When I was doing my sermon preparation today, I came across this profound quote that highlights an inherent tension in using Logos Bible Software.
We live in a technological and information era that concentrates so much on action and information that there is little time to think about ideas and truth. Sammy Tippit has said, “Perhaps one of the greatest needs of this generation is for thinking men and women. The advent of the computer has brought artificial intelligence into the world. Many Christians have ceased to be thinkers in an age of computers and television.” When people want refreshment, they go to something that will keep them active (like outdoor recreation) or that will numb their senses (like television). Preachers have an abundance of computer programs available that have done a lot of the thinking they would usually have done. While these have a place, nothing can replace meditation and hard thinking about truth. It is from such lingering with truth that effective apologetics and proclamation emerge. We should use the marvels of technology to make us efficient in doing things and gathering information so that we will have more time to think.
Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 394.
Well, I don't know if I agree totally- but there is a certain amount of truth there- I have noticed that a lot of individuals base their understanding on their favorite authors or teachers- not on true study. A paper bible when read teaches and guides- contrary to some- the words of teachers is not inspired or God given- but of a different nature either in line with the Word of God and God directed- or man directed to suit their particular theological or cultural bent.
The quote is all too true.
I would say that many times we can lost in the time we use Logos for sermon preparation.
One thing I am happy for in the country i serve is that we have many parks. I try to take some time and just sit on a bench sometimes and meet a new person. To share God with them.
After all we a writing sermons for the purpose to give the message of God to others.
My favorite quote about this was one read during meals at a monastery which I visited on the troubles in the Anglican Communion. It quipped that with modern communication tech, we are now able to misunderstand each other faster than ever before...
It quipped that with modern communication tech, we are now able to misunderstand each other faster than ever before...
So true. Made me smile.
The irony inherent in finding the quote while using a Logos resource was, I freely admit, just a little humorous to me. [H]
OK, I'll offer the counter-argument. Before computers/internet, congregations had to try to stay awake for 40 minutes (tops). Now they can zoom through immense amounts of material, happily getting confused, discovering the pastor only gives his own opinion (known as a 'belief'), and ending up with the most innane questions.
Which I think is approximately where early synogogues ended up (without the computers of course).
Brethren, if you are ever so much taken up with any enjoyment that it takes away your love for prayer or for your Bible then you are abusing this world. O sit loose to this world's joy. The time is short."
-M'Cheyne
Meh.
It's not the tool, it's how you use it.
Consider the invention of the map: a tool to help you find places you've never been before. Now we have a GPS's built into phones. We now have the option to let the maps or the GPS do all the discovery 'for you' or you can use them as you go out and discover new places the mappers did not find significant enough to record.
A few years back I was looking at a Google Earth image of a region we'd be camping and hiking in. I saw a black spot, and we went to investigate. The GPS helped us find it: an abandoned quartz (hoping for gold, I assume) mine where the miners had struck an underground aquifer and their open pit mine had filled with water. Fascinating. We spent a bit of time there, determining what it was, finding their camp (with old, tin cans they probably ate from), and some interesting wild life that had made it a home (including a bizarre looking salamander larva swimming in the water).
Sometimes Logos is like that. Something pops up that you didn't expect. You can just take what it says, or you can go digging yourself and find stuff you couldn't find otherwise. But then, once discovered, you have the opportunity to explore, meditate, pray and ponder what it is and what it means.
A tool that makes research easier has the potential to free up more time for thinking and meditation. This is one of the benefits I get from Logos. But this, like many disciplines, requires...well...discipline.
Type "FSD" with out quotes in the command bar and see what happens.
Repeat as many times as you desire.
I've noticed with increasing frequency that reading scripture alone could very well have more influence than the use of the computer. The computer then either confirms or denies the ideas that have come forth in plain reading.
There's no real substitute for repeated reading of scripture. Logos makes it more attractive in permitting you to pull up a variety of translations and the original language as well. I still like to use a regular bound copy as it keeps my attention for verifying the context of the passage from the beginning of my study.
I tend to use Logos to gather information and stimulate my thinking. But I also use preaching resources (DVD's) to stimulate me.
There's no real substitute for repeated reading of scripture.
I agree. But I can no longer read the printed page due to poor eyesight. The computer screen enables me to read with adjusted contrast and colours.
There's no real substitute for repeated reading of scripture. I agree. But I can no longer read the printed page due to poor eyesight. The computer screen enables me to read with adjusted contrast and colours.
What a blessing that is for you to still be able to read that way!
