Persuasion of Authors - how to know?

Hi all,

Is there a way to know, in advance, what are the theological leanings of the authors of the various commentaries included in Logos?

For example, (watch out - hot potato here), I don't care to indulge any author who embraces New Perspectives on Paul, yet it seems that most times, when I research one of my commentaries on Google or Amazon, I find that the author shares that viewpoint.

I'm beginning to wonder how far this thinking has invaded all the books in my commentary set. And not being familiar with Church history as I'd like to be, I don't think I'd even be able to make a guesstimate based on denominational affiliation, though I'm pretty sure this comes only from branches of Reformed Christianity. (?)

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William Gabriel

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

Original? Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/sep/29/comedy.religion

Butters

Brian, I am just a newcomer and I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries here....one has to be very careful in this...but..

...here's what I would say: theology (which permeates everything nearly) is really, really complicated and it's very easy to be taken in unawares; under the guise of, say, appealing language or general approach, one can easily be seduced by a perspective or thought or influence or ideas or whatnot that you would otherwise not sanction.

In my opinion, you should not let Logos software/choices/resources or anyone here guide you. Instead, I would seek that guidance (what to read in terms of Bibles, commentaries, etc.) elsewhere.

William Gabriel

By the way, I find myself wishing the same thing. It would make for a great Logos database if possible. But I see several issues. Not all categories are mutually exclusive. There are some authors who change perspective over the course of their life, though I suppose you could tag per resource. And naturally, there would be disagreement over who gets what labels (there is always the individual's perspective that anyone more liberal than them is a liberal / socialist, and anyone more conservative than them is a conservative / fascist / fundamentalist, etc.).

I think it would be helpful, not to necessarily avoid perspectives, but to have greater understanding where authors, movements and perspectives come from. I too disagree with much of the New Perspective, but reading N.T. Wright is still tremendously helpful. Even if you disagree with someone, you are able to identify what they believe more precisely, you can reason out your point of view more completely, and we all can grow from reasonable debate.

Don Awalt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510846#Comment_510846

One thing that has helped me A LOT is the Theology and Denomination collection tagging work done on this thread.

If you go near the end you can grab the latest spreadsheet, or you could grab the collections that are available in the related Faithlife forum. Whether you search an Excel spreadsheet, or have incorporated the collections into your Logos system, you can easily see what an author's most likely disposition is.

What I do - I have the Collections and Theologies set up. Be sure to check the box, "include in parallel resources" when you set up each Collection. Then if you bring up a resource, you can see what parallel resource panels appear and know the denomination. Or, you can search the Excel spreadsheet for the author's name. It works really well!

David Thomas

Is there a way to know, in advance, what are the theological leanings of the authors of the various commentaries included in Logos?

Have you seen this thread? http://community.logos.com/forums/p/54491/396432.aspx#396432

A group of users have worked together to define collections that may help with your dilemma. However, these are basically designed to tag resources that you already have rather than "in advance"

David Thomas

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510851#Comment_510851

Don, it appears we cross posted! [:D]

Butters

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510846#Comment_510846

but reading N.T. Wright is still tremendously helpful. Even if you disagree with someone, you are able to identify what they believe more precisely, you can reason out your point of view more completely, and we all can grow from reasonable debate.

I agree completely with this. However, methinks one needs to become rooted in something first. For example, Aquinas could absorb Aristotle because he was already so deeply rooted in Christian theology. A neophyte would just end up confused and in a theological mess. [:)]

Evan Boardman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510852#Comment_510852

Have you seen this thread? http://community.logos.com/forums/p/54491/396432.aspx#396432

That thread might help if all Reformers were from the New Paul persuasion., but they aint, so it aint. [H]

Lynden O. Williams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510842#Comment_510842

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

Original? Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/sep/29/comedy.religion

William you're cracking me up.

Todd Phillips

Is there a way to know, in advance, what are the theological leanings of the authors of the various commentaries included in Logos?

For example, (watch out - hot potato here), I don't care to indulge any author who embraces New Perspectives on Paul, yet it seems that most times, when I research one of my commentaries on Google or Amazon, I find that the author shares that viewpoint.

I think you'll have to read reviews for find that out. I would suggest you continue doing what you're doing with Google and Amazon (I do it too). I would also suggest Don Carson's New Testament Commentary Survey. He points out NPP bias in his short reviews.

Jack Caviness

For example, (watch out - hot potato here), I don't care to indulge any author who embraces New Perspectives on Paul

For that particular issue, you might want to pre-order https://www.logos.com/product/31422/justification-and-variegated-nomism which ships 08/08/13 and is contra NPP written by top-notch scholars.

Brian

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510880#Comment_510880

Thanks for all the input - I'll check out the links provided.

The joke is funny, but it oversimplifies the situation. Just like most of us would prefer to know that a resource is Mormon before we invest time in it, so I too am careful of absorbing things I've already investigated and found lacking (or even dangerous). But that's not the same as pushing someone over a bridge because they don't agree. I simply want to make the best use of my time.

Regarding New Perspectives on Paul:

I have brothers in Christ who embrace NPP. They know I think their righteousness smells like dung, but we are still brothers, and we love one another

Thanks again.

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510881#Comment_510881

For example, (watch out - hot potato here), I don't care to indulge any author who embraces New Perspectives on Paul

For that particular issue, you might want to pre-order https://www.logos.com/product/31422/justification-and-variegated-nomism which ships 08/08/13 and is contra NPP written by top-notch scholars.

I'm really looking forward to this resource being added to my library. I didn't realize that it was shipping so soon. Good reading ahead.

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510883#Comment_510883

Generally I just read reviews at Amazon. That should tell you all you want to know about a resource and its author. I hardly ever find a book I'm interested in that has no reviews.

You can also check bookreviews.org, which has reviews from the Review of Biblical Literature.

I find that I learn a lot just by reading the reviews. I also get a lot of recommendations where the book that I originally looked up ended up not being what I wanted, but the reviewers suggested something that was more like what I was looking for originally.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510902#Comment_510902

This clearly demonstrates the good old days. Ice cream came in 3 flavors and identifying heretics didn't require Amazon.

Butters

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510907#Comment_510907

Amazon IS the new Magisterium! No offense to anyone, just fooling around. [:)]

Peace.

(‾◡◝)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/510881#Comment_510881

For that particular issue, you might want to pre-order https://www.logos.com/product/31422/justification-and-variegated-nomism which ships 08/08/13 and is contra NPP written by top-notch scholars.

I completely missed that JaVN was available even though I had been keeping an eye out for it. Thanks for the heads up!