What kind of books does Logos publish?

Bob Pritchett said:

want to point out that Logos is, and has always been, a business. We have intentionally eschewed the label "ministry" or even "Christian company."

Unfortunately for you Dan a lot of people don't see this and treat you like a ministry. 

Your point in the opening post of this thread is well made your mission, as a business, must be to make the resources available to aid study and not to limit this to a narrow doctrinal view no matter how right you personally believe that view is. Our responsibility as users is to recognise how these resources relate to what we believe doctrinally.

At a recent teaching session at our Leadership Training Centre one of the attendees asked how we could help him identify what was doctrinally safe to read. The facilitator answered that our role is not to dictate who or what they read but to give them the tools to determine this for themselves. In a later session on our Basis of Faith I was able to pick up this issue and explore it further with the students.

IMHO the problem is not that there are resources that might make people believe the wrong thing but that there are too many Christians who do not actually know what they believe!

My library is a varied one and I enjoy many of the resources that I 'disagree' with as much as I do those the ones that I agree with.

Bob Pritchett said:

I just don't want to let anyone mistakenly label Logos a ministry, with all the implications and honor-in-the-calling that brings, when the company doesn't deserve that title.

I think many confuse the terms because Logos is focused on tools related to Bible study and ministry. Logos is a blessing to those in ministry by providing tools that can be greatly used for their ministry.

I believe (although some disagree) that Logos operates as a business using both Christian principles and sound business principles. Publishing is a precarious business today. Many are struggling and some have not survived. Logos has an impressive track record of being a solid business that we can expect to be around for a long time.

I do not question the motives of the ownership and management the way that I might of a company whose sole purpose was profit by any means.

Keep up the great work.

Bohuslav Wojnar said:

I suggest your post is made easily available both in forums and in Logos Web or Blog.

[Y]

Dear Rev Chris,

I would ask in advance for your grace. What I am about to say it may sound staccato and harsh and so, please grant me grace. Because I disagree that Mormons or JW’s who call themselves Christians and I believe otherwise does not mean that they are being bashed by me. Intolerance of voicing Christian opinions has been on the uptick.  Am I now to be silent on this important vital issue? I cannot.

Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses call themselves Christian. Mormons are not Christian since they hold that Jesus was not God and Jesus and Satan were brothers. Jehovah Witnesses call themselves Christian and they say Jesus was not divine, did not raise physically from the dead and that Salvation is not by grace through faith alone. By these two cults own stated beliefs, they are not Christian. Yet they will espouse themselves Christian.

Catholics are non-Christian because they pray to dead people (they call saints or icons), something the Bible forbids. They also say that if a person has not been baptized in water they go to hell, thus making water baptism greater than believing in the finished work of Christ on the cross. They give their allegiance to a man (the Pope) who is infallible and inerrant in all that he says regarding the Bible. And the forgiveness of sins is achieved through confessing sins through man (the priest) and if their venial and/or mortal sins are not confessed and forgiven by them the individual goes to purgatory or hell.

Mormons have quite a strong number of adherents, like Catholics…is that inflammatory to say that Mormons are not Christian? Should we just accept anyone’s definition of what it means to be a Christian? Any standard of measure?

Again my concern is not and has never been in the books that Logos offers. I love the rich and growing diversity of books offered and the flexibility I have in choosing books. Perhaps offering categories for selecting “Evangelical”, “Pentecostal”, “Charismatic”, “Ecumenical”, etc. works would help some in finding the books they prefer easier to locate.

Nonprofits can have legal hiring obligations as well regarding hiring. My concern is not that Logos hire or not hire people who are non-Christian or even anti-Christian. My concern is the hiring of and providing material support to propagate the gospel of a false religion. This is my primary concern. The hiring of someone who is to help advance the Catholic religion.

My view that Catholics are not Christian is not a new one and it flows not from simply my personal opinion, but flows from the Bible, theology, hermeneutics, apologetics and this view has been rightly held by Protestants for hundreds of years.

I hope this helps clarify my concerns.

I do not want to come across as crass or sarcastic or mean spirited. But if you are a fellow ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ perhaps Rev Chris you should review Systematic Theology 1 & 2, Hermeneutics and CARM.org is a good place to start to review Christian Apologetics.

Dan

I think the principle of 'Logos & Co' is best seen looking at Simon the Tanner (or Simon the potter, depending on your aramaic). Simon had his own beliefs, but he also had his business. His business was not his 'ministry'. That was 'Peter'. Simon was not the same. He had a business. Now, let's say Simon either tanned or potted for the hated Roman army (or maybe some highly opinionated folks in Jerusalem). Keep in mind that was Simon's business. The fact that he was helping his customers effectively target Peter & Co was certainly possible, but again, that was his business. Not his ministry.

I'm not using the above to target the Evangelicals or Catholics (or Mormons). I just don't see how a 'business' equates to a different set of rules for believers. But apparently it does.

Chris Thompson said:

Rev Chris said:

Also last time I checked, the Bible doesn't use the word Christian  

Better check again. Maybe not at your seminary, but it shows up in all of my Bibles...several times.

Acts 11:26  Acts 26:28  1 Peter 4:16 

I stand corrected - it uses the word 3 times as you pointed out.  It just doesn't define it.

@Dan
What theological tradition do you hail from?  Perhaps Logos can establish some conscientious objector status so people of your persuasion don't have to follow the same rules that law abiding citizen types are asked to follow around here.  If that's not agreeable for Logos, there's always the personal boycott, and beyond, for you to consider.

Wiggle your way out. Justify your error in whatever way works for you.

Speaking of definitions, I think a definition for 'little weenies' is in order here.  Little weenies are people who can't, or more accurately—WON'T, abide by rules simply because they like to do whatever THEY want… MORE.

Chris Thompson said:

Rev Chris said:

And continue to promote hatred and judgment in whatever way works for you

Who is judging whom?  Matthew 7:1  

I think that's a good question to end this discussion on.  Let each viewer come to their own conclusion as to its answer and let us agree to disagree.

Michael Anda said:

Speaking of definitions, I think a definition for 'little weenies' is in order here.  Little weenies are people who can't, or more accurately—WON'T, abide by rules simply because they like to do whatever THEY want… MORE.

Bob Pritchett said:

Please stop responding to correct misperceptions or misunderstandings or to counter attacks.

Michael Anda said:

I'm reminded of the movie, Dumb and DUMBER.

Have a great day. I have better things to do than engage in mental warfare with an unarmed man.

Richard DeRuiter said:

To Rev. Chris, Dan Eide, Chris Thompson, Michael Anda and DMB,

I think you have all made your points clearly and sometimes more than once. Many of the point made are significant and merit a thorough discussion -- but not here. These forums have proven to be a poor medium for discussions like these, and such discussions are not in keeping with the purpose of these forums. For those of you who want to keep talking/writing about this, I suggest you take it off line (email, skype, some other forum?).

For those of you who have a problem with Logos' policies, I suggest you take it up with Logos, as Bob has invited us to do in the first post of this thread.

[BTW, I'm not trying to paint everyone with the same brush, here. I just listed those I saw interacting in this discussion in the last page or so.]

Richard, thanks for that.  In my last post I attempted to announce that I'm done with this conversation.  I realized I carried it on far too long and am sorry for that.

[C]

Matthew C Jones said:

If you feel the need to preach & judge, go stand in the pulpit at your church. If I want to hear it, I will come and visit..

Welcome back, AbiGail. We were wondering how long it'd take! Chris was wondering too.

MJ. Smith said:

Dear people of a certain behavior. I say behavior not beliefs because behavior is what is relevant to these forums. Your behavior is counterproductive - in an attempt to point out or convince people that a doctrine or group is Unchristian, you instead turn them away from listening to you. Your behavior implies that you cannot read and follow the basic English of the forums. Why then should I listen to you on something more complex such as Scripture? If you genuinely want to convince, please use techniques that might be effective - beginning with following the rules of the forums.

Sincerely,

a person whose beliefs you vehemently disagree with but does not believe much of what you assign to me.

From one who has tried, woefully ineffectively and unsuccessfully, to hold accountable the conduct of which you write, thank you for this post. Now, better put on your hard hat and saliva shield!!  [:D]

Bill

MJ. Smith said:

There are parts of behavior of individuals on forums that I still have to stop and force myself to think about because they are so far from my daily experience outside the forums.

Bob Pritchett said:

The new, second part: Recently Logos has become something of a publisher. We create and sell Bible Study Magazine, the Lexham English Bible, HD Commentary, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, and more. It’s fair to ask what theological perspective is behind these publications. And the answer is “Evangelical Christian.” Logos Bible Software is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and we subscribe to the Statement of Faith of the Association (http://www.ecpa.org/?page=about_ecpa).

When Logos Bible Software is the publisher, you can expect that the work does not conflict with this statement of faith. In the future we may choose to publish works aligned with even more detailed statements of faith, in which case they will be clearly indicated.

I wonder if Logos will not have to be at least a co-publisher of any new evangelical commentary sets for them to be viable.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the future. I expect that before the EEC set is complete, we will see a new commentary set on the way with different leanings.