1210 Hebrew III-IV [in Italian] (5 hrs/wk, II sem.): Prof. Luigi Santopaolo
- HP2212 Hebrew Hebrew III-IV [in English] (5 hrs/wk, II sem.): Prof. Wiesław Jonczyk
Advanced courses [each course = 5 ECTS]
- GA1107 NewTestament Greek, A [in Italian] (3 hrs/wk - I sem.): Prof. Dean Béchard
- GA2105 New Testament Greek, A [in Italian](3 hrs/wk - I sem.):Prof. Dean Béchard
- JERGA8 New Testament Greek, A (I sem. - at the PBI in Jerusalem): Prof. (to be announced)
- GB1210 New Testament Greek, B [in English] (II sem.): Prof. Dean Béchard
- GB2205 New Testament Greek, B [in English] II sem.): Prof. Dean Béchard
- HA1110 Biblical Hebrew, A [in Italian](3 hrs/wk - I sem.): Paola Mollo
- HA2111 Biblical Hebrew, A [in English] (3 hrs/wk - I sem.): Paola Mollo
- HB1210 Biblical Hebrew, B [in Italian] (II sem.): Paola Mollo
- HB2211 Biblical Hebrew, B [in English] (II sem.): Paola Mollo
- HC1102 Biblical Hebrew, C [in Italian] I sem.): Prof. Agustinus Gianto
- HC2202 Biblical Hebrew, C [in English] (II sem.): Prof. Agustinus Gianto
- AB1107 Biblical Aramaic [in Italian] (I sem.): Prof. Luigi Santopaolo
- AB2208 Biblical Aramaic [in English] (II sem.): Prof. Anthony Soo Hoo
- OX1106 Septuagint Greek, A [in Italian] (I sem.): Prof. Daniela Scialabba
- OX2206 Septuagint Greek, B [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Daniela Scialabba
- DS2103 Hebrew Syntax and Semantics [in English] (I sem.): Prof. Agustinus Gianto
- DS2103 Greek Philology, A ([in Italian] (I sem.): Prof. Enrico Cerroni
- D2204 Greek Philology, B ( [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Michele Napolitano
[For Oriental Faculty]
ISAGOGICAL and HISTORICAL-GEOGRAPHICAL SECTION [each course = 3 ECTS]
Archaeology and Geography
- PA1207 Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Near East [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Ida Oggiano
- PA-TS2 Archaeology and Geography in the Holy Land [September 1-29, 2019 - at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem - in Italian]: Prof. Josef Mario Briffa
Textual Criticism
- CT1101 Textual Criticism of the Old and New Testament [in Italian] (I sem.): Prof. Stephen Pisano
Hermeneutics
- MI1107 Biblical Hermeneutics and Exegetical Methods [in Italian] (I sem.): Prof. Pasquale Basta
- MI1210 Biblical Hermeneutics: A Lonergan Approach [in English] (II sem.): Prof. Gerard K. Whelan
History of the Old Testament
- RV1136 History of Ancient Israel (XIII-VI Centuries B.C.) [in Italian] (I sem.): Proff. P. Dubovský - A. Gianto
- RV1231 Old Testament Background: History and Religion [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Paolo Merlo
- JERRV1 The Southern Levant (13th to 5thc. B.C.) (I sem. - in Jerusalem): Prof. Josef Mario Briffa
History of the New Testament
- RN2124 Jews and Christians in a Roman Imperial World [in English] (I sem.): Prof. Katell Berthelot
- RN1225 Flavius Josephus and the History of the NT [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Joseph Sievers
- JERRN7 The First Century Context of the NT (I sem. - in Jerusalem): Prof. Josef Mario Briffa
EXEGETICAL-THEOLOGICAL SECTION [each course = 5 ECTS]
Old Testament
I semester
- IV1117 Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls [in English]: Prof. Emanuel Tov
- EV2150 Divine Covenant and Law in Pentateuch [in English]: Prof. Dominik Markl
- EV3136 King David or the Invention of the Human [in Italian]: Prof. Craig Morrison
- EV4147 «Trito-Isaiah»: Text, Themes, and Theology [in English]: Prof. Dominic S. Irudayaraj
- EV4148 Book of Daniel: History and Visions [in Italian]: Prof. Agustinus Gianto
- TV5113 The Psalms and the Psalter: texts and contexts [in Italian]: Prof. Daniela Scialabba
- TV2103 The God of Abraham and the God of Moses: Theologies of the Pentateuch [in Italian]: Prof. Jean Louis Ska
- IN2105 Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels [in Italian]: Prof. Marc Rastoin
- EN2151 The Presentation of the Messiah (Matt 1-4) [in Italian]: Prof. Henry Pattarumadathil
- EN3140 John 18-19: Passion and Death of Jesus [in English]: Prof. Michel Segatagara Kamanzi
- EN5138 1st Corinthians [in English]: Prof. Oda Wischmeyer
- EN5127 Letters to Timothy and Titus [in English]: Prof. Philip Towner
- EN8128 The configuration of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation [in Italian]: Prof. Luca Pedroli
- RN2124 Jews and Christians in a Roman Imperial World [in English]: Prof. Katell Berthelot
- DS2103 Greek Philology, A [in Italian]: Prof. Enrico Cerroni
II semester
- IV1214 Introduction to Exegetical Methods [in English]: Prof. Dominik Markl
- EV2238 Josephus and HIs Brothers(Gn 37-50) [in Italian]: Prof. Federico Giuntoli
- EV3242 Judges 3-16 [in Italian]: Prof. Paul Béré
- EV3243 Theology of the Books of Chronicles [in English] Prof. John Endres
- EV4249 In the Time of the End: Jer 14-15 [in Italian]: Prof. Benedetta Rossi
- EV5245 Hebrew Poetry: Forms, Genres and Wirkung [in Italian]: Prof. Jean-Pierre Sonnet
- TV1216 Sin and Forgiveness [in English]: Prof. Gary A. Anderson
- IN1212 The Jewish Apocalyptic Literature [in Italian]: Prof. Joseph Sievers
- EN2249 The Passion Narrative in Mk and Mat [in English]: Prof. Henry Pattarumadathil
- EN2259 The Prophet in Galilee (Luke 4-9) [in English]: Prof. Sunil Clifard Ranjar
- EN3241 Gospel of John (cc. 13-14) [in Italian]: Prof. Maurizio Marcheselli
- EN5226 Ephesians 1-3 [in Italian]: Prof. Juan Manuel Granados Rojas
- TN2218 The Parables in the Fathers: the Eschatological Expectation [in Italian]: Prof. José Luis Narvaja
- DS2206 Hebrew Syntax and Semantics [in English]: Prof. Agustinus Gianto
- DS2204 Greek Philology, B [in Italian]: Prof. Michele Napolitano
From the Pontifical Gregorian University
- DS3104 From the binding of Isaac to the cross of Christ [in Italian] (I sem.): Prof Massimo Gargiulo
- DS3105 Midrashic Readings of the book of Lamentations [in English] (I sem.): Prof. David Meyer
- MI1210 Biblical Hermeneutics: A Lonergan Approach (II sem.): Prof. Gerard K. Whelan
- DS2206 Theology and Jewish Thought of the Second Temple( [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Luca Mazzinghi
- DS3207 Origins of the Alexandrine Tradition: Exegesis and Theology [in Italian] (II sem.): Prof. Matthias Skeb
From the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology (PIAC)
Courses valid for the Licentiate curriculum at PBI:
- PIAC01 /PIAC02 Initiation to Christian antiquities [in Italian] (I-II sem.): (several professsors)
- PIAC03 /PIAC04 Ancient Christian Epigraphy (I) and Epigraphy Exercises (I) [in Italian] (I-II sem.): Prof. Danilo Mazzoleni
- PIAC05 Ancient Christian Cemeteries [in Italian] (I-II sem.): Prof. Vincenzo Fiocchi Nicolai
From the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI)
Courses valid for the Licentiate curriculum at PBI:
- PISAI01 Introduction to the Quran + Bible and Quran [in English and in Italian] (I sem.): Proff. C. Clohessy and V. Cottini
SEMINARS (*)
- SM0102/SM0202 Introductory Seminar in Methodology (I and II sem. - in Italian) [1 ECTS]: Prof. Stanisław Bazylinski
I semester
- SV2120 Pentateuch and Hellenism [in Italian]: Prof. Federico Giuntoli
- SN3116 The Characters of the Fourth Gospel [in Italian]: Prof. Michel Segatagara Kamanzi
- SV5138 Book of Job [in English]: Prof. Michael Kolarcik
- SV1129 Politics in the Bible and Biblical Politics [in English]: Prof. Dominik Markl
- SV4137 Methodology for the Study of Prophetic Books [in Italian]: Prof. Benedetta Rossi
- SV1117 Introduction to the Historico-Critical Method [in Italian]: Prof. Jean Louis Ska
- SA1107 Hearing the Bible in Three Different Keys [in Italian]: Proff. Peter Dubovský, Philipp Renczes, David Meyer
- SV3110 History and Theology in 1-2 Maccabees [in Ital. or Engl.): Prof. Joseph Sievers
- SV4138 Readings in the Septuagint of Jeremiah [in English]: Prof. Emanuel Tov
- SA1108 History and Culture of the ANE and the Hebrew Bible [in English]: Prof. Anthony Soo Hoo
II semester
- SV1230 Human Sacrifices in the OT [in English]: Prof. Paul Béré
- SN5227 Retorica antica ed esegesi paolina [in Italian]: Prof. Juan Manuel Granados Rojas
- SV5236 The Psalms: Genre, Structure, Unity [in English]: Prof. Michael Kolarcik
- SN2239 I miracoli di Gesù nei sinottici [in Italian]: Prof. Henry Pattarumadathil
- SN3215 OT Quotations in the Gospel of John [in English]: Prof. Stephen Pisano
- SV1206 Narrative Techniques of the Old Testament [in Italian]: Prof. Jean Louis Ska
- SV1231 State Formation and Kingship [in English]: Prof. Joseph Briffa
- SV5238 Ben-Sira and the Use of the Scripture [in English]: Prof. Nuria Calduch-Benages
- SV1232 Analisi del discorso (Discourse Analysis) [in Italian]: Prof. Paola Mollo
- SA0229 Conceptions of Divinity in the ANE and the Hebrew Bible [in English]: Prof Anthony Soo Hoo
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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Some of these PBI courses would make excellent mobile Ed courses under the Verbum branding, provided they were in English, but would be of interest to users from all Faith traditions.
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MJ. Smith said:
n the Catholic Products forum, my attention was drawn to Verbum 8 Biblicum Standard, a new base package. ...
MJ, thank you for drawing my attention to this package. I finally gave in and bought it today (while 20% off) -- mostly for the Targums (Aramaic Bible) and AYB.
There's also a new Verbum 8 Academic package, in Standard, Premium, and Pro. Dynamic pricing made Pro worthwhile too.
PS (edit)
This didn't end up being as good value as I'd hoped. A quarter of the Anchor Yale Bible commentaries (22 of 90) are missing from the Biblicum Standard package.
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Thanks to FL for including Carta and a Hebrew audio bible in Logos 9!
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PetahChristian said:
Virtually the same old stuff (e.g. ICC, TDOT, etc.). I decided to just pick up a couple of Gold upgrades and got more for my money 👍😁👌
DAL
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DAL said:
Virtually the same old stuff (e.g. ICC, TDOT, etc.). I decided to just pick up a couple of Gold upgrades and got more for my money
I didn't have Fr. Devin's training videos, so that worked out well for me. Grateful!
Thanks to FL for including Carta and a Hebrew audio bible in Logos 9!
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PetahChristian said:DAL said:
Virtually the same old stuff (e.g. ICC, TDOT, etc.). I decided to just pick up a couple of Gold upgrades and got more for my money
I didn't have Fr. Devin's training videos, so that worked out well for me. Grateful!
I had the videos from a Verbum Silver upgrade, both the homiletics one and the how to perform Searches video. I‘m not really interested in the Academic videos. Both standard and Verbum professional are virtually $218 for me, but I’m good for now. Maybe when they do a last minute sale right before Logos 9 comes out I’ll reconsider and buy one 👍😁👌
DAL
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Mark Barnes said:
Biblicum is brilliant for people who want:
- Critical, technical commentaries on both testaments.
- Original language texts and tools for the OT, NT and Septuagint
- Multilingual Bibles and interlinears
If that's you, it's certainly worth checking out.
This is exactly what I was looking for when I first bought a full base package. I'm glad it's available now and hope that future Biblicum style packages will be developed.
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My price just went down to $135 after upgrading to Portfolio Standard. It's cheaper this way than if I had bought Biblicum first and then upgrade to Portfolio.
I'm still not getting it for now, though; since most of the resources that will be added are just a few commentaries and a lot of foreign language Bibles that I will not use anyway.
I'm better off with Portfolio Standard and the plethora of resources it offers. Many jewels like the Anchor Bible and The New Studies in Biblical Theology among many more are more on par with what I need. At this point, my library could still be used by "Academic Scholars" and they'll do just fine without the german Bibles and other Bibles in other languages.
Great tool!
DAL
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MJ. Smith said:
RN2124 Jews and Christians in a Roman Imperial World [in English] (I sem.): Prof. Katell Berthelot
Bear with me:
I am a lay sheep but highly enthusiastic of theology. The above course caught my eye, and I tried to find the syllabus corresponding to it to no avail.
Googling around I found:
https://www.bu.edu/religion/files/2010/03/Jewish-Romans-PF-6-14.pdf
Amazing write up.
Quoting from it: (page 28)
"Whichever reconstruction one prefers, a presupposition of contact (whether hostile, friendly, or both) undergirds all. But the adversarial rhetoric qua rhetoric is itself part of the problem: its great formal stability hinders the effort to see in the surviving literature the actual beliefs, concerns, circumstances, and social behaviours of ideologically warring contemporaries."
Eventually I am interested in trying to find out which groups, ethnos, individuals, etc. had at some point displayed / possessed, the godliest culture / best Christian Culture at their particular time.
I am trying to find a unifying sub-thrust in it all if existing.
To do that I must recur to my Library and my resources, how can I determine what the true:
actual beliefs
concerns
circumstances
social behaviors
spiritual edifying / defining experiences
were?
How can all this amazing packages, bundles, etc. help me do such research?
Do you know of any resources that touch on the godliest groups, individuals, cultures through a timeline to be able to study the best of the best through time?
Thanks ahead of time for your input.
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Hamilton Ramos said:
To do that I must recur to my Library and my resources, how can I determine what the true:
There is a reason that most colleges/universities with which I am familiar require a course in critical thinking for its undergraduates. Among other things, this will teach you something like:
Philosophy 25 E said:An objective statement must meet the three following criteria: Objective claims must have a "truth value" –the statement is capable of being either true or false, an agreed-upon method for determining whether the claim is true or false, and lastly, in a disagreement about the claim, arising from it being true or false, someone must be wrong.
If the statement is potentially true:
- If it is the result of a line of argument, verify the validity of the argument.
- If it is presented as a commonly known fact that is actually unfamiliar to you, then try to verify that two other authors with reason to know but a different orientation that the original source, also present the fact as true.
- Much of what you are asking required broad reading in social history, biographies, and memories.
Recognize that many statements are not subject to true/false/unknown values. Be comfortable saying that the statement is the best fit you have found to your beliefs and experience without mistaking that for being true. Be comfortable saying that when viewed through an economic lens, or through a social justice lens, or ... knowing that different lens provide different perspective and most of the time we lack the expertise and resources to resolve them into one coherent view.
Hamilton Ramos said:Do you know of any resources that touch on the godliest groups, individuals, cultures through a timeline to be able to study the best of the best through time?
If I found a resource that even claimed to attempt to do this, I would immediately distrust it. What one can find is biographies, memoirs, or writings of individuals spread through time and cultures who many seriously religious people of any time or culture recognize the truly life-altering "godliness" of. And from experience, I can assure you that the reading lists to introduce one to such individuals is remarkably similar whether given to one by a Catholic, a Buddhist, a Parsi .. and by second hand information - Kabbalists, Sufis, and Hindus.
Once you have read broadly enough to be aware of the differences in how words are used by different traditions, times and cultures, you will recognize the information in your library esp. in series such as Classics of Western Spirituality, SkyLight Paths Illumination Series (I have some reservations re: this series). But the ground must be prepared first. You must be able to use and evaluate language in the various ways various cultures and disciplines use them.
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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Ok, thanks MJ, the answers make sense.
Now, just to search for philosophical truth bearing claims is a limited technique that must be accompanied by something else.
Written material is silent, it does not provide answers the way a participant of the experience being read could.
Tradition is important, because in it the experiences and meaning of the experiences can be explained, communicated in a way that becomes clearer to the person. Key areas identified and stressed to achieve desired states.
There have been attempts to identify and give an overview of certain influencing persons:
I do not distrust the works themselves, but at times I must be aware that a biased recount can be presented as the person may have not fully participated of the events, and know first hand the behind the scenes details.
If we were to follow a distrust attitude, what would prevent me from distrusting what the Caths have considered the doctors of the Church, or the Saints? yet they all have compendiums of such.
My job is to study them and see who in belief and practice align better with the Bible and then see if I can learn something from that.
A very important problem is perception, and the use of language to describe what is understood of a particular experience.
http://www.darc.org/connelly/religion1.html
As explained in the article above, (see graph also), a religion (could also be a tradition) starts when a founder has an experience with the other worldly higher realm. Now many times such are set up by impostors (e.g. satan), but at some point the revelation came from the Superior Entity (i.e. God), after that experience then a tradition is started to let others know that such sacred realm exists, it is ultimate reality, and can be accessed through certain ways.
In our case the Apostles were physically close to Divinity (Jesus), but traditions have distorted the message He gave of manifesting to those (atemporary promise), who followed Him. That means that He would continue with us to the end but in a connection to the higher realm of the supernatural, where He continues His work. [John 14:21 a fact that has to be experienced and not dilucidated from a writing by philosophy, note such is not time bound to any particular date, and is given by Jesus Himself].
Note in 4 above, that we are ultimately concerned with "the reality that the model is trying to describe".
So an example: someone found that most men of God that were highly effective in the service to that God, were men of prayer. Could we extrapolate that to groups, regions, ethnos, countries?
If such is so important, could it be because is a way to enter in touch with the reality where the contact with the Supreme Entity is achieved so that marching orders are received?
The problem is that according to the article by Paula Fredriksen, is that the victor's description of the other groups may not fully represent its true essence and praxis.
Likewise, the representation of loved heroes (the tradition's own), may overlook ungodly attitudes and actions that hardly can be considered godly.
No human will ever be absolutely perfect, but historically some have been relatively more perfect than others:
Daniel, Joseph of Egypt, Enoch, Stephen the deacon, John the loved disciple, were relatively more perfect than David, Solomon, Samson, Jacob, Paul, etc.
So is with certain groups, the Synagogue Bereans were nobler than other groups, when receiving new constructs, and ascertaining that they had validity.
The reformation had unintended consequences, some very bad. But the good of it, is that as salvation is individual, the person has the right and the responsibility to try to ascertain for him / herself if things are so. Then use of free will to choose what they think is the best fit given the available evidence (conjecture).
Christian cultural anthropology may identify certain key factors that make some groups, persons, cultures more in line of what authentic Christianity has identified as godly (in alignment with revealed truth), and such knowledge may be of advantage for the relative prep and perfection of the saints.
I have started to do research in L8, lots of good resources about culture, cultural analysis, cultural anthropology, church culture, etc. I am just surprised that few studies have been made on studying the cream of the cream... Noble Synagogue Bereans, recipients of the Philadelphia Church message, and other pious and godly groups for comparison along time continuum.
My own non-expert opinion of course.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=650
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